Ardencaple Castle

Ardencaple Castle stands on a plateau above the Firth of Clyde near Helensburgh in Argyll and Bute. Only a single tower remains of the original 12th-century fortress, which once belonged to the MacAulay clan chiefs. The name Ardencaple comes from the Gaelic for ‘height of the horses’, recorded in 1351 as Airdendgappil. By the 15th or 16th century the MacAulays had taken control of the lands and built a grand house there. The fortunes of the family declined in the 18th century, forcing the sale of their estates. The estate later passed to the Campbells, including John Campbell the 4th Duke of Argyll. In the 18th century Robert Adam, Scotland’s leading architect, drew plans to extend the castle with a three-bay tower and smaller turrets. George Campbell, the 8th Duke of Argyll, was born at Ardencaple in 1823. The estate was sold in 1852 to the Colquhouns of Luss, who held it until the 1920s. Today the remaining tower serves as a navigational light for ships on the Clyde. It stands 14 metres high and carries two green beacons on its south-west corner. The site is protected as a Category B listed building, though most of the castle was demolished in 1957 to make way for naval housing. The tower’s flat tract of land below once formed part of the castle grounds, now partly covered by modern housing.