Well of the Heads, Invergarry, Scotland, UK: monument erected 1816 to decapitated heads of 7 murderers washed in the well beside N shore of Loch Oich.
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Contributor:
Mick Sharp / Alamy Stock PhotoImage ID:
RCGWGAFile size:
52.4 MB (2.6 MB Compressed download)Releases:
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3701 x 4946 px | 31.3 x 41.9 cm | 12.3 x 16.5 inches | 300dpiDate taken:
18 May 1995Location:
Well of the Heads, Loch Oich, Invergarry, Lochaber, Highland, Scotland, UKMore information:
Well of the Heads, Invergarry, Scotland, UK: monument erected 1816 to the decapitated heads of 7 murderers which were washed in the well beside Loch Oich. On 25 September 1663 young chief of Keppoch, Alexander MacDonald & his younger brother Ranald were stabbed to death by rival within the clan. Two years later the criminals were hunted down at Inverlair, killed & decapitated. The heads were taken in a basket to Invergarry Castle for display before being set up on the gallows in Edinburgh 7 December 1665. Legend says that on the way to Invergarry the heads grew restless & were washed in the spring to quieten them. The monument, erected by Colonel McDonell of Glengarry, is topped by 'portraits' of the 7 heads surmounted by a hand holding a knife. A version of the story is given in Gaelic, English, French & Latin. An example of "feudal justice". The seven headless skeletons were uncovered in the late 1800s.