Page:The castellated and domestic architecture of Scotland from the twelfth to the eighteenth century (1887) - Volume 1.djvu/95

INVERLOCHY CASTLE 75 FIRST PERIOD enceinte 9 feet in thickness, and which were probably about 30 feet high, though now reduced to from 20 to 25 feet. There is a principal gate- FIG. 51. Iiiverlochy Castle. Plan. way in the south wall, 7 feet 6 inches wide, and another immediately opposite in the north wall, 5 feet 6 inches wide. These were each provided with a portcullis, the grooves for which are still partly preserved. Some portions of the freestone dressings of the doors still exist, showing that the angles have all plain splays. The south gate has had an internal gate-house, with probably an interior door and apertures in the roof from which assailants might be attacked. The north door has been strengthened with two oaken bars running into grooves in the wall, one opposite the lower part and the other opposite the higher part of the door. There are some traces of building outside this door, which may indicate that there was at one time an outer porch or gate-house. The angles at the north-east, south-east, and south-west are fortified with round towers, about 14 feet diameter internally, and each is provided with a stair in the thickness of the wall, winding round the tower, and giving access to the two upper floors and the battlements. The tower at the north-west angle (Fig. 52), called the Comyn's Tower, is larger than the others, and formed the donjon or resi- dence of the lord of the castle. It is 20 feet in diameter within the walls, which are 10 feet 4 inches thick, and contain a staircase 3 feet 6 inches wide, arranged in the same manner as in the other towers. The angle towers