Basic Site Details
| Name: | Achnacarry, walled garden |
| City or county: | Inverness-shire |
| Country: | Scotland |
| Parish: | |
| Status: | |
| Grid ref: | |
| Notes: | The walled garden has generally been thought to be Victorian, but on closer inspection the brickwork dates from an earlier period. As far as is known, no one has carried out a measured survey of the structure - but scaling off an OS Map, it would appear to surround an area of approx.85 metres x 60 metres, with angled corners of approx.12 metres in length.The brick wall is approx. 400mm thick x 3 metres high. The brickwork is finished on top with a stone cope, the doorways have dressed stone lintels and rybats, and the corners have elegant rybat stones which curve round the 135 degree angle. The OS Map shows that the Walled Garden was cleverly positioned on a central axis leading direct to the front door of Old Achnacarry House (sacked and burnt down in 1746). The Estate of Donald Cameron of Lochiel (1695-1748) was Forfeited in 1746, because of his prominent role in the Jacobite Rebellion of 1745.The Forfeited Estates Commission made a detailed survey of the Estate in 1774 (NAS E786/50/67),and the Plan for Achnacarry clearly shows the Walled Garden.The Garden Wall in the document is described as being "about 8 feet high,containing an area of 1 Acre,3 Roods,27 Falls,fine soil,and had been neatly divided and planted with different sets of fruit trees,which were destroyed by the Military in the year 1746". Locheil papers have three references to the walled garden: NLS 9174/16:LOCHIEL HOUSEHOLD ACCOUNTS: 1736: Disbursements - "Mr Douglas for part payment of garden wall". 1737:Disbursements - "£32 to Mr Douglas for garden wall". NAS GD202/42:LOCHIEL ESTATE & HOUSEHOLD ACCOUNTS: 1739:Disbursements - "To Mr Douglass,Architect, on account of the garden wall - £30.13.7 2/3d" Douglas also carried out work for Fraser of Lovat at this period, and Lovat was a close friend of Donald Cameron. The Dictionary states that John Douglas in 1737 may have been responsible for the design of a new house at Lochnell Castle, Benderloch . It is worth noting that Donald Cameron of Lochiel's mother was Isabel Campbell of Lochnell. The Walled Garden has been derelict for many years, and the Commandos used it for training in WW2 (you can still see bullets embedded in the brickwork).There is the ruin of a stone house on the outer face of the north side of the wall, but I suspect this dates from the 1750s or 60s (more research needed). The local Archaeological Society have recently carried out surveys outside the wall (see photos on the internet), but that was purely related to the Commando era. Research and information courtesy of Chris Doak. |
Building Type Classification
| The building is classified under the following categories: | |||
| Classification | Original classification? | Notes | |
 | Walled garden | ||
Events
| The following date-based events are associated with this building: | ||||
| From | To | Event type | Notes | |
| 1736 | 1739 | Build/construction | |
People
Design and Construction
| The following individuals or organisations have carried out design/construction work. Where architects or practices worked together, matching letters appear beside their names in the Partnership Group column. | ||||||
| Name | Role | Partnership Group | From | To | Notes | |
| John Douglas | A | 1736 | 1739 | Payments made to Douglas during this period | |
Clients
| The following individuals or organisations have commissioned work on this building/design: | ||
| Name | Notes | |
| Cameron of Lochiel | |
References
Archive References
| The following archives hold material relating to this building: | ||||
| Source | Archive name | Source catalogue no. | Notes | |
| Chris Doak | Information via website | Sent August 2016 | |
| National Archives of Scotland (formerly SRO) | Gifts and deposits | GD202/42 | Lochiel Estate and Household Accounts |
| National Library of Scotland | Manuscript Collection | MSS 9174/16 | Lochiel Household Accounts |