Eilean Donan Castle was originally a mid 13th century stone courtyard fortress, founded by Farquar II, earl of Ross. It stands on a small island at the mouth of Loch Duich, which is the site of an earlier vitrified fort or structure. The towers and curtain walls of Castle Donnan encased the entire island and in the 14th century a rectangular tower house, now of three storeys and a gabled garret stood on the highest point. In the late 14th century, the area of the castle was reduced in size and in the 15th century, the tower was given a southern court and a long sloping eastern court that ends at the heptagonal Great Well. During the Jacobite rising of 1719, a garrison of Spanish troops were besieged by three English frigates, who bombarded the castle for three days. Following the surrender of the defenders, there magazine of gunpowder was used to blow up what remained of the castle. After buying the island in 1911, Colonel John MacRae-Gilstrap restored the ruins, back into a dwelling house. From the foundations of a square tower on the north edge of the island, the outline of 13th century walls and towers can still be traced. 11 miles west at Kyleakin, Isle of Skye, is Caisteal Maol.