the largest in the northern Highlands. Much of Barry's interior was destroyed by the fire of 1915, leading to the restoration by Sir Robert Lorimer, although he incorporated surviving 17th-century and 18th-century work, including wood carvings attributed to Grinling Gibbons. Externally, the castle has elements inspired by the work of the French architect Viollet-le-Duc, such as the pyramidal roof over the main entrance. The portion built by Barry uses freestone in broadly the same style as the turreted parts from the 16th and 17th centuries, but borrows significant elements from the château style. A large quadrangular pile of four stories, with towers at each corner, connects to the older castle by a building of three stories and containing the stately apartments. The tallest tower, containing the entrance, is high, the round towers being high and the clock tower . St. John's Well, in the courtyard of the oldest portion of the castle, is one of the deepest draw wells in Scotland, at . There is no indication as to the origin of the name. Interior In the entrance hall is a frieze of the armorials used by past earls of Sutherland. The main stairway, decorated with portraits of the Leveson-Gower family, is around wide and high. The panelled dining room, long and wide, has a wall-top Italian Grisaille frieze and a Khorassan carpet, as well as chairs containing the needlework of the 5th Duke's wife. The drawing room, made from two previous rooms by Lorimer during his restoration of the castle, looks out over the gardens and sea, and contains large Canalettos and 18th-century tapestries, as well as portraits by Hoppner and Reynolds. Housing over 10,000 books, the library features a painting by Philip de László of Duchess Eileen, as well as a mahogany Chippendale table. Gardens The French influence extends into the gardens, completed in 1850, with Barry taking inspiration from the French formal style of the Gardens of Versailles. Each parterre is set around a circular pool with a fountain, with the essential layout the same since it was created in around 1848. Barry designed the parterre as an optical illusion, seen from above they appear to stretch beyond their physical layout, by narrowing it gradually. The total landscaped area is . Museum A museum displays the trophy heads of animals shot by family members on safari, ethnographic items from around the world and an important collection of