The Well of Seven Heads
The Well of The Seven Heads
The Well of The Seven Heads sits off Loch Oich, south of Invergarry, you can see it from the roadside. This unusual obelisk was erected by Colonel MacDonnel of Glengarry in 1812 as a memory to his two murdered sons.
The sons were murdered in In 1663 when a viscous fight took place with an uncle and his six sons. The Colonel ordered that the uncle and his sons be put to death to avenge the loss of his sons – he wanted their heads. Sixty men stormed the uncle’s house, the seven men were executed, their heads removed from their bodies. The dismembered heads were then washed in the spring where the obelisk now sits,before being taken to the Chief in Invergarry. Ever since this event, the spring has been known as ‘Tobar-nan-ceann’, ‘The Well of the Heads’.
The Gaelic inscription, seen on the front of the obelisk, tells the story of the well, and on the top of the monument is a sculpture of the seven heads of the murderers
The Well of The Seven Heads overlooks Loch Oich
The Well of the Seven Heads
Underneath the Well of The Seven Heads
Underneath the Well of The Seven Heads
Category: MacDonnel
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Does longevity normally run so rampant in Clan MacDonnel? According to this narrative, Colonel MacDonnel erected the obelisk 149 years after his sons were murdered. It’s a terrible thing to outlive your offspring but this is just bloody ridiculous!
You said the monumnet was erected in 1812 to his two murdered sons. He mustve been a gie auld man then , cos the murders happened in 1663 !
I didn’t know there was an underneath the well,but I found the monument fasinating,part of the not so known Scotland that should be.
Would love to visit again sometime.