Muness Castle - The Castle Today

The Castle Today

The remains of the castle consist of just over two storeys of a three-storey Z-plan arrangement, though the corner towers are circular rather than square, as is more usual with such castles. On the remaining two corners of the castle are outcrops of decorative corbelling that would originally have supported turrets at the second floor level.

In its heyday Muness Castle would have had a walled courtyard on its south west side, complete with ranges of outhouses probably comprising additional accommodation, a bakehouse, brewery, stables and perhaps a chapel. These have long since gone, though their stone is probably still on view in the nearby buildings.

A single well protected door in the south west wall of the castle gives access to the interior. The ground floor comprises a large kitchen and a series of cellars, one of which is now used to display decorative stones and loopholes from the castle.

The first floor comprises the main hall of Muness Castle, the centre of social and business life. At either end are chambers. The principal chamber is at the far end from the main stairs. And from here the remains of a private spiral staircase can be seen winding up towards the no longer present second floor.

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