Earl urged to protect 'cursed' Rait Castle from ruin

FOR centuries Rait Castle has lain desolate, covered by undergrowth and haunted by a curse that lingers from a chilling episode in Scotland's bloody history of clan warfare.

• Rait Castle

Now – almost 600 years after a terrible massacre was enacted in the stronghold – its owner, one of Scotland's most ancient noble families, is under pressure to save its remains.

Fears Rait is in danger of collapse have led to local campaigners urging the Earl of Cawdor's family to take action to conserve the ruin near Nairn – the last 13th-century hall castle in Scotland standing.

The years of neglect have left the courtyard overgrown with blackthorn. Trees grow from the wall heads and their roots bore into the 800-year-old mortar, causing fears for the castle's stability.

"I do think that the situation is nothing short of scandalous for a building that is the finest example of its type," said Alistair Cunningham, who runs the tour company Scottish Clans and Castles and is campaigning for Rait to be preserved.

Cunningham called on the owners to "demonstrate responsible custodianship" of Rait. "I feel very strongly that the landowner and the authorities, including Historic Scotland, should be pressing to have something done.

"Rait Castle is a 13th-century building. It is a scheduled ancient monument and a Class A listed building.

"Yet it stands totally neglected and overgrown."

But confusion over who actually owns Rait has hampered attempts to preserve it. The castle lies on Cawdor Estates, home to the Thanes of Cawdor of Shakespearean fame who can trace their lineage back to MacBeth.

The recent history of the Cawdors has seen a modern version of clan warfare being played out through the law courts as a result of a dispute between Colin Campbell, the Seventh Earl of Cawdor, and his step-mother Lady Angelika, Dowager Countess of Cawdor.

A series of bitter court battles began when the dowager was given control of the nearby family seat, Cawdor Castle, in her husband's will in 1993.

In 2003 the countess tried to have her stepson, who is also the 25th Thane of Cawdor, and his family evicted from Cawdor Castle after they moved in while she was on holiday.

The countess went to the Court of Session to remove them. The fallout from the family feud affected efforts supported by the countess to clear some of the vegetation. At the time she was under the impression that she owned Rait.

The work was stopped abruptly when it transpired that the castle was owned by a family trust run by the Earl's Cawdor Estates rather than by her.

Lady Cawdor said: "The problem is that we were not absolutely sure who the castle belonged to. I thought it belonged to me, which is why I tried to do something about it.

"But it is the estate that owns it rather than me and they really need to take this in hand."

Angus McNicol of Cawdor Estates said: "We have met representatives of Historic Scotland and we have looked at a plan for restoring some of it and we are in the process of discussions with Historic Scotland about grant assistance."

A spokeswoman for Historic Scotland said: "Historic Scotland is in contact with the Cawdor Estate regarding vegetation clearance.

"When that is complete we will be able to discuss the conservation needs of this very important castle with the owner and explore what help we can provide."

Conservation experts acknowledge that Rait is an architectural gem with its elegant window tracery carved from single pieces of sandstone and its perfect domed ceiling. There is also a long-forgotten chapel hidden under the vegetation.

Andrew Wright, a conservation architect who advises the Highland Building Preservation Trust, said: "This is a hugely important building and it is probably the last surviving castle of its type. It is still standing, which is quite extraordinary. Like any ancient monument, it needs work done."

Rait's grisly past is the reason that large parts of it remain intact. The events that led to it being abandoned in 1442 meant locals were reluctant to go to a cursed castle to plunder its stones for new buildings – a fate that befell other Scottish hall castles.

Once a Clan Cumming fortress, Rait Castle was the scene of a banquet to which the Cumming chieftain invited the rival clan MacKintosh.

The treacherous plan was that during the feasting, the Cummings would turn on their rivals and murder them. But the guests had been warned by the daughter of the Cumming chieftain, who was the lover of a young MacKintosh.

So every MacKintosh had a dirk hidden under his plaid. When the attack came they were ready. All the Cummings were slaughtered, except for the chief.

Enraged by his daughter's betrayal, the chief chased her to a turret where she ran to a window, trying to leap out. But the chief sliced off both her hands with his broadsword. From that night of horror the castle has been empty.

Today the awful incident is only remembered in a plaintive pipe tune Lament For The Little Supper and by the figure of a ghostly young woman with no hands, who is still said to haunt Rait Castle.