In 1914 the 10th Duke of Argyll, Niall Diarmid Campbell, became the Honorary Colonel of The 8th Battalion of The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders. When the First World War ended he decided that there should be a fitting memorial to commemorate the Clan Campbell dead. To this end he commissioned architects Hoare and Wheeler to design the Bell Tower, the original idea being to link the new tower to the church.

At the same time John Taylor and Company of Loughborough were approached to cast a ring of 10 bells suitable for the memorial. As the housing for the bells would not be finished until well after they were cast, a wooden slatted annexe that allowed the bells to be chimed via a keyboard was built nearby. The bells were cast in 1920 in Loughborough. Their transport from there to Inveraray, which took place in November 1921, was less than smooth. The first lorry broke down in Lancashire. Then when the second lorry reached “The Little Rest” on the lower part of the old Rest and Be Thankful road it would go no further. The treble bell and ironwork frames had to be unloaded to allow the lorry to continue the ascent. However even this was not enough and the second bell had to be left behind as well before the lorry made it to the summit. The abandoned bells and frames were retrieved the following day.

The construction of the 126 foot (38 metre) high tower was begun in 1921 and completed ten years later in 1931. The bells were then taken from the annexe and hoisted into their proper place, where they can still be seen today. The whole exercise had cost just over £21,000 (approximately £1 million in today’s money!).