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www.maclean.org - Home to the Worldwide Family of Clan Maclean  

Help to Restore Duart Castle

 

An appeal from the Chief of the Clan Maclean

 
Restoration plan

Clan Maclean Congress at the International Gathering in 2012 gave its unanimous support to help me raise funds to repair Duart Castle to make it watertight. I am very pleased to report that the Appeal, launched in 2014, raised £1.57 million gross as at March 2024. I remain overwhelmed and very grateful to those donors for their strong support. However, more funds need to be raised.

Commencing in 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 Historic Environment Scotland and my family. The focus is now on 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. Please continue your financial support to allow us to complete the restoration of Duart Castle for the Clan.

Castle history

The Keep at Duart was built in 1360 when Lachlan Lubanach, the 5th Chief, married Mary Macdonald, daughter of the Lord of the Isles. She brought Duart as her dowry. Lachlan built the Keep for his wife. 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 family debts. In 1911, my great grandfather, Sir Fitzroy Maclean, the 26th Chief, bought back the Castle and in the period up to WWI, 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.

Further repairs are required to combat the winter gales and rain that continue to cause leaks in parts of the Castle. The repairs to date have been a great success. Now we need to finish the job and make the building waterproof to protect this significant part of our Clan history. It is my hope that following this work, Duart will be admired by Macleans world over. I want it to be a building they can be proud of and that future generations can visit and enjoy.

If you are concerned about Duart and its long-term future, both for the Clan and for Scotland, then I ask if you would please make a contribution to the appeal.

Donor recognition
 
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.

Multiple donations made over time are aggregated for the purposes of determining donor levels and associated benefits.

Guardians: Donors who contribute £200 & above will receive a unique Duart Castle Guardian badge (pin) and certificate.

Life Guardians: Donors who contribute £1,000 & 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 & above will receive all of the recognition of Life Guardians and a Clan Maclean Crest.

Chief's Circle: Donors who contribute £25,000 & 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 who said in 1912 that he “restored Duart for my family, the Clan”. This statement continues to be honoured today.

Duart revealed after scaffold removed.

I believe many people, particularly from Clan Maclean and septs worldwide, feel that the imposing Duart Castle overlooking the Sound of Mull is such an important part of our Scottish heritage that it should be kept for future generations.

I appreciate greatly the contributions already made to the appeal and look forward to receiving your support.

To make donations please refer to the ‘how to donate’ section below.

 
The Hon. Sir Lachlan Maclean
of Duart and Morvern, Bt, CVO

28th Chief of the Clan Maclean

 

 
How to donate

US donors have the option to make tax-deductible donations in USD - please go to www.duartappeal.org.

Worldwide donors please donate in GBP as follows:

  • Via PayPal, either by credit card or from your PayPal account. (You do not need a PayPal account in order to donate by credit card via PayPal.)

    Enter the amount of your donation below and proceed to Check Out.

  Amount    Frequency   
Single   
£
Once only
Repeating   
£
  • Cheques (in £ sterling please) made payable to Duart Castle Restoration Fund should be sent to Duart Castle, Isle of Mull, Argyll, PA64 6AP, United Kingdom.

  • If you use online banking which normally have moderate transaction fees, electronic transfers can be made directly to the Restoration Fund account. See bank account details below.

When sending cheques, please include your name, address and e-mail address, so that we can thank you and record you as a donor (unless you wish to remain anonymous). For the same reason, please e-mail duartfund@maclean.org with your name and address when you make an online transfer.

Wedding gift – A bridal couple may wish to suggest to wedding guests to donate to the Duart Castle Restoration Appeal by one of the above methods on behalf of the couple as a wedding gift. To enable the couple to receive recognition, donating guests are asked to e-mail duartfund@maclean.org the names of the couple, date of wedding and donation amount. Unless advised otherwise, the Appeal will provide the couple with a list of guests’ e-mail addresses and donation amounts to allow the couple to send thank you notes.

In Memoriam – A donor may wish to honour the memory of a loved one who has passed away by making that person a donor in memoriam. To enable the person being honoured to be recorded by the Appeal, the donor is asked to e-mail the details to duartfund@maclean.org.

 
UK Bank account details for:

Duart Castle Restoration Fund

  • Transfers within the UK
    Sort code80-22-60
    Account no.11131662

  • International transfers
    Bank of Scotland
    Teviot House
    41 South Gyle Crescent
    Edinburgh
    EH12 9DR
    United Kingdom
    SWIFT/BIC:BOFSGBS1SDP
    IBAN:GB07BOFS80226011131662

For further information, please contact duartfund@maclean.org

Thank you for your help.