Duart Appeal U.S.A.
USA Non-profit campaign to preserve and support Duart Castle.
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DUART CASTLE
RESTORATION
FUND
The Duart Appeal is a non-profit campaign to raise matching funds to, in cooperation with the Environment Historic Scotland, preserve Duart Castle, the 13th century home of the Clan Maclean on the Isle of Mull.
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DONATE ONLINE OR VIA CHECK
100% of net donation proceeds are being directed as contributions to the Duart Castle Appeal.
All U.S. tax-deductible donations on this site are contributed through Clan Maclean Association California, a non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation supporting Scottish Cultural outreach.
Donate online using the link below or via check as described below:
Please make donations via check payable to Clan Maclean Association California and write "Duart Appeal Fund" in the Memo Line.
Mail Check Donations To:
Clan Maclean Association California
P.O. Box 112
Monument, Colorado (CO) 80132
USA
If you would like to speak to someone or have questions about your donation, please contact Trish MacLean-Frandsen at +1.719.660.8151.
DONATE ONLINE by clicking [here].
In an effort to recognize donors, the Chief has introduced Donor Recognition Levels.
All donations are important to restoring the Castle and there is special recognition for those donors who contribute at specific levels in GBP as outlined below.
DONOR RECOGNITION LEVELS
- Guardians: Donors who contribute £200 GBP ($249 USD) & above will receive a unique Duart Castle Guardian badge (pin) and certificate.
- Life Guardians: Donors who contribute £1,000 GBP ($1,246 USD) & above will receive a Duart Castle Guardian badge, certificate, signed photograph of myself standing in front of the Castle and be granted lifetime access free of charge to the public areas of the Castle during opening hours.
- Patrons: Donors who contribute £5,000 GBP ($6,230 USD) & above will receive all of the recognition of Life Guardians and a Clan Maclean Crest.
- Chief's Circle: Donors who contribute £25,000 GBP ($31,148 USD) & above will receive all of the recognition of Life Guardians and an engraved Quaich. Chief’s Circle donors can have their names inscribed in stone and Patrons and Life Guardians can have their names written into registers held in the Castle for public viewing.
In the future, when descendants of these donors visit Duart and see the names on display, they will feel great pride in their ancestors who adopted the spirit of Sir Fitzroy Maclean, the 26th Chief, who said in 1912 that he “restored Duart for my family, the Clan”.
When a donor gives more than one donation, these amounts will be progressively aggregated over time for the purposes of determining the upgraded donor category and associated benefit.
The Duart Appeal
PLEASE HELP TO SAVE DUART CASTLE - AN APPEAL FROM THE CHIEF OF THE CLAN MACLEAN
At the Clan Congress on Mull in June 2012, I told the Macleans present that my family could no longer afford the repairs that we had undertaken at the Castle in the previous 100 years. I asked them if they would help with the repairs that we needed to do to make the Castle watertight.
Macleans attending the Clan Congress on Mull in 2012 unanimously decided to help me with the repairs to Duart Castle to make it watertight. I am very pleased to report that the Appeal, launched in 2014, has raised £1.57 million as of March 2024. I am overwhelmed and very grateful for this support.
The unanimous response of those present was that they wanted to help. I am therefore launching this appeal to both Macleans and members of the public who are interested in saving Duart for future generations.
The Keep at Duart was built in 1360 when Lachlan Lubanach, the 5th Chief, married Mary Macdonald, the daughter of the Lord of the Isles. She brought Duart as her dowry. Lachlan built the Keep and the north-west part of the site. The other two wings were added in the 16th and 17th centuries.
My family lost the Castle in the late 17th century when the Earl of Argyll took the Castle and our lands to pay off the family’s debts. In 1911 my great-grandfather, Sir Fitzroy Maclean, the 26th Chief, bought back the Castle and in the period up to the First World War restored it to the building you see today.
Duart remains one of the few original clan seats that has survived as the home of the Chief and his family while also being open to the public.
Water is coming into the house through the joints between the stones, where the mortar has been washed away.
The main source of concern at Duart is the water penetration into the Castle. In the winter of 2013-14 we lost four ceilings, which were brought down by water penetration through the chimneys.
Since 2014 the first nine phases of the restoration have been completed at a cost of £2.67 million with contributions not only coming from the Appeal, but also from Environment Historic Scotland and my family. The repairs undertaken to date have been very successful in stopping water penetration, but there are still some sections of the Castle that have to be addressed in the final two phases.
The focus is now on completing Phase 10 which includes the state bedroom and dressing room and walls containing the front door.
The final phase of the restoration (Phase 11) mainly covers the embattlement walkways and will commence in April 2024.
To finish the project in 2025, the Appeal needs to raise an additional £300,000.
I thank you in advance for any help that you can provide.
The Hon. Sir Lachlan Maclean of Duart and Morvern, Bt, CVO
28th Chief of the Clan Maclean
ABOUT DUART CASTLE
Duart Castle, Isle of Mull, Scotland
DUART CASTLE
THE CASTLE & ITS HISTORY
DUART APPEAL
HELP PRESERVE DUART CASTLE
DONATE TODAY
Parts of the castle date from the mid-13th century - and there was a fortress on this site even before then. The great keep was erected by Lachlan Lubanach Maclean in the 14th century and some of the buildings within the courtyard were added 200 years later by Lachlan Mor. This process was continued in the 17th century by a third Lachlan, the first Baronet of Duart and Morvern, whose armorial stone in the courtyard bears his initials and the date 1633. The Campbells sacked Duart in 1688 and the battered old castle was garrisoned by government troops until 1751.
The present Chief's great-grandfather, Sir Fitzroy Maclean, bought the ruins in 1911 and restored the castle. This was celebrated by a great Gathering of the Clan the following year.
The restoration efforts of Sir Fitzroy are being undermined by the wind, rain and weather on the Black Rock of Mull. In the winter of 2013-14 four ceilings were lost, brought down by water penetration through the chimneys. Because of the significance of Duart Castle to Scottish history and culture, Environment Historic Scotland has committed to fund half of the cost of the repair and preservation expenses. Contributions from donors like you are needed to save the castle and its heritage.
100% of donation proceeds are being directed as contributions to the Duart Castle Appeal.
All U.S. tax-deductible donations on this site are contributed through Clan Maclean Association-California, a non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation supporting Scottish Cultural outreach.
Donate online using the link below or via check to:
Clan Maclean Association California
P.O. Box 112
Monument, Colorado (CO) 80132
USA
or donate online now.
Duart Appeal
We'd love to hear from you. Please feel free to contact us with questions, comments, or if you would like to be added to our mailing list to get an update on the repair efforts.
In the USA:
Duart Appeal Fund
Clan Maclean Association California
P.O. Box 112
Monument, Colorado (CO) 80132
USA
If you would like to speak to someone or have questions about your donation, please contact Trish MacLean-Frandsen at +1.719.660.8151.
In the UK:
Duart Castle
Isle of Mull
Argyll, PA64 6AP
United Kingdom
[email protected]
