CLSNA' LamontCentral Forum

Toward castle is situated on the Firth of Clyde, near Toward Point, opposite Rothesay. It stands a few hundred yards inland from the sea, on the end of a gentle ridge about 20 feet high, which juts out from the higher land behind. The castle consist of an ancient keep probably of the fifteenth century, built across the end of a ridge, with a courtyard added at a later date extending along the ridge to where it joins it joins the general surface towards the south-east.

The keep was apparently a rectangular structure, about 39 feet from east to west, by about 28 feet from north to south; but as the south wall is completely buried in its own ruins (as shown on Plan), the later dimension is only approximate. The ruins also prevent its being ascertained whether there is any projection approaching the L form of the plan.

The tower has probably been four stories high. The ground-floor is vaulted, as shown by dotted lines. The hall floor was also vaulted, the vault being arched in the contrary way to that beneath. The entrance doorway is on the first floor, at a height of 12 or 15 feet above the ground. It is in the west ace of the castle, at the north-west corner, and is round-arched, and was secured with a sliding bar. The door leads directly into the hall. Adjoining the north wall there is a garderobe. No further details of the hall are visible amidst the ruins. Fig 807 gives a general idea of the appearance of the castle. The high window, with stone seats, seen in the sketch, is on the second floor, and above it there is a considerable height of masonary, indiciating another floor. On the north face, a row of single corbels, carrying a part of the battlements, still remains. From the hall floor a stair in the south-east corner leads down the north cellar. This cellar is divided by a line on the plan, the floor of the part marked A being lower level by about 6 feet the the other part, where the stairs stops. The Deep part has been floored over with joisting and has a small slit. The floor of the large cellar adjoining is at the level of the low cellar A, and has a door of communication with it, as shown. From the high cellar to the large low one there is also a door, and there were probably steps, as indicated by the few lines on Plan, but the floor is now heaped with ruins, which obliterate them. In the thickness of the west wall there is a garde-robe, and on the south side the wall is thickened, and contains a door which leads in for a space of about 6 feet, and is closed at the back by rough masonary, apparently the ruins of the fallen wall already referred to. It is just possible that this door led into a wing at the south-west angle of the keep.

The later buildings are of considerable extent, and, including the keep, measure along the outside of the north-east front 119 feet 6 inches by about 80 feet in width, and they are grouped so as to form a courtyard having buildings on two sides, with the old keep at the north end, and an enclosing wall along the north-east side. When complete, it must have been a castle of considerable extent;  the pity is that now it is wrecked. The entrance gateway, which is the south-east side (Fig 808), is a beautiful example of the revived early work of the Fourth Period (1542-1700). Fig 809 is a detailed sketch of the arch enrichments. The gateway projects two feet beyond the general front, and has the usual shot-holes in the side of the projection, and an arched passage leading into the courtyard, with stone seats on each side.  Most of the modern building are very ruinous. The apartment marked “kitchen” is so named on account of the projection in the west wall, which is supposed to have contained the kitchen chimney.  There is apparently a wide fireplace in the gable of the room adjoining; and from this room a doorway leads to the outside (not into the courtyard), and, as will been seen from the check,  the door has been hung contrary to the usual practice, on the inside of the wall, and opens outwards. The circular piece of masonry shown in the courtyard adjoining is probably the foundation of a stair turret.

Toward was the residence of the chiefs of the Lamont family. In 1646 it was the scene of a bloody tragedy, which was nothing less than an attempt to exterminate the whole clan. The castle was besieged by the Campbells,  and forced to surrender, when horrible cruelties were perpetrated  by the latter on some two hundred vassals and servants of Sir James Lamont. It is believed that not less than thirty-six of them were hanged at Toward. The castle is supposed never to have been inhabited after this event.