Rait Castle
From Archiplanet
| Rait Castle | |
| Designer | unknown |
| Location | near Nairn, Scotland, United Kingdom |
| Date | 1300 |
| Building Type | hall house, castle |
| Climate | temperate |
| Context | rural |
| Architectural Style | Medieval English |
| Street Address | |
| Notes | Classic Scottish castle, now partially in ruins. |
| At Great Buildings | http://www.GreatBuildings.com/buildings/Rait_Castle.html |
Contents |
[edit] Images
[edit] Discussion
Commentary
Rait is an example of a hall house, or a small defensible dwelling "whose analogy is the fortified manor-house of England."
— Deborah Fritz from Stewart Cruden. The Scottish Castle. p91.
"They [hall houses] are not towers, and they are unconnected with curtain-walls. To distinguish them from strongholds which are characterised by one or other or both of these basic components, and particularly to distinguish them from tower-houses, which are also independent and free-standing, we might conveniently call them hall-houses."
"Rait is an oblong hall over an unvaulted undercroft. A round tower rising from a spreading base projects from one corner. The elevated entrance led into a screens passage separated from the hall by a timber screen, now vanished...Off this a small lancet window permitted the porter to observe the approach. The doorway is arched in receding orders of broad splays beneath a label mould. A portcullis and draw-bar secured it."
— Stewart Cruden. The Scottish Castle. p91, p97-8.
[edit] Maps
[edit] References
Roger H. Clark and Michael Pause. Precedents in Architecture. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1985. circle and rectangle diagram, p186.— Updated edition available at Amazon.com
Stewart Cruden. The Scottish Castle. London: Thomas Nelson and Sons, 1960. DA875.C7. discussion p91, 97-8. plan drawing of first floor, f10, p97.
E. A. Elders. "Ghost Piper of a Highland Castle", Country Life, October 1962, Volume 132 Number 3423. p831.
[edit] External Links
Rait Castle — More info at www.castles.org
