The History of McCaig’s Tower — Oban’s Colosseum
A banker’s memorial, a jobs scheme for Out-of-season stonemasons and an unfinished dream: the granite walls above Oban Bay have several stories behind them, and most visitors only hear one.
Details checked: October 2026
At a glance
- Built
- 1897–1902
- Commissioned by
- Banker and philanthropist John Stuart McCaig
- Status
- Category B listed building
- Also called
- McCaig’s Folly, the Colosseum of Oban
Who was John Stuart McCaig?
John Stuart McCaig was a wealthy Oban banker and philanthropist with a taste for grand gestures. He funded the Bealach water scheme that still serves the town, and he wanted something permanent left on the hill above the bay.
Records from the period describe two aims: to keep local stonemasons in work through the quiet winter months, and to create a family memorial that visitors would remember Oban by.
Why is it compared to the Colosseum?
The design McCaig chose for his monument deliberately borrowed the language of a Roman amphitheatre: a ring of arched openings in more than one tier, built from local granite and intended to be seen in silhouette against the sky.
That resemblance is why the structure became known locally and popularly as the Colosseum of Oban, and why “oban colosseum” has become one of the most searched ways of finding it.
What it is not: the Oban Colosseum vs the Roman Colosseum
The comparison is about the shape, nothing else. Rome’s Flavian Amphitheatre, completed around AD 80, was a working arena with a hypogeum beneath the floor, tiered seating for tens of thousands and gladiatorial games and spectacle.
McCaig’s Tower is a 19th-century folly: a decorative, non-functional shell of masonry with no arena, no seating tiers and no events. Its arches exist to frame the view rather than to hold a crowd. Calling it the Colosseum of Oban is a nickname that stuck — not a claim about spectacle.
- Rome: functional amphitheatre, completed AD 80, held tens of thousands of spectators
- Oban: granite folly begun 1897, never enclosed, built as a memorial and viewpoint
- Shared feature: tiered arcaded walls that read as a stone “bowl” from outside
Why was it never finished?
Work started in 1897 and stopped soon after McCaig died in 1902. Only the outer walls and their arches were ever completed. The central space was meant to hold a museum and art gallery with statues of the McCaig family; none of that was built.
Accounts differ over exactly why — the cost of the scheme, disputes over the estate and conditions attached to the money are all cited — so it is safest to say that the money and the momentum both ran out with him.
From ambition to open hillside
Today the interior is laid out as open public ground with seating and planting, free to enter at any reasonable hour. The structure is a Category B listed building, meaning it is protected for its regional and national importance, and the site is looked after locally.
Listed status does not mean frozen: conservation work aims to keep the granite and mortar sound while accepting that it will always be an unfinished building.
How to read the structure on your visit
Once inside, walk the full circuit of arches — the widened opening frames Oban Bay and the ferry routes below, and the differences between individual arches reveal how the stonework was repaired over time. Information panels on site give the local account of the build.
Timeline
A short summary of what is recorded about the site.
- 1897 — construction begins for John Stuart McCaig
- 1902 — McCaig dies before the scheme is complete
- Early 20th century — work stops; the planned museum, gallery and family statues are never built
- Later 20th century — the site is cared for as open public amenity ground
- Today — a Category B listed building and free-access viewpoint over Oban Bay
More Oban guides
Frequently asked questions
Why is McCaig’s Tower called the Colosseum of Oban?
Because its tiered arched granite walls deliberately echo a Roman amphitheatre. The nickname stuck even though the building has no arena, no seating and never hosted crowds — it is a 19th-century folly, not a working amphitheatre.
Is McCaig’s Tower actually Roman?
No. It was begun in 1897 by Oban banker John Stuart McCaig and is a Victorian folly inspired by Roman design ideas, more than 1,800 years later than the Colosseum in Rome.
Why is it also called McCaig’s Folly?
Because it was never finished and never served the purpose it was designed for. “Folly” is the traditional word for a decorative building that serves no practical function.
Who looks after McCaig’s Tower today?
The site is held as public amenity ground and maintained locally, and it is protected as a Category B listed building. Check Argyll and Bute Council and Historic Environment Scotland for current management detail.
Can you go inside the tower?
Yes — the central area is open to the public as a garden and viewpoint with no entry ticket. There is no interior floor levels or roof: what you walk into is the open space inside the walls.
Is McCaig’s Tower a listed building?
Yes, it is recorded as a Category B listed building, which covers structures of regional or more than local importance. You can look up the record on the Historic Environment Scotland portal.