Carrick Castle

Carrick Castle, a well-preserved medieval tower house of probable late 14th-century date, stands on a rocky outcrop beside Loch Goil. The castle has strong historical connections to Clan Campbell and was likely built for the Campbells of Lochawe, later the Earls of Argyll, who held considerable power in the Lochgoilhead area from the second half of the 14th century onwards. The castle occupies an important strategic position on the route between the Clyde and Loch Fyne. The main tower is rectangular, three storeys high, with a bevelled north-west angle. It is constructed of gneiss and schist rubble, occasionally brought to courses, with sandstone used for quoins and opening surrounds.

The castle was held by hereditary captains from around 1500 until 1685, when it was burnt by government forces during the rebellion of the 9th Earl of Argyll. Following this destruction, no significant restoration was attempted, although in the first decade of the 20th century debris was cleared and some repointing, restoration and reconstruction took place, mainly using concrete. The wall-head was ruinous before 1900 but was repaired and levelled in the early 20th century; the arched weep holes are mostly original.

Access to the castle is gained on the east side via a roofless near-triangular barmkin, which dates mainly to the 16th century. The ground floor shows evidence of barrel vaulting in the remains of springing masonry, though this appears never to have been completed. Access to the first floor originally appears to have been by a timber forestair, though there are also foundations of a 17th-century newel stair in the barmkin. The second floor and garret are accessed by separate straight flights of stone stairs built into the thickness of the east wall.

The landward west wall at ground floor level is blank, while the other elevations have small squarish openings. The north and south walls both have two pointed-arched garderobe outlets. The majority of first-floor windows are either pointed-arched or triangular, with a variety of mouldings both inside and out. The second-floor openings are mostly rectangular, some partially blocked at the bottom. The mural stairs are lit by small rectangular windows at the north-east and south-east angles, and by intermittent slit openings. The garderobe chamber windows in the end walls at first and second floors are lit by trefoil-cusped lancets. Some windows are later insertions into the late 14th-century structure.

The Statistical Account of 1792 notes that the castle was once surrounded by water, which would have enhanced its defensive strength considerably; the deep ditch on the west side had been infilled by the late 18th century.

In 1988, the castle was brought partly back into use as a dwelling by Ian Begg. A joisted first floor resting on existing scarcements was installed, and a new second floor was constructed on angled struts projecting from socket holes in the east and west walls. The existing south gable was repaired and a new north gable was built at the wall-head. Living accommodation was formed under a steeply pitched slate roof, lit by several modern rooflights. The 1988 works also included installation of floors and re-establishment of a garret.