Urquhart Castle Special Edition Fine Art Print 16 x 12inch (40 x 30cm) (unframed)
Illustrated in a frame for presentation purposes
This unique image of Urquhart Castle is printed on Hahnemühle Fine Art Photo Rag 308 gsm paper
at 40 x 30cm and as far as I know, it is the first time ever that the castle has been presented, viewed from the waters of Loch Ness, as a commercial image of any kind.
I waited for over three hours, on a boat in the middle of Loch Ness, for a moment when the sun would shine through the clouds and illuminate the castle and miraculously it happened. I have searched everywhere to find a similar view without success, hence the reason I believe it to be unique.
Order this print and you'll also receive an A4 print of the history and extra images of Urquhart Castle as illustrated below. This can be framed and displayed alongside if desired.
Prints are of the highest quality and suitable for gallery or archive.
16 x 12 inches (406x305mm) (unframed) 49.99 GBP plus shipping
Overseas orders are shipped UPS - Please email for a quote
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Urquhart Castle - A brief history by Andrew Beaton
On a prominent position on the western shore of Loch Ness,
Urquhart castle occupies a site which has been a defensive one since
around the 6th century AD when the Christian missionary Saint Columba
is recorded as having visited it.
Much later, around the mid 13th century, a stone castle was erected on
the site by Alan Durward, son in law of the Scots king Alexander II.
Durward had been granted the feudal lordship of Urquhart as a means
of upholding royal authority in a part of Scotland which had, from time
to time, shown itself capable of rebelliousness.
Although the construction of the medieval castle of Urquhart dates
from this period, successive lords of the castle would add to and modify
the structure to suit their own requirements as well as to keep abreast
of innovations in contemporary warfare and architecture. Indeed, the ruins
we see today, in particular the great tower or keep, date primarily from
the latter stages of the castles working life.
The castle changed hands on many occasions during its lifetime. In 1297,
held by a garrison sympathetic to the English king Edward I, it was
attacked by a force led by Andrew Moray, close associate of
William Wallace.
Later, in the Wars of Independence in the early 14th century, it would
again pass in and out of Scottish and English control, although it seems
not to have suffered greatly in terms of damage.
For the next two centuries Urquhart would find itself the focus of feuding
between the Scottish Crown, on whose behalf it was held by the
Clan Grant, and the powerful Clan Donald Lords of the Isles, who
controlled most of the western highlands in the later middle ages and who
were a thorn in the flesh of successive Scottish monarchs. As has been
mentioned, the Grants were the last lords of Urquhart to add to the
structure of the castle, which, by the late 16th century seems to have
resembled a small, self contained community capable of sustaining the
lord, his family and retainers and a garrison of soldiers. Thus we find on
the site the remains of a bakery, tradesmen's workshops, stables and a
dove cot to provide pigeons for the lords table. Proximity to Loch Ness
made waterborne trade and transport possible.
By the early 17th century though, Urqhuart - obsolete, uncomfortable and
unfashionable in relation to the evolving tastes of the aristocracy, not to
mention innovations in military technology such as artillery - had begun the
slow process of decay and degradation into the picturesque collection of
ruins we see today.
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