Description

The monument comprises the substantial remains of a late 16th-century Z-plan castle lying within the former Earldom of Menteith and is believed to have been built for Malcolm Macfarlane of Gartartan.

The entrance lies within the W tower, from where a corbelled staircase rises to a first-floor hall. The ground floor consists of two interconnecting vaulted rooms.

With the building of Gartmore House in the early 18th century, Gartartan fell into disrepair, stone plundered from the upper storeys of the castle being used in the creation of a boundary wall of a walled garden which abuts the castle at the N and S. Gartartan was subsequently modified to form an attractive folly, one of the most visible alterations being the creation of a small square room at first floor level within the E round tower.

The area to be scheduled is rectangular in shape measuring 30m ENE-WSW by 50m NNW-SSE to include the upstanding remains, a section of the boundary wall of the walled garden and an area of ground within which associated features are expected to survive, as marked in red on the accompanying map.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Statement of Scheduling

The monument is of national importance as a good example of a 16th-century, Z-plan castle later adapted to a folly which lies within the designed landscape of Gartmore House. It has the potential to add to our understanding of domentic architecture of the 16th-19th centuries, as well as to contribute to our more general knowledge of the history of the Menteith area.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Sources

Bibliography

RCAHMS records the monument as NS59NW 4

Source: Historic Environment Scotland