Dumbarton Rock: The Governor's House

Image: © Lairich Rig Taken: 26 Jun 2009

[This is one of a linked series of articles about Dumbarton Rock. See the end of http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1380091 for a list of the reference works that are cited here in abbreviated form.] The building shown here serves as a ticket office for Dumbarton Castle, and as a museum. Like King George's Battery, the Governor's House was built in 1735 (John, 8th Earl of Cassillis, was the governor of the castle at that time) [MacPhail, p144]. The house was built upon the site of the medieval gatehouse, which had likewise housed the governors of the castle from early times [OSG92, p11]. Little is known about the history of occupation and fortification on the Rock between the sacking of a fortress here by Viking forces in 870 and the building of the first medieval castle. However, among the exhibits on display in the Governor's House are fragments of two tenth-century recumbent cross-slabs (Image). They were found in the lower slopes just behind the house, an area that is the traditional location of an early chapel of St Patrick; the fragments may have been associated with that chapel, or they may have brought from elsewhere [HD, p11, 18, 73]. Previous: Image Next: Image

Images are licensed for reuse under creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0