Craignish Castle is located on the Craignish peninsula in Argyll, western Scotland and is a category B listed building. The present castle includes a 16th-century tower house, the seat of the Campbell family of Craignish and Jura (was it the original seat?). In the 19th century it was sold to the Trench-Gascoigne family of Parlington Hall, Yorkshire, who built a large extension to the tower. In the later 20th century the house was restored and parts of the 19th-century extension were demolished. The result of these extensions and styles from various centuries have made the castle a Scottish baronial masterpiece. It has previously been known as Loch Beag. History The Campbells of Craignish claim to descend from Dugal Maul Campbell, the first Laird of Craignish (1156–1190), who was the second son of Sir Archibald Gillespic Campbell, the ancestor of the Dukes of Argyll. The seventh laird left only one daughter, Christine Campbell (b. 1323). Her weakness and imprudence caused the majority of the estate to be resigned to the Knight of Lochow, who took advantage of her. As a result, she was left with only a small portion of the upper part of Craignish under his superiority. The nearest male representative, Ronald Campbell, fought hard to win back his heritage. The then Chief of Clan Campbell was obliged to allow him possession of a considerable portion of the estate, but retaining the superiority, and inserting a condition in the grant that if there was ever no male heir in the direct line the lands were to revert automatically to the Argyll family. The present castle was built in the 16th century as a tower house, and measures 12.7 by 10.2 metres (42 by 33 ft). It is said to have withstood a siege of six weeks by Colkitto MacDonald. In 1510, Ranald MacCallum was made hereditary keeper of Craignish Castle. In 1544 the direct line ended, and the rightful heir, a collateral relative by the name of Charles Campbell of Corranmore in Craignish had the misfortune to kill Gillies of Glenmore in a brawl. This compelled him to flee to Perthshire where he settled at Lochtayside under the protection of the Breadalbane family. From this incident, Charles was prevented from claiming the estate and as a result, the castle fell into the hands of the Earls (later Dukes) of Argyll. Charles' descendants at Killin, Perthshire were later recognised by the