. The castellated and domestic architecture of Scotland, from the twelfth to the eighteenth century. near the mouth of LochSwin, a long and picturesque arm of the sea, on the west side of is one of the great first-period castles, of which so many are found in theWest Highlands and Islands. The tradition regarding its origin is that itwas built by Swin, or Sweyn, a Prince of Denmark, in the eleventh cen-tury. Possibly there may have been some primitive Danish fort on the site. CASTLE SWIN 59 FIRST PERIOD which gave its name to the locality; but the existing stxucture has all thechar
. The castellated and domestic architecture of Scotland, from the twelfth to the eighteenth century. near the mouth of LochSwin, a long and picturesque arm of the sea, on the west side of is one of the great first-period castles, of which so many are found in theWest Highlands and Islands. The tradition regarding its origin is that itwas built by Swin, or Sweyn, a Prince of Denmark, in the eleventh cen-tury. Possibly there may have been some primitive Danish fort on the site. CASTLE SWIN 59 FIRST PERIOD which gave its name to the locality; but the existing stxucture has all thecharacteristics of the other thirteenth-century fortresses of the West. Thechief feature is, as usual, a great quadranglular enclosing Avail, 6 to 7 feetin thickness (Fig. 19), containing a space 70 feet by 50 feet. The wall isstrengthened at the angles and in the centre of each side with broadbuttresses in a manner not unlike a Norman building; indeed, this isthe nearest approach to the Norman style of castle building to be metwith amongst our Scottish castles. The projection is somewhat greater at. Fig. 19.—Castle Swin. Plan. the south-east than the other angles, so as to admit of a wall-chamber(probably a guard-room) on the upper floor. A garde-robe is formed ina similar position in the north-west angle, where the wall is of considerableheight towards the exterior. The gateway (Fig. 20) is in the usual styleof a number of these primitive structures, such, for instance, as Duart,Skipness, and Inverlochy. The arch is semi-circular, and the opening6 feet 6 inches wide. It is formed in a slight projection from the face ofthe wall, and has a long bar-hole for a strong bolt. The wall is thickenedon the inside so as to make the entrance passage fully 10 feet deep, and FIRST PERIOD 60 CASTLE SWIN also to enable a wide platform to be constructed over the gateway forits defence. The approach to this platform was by an open staircase,of which some portions still remain. At a later date a
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