Duncan MacDougall, Lord of Lorn, built the castle in the second quarter of the 13th century, and the infobox gives the 1220s. Ewen MacDougall probably added three round towers. The plan is an irregular quadrangle about 115 by 98 feet (35 by 30 m), with walls up to 59 feet (18 m) high and 10 feet (3 m) thick. They are coursed rubble with sandstone dressings, on a conglomerate rock platform. The gatehouse is dated to the 16th century in the introduction and the late 15th century in the body.
Robert Bruce took the castle in 1308. Royalist troops burned it in 1685, and an accidental fire gutted the gatehouse in 1810. The Duke of Argyll carried out restoration in 1903.
It came into state care in 1958, and Historic Environment Scotland owns it. The gatehouse remains the hereditary Captain's private property. It is a scheduled monument.
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