Parts of the castle date from the mid 13th century - and there was a fortress on this site even before then. The great keep was erected by Lachlan Lubanach Maclean in the 14th century and some of the buildings within the courtyard were added 200 years later by Lachlan Mor. This process was continued in the 17th century by a third Lachlan, the first Baronet of Duart and Morvern, whose armorial stone in the courtyard bears his initials and the date 1633. The Campbells sacked Duart in 1688 and the battered old castle was garrisoned by government troops until 1751. The present Chief's great-grandfather, Sir Fitzroy Maclean, bought the ruins in 1911 and restored the castle. This was celebrated by a great Gathering of the Clan the following year.