The Well of Seven Heads

The Well of Seven Heads, or Tobar nan Ceann in Gaelic, is a gruesome and macabre chapter in Scottish history. Located on the banks of Loch Oich in the Scottish Highlands, the well is now marked by an old obelisk monument that bears a carving of a hand holding a dagger and seven severed heads. The monument was erected in 1812 by Alexander Ranaldson MacDonell, Chief of Clan MacDonell of Glengarry, as a nod to a horrific series of events that took place in the 17th century.

The story begins with a fight that got out of hand in 1663, Alexander, the 13th chief of the Keppoch family, powerful members of the Macdonalds, and his brother Ranald were killed by their cousins at a brawl in the mansion of Insch, just outside the village of Roybridge. The two Keppoch men had just returned from schooling in France and had thrown a grand party. The killers were well known, Alexander Macdonald and his six sons from Inverlair, near Roy Bridge. They had been engaged in an argument with the Keppochs over a piece of land, which undoubtedly contributed to the killings.

However, in a part of the country dominated by the Macdonalds, the killers had many sympathizers, particularly among “ordinary” people who regarded the Keppoch boys as “gentry”. Time passed and no justice was meted out, but vengeance cursed within one man, Iain Lom, or Bald Iain, a kinsman of the victims and an important figure who held the title of Gaelic Poet Laureate of Scotland. He was known locally as the Keppoch Bard.

Bald Iain embarked on a seemingly one-man crusade to make the Macdonalds at Inverlair pay for what had happened. He first approached a fellow clansman, Lord Macdonell of Glengarry and Aros, who at the time was regarded by the Scots Privy Council as High Chief of the Clan Donald. But Macdonell did not want to get involved. His next stop was Sir James Macdonald of Sleat but he too was hesitant to become involved in the affairs of a fellow tribe.

But Bald Iain had a trump card up his sleeve. The two murdered men had been fostered with Sir James at Duntulm Castle on the Isle of Skye. The vengeful Bard travelled to the castle and appealed to the chief’s emotions in dramatic and biblical language. His ploy was successful. Sir James applied to the Privy Council in Edinburgh which issued letters of “fire and sword” against the killers. Sir James’ brother Archibald – the Warrior Poet – was put in charge of 50 men who were sent to avenge the killings of two years previously.

Bald Iain was there to guide them to the Macdonald home at Inverlair where, after a brief struggle, the seven known killers – and probably more – were murdered and decapitated. The Bard was satisfied; he had his revenge and he wanted to prove it. He wrapped the severed heads in his plaid, tied them together with willow rods and set out for Glengarry. Before presenting them to Lord Macdonell at Invergarry Castle, Bald Iain stopped to wash them in the waters of Loch Oich, at the site where the grim obelisk now stands. The heads were then sent to Edinburgh where they were “affixit to the…

The Well of Seven Heads is a chilling reminder of the brutal nature of clan warfare in Scotland’s past. The monument serves as a reminder of the gruesome nature of the act of vengeance that was carried out and the shocking disregard for human life that was commonplace in the 17th century Scottish Highlands. As you stand at the foot of the obelisk monument, you can’t help but feel a sense of unease as you take in the grisly carving of the hand holding the dagger and seven severed heads. The monument is not signposted and is easy to miss, but once you find it, it serves as a haunting reminder of the violent past of the Scottish Highlands.