Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Scottish Castles

Forse Castle

I recently created the article Forse Castle from the original title of Forse, if anyones interested, theres much more info to be added. QuintusPetillius (talk) 17:39, 7 January 2010 (UTC)

Borve Castle, Sutherland

I recently created the article Borve Castle, Sutherland if anyones interested. It was a stronghold of the Clan Mackay. QuintusPetillius (talk) 20:41, 9 January 2010 (UTC)

After reading the article, I am left wondering when Borve Castle was built. Have there been any excavations on the site? Is the exact location know? If so, a coordinates template could be added to the article (or a map) so that the reader knows where it is as not everyone knows where Sutherland is, and the link would allow a reader to find maps of the site. Nev1 (talk) 20:47, 9 January 2010 (UTC)

Also, since there's no image of the castle (have you tried geograph and flickr?) some details of the structure would be useful. Was it made from stone (presumably since it was still in use in the 16th century)? Is there a particular type of castle that Brove can be linked to (eg: motte-and-bailey, tower house, quadrangular castle etc) to give the reader how it may have looked? Nev1 (talk) 21:40, 12 January 2010 (UTC)

Well I'm still searching for information on the specific details of the building. There is a link to the Sutherland page.QuintusPetillius (talk) 21:09, 21 January 2010 (UTC)

List of castles in Scotland

Although it is difficult to compile a comprehensive list of gazetteer of castles because of the problem of defining "castle", is there something close of a definitive list? England and Wales are lucky enough to have a study from 1983 by D. J. Cathcart King (although as far as I know the lists on Wikipedia for England and Wales aren't taken from it), but I was wondering if there's something similar for Scotland. If anyone's in the know about it, it would certainly help to be able to say if Wikipedia's list of castles in Scotland is as good as it gets, were it to go to FLC for instance. Nev1 (talk) 20:57, 27 January 2010 (UTC)

Sorry Nev must have missed your request. The best resources are Martin Coventry's The Castles of Scotland [1], some 2,700 entries (though it contains entries for non-castle ruins and historic buildings), or the slightly older series of guides by Mike Salter (five volumes cover Scotland, see Folly Publications). Neither is truly "definitive" as you say, but a reasonable yardstick. Jonathan Oldenbuck (talk) 11:07, 29 March 2010 (UTC)

Dunnottar Castle

Whilst working on other things, I came across Dunnottar Castle which is one of the more notable castles but needs a serious copyedit. I removed some of the worst bits, but really it needs attention from someone more familiar than me with the WPSC house style. FlagSteward (talk) 18:29, 7 May 2010 (UTC)

Thanks for your edits FlagSteward, Dunnottar has been on my mental 'to do' list longer than I can remember now, along with Dunvegan, Dunrobin, Sween and, oh, lots of others! Will maybe try to push this one up a notch as, like you say, it really is quite important, but I won't make any promises... Regards, Jonathan Oldenbuck (talk) 19:52, 7 May 2010 (UTC)

Horsburgh Castle/Horsbrugh Castle

I was hoping that someone could advise/clarify a particular issue regarding the correct name for Horsburgh Castle/Horsbrugh Castle, Scottich Borders. The main sources used by the article primarily use the name Horsburgh Castle, however it has been brought to my attention that the castle in fact should be known as "Horsbrugh Castle". I am happy to be proven wrong and ask for the article to be moved to "Horsbrugh Castle" if that is correct with a redirect from Horsburgh Castle. Does anyone have any hard copy reference that clarifies this issue? Kind Regards Newm30 (talk) 00:54, 30 May 2010 (UTC)

I happen to have a pile of Borders-related books on my desk. Two of them (The Borders Book ed. Donald Omand, and Borders and Berwick by Charles Strang, in the RIAS architecture guide series) mention this place, and both use Horsburgh. Earlier today I reinstated the redirect from Horsbrugh Castle. I dont know which is "correct" but Horsburgh is certainly more common. Regards, Jonathan Oldenbuck (talk) 15:26, 1 June 2010 (UTC)

Possible Creation of WikiProject Tayside and Fife

Hi! I have proposed the creation of WikiProject Tayside and Fife to improve the quality of all of the articles which fall into the scope of the project. I think that some of the articles in the scope of WikiProject Scottish Castles may fit into the scope of the proposed project. I would hope that members of this WikiProject would like to indicate their interest in the project. If you would like to join please add your name on WikiProject Council/Proposals/Tayside and Fife. If the project gets a reasonable amount of interest I will create a draft of the WikiProject (after consultation with editors who are interested) in my userspace and then will create the WikiProject. Thank you. Andrewmc123 15:23, 6 July 2010 (UTC)

Cawdor Castle

An IP doesn't think that Cawdor Castle's Westlife playing a concert at Cawdor Castle is important and is therefore removing mention of it. Do folks here have an opinion on its inclusion? Nev1 (talk) 20:05, 17 November 2011 (UTC)

The entry is cited and Westlife are clearly noteworthy, so the issue is relevance. I am not a member of this project so I won't bother to pass an opinion here, but unless there is consensus on that page to remove the entry you are well within your rights to restore it. Ben MacDui 08:27, 18 November 2011 (UTC)

The fact that its westlife is ireelevant, but that the place has hosted a concert is an indicator of its present use. If there have been other concerts it would be worth mentioning use of the castle as a venue, but a one-off would be less noteworthy. Thanks, Jonathan Oldenbuck (talk) 11:19, 18 November 2011 (UTC)

Loch Leven or Lochleven Castle?

This article title is Loch Leven Castle but the more common usage seems to be Lochleven castle. This is the usage of Historic Scotland who run the site. [1] It is also in Fraser, Antonia. (1970) Mary Queen of Scots as Lochleven which is an important source for the text. Looking at the internet it is only less reputable sources that use Loch Leven Castle. Does anyone know why the article is titled as it is?--Jhood1 (talk) 11:21, 21 September 2016 (UTC)

Both Maurice Lindsay, The Castles of Scotland and Martin Coventry, The Castles of Scotland, have "Loch Leven Castle"; Canmore has "Loch Leven Castle" as the alternative. So it's a matter of choice, but there is support for the present title.Horis (talk) 12:03, 21 September 2016 (UTC)

References

Status of project

While not exactly bustling with activity this project does continue: please look at the announcements page! Horis (talk) 16:51, 8 October 2019 (UTC)

I'm not formally a member of this project, it's on my watchlist along with many articles on Scottish castles. This project still has a role and it's always encouraging to see activity in the announcements! Richard Nevell (talk) 21:29, 8 October 2019 (UTC)

Useful Documents

Hi, I work for Historic Environment Scotland, and thought I could provide links to some very useful documents. These are all publicly accessible. Of particular interest should be documents under "Statement of Significance". [2]

I probably won't contribute much to the project myself, as I am very much a novice user, and may not have the time. I also have to be careful not to breach any conditions of my contract, and am currently unsure how much I can provide to that effect.

ElFoes (talk) 20:57, 11 September 2020 (UTC)

Help! Draft:Scottish Castles Restoration Projects

I’m sorry to see that these days there doesn't seem to be too much interest in the Scottish Castles project. I added my name to this, I think a couple of years ago now, and I see since then only a handful of people have joined in.

I’ve done one or two additions to individual castle pages, but the main thing I’m trying to do is put up this Draft Article on the many restoration projects that have taken place over say the last forty years. I hope castle fans will agree that this has been quite a phenomenon and certainly worthy of note in the overall picture of Scottish castles.

However, I’m having difficulty in getting it promoted to mainspace. I thought I had a good rapport with a well known reviewer/editor, ‘Theroadislong’ who has approved three previous Draft articles of mine which I started (NB nothing to do with castles), but as we might say in Scotland, he seems to have taken a ‘scunner’ to this one.

And for the life of me, I cannot see why – please see the Draft Article Talk page for my views. So, is there anyone out there who follows this Forum who is either an editor who can approve this article, or knows of someone who would do so? Or of course add their own contribution to the Draft.

Many thanks – and let’s hope we can get a bit more interest going on ‘Scottish Castles’.ArchaicW (talk) 11:16, 17 May 2023 (UTC)

Skipness Castle

I had brief visit to Skipness Castle and Chapel on Thursday 11th July 2024. Took the ferry from Lochranza on the Isle of Arran to Clanoig on Kintyre, then walked the road to Skipness. Very little information is available on site and there is really not much more on Canmore, Historic Environment Scotland's information site for historic buildings and sites.

Walking to the castle and taking in the views and consulting the maps you get the feeling of it is as castle of importance. Ireland is not far away, a day's sailing in good conditions. The Ayrshire coast is clearly visible, again a day's sail away. Westward, access to the West Loch Tarbert half a day's march. Skipness beach would make for good landing for their birlins. The buildings themselves emanate power. What it faced eastwards was not just the Scottish Crown but edge of Anglo-Norman power. It is an interesting way of considering it as castles are about geography and culture. Could be saying, we are the Gaelic Norse, hello. Given the castle's location, it could have originally functioned as a power and raiding base.It must have been a threat to the lowland Scots, possibly the English too What changed the situation was the retreat of Norse influence and the effect of the plague.

Ruththenavigator (talk) 22:41, 13 July 2024 (UTC)

A speculated personel opinion based on maps and geography without reference to documentary evidence.