Duart, a small bay and a ruined castle in Torosay parish, Mull island, Argyllshire. The bay, opening at the north-eastern extremity of Mull, opposite the SW end of Lismore, measures 1 by ¾ mile. The castle, 4½ miles N of Achnacraig, stands on a bold headland at the E side of the bay, and commands one of the grandest prospects in the Western Highlands. Dating from some unknown period of the Norsemen's invasion, and first coming into record in 1390 as the stronghold of the Macleans of Mull, it comprises a massive square tower (75 x 72 feet) of seemingly the 14th century, and a range of less ancient buildings. In 1523 Lachlan Maclean of Duart exposed his wife, the Earl of Argyll's daughter, on a tide-swept islet between Lismore and Mull, the 'Lady's Rock,' whence she was rescued by a passing boat-an episode dramatised in Joanna Baillie's Family Legend, and only one out of the many tragedies witnessed by Duart's walls in the endless feud between the Macdonalds and the Macleans, from whom the estate passed to the Argyll family in the latter half of the 17th century. Modern Duart House, 1¼ mile NNW of Achnacraig, is the seat of Arbuthnot Charles Guthrie, Esq. (b. 1825), who owns 23,012 acres in the shire, valued at £3217 per annum.
Note: This text has been made available using a process of scanning and
optical character recognition. Despite manual checking, some typographical
errors may remain. Please remember this description dates from
the 1880s; names may have changed, administrative divisions will certainly be
different and there are known to be occasional errors of fact in the original
text, which we have not corrected because we wish to maintain its integrity.
This information is provided subject to our standard disclaimer
