Clan moves to stop sale of 210-year-old castle on Scottish island as members claim ‘it is ours’

Armadale Castle and gardens and the Clan Donald heritage centre, which holds chives and artefacts related to Clan Donald, the largest in the world, is due to go on the market later this month.

The Clan Donald Lands Trust took the “extremely difficult decision” to sell up after the charity ran into financial difficulties following the loss of a major US donor, which left them unable to keep the “unsustainable” attraction going amid a drop in visitors.

But the sale is meeting resistance from clans people around the world, with a group now claiming they are the beneficiaries of the trust - and suggesting the assets are rightfully theirs.

Clan Donald-Save Armadale said it wanted the sale stopped and the four trustees replaced - who live either in the US or England - to bring new management and leadership to the castle and heritage centre so that it can be successfully run.

READ MORE: Betrayal, tragedy and sadness as a Scottish clan stunned by castle and land sell - off

Spokesperson Morag McDonald, 57, a retired nurse from Edinburgh, said the decision to sell was made without any consultation with clan members who have financially supported the trust, which was formed in the early 1970s.

“We completely oppose the sale of Armadale Castle, the grounds and the heritage centre - the lack of community engagement and the contempt that people have been treated with,” she said.

Around 4,000 clan members are believed to have donated to the trust over the past 50 years after answering a call from Lord Godfrey Macdonald, the current clan chief, who was forced to sell of large part of the Macdonald estates to pay off death duties and inherited debt following the death of his father in 1970.

Around £200,000 was raised - roughly £2.5m at today’s values - to secure Armadale Castle, the ancestral seat of the Macdonalds of Sleat, and a large part of the Sleat Peninsula, with the assets to be held in perpetuity for all clansmen.

READ MORE: World’s largest clan sells of prized castle amid financial pressures

Now, 50 years on, the castle, the gardens and the Clan Donald Centre are due to go on the market imminently. Just over 20,000 acres of the Sleat Peninsula are on the market for £6.7m in a separate sale.

Ms McDonald said: “The trust was set up by this massive appeal, which went out to Macdonalds all over the world when Lord Godfrey said ‘if we want to retain these lands, we are going to have to set up a trust, does anyone want to contribute?’

“When you study and read the deeds of trust, it is Clan Macdonald who are the beneficiaries of the Clan Donald Land Trust. Essentially, all of what they are selling is the property of the Clan Macdonald. We are the beneficiaries.”

“But it was decided by three trustees and the chief executive Alex Stoddart, very suddenly and with little community engagement, that they are putting everything on the market.

“So thousands of people own it, but they haven’t asked one single person.”

Ms McDonald said her uncle, George McDonald was one of the original contributors to the trust, with a bench in his memory placed at Armadale Castle

She said: “He was just a wee ordinary guy, lived in Renfrew and didn’t have much money. I think he sent £100, which in 1971, was probably a lot of money. He was always absolutely convinced that he had bought a square foot of land . He has got a wee bench in the gardens at Armadale, which we always go to visit.

“He was one of the original founders, so I spent my entire childhood growing up hearing about the Clan Donald Lands Trust and I actually became a life-long member myself about 25 years ago. The family has a very strong connection to the clan and to Armadale. That is felt by many people the world over who are so proud about their Macdonald roots.

“Since we have got the group together, I have seen a lot of people in the group just in tears about this. People have been breaking down on Zoom meetings and crying. It is the connection and the strength of feeling they feel.”

In an earlier statement, the trust said it would “reform” its operations to “focus on our core purpose of protecting and promoting clan and indigenous Highland heritage”.

It said Armadale Castle was no longer commercially viable, with the number of clan members visiting “too low” to justify the annual losses or the major investment required.

The archive and library will be retained to create a “world-class immersive, interactive digital platform” to display its collection. Some artefacts will be returned to donors.

Clan Donald-Save Armadale said the castle, which sits close to the ferry terminal that links the island to Mallaig on the mainland, should attract more visitors.

Ms McDonald said: “What they are saying is that it is a failing business. To me, that is down to them. Look at Dunvegan Castle, Eilean Donan Castle, Glencoe Folk Museum, all these places run well with modern, contemporary management and an engaged trust.

“What we can’t understand , they are selling 20,000 acres of land, they are going to have £7m in the bank. Why don’t they take that £7m and say ‘what we are going to do is preserve this jewel in the crown of Clan Donald, the castle and the heritage centre?’”

Alex Stoddart, chief executive of the Clan Donald Lands Trust, was contacted for comment.

Lord Godfrey Macdonald, the 34th High Chief of Clan Donald, said: “There is absolutely no doubt that the beneficiaries of the original trust are the clan, pure and simple.” He added: “I would like the Clan Donald Centre to be retained, if at all possible.”