What a super website you have set up, and what fantastic aerial photogrgaphy that shows the scale and size of the castle – which is in pretty good shape for its age! Let’s hope the project goes well without too many major problems (beaurocratic or enviromental).
Many thanks Lorna, we have a lot more material to add over the next few weeks as historical research, drawings and reports are progressively released, and of course Jon Haylett’s blog is compulsive viewing (thanks Jon!) – so please keep coming back! Also, let us know if there is anything you particularly want to see and we shall try and oblige.
I am so impressed with this website. I am working with a small team to rebuild the website of Mull Historical & Archaeological Society (MH&AS) and I wish I had seen this site before we started (although we began before this site was launched!).
We are working on the stabilization of Moy Castle at Lochbuie on Mull but as it is a 70 mile round trip I don’t have the daily access that you do, and which I am quite jealous of.
I’d like to organize a trip to Mingary for MH&AS sometime in the not too distant future – it looks to be a real inspiration. Well done, John.
Anne Cleave Hon. Sec. MH&AS
Many thanks for writing to us. I feel very privileged to have been allowed such close access to what is going on at the castle – and it does help that I live ten minutes away. Stuart Sowray has done a great job on the website – and there’s so much more to come.
I’ll ask Donald Houston about visits when he returns.
This detailed account of the day-to-day excavations and discoveries at Mingary is absolutely fascinating. Normally all one sees of something like this is a newspaper article, or if it is somewhere famous (or in London) an item on TV news, summing up what has been learned at the end of the excavations.
It’s really exciting following this as it happens!
Thanks for your help volunteering, John! Dale was a trouper for turning up at all on Friday, in the horrible weather, as well.
It was a pleasure to have you both on site; picking up what do very quickly and maintaining concentration for the whole of a long day. Hope the legs have recovered!
As for your First Find, I have refined the ageing estimate (after consulting my reference books) and would say the sheep/goat was under 2 years old at slaughter.
Regards
Dave
Hello John
Great website had a look at the pottery finds the slipware is most likely cica 1800 not 17th century I’m afraid this is the remains of a baking dish. The combed slipware goes back to 1690 but not lik this the sample shown is quite fine and is from a period of mass production.
As to the “Chinese porcelain” need to see this not sure if its not Caughley or similar
Regards
Francis
Greetings, My name is Anthony Wier and I live in Phoenix, Arizona, USA. In researching my family history and inspection of a book that my grandfather had written of his family history noted some interesting comparisons with the John Weir mentioned. In my grandfather’s book ‘The Ten Tribes of Wier’ he does mention the Rev. John Wier who was a Presbyterian minister in 1643 . Notice the difference in spelling of ‘Wier’. On a return voyage from Ulster, the ship was captured by Alistaire MacDonnell. Again differences of spelling noted. He was imprisoned in the Mingarie Castle ( again a difference in the spelling of the castle). Wier and some others on the ship were imprisoned ( according to The Ten tribes of Wier) with the Rev. Wier dying while imprisoned. If anyone has information to add I would be very grateful.
Am a Weir from Northern Ireland (my Father)
Tree on Ancestry with many other Weirs and have a copy of your Grandfather William Swansea Wier’s “Ten Tribes”. An excellent reference on many levels.
Am just looking at the Weir Surname FamilyTree DNA project and considering submitting a sample to be tested for inclusion. In your post you mention the Castle Trust having a storyline similar to that in the Ten Tribes Genealogy however have not been able to find any reference to Weir/Wier on the site and wondered if you could point me I the direction of that Ulster Voyage, Capture & death at Mingaire Castle. Spelling variations noted. Now up to 8-10 variations on Weir. With my Grandfathers first wives children spelling it Wier and his second wives children spelling it Weir. Or as he refers to them in his Will “My present family”. The Weirs are a lively read to be sure.
Hope to hear from you or any other Weir/Wier/Ware/Wyer/Were/Weer who reads this message. lee.weir@shaw.ca
Stumbled on your site whilst looking at The Archaeological News on line. I am absolutely awed with the work all of you have done. I’ll be checking back to see what other marvelous things you have found. Maybe one day soon I’ll be back over the pond and come and visit!!!
Brilliant news to see this work being done. In the 1950’s I peered over the battlements of this castle and was astounded to see at least two old cannons lying rusting away. I wonder if they were ever taken for restoration and inquiry into their origins.
Thank you for taking the time and effort to sharethese photos and information with everyone. It is a privilege to learn about the area and it’s history. Looking forward to your next episode.
Thank you, Jon and Jan
félicitations pour votre travail et votre interet pour ce site magnifique , chers collègues je vous invite également a visiter notre site internet chateau.schoeneck.free.fr onglet forum privé / photos
My mother, whose maiden name was Moore, grew up on Prince Edward Island, Canada. My great, great, great, great(?) grandmother was Elizabeth MacDougall who was born in Mingary Castle in 1806. She lived there until she was 12 years old at which time the family migrated to PEI and other of the Canadian Maritime Provinces.
I have letters telling of the daily routines of Elizabeth and her siblings. For that time period, it was definitely how “the other half lived.” Seems there were always at least 20 servants living at the castle plus tradesmen, farmers, etc., who lived in homes outside the castle. The accounts are fascinating and it is so cool to know that my ancestors were truly Lords of the Manor, so to speak.
What a superb website you have set up. The photography takes us there. We only found out about Mingary when our grandson JJ Dagnell left the beautiful Dordogne and swapped it for the beautiful Highlands.
It was good for us both to see him doing (at last) something worthwhile, something that will last hundreds of years. I wish we could see it one day.
We both look forward to Thursdays’ for the latest insalment.
Best wishes to all,
What is the status of the castle since the owners have closed it up?
Our heritage to Clan MacIain is via William McKean who testified about the murder of Archbishop Sharp in 1679. After he was dismissed he and his family fled to Ireland. His son James Esq. had three sons who then emigrated to North America in 1700’s. James Sr (New England Branch), John Sr (Nova Scotia Branch) and William Sr (Pennsylvania Branch). We are from the John Sr branch where a Henry MacKeen emigrated to St Louis and joined the US Army in 1886.
What a super website you have set up, and what fantastic aerial photogrgaphy that shows the scale and size of the castle – which is in pretty good shape for its age! Let’s hope the project goes well without too many major problems (beaurocratic or enviromental).
Many thanks Lorna, we have a lot more material to add over the next few weeks as historical research, drawings and reports are progressively released, and of course Jon Haylett’s blog is compulsive viewing (thanks Jon!) – so please keep coming back! Also, let us know if there is anything you particularly want to see and we shall try and oblige.
I am so impressed with this website. I am working with a small team to rebuild the website of Mull Historical & Archaeological Society (MH&AS) and I wish I had seen this site before we started (although we began before this site was launched!).
We are working on the stabilization of Moy Castle at Lochbuie on Mull but as it is a 70 mile round trip I don’t have the daily access that you do, and which I am quite jealous of.
I’d like to organize a trip to Mingary for MH&AS sometime in the not too distant future – it looks to be a real inspiration. Well done, John.
Anne Cleave Hon. Sec. MH&AS
Hi Anne –
Many thanks for writing to us. I feel very privileged to have been allowed such close access to what is going on at the castle – and it does help that I live ten minutes away. Stuart Sowray has done a great job on the website – and there’s so much more to come.
I’ll ask Donald Houston about visits when he returns.
Jon
This detailed account of the day-to-day excavations and discoveries at Mingary is absolutely fascinating. Normally all one sees of something like this is a newspaper article, or if it is somewhere famous (or in London) an item on TV news, summing up what has been learned at the end of the excavations.
It’s really exciting following this as it happens!
Thanks for your help volunteering, John! Dale was a trouper for turning up at all on Friday, in the horrible weather, as well.
It was a pleasure to have you both on site; picking up what do very quickly and maintaining concentration for the whole of a long day. Hope the legs have recovered!
As for your First Find, I have refined the ageing estimate (after consulting my reference books) and would say the sheep/goat was under 2 years old at slaughter.
Regards
Dave
Hello John
Great website had a look at the pottery finds the slipware is most likely cica 1800 not 17th century I’m afraid this is the remains of a baking dish. The combed slipware goes back to 1690 but not lik this the sample shown is quite fine and is from a period of mass production.
As to the “Chinese porcelain” need to see this not sure if its not Caughley or similar
Regards
Francis
Greetings, My name is Anthony Wier and I live in Phoenix, Arizona, USA. In researching my family history and inspection of a book that my grandfather had written of his family history noted some interesting comparisons with the John Weir mentioned. In my grandfather’s book ‘The Ten Tribes of Wier’ he does mention the Rev. John Wier who was a Presbyterian minister in 1643 . Notice the difference in spelling of ‘Wier’. On a return voyage from Ulster, the ship was captured by Alistaire MacDonnell. Again differences of spelling noted. He was imprisoned in the Mingarie Castle ( again a difference in the spelling of the castle). Wier and some others on the ship were imprisoned ( according to The Ten tribes of Wier) with the Rev. Wier dying while imprisoned. If anyone has information to add I would be very grateful.
Hi Anthony
Am a Weir from Northern Ireland (my Father)
Tree on Ancestry with many other Weirs and have a copy of your Grandfather William Swansea Wier’s “Ten Tribes”. An excellent reference on many levels.
Am just looking at the Weir Surname FamilyTree DNA project and considering submitting a sample to be tested for inclusion. In your post you mention the Castle Trust having a storyline similar to that in the Ten Tribes Genealogy however have not been able to find any reference to Weir/Wier on the site and wondered if you could point me I the direction of that Ulster Voyage, Capture & death at Mingaire Castle. Spelling variations noted. Now up to 8-10 variations on Weir. With my Grandfathers first wives children spelling it Wier and his second wives children spelling it Weir. Or as he refers to them in his Will “My present family”. The Weirs are a lively read to be sure.
Hope to hear from you or any other Weir/Wier/Ware/Wyer/Were/Weer who reads this message.
lee.weir@shaw.ca
Stumbled on your site whilst looking at The Archaeological News on line. I am absolutely awed with the work all of you have done. I’ll be checking back to see what other marvelous things you have found. Maybe one day soon I’ll be back over the pond and come and visit!!!
Brilliant news to see this work being done. In the 1950’s I peered over the battlements of this castle and was astounded to see at least two old cannons lying rusting away. I wonder if they were ever taken for restoration and inquiry into their origins.
Thank you for taking the time and effort to sharethese photos and information with everyone. It is a privilege to learn about the area and it’s history. Looking forward to your next episode.
Thank you, Jon and Jan
looking great!
your doing a great job keep up the good work
félicitations pour votre travail et votre interet pour ce site magnifique , chers collègues je vous invite également a visiter notre site internet chateau.schoeneck.free.fr onglet forum privé / photos
I have been following progress on this fantastic Mingarry website with great interest. I have been maintaining a blog on the restoration of my own building, , but this is a far less professional-looking affair altogether. 🙂 I will be in the area of Mingarry on May 15th. Will there be anyone around?
My mother, whose maiden name was Moore, grew up on Prince Edward Island, Canada. My great, great, great, great(?) grandmother was Elizabeth MacDougall who was born in Mingary Castle in 1806. She lived there until she was 12 years old at which time the family migrated to PEI and other of the Canadian Maritime Provinces.
I have letters telling of the daily routines of Elizabeth and her siblings. For that time period, it was definitely how “the other half lived.” Seems there were always at least 20 servants living at the castle plus tradesmen, farmers, etc., who lived in homes outside the castle. The accounts are fascinating and it is so cool to know that my ancestors were truly Lords of the Manor, so to speak.
Dear Mr. Haylett,
What a superb website you have set up. The photography takes us there. We only found out about Mingary when our grandson JJ Dagnell left the beautiful Dordogne and swapped it for the beautiful Highlands.
It was good for us both to see him doing (at last) something worthwhile, something that will last hundreds of years. I wish we could see it one day.
We both look forward to Thursdays’ for the latest insalment.
Best wishes to all,
Colin and Anne Thompson.
Bit of an odd question, but what stone was used for the restoration and where was the stone originally taken from for the castle?
What is the status of the castle since the owners have closed it up?
Our heritage to Clan MacIain is via William McKean who testified about the murder of Archbishop Sharp in 1679. After he was dismissed he and his family fled to Ireland. His son James Esq. had three sons who then emigrated to North America in 1700’s. James Sr (New England Branch), John Sr (Nova Scotia Branch) and William Sr (Pennsylvania Branch). We are from the John Sr branch where a Henry MacKeen emigrated to St Louis and joined the US Army in 1886.