Dumbarton Castle has the longest recorded history of any stronghold in Scotland. It sits on a volcanic plug of basalt known as Dumbarton Rock which is 240 feet (73 m) high and overlooks the Scottish town of Dumbarton.
At least as far back as the Iron Age, this has been the site of a strategically important settlement, as evidenced by archaeological finds.
In the 1220s, the castle was a border stronghold - the Norwegian frontier lay just 10 miles downriver. The Treaty of Perth (1266) gave control of the Western Isles to the Scottish Crown, removing the threat from Norway - but an even greater menace from England soon replaced it.
Dumbarton was an important royal castle in the Middle Ages. In later centuries, Dumbarton Rock became a mighty garrison fortress, its defences packed with guns. It last saw military action as recently as the Second World War.
Dumbarton was a great fortress and the capital of a kingdom that covered the area now known as Strathclyde.
The Rock was besieged several times. The assault by Viking kings Olaf and Ivar of Dublin in 870 was by far the worst. The pair carried off slaves and looted treasure in 200 longships following a four-month siege.
Alexander II of Scotland built the medieval castle around 1220 as a defence against the threat from Norway, whose kings ruled the Hebrides and the islands in the Clyde.
In 1305, Sir John Menteith, keeper of Dumbarton Castle, caught Sir William Wallace and handed him over to the English for trial and execution.
The castle’s location away from Scotland’s political heartland lessened its importance somewhat. But it also made Dumbarton a good back door through which her rulers could come and go with relative ease. It sheltered David II (in 1333-4) and Mary Queen of Scots (in 1548) until ships could take them to France and safety.
This is the area that Prince Harry turned down the Dukedom for Archie ( his son )
Please visit the official website for more information
www.historicenvironment.scot/...
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3 мар 2023
