Breachacha Castle

{{Short description|Two related structures on the shore of Loch Breachacha in Scotland}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}

File:Breachacha Castle, Coll - geograph.org.uk - 279699.jpg

File:The 'new' Breachacha Castle - geograph.org.uk - 869321.jpg

Breachacha Castle (also spelled Breacachadh) is either of two structures on the shore of Loch Breachacha, on the Inner Hebridean island of Coll, Scotland. The earlier (also called Old Breachacha Castle) is a 15th-century tower house that was a stronghold of the Macleans of Coll, the island having been granted to John Maclean in 1431.{{Historic Environment Scotland|num=LB4708|desc=Old Breachacha Castle including Battery Wall and Outbuildings (also known as Breacachadh Castle)|cat=A|access-date=21 March 2019}} This castle was superseded by a new dwelling in 1750 (see below) but continued to be occupied for a time. It fell into a ruinous state only in the mid-19th century.

Work was performed in the 1930s to prevent further dilapidation. A retired Royal Engineer, Brig.-Gen. Ernest Moncrieff Paul (1864–1942), in 1933 obtained permission from Lyon King of Arms to take Stewart of Coll as his surname, and made Breachacha Castle his seat.{{Who's Who|title=Stewart of Coll, Brig.-Gen. Ernest Moncrieff Paul|id=U232230|access-date=1 May 2023}}{{cite book |title=Upper Ten Thousand. An Alphabetical List of All Members of Noble Families |date=1938 |publisher=Kelly's Directories, Limited |page=1714 |language=en}} The castle was restored to livable condition only in the 1960s, by Nicholas MacLean-Bristol and his wife Lavinia. It is a Category A listed building.{{cite web |url=http://canmore.rcahms.gov.uk/en/site/21576/details/coll+breachacha+castle|title=Breacacha Castle |publisher=Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland|work=CANMORE|accessdate=29 November 2011}}

The Project Trust had the old castle as their original base until a custom built location on the west of the island was created in 1988.

The newer Breachacha Castle (also known as Breachacha House), which is also a Category A listed building,{{Historic Environment Scotland|num=LB4709|desc=Breachacha Castle|cat=A|access-date=21 March 2019|fewer-links=yes}}{{cite web |url=http://canmore.rcahms.gov.uk/en/site/21583/details/coll+breachacha+house|title=Breacacha House|publisher=Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland|work=CANMORE|accessdate=30 November 2011}} was constructed in the mid-18th century {{convert|140|m|ft}} northwest of the old castle ({{coord|56.5917|-6.6297|type:landmark_region:GB|display=inline|name=Breachacha House}}). Samuel Johnson and James Boswell stayed at the newer castle on their tour of the Hebrides.{{cite web |url=http://www.gaelic-rings.com/coll/index.php?top=1&mid=5&base=3&ring=Tiree|title=Gaelic Ring: Tiree: Coll

|work=The Gaelic Rings|accessdate=3 December 2011}}{{cite book|last=Johnson|first=Samuel|editor1-first=R. W|editor1-last=Chapman|title=A Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland|date=1924|publisher=Oxford UP|location=Oxford|page=112}}

{{As of|June 2017}} the newer castle is for sale as a listed property in need of great repair.