The Skaggs-Files

Narrative

http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/dunbar/dunbarcastle/

Overlooking Dunbar Harbour are the fragmentary remains of what was once one of the mightiest castles in Scotland. The ruins are in a dangerous and precarious state and access has not been allowed since part of them collapsed into the sea in 1993. This is a castle best viewed from a distance.

Defences were built on this rocky outcrop by the Votanidi tribe during the Romans' excursions into Scotland (see our Historical Timeline) and it was a Northumbrian stronghold in 650AD. It was later a Pictish fortress until captured by the Scots under Kenneth MacAlpin in 849AD. The first stone castle was probably constructed by the Earl of Dunbar in the 1070s.

Dunbar Castle was unsuccessfully attacked by the English in 1214, but Edward I had better luck in 1296. And Edward II sheltered at Dunbar Castle after the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314. But perhaps Dunbar's most famous moment came in 1338 when "Black Agnes", the Countess of Moray, commanded the defence of the castle during a five month siege by the English.

The castle was rebuilt in the early 1400s, repelling another English siege in 1435 before being badly damaged by them in 1448. In 1488 it was slighted by the Scots to prevent its use by the English. Rebuilding in 1515 was followed by another English attack in 1548, and by further fortification by the French in 1550.

On 24 April 1567 Mary Queen of Scots was brought to Dunbar Castle by the Earl of Bothwell after his abduction of her, and the two later returned to the castle after their marriage on 15 May. After the Queen's subsequent surrender and abdication, the Scottish Parliament ordered the destruction of a castle so strong its possession destabilised the balance of power in Scotland.

The final indignity for Dunbar Castle came with the construction of the Victoria Harbour in 1844. A new entrance for Dunbar's harbours was blasted through the end of the rock on which the castle ruins stood: indeed, the process of firing explosives by electricity was invented especially for the job. "

Events

Event	Date	Place	Sources
Birth	1039	Northumberland, England	2
			2
Death	1072-12-15	Dunbar Castle, East Lothian, Scotland	3
	Age: 33y		3
Occupation			4a
			4a

Parents

Relation to main person	Name	Birth date	Death date
Father	of Dunbar, Maldred	1009	1045
Mother	Morcarson, Ealdgyth	995
Sister	Ceanmore, Dorothy Agnes	1037
	, Gospatric of Dunbar I	1039	1072-12-15
Brother	Ceanmore, Patrick	1041
Brother	Ceanmore, Fergus	1043
Brother	, Maldred II	1045
Brother	FitzMaldred, Uchtred	1075
Sister	Ceanmore, Sigrid	about 1086

Families

Family of , Gospatric of Dunbar I and of England, Aethelreda

Married

Wife

of England, Aethelreda ( * 1042 + ... )

Event	Date	Place	Description	Sources
Marriage	1057			5
				5

Children

Name	Birth Date	Death Date
, Aethelreda	1055
of Northumberland, Edgitha	1057
Dunbar, Walter	1062	1138
of Dunbar, Gospatric II	1062	1138-08-23
of Galloway, Fergus Dunbar	1075	1161
of Northumberland, Gunnilda
FitzMaldred, Uchtred
of Raby Dunbar, Dorothy

Birth Name	Gospatric of Dunbar I
Gender	male
Age at Death	33 years, 11 months, 14 days

, Gospatric of Dunbar I 1 2

Narrative

Events

Parents

Families

Family of , Gospatric of Dunbar I and of England, Aethelreda

Pedigree

Ancestors

Source References

, Gospatric of Dunbar I^{1 2}