About a half-hour drive east of Inverness was the village of CAWDOR in
Nairnshire - CAWDOR Castle being the Clan seat and current residence of
its chief. Protected by a gully on one side and a dry moat on the
other, the entrance to the Castle was over a drawbridge. CAWDOR Castle,
the only privately inhabited Castle in Scotland with its original
drawbridge, is a full working Castle. They farm the land and raise
sheep and cattle.
The Castle, closed to the public except from May 1 through September 30
each year, has been inhabited continually since about 1524 by Campbell
descendants. The main tower of the Castle was built in about 1372 with
domestic buildings added later. The original founder, Thane William
CALDER of CAWDOR, was given permission by the King to build a fortress.
According to a traditional story related by the current Lord CAWDOR,
"the Thane of CAWDOR, who had a small castle about a mile away from the
current castle, decided to build a new, stronger tower. Following the
instructions received in a dream, he loaded a coffer of gold on the back
of a donkey and let it roam about the district for a day: wherever the
animal lay down to rest in the evening, there his castle should be sited
and it would prosper for evermore. The donkey lay down under a thorn
tree." The basement is still guarded by an iron yett removed from
Lochindord Castle when it was demolished in 1457. In the vaulted
basement of the current Cawdor Castle can still be seen the over six
hundred year old remains of a tree still standing but not alive, said to
be the original tree of Thane William. According to Lord CAWDOR,
"modern scientific dating of the wood of the tree by radiocarbon
measurement gives the approximate date of AD 1372. For centuries, the
tree has been regarded as a hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna)." However,
"microscopic analysis of the wood identifies the tree as a holly (Ilex
aquifolium)." The date of the tree tends to support other expert
opinion, architectual and other, that the tower was built in the later
part of the 14th century.
Sir Hugh Campbell, Thane of CAWDOR (1642 - 1716) built most of the
additions to the tower. He also provided for an elaborately carved
fireplace as a memorial to his ancestor, Muriel CALDER, wife of Sir John
Campbell.
The village of CAWDOR, located about six miles southwest of Nairn and
15 miles east of Inverness, was on a north facing slope of rolling hills
consisting of a mixed pine and oak forest. The village could not have
been more than a population of 75-100 people. There were only three
public buildings in CAWDOR - a moss covered stone church (built in about
1619 by the 12th Lord CAWDOR), a grocery store with post office and the
center of all activity - the CAWDOR Tavern, having a public pub on one
side and the other an Inn with a dark wood interior, decorated by
ornamental plates and hunting scenes, its atmosphere that of an English
pub. Over the bar was a bust of Shakespeare, representing the
Shakespeare:Cawdor connection.
The one main street ran in a continuous circle through the village.
The stone cottages, surrounded by rock walls covered with ivy and
climbing roses, usually had several chimneys, all with pale soft smoke
gently billowing out of them. Most had red doors and sometimes
shutters. Over the door of one was a memorial inscription which dated
back to the early 1800's.
It seemed so strange to see a country where most of the buildings were
hundreds of years old and instead of fences - rock walls, literally
hundreds and hundreds of miles of rock walls. Seeing the village,
Castle and surrounding area was a very memorable experience. The little
village of CAWDOR gave a feeling of peace and contentment and made me
feel that I had stepped back in time.
In early records of CADELLs, some lived to be over 100 and several were
noted to be around 120 when they died. Seeing the beautiful and
peaceful rural countryside made me feel that the people there could
almost live forever. At times I could almost place myself back in the
days of the early ancestors when the Clans were at their prominence.
The feelings I had there, and still feel, is a feeling of joy and
tranquility. I gained something special there that I will have the rest
of my life.
Bill Caddell