Rare Bed Hangings From Scotland's Dunollie Castle Discovered

Rare embriodered bed hangings have been found in the attic of Dunollie House, next to the Scottish town of Oban (Scottish Gaelic: An t-Òban). Dunollie House is where the Clan MacDougall chief moved from the adjacent castle and was built in 1745. As reported in the Scotsman newspaper there is documentary evidence, in an ancient inventory, which shows the bed hangings were the property of Iain Ciar, the 22nd Chief of Clan MacDougall, who fought in the Jacobite Rising of 1715. 

The existing castle ruins mostly date from the 15th century, but there has been fortified structures on the site since the early middle ages. With a history stretching back to the the late 6th–early 7th century Gaelic kingdom of Dál Riata the area was subsequently part of the Kingdom of the Isles from the 9th to the 13th centuries. Excavations at the ruined castle site indicate that Dunollie was refortified with an earthwork castle in the late 12th or the 13th century. That places the builder as possibly Dougall (Dubgall mac Somairle), the son of Somerled the Norse-Gael leader who once ruled the Kingdom in the 12th century. The MacDougalls later became Lords of Lorne.

The bed hangings are expected go on display this autumn at the Dunollie Museum, Castle and Grounds. Conservation work is currently being undertaken on the castle itself to allow for greater public access.