- Location: Kingussie, PH21 1HG
- Opening times: 24 Hours
- Entry: Free
- Access: Onsite parking (no charge).
If there was such a thing as a Top Ten Ruins of Scotland list, Ruthven Barracks would surely be on it. It might not have the fantasy grandeur of Dunnottar Castle or the Gothic prettiness of Melrose Abbey, but there is something attractive about the sheer starkness of Ruthven Barracks sitting there on its hilltop, surveying the Spey valley.
It was built between 1719 and 1721, one of four barracks constructed by the Hanoverian government to police the area in the aftermath of the Jacobite uprising of 1715. The site had previously been home to a 16th century stone castle, built by the 6th Earl of Huntly, and prior to that, a wooden castle dating back to 1229, possibly constructed by Walter Comyn, Lord of Badenoch. The information boards surrounding the barracks are insistent that the mound upon which all these structures stand / once stood is natural, as if anticipating the visitor will find that very hard to believe. It certainly looks more the work of man than nature, but it is apparently composed of sand and gravel deposits shaped by the melt waters from the last Ice Age.
The complex consists of two barracks buildings that face each other across the courtyard, each of which could hold up to 60 soldiers. Each barracks had five stories, three floors of dormitories with the basement and attic being used for storage purposes, and officers had their own accommodation in the tower buildings. The stables building which stand on its own at the west of the complex was added in 1734 and could take 28 horses.
Ruthven Barracks was besieged twice during its short lifetime. The first time, in August 1745, Sergeant Terence Malloy was able to repel a Jacobite force numbering 200+ with just twelve soldiers. The following February, the Jacobites were back with a larger force and artillery support. Malloy, now a lieutenant, didn’t fancy his chances and surrendered. The Barracks served as a rallying point for the supporters of Prince Charles Edward Stuart in the wake of the Battle of Culloden, with many expecting the prince to join them there and lead them anew. Instead, he sent orders basically stating that it was every man for himself and scarpered back to the safety of France, whereupon his followers destroyed the barracks and dispersed. Although the ruin has been part of the landscape for nearly three centuries, the barracks only had a working life of 25 years.
An aside: Scottish history was part of the curriculum when I was in primary school many, many moons ago, and we were taught to think of ‘Bonnie Prince Charlie’ as a Scottish hero, and the Jacobite uprisings as some sort of noble continuation of the Wars of Independence of Wallace and Bruce’s time. He wasn’t and they weren’t, and hopefully he is now portrayed in schools as the self-serving, ineffective scoundrel he was.
Destination or Diversion?
Its easy access from the A9 combined with the fact there really isn’t much of the buildings left bar the main walls means that Ruthven Barracks can only be regarded as a very impressive destination. Note: there are no facilities on this site.
