Inside McCaig's Tower

McCaig's Tower - The Crown of Oban

McCaig's Tower was built on the historic site of Battery Hill. This was the location of the heavy guns of the former 3rd Argyllshire Artillery Volunteers. John Stuart McCaig of Muckairn and Soroba purchased the site in 1875 and, with the heavy guns still in place, applied on the 8th July 1895 for a building warrant to construct a half circle ‘stone lime wall’ behind the battery.

Construction began almost immediately and further warrant was granted in 1896 to extend the wall to a full circle. The third and final warrant in 1897 allowed the height of the wall to be increased by fifteen feet. Work continued intermittently until 1900 - the date inscribed on die stone above the entrance.

The completed tower is a grey granite circular screen wall, 190 feet in diameter, with two tiers of pointed-arch arcading over a fountain tier set on a floor of natural rock. McCaig made clear, from the very start, that the Tower was a project to provide employment for out of work Oban stone masons. This probably explains the stopping and starting of progress in line with building trade fluctuations. The Tower stands to this day as a tribute to a man of destiny in Oban’s history.

What concept McCaig had in mind and what influenced the design is a mystery. Initially McCaig planned the addition of a 95 foot high central tower with a museum, art gallery and chapel. He seems to have abandoned these ideas but, in his last will and testament, directed that the tower should be embellished with bronze statues of the McCaig family. These explicit directions were never executed.

It is doubtful if roofing was ever considered and we can only guess at the reason for the design. The Colosseum in Rome has been suggested as a possible inspiration, McCaig having visited Italy in the winter of 1880/81. The detail of the Tower is more Gothic than classical and McCaig’s Tower today is a category B Listed Building.

Following McCaig’s death, ownership passed to his sister Catherine and, on her death in 1913, control passed to the trustees, who finally conveyed the Tower to Oban Town Council in 1969. The Council undertook landscaping and floodlighting and further improvements were carried out by Argyll & Bute District Council following local government reform, including the construction of an improved viewing platform.

If ever you visit Oban, the trek up to the Tower is a MUST - the views from here are stunning !

K-r + Sigma 18-250