Doune Castle Doune Castle is a medieval stronghold near the village of Doune , in the Stirling district of central Scotland . The castle is sited on a wooded bend where the Ardoch Burn flows into the River Teith . It lies north - west of Stirling , where the Teith flows into the River Forth . Upstream , further north - west , the town of Callander lies at the edge of the Trossachs , on the fringe of the Scottish Highlands . Recent research has shown that Doune Castle was originally built in the thirteenth century , then probably damaged in the Scottish Wars of Independence , before being rebuilt in its present form in the late 14th century by Robert Stewart , Duke of Albany ( c . 1340 – 1420 ) , the son of King Robert II of Scotland , and Regent of Scotland from 1388 until his death . Duke Robert ' s stronghold has survived relatively unchanged and complete , and the whole castle was traditionally thought of as the result of a single period of construction at this time . The castle passed to the crown in 1425 , when Albany ' s son was executed , and was used as a royal hunting lodge and dower house . In the later 16th century , Doune became the property of the Earls of Moray . The castle saw military action during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms and Glencairn ' s rising in the mid - 17th century , and during the Jacobite Rising s of the late 17th century and 18th century . By 1800 the castle was ruined , but restoration works were carried out in the 1880s , prior to its passing into state care in the 20th century . It is now maintained by Historic Scotland . Due to the status of its builder , Doune reflected current ideas of what a royal castle building should be . It was planned as a courtyard with ranges of buildings on each side , although only the northern and north - western buildings were completed . These comprise a large tower house over the entrance , containing the rooms of the Lord and his family , and a separate tower containing the kitchen and guest rooms . The two are linked by the great hall . The stonework is almost all from the late 14th century , with only minor repairs carried out in the 1580s . The restoration of the 1880s replaced the timber roofs and internal floors , as well as interior fittings . History . The site at the confluence of the Ardoch Burn and the River Teith had been fortified by the Romans in the 1st century AD , although no remains are visible above ground . Ramparts and ditches to the south of the present castle may be the site of an earlier fortification , as the name Doune , derived from Gaelic " dùn " , meaning " fort " , suggests . The earliest identifiable work in the castle dates from the thirteenth century , but it assumed its present form during one of the most creative and productive periods of Scottish medieval architecture , between 1375 and 1425 , when numerous castles were being built and remodelled , including Dirleton and Tantallon in Lothian , and Bothwell in Lanarkshire . Regent Albany . In 1361 , Robert Stewart ( c . 1340 – 1420 ) , son of King Robert II ( reigned 1371 – 1390 ) , and brother of King Robert III ( reigned 1390 – 1406 ) , was created Earl of Menteith , and was granted the lands on which Doune Castle now stands . Building may have started any time after this , and the castle was at least partially complete in 1381 , when a charter was sealed here . Robert was appointed Regent in 1388 for his elderly father , and continued to hold effective power during the reign of his infirm brother . He was created Duke of Albany in 1398 . In 1406 , Robert III ' s successor , James I , was captured by the English , and Albany became Regent once more . After this time , the number of charters issued at Doune suggest that the castle became a favoured residence . Royal retreat . Albany died in 1420 , and Doune , the dukedom of Albany , and the Regency all passed to his son Murdoch ( 1362 – 1425 ) . The ransom for James I was finally paid to the English , and the King returned in 1424 , taking immediate steps to gain control of his kingdom . Albany and two of his sons were imprisoned for treason , and then executed in May 1425 . Doune Castle became a royal possession , under an appointed Captain , or Keeper , and served as a retreat and hunting lodge for the Scottish monarchs . It was also used as a dower house by Mary of Guelders ( c . 1434 – 1463 ) , Margaret of Denmark ( 1456 – 1486 ) , and Margaret Tudor ( 1489 – 1541 ) , the widowed consorts of James II , James III and James IV respectively . In 1528 , Margaret Tudor , now Regent of Scotland for her infant son James V , married Henry Stewart , 1st Lord Methven , a descendant of Albany . His brother , Sir James Stewart ( c . 1513 – 1554 ) , was made Captain of Doune Castle , and Sir James ' son , also James ( c . 1529 – 1590 ) , was created Lord Doune in 1570 . Lord Doune ' s son , another James ( c . 1565 – 1592 ) , married Elizabeth Stuart , 2nd Countess of Moray around 1580 , becoming Earl of Moray himself . The castle thus came to be the seat of its keepers , the Earls of Moray , who owned it until the 20th century . Mary , Queen of Scots , ( reigned 1542 – 1567 ) stayed at Doune on several occasions , occupying the suite of rooms above the kitchen . Doune was held by forces loyal to Mary during the brief civil war which followed her forced abdication in 1567 , but the garrison surrendered to the Regent , Matthew Stewart , 4th Earl of Lennox , in 1570 , after a three - day blockade . George Buchanan and Duncan Nairn , Deputy Sherriff of Stirling presided over the torture and interrogation of a messenger , John Moon , at Doune on 4 October 1570 . Moon was carrying letters to Mary , Queen of Scots and Mary Seton . King James VI visited Doune on occasion , and in 1581 authorised £300 to be spent on repairs and improvements , the works being carried out by the master mason Michael Ewing under the supervision of Robert Drummond of Carnock , Master of Work to the Crown of Scotland . In 1593 , a plot against James was discovered , and the King surprised the conspirators , who included the Earls of Montrose and Gowrie , at Doune Castle . Prison and garrison . In 1607 , the minister , John Munro of Tain , a dissenter against the religious plans of James VI , was imprisoned with a fellow minister at Doune , though he escaped with the contrivance of the then Constable of the Castle , who was subsequently imprisoned for aiding the dissenters . The Royalist James Graham , 1st Marquess of Montrose occupied Doune Castle in 1645 , during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms . In 1654 , during Glencairn ' s rising against the occupation of Scotland by Oliver Cromwell , a skirmish took place at Doune between Royalists under Sir Mungo Murray , and Cromwellian troops under Major Tobias Bridge . The castle was garrisoned by government troops during the Jacobite Rising of Bonnie Dundee in 1689 , when repairs were ordered , and again during the rising of 1715 . During the Jacobite Rising of 1745 , Doune Castle was occupied by Charles Edward Stuart , " Bonnie Prince Charlie " , and his Jacobite Highlanders . It was used as a prison for government troops captured at the Battle of Falkirk . Several prisoners , held in the rooms above the kitchen , escaped by knotting together bedsheets and climbing from the window . Escapees included the author John Home , and a minister , John Witherspoon , who later moved to the American colonies and became a signatory of the United States Declaration of Independence . Ruin and restoration . The castle deteriorated through the 18th century , and by 1800 Doune was a roofless ruin . It remained so until the 1880s , when George Stuart , 14th Earl of Moray ( 1816 – 1895 ) began repair works . The timber roofs were replaced , and the interiors , including the panelling in the Lord ' s Hall , were installed . The castle is now maintained by Historic Scotland , having been donated to a predecessor organisation by Douglas Stuart , 20th Earl of Moray , in 1984 , and is open to the public . The castle is a Scheduled Ancient Monument , and is a Category A listed building , the highest levels of protection for nationally important built heritage in Scotland . Description . Doune occupies a strategic site , close to the geographical centre of Scotland , and only from Stirling Castle , the " crossroads of Scotland " . The site is naturally defended on three sides by steeply - sloping ground , and by the two rivers to east and west . The castle forms an irregular pentagon in plan , with buildings along the north and north - west sides enclosing a courtyard . It is entered from the north via a passage beneath a tower containing the principal rooms of the castle . From the courtyard , three sets of stone external stairs , which may be later additions , lead up to the Lord ' s Hall in the tower , to the adjacent Great Hall , and to the kitchens in a second tower to the west . The main approach , from the north , is defended by earthworks , comprising three ditches , with a rampart , or earthen wall , between . Also outside the castle walls is a vaulted passage , traditionally said to lead into the castle , but in fact accessing an 18th - century ice house . There are no openings within the lower part of the castle ' s walls , excepting the entrance and the postern , or side gate , to the west , although there are relatively large windows on the upper storeys . Windows in the south wall suggest that further buildings were intended within the courtyard , but were never built . The stonework is of coursed sandstone rubble , with dressings in lighter Ballengeich stone . The Lord ' s tower . The principal tower , or gatehouse , is rectangular in plan by , and almost high , with a projecting round tower on the north - east corner , beside the entrance . It comprises the Lord ' s Hall , and three storeys of chambers above , located over the entrance passage . The vaulted , cobbled passage , long , was formerly defended by two sets of timber doors , and a yett , or hinged iron grille , remains . Guardrooms on either side overlook the passage via gunloop s , and also on the ground floor is a well , in the basement of the round tower . There is no direct communication between the ground floor and the Lord ' s Hall above , which occupies the whole first floor . This is accessed via an enclosed and gated stair from the courtyard . The hall is vaulted , and has an unusual double fireplace . The floor tiles , timber panelling , and minstrels ' gallery are additions of the 1880s . It was originally thought that the connecting door to the Great Hall was also of this date , but is now accepted as being original . Side rooms on the hall level include a chamber in the round tower , with a hatch above the well , and a small chamber within the south wall which overlooks both hall and courtyard . A machicolation , or " murder hole " , below the hall ' s north window , allows objects to be dropped on to attackers in the passage . Above the hall is a second hall , forming part of the Duchess ' suite of rooms . An oratory in the south wall , overlooking the courtyard , contains a piscina and credence niche . The oratory gives access to mural passages leading to the walkway along the curtain wall . The timber ceiling of the Duchess ' hall , and the timber floors and roof above , are of the 1880s . The upper parts of the stonework are among the repairs dating from 1580 . Great Hall and kitchen tower . West of the Lord ' s tower is the Great Hall , by , and high to its timber roof , again a 19th - century replacement . The hall has no fireplace , and was presumably heated by a central fire , and ventilated by means of a louvre like the one in the modern roof . No details of the original roof construction are known , however , and the restoration is conjectural . Large windows light the hall , and stairs lead down to the three cellars on ground level . The hall is accessed from the courtyard via a stair up to a triangular lobby , which in turn links the hall and kitchens by means of two large serving hatches with elliptical arches , unusual for this period . The kitchen tower , virtually a tower house in its own right , is by . The vaulted kitchen is on the hall level , above a cellar . One of the best - appointed castle kitchens in Scotland of its date , it has an oven and a wide fireplace . A stair turret , added in 1581 and possibly replacing a timber stair , leads up from the lobby to two storeys of guest rooms . These include the " Royal Apartments " , a suite of two bedrooms plus an audience chamber , suitable for royal visitors . Courtyard and curtain wall . Projecting stones on the south wall of the kitchen block , known as tuskings , and four pointed - arched windows in the south curtain wall , suggest that further ranges of buildings were planned . The large , eastern - most window , may have been intended for a chapel , and it is recorded that a chapel dedicated to the 8th - century monk Saint Fillan was located at Doune Castle , but the lack of foundations suggest that there was no large building in this part of the castle . The foundations which do exist were excavated in September 2002 , revealing a structure which was interpreted as a kiln or oven against the south wall . The central well is around deep . The curtain wall is thick , and high . A walkway along the top of the wall is protected by parapets on both sides , and is carried over the pitched roofs of the hall and gatehouse by steep steps . Open , round turrets are located at each corner , with semicircular projections at the midpoint of each wall . A square turret with machicolations is located above the postern gate in the west wall . Interpretation of the layout . The Lord ' s tower is a secure , private set of rooms , probably intended for the sole use of the Lord and his family , and with its own lines of defence . The architectural historian W . Douglas Simpson interpreted this arrangement as being the product of the " bastard feudalism " of the 14th century . During this period , Lords were required to defend their castles by means of mercenaries , rather than the vassals of the earlier feudal system , and Simpson suggested that the Lord of Doune designed his tower to be defensible against his own , potentially rebellious , garrison . This interpretation is no longer widely accepted by historians , and the castle is instead seen as a development towards more integrated courtyard buildings , such as the royal palace of Linlithgow , which was constructed through the 15th and early 16th century . The layout of Doune has similarities with those of the contemporary castles at Tantallon and Bothwell , and appears , at various scales , in other buildings of the period . In fiction and drama . Doune Castle has featured in several literary works , including the 17th - century ballad , " The Bonny Earl of Murray " , which relates the murder of James Stewart , 2nd Earl of Moray , by the Earl of Huntly , in 1592 . In Sir Walter Scott ' s first novel , " Waverley " ( 1814 ) , the protagonist Edward Waverley is brought to Doune Castle by the Jacobites . Scott ' s romantic novel describes the " gloomy yet picturesque structure " , with its " half - ruined turrets " . The castle was used as a location in MGM ' s 1952 historical film " Ivanhoe " which featured Robert Taylor and Elizabeth Taylor . The BBC adaptation of " Ivanhoe " in 1996 also featured Doune as a location . The castle was used as the set for Winterfell in the TV series " Game of Thrones " ( 2011 – present ) , an adaptation of the " A Song of Ice and Fire " series of novels by George R . R . Martin . Monty Python and the Holy Grail . The British comedy film " Monty Python and the Holy Grail " — a parody of the legends of King Arthur by the Monty Python team — was filmed on location in Scotland in 1974 . The film ' s producers had gained permission from the National Trust for Scotland to film scenes at several of their Scottish castles , as well as the permission of Lord Moray to film at Doune Castle . However , the National Trust later withdrew their permission , leaving the producers with little time to find new locations . Instead , they decided to use different parts of Doune Castle to depict the various fictional castles in the film , relying on tight framing of shots to maintain the illusion . Scenes featuring Doune Castle include : The only other castle used for filming was Castle Stalker in Argyll , also privately owned , which appears as " Castle Aaaaarrrrrrggghhh " at the end of the film . The DVD version of " Monty Python and the Holy Grail " includes a documentary , " In Search of the Holy Grail Filming Locations " , in which Michael Palin and Terry Jones revisit Doune and other sites used for filming . Doune Castle has become a place of pilgrimage for fans of Monty Python and the film , and , since 2004 , an annual " Monty Python Day " has been held at the castle . External links .