Dunderave

Wow! If you're going to have an ancestral home, make sure it's idyllically positioned on a beautiful loch and, preferably, still standing. I can't claim that Dunderave Castle is my ancestral home, however, though one of my ancestors lived there or thereabouts. 

Built by the MacNachten/MacNaughton Chiefs in the 16th Century, the Castle was acquired by the Campbells of Arkinglas.

The castle is now privately owned.

Dunderave fell into disrepair and was restored during the early 20th century.

Dunderave is still associated with the MacNaughtons and it's hard to find any reference to it during the period after it was acquired by the Campbells in about 1690 - 1720. The macNaughtons had supported the Jacobites and one version of the history is that their property was confiscated and handed to the Campbells. However the MacNaughtons like to tell a story about how their chief was persuaded to marry a Campbell. He fancied the younger of two sisters but somehow there was a mix-up and the MacNaughtons say he was "tricked" into marrying the elder. He subsequently ran away to Ireland with the younger sister and set up a new clan seat, called Dundarave, in Ireland. 

My ancestor Patrick Campbell and possibly his wife Ann and daughter Beatrix came to Dunderave after it was acquired by Campbell of Arkinglas. Arkinglas was a newly created Duchy, a lesser branch of the family of the Duke of Argyll (chief honcho of Clan Campbell). The Duchy of Arkinglas became extinct after only two generations. Sir James Campbell, second Duke of Arkinglas, was the owner of Dunderave and our Patrick must have had some connection to him to get a mention in Burke's landed Gentry ("of Dunderave"). The Duke was a parliamentarian for Argyllshire 1708 - 1704. He died in 1752, aged 86. So far I've had no luck finding out who lived in his castle at Dunderave.