Daviot Castle was a 15th-century castle, about southeast of

Inverness Inverness (; ; from the , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness") is a city in the Scottish Highlands, having been granted city status in 2000. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highland ...

Highland Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally, ''upland'' refers to a range of hills, typically from up to , while ''highland'' is usually reserved for range ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, and west of the

River Nairn The River Nairn () is a 35 mile long river in the Scottish Highlands. Etymology The hydronym ''Nairn'' is Pictish language, Pictish in origin. The name may involve ''*Naverna'', of which the ultimate genesis is the Celtic languages, Celtic ro ...

at Daviot. Also known as Strathnairn Castle, its remains are designated as a

scheduled monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage, visu ...

History

A castle was built at the property by the

Moravia Moravia ( ; ) is a historical region in the eastern Czech Republic, roughly encompassing its territory within the Danube River's drainage basin. It is one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The medieval and early ...

family. The later castle was constructed by the Lindsay

Earls of Crawford Earl of Crawford is one of the most ancient extant titles in Great Britain, having been created in the Peerage of Scotland in 1398 for Sir David Lindsay. It is the premier earldom recorded on the Union Roll. Early history Sir David Lindsay, wh ...

, probably

David Lindsay, 1st Earl of Crawford David Lindsay, 1st Earl of Crawford (c. 1360 – 1407) was a Scottish peer who was created Earl of Crawford in 1398. Life Crawford was the son of Sir Alexander Lindsay of Glenesk and Katherine Stirling. Succeeding his father in 1381, he was kn ...

. The Mackintoshes acquired it and built the house nearby.Coventry, Martin (1997) ''The Castles of Scotland''. Goblinshead. p. 142 A green-veined stone

axe An axe (; sometimes spelled ax in American English; American and British English spelling differences#Miscellaneous spelling differences, see spelling differences) is an implement that has been used for thousands of years to shape, split, a ...

head was found on the property in 1856 and was exhibited by

Archaeological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

Structure

Daviot Castle had both a

keep A keep is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in castles that were fortified residen ...

and a

courtyard A courtyard or court is a circumscribed area, often surrounded by a building or complex, that is open to the sky. Courtyards are common elements in both Western and Eastern building patterns and have been used by both ancient and contemporary a ...

. It is thought that it occupied the flat top of the small promontory which runs north from the present Daviot House. There were steep natural slopes defending it to the north, west and east. There were a dry-ditch and

drawbridge A drawbridge or draw-bridge is a type of moveable bridge typically at the entrance to a castle or tower surrounded by a moat. In some forms of English, including American English, the word ''drawbridge'' commonly refers to all types of moveable b ...

, probably to the south, but there is now no trace of this ditch. The castle was probably square in shape with four circular towers on its corners. The walls, towers and part of the gate were still intact at the beginning of the 18th century and the ruins still existed in 1840. They were subsequently destroyed to provide lime for

manure Manure is organic matter that is used as organic fertilizer in agriculture. Most manure consists of animal feces; other sources include compost and green manure. Manures contribute to the fertility of soil by adding organic matter and nut ...

. The surviving remains consist of a tower of rubbled masonry, a stub section of adjacent curtain wall, and the foundations of the south east tower. The surviving tower is believed to be that of the north east corner of the castle; its walls are thick and its interior height ranges from on its east side to flush with the ground on the west. The wall section is thick and its height varies from .

References

{{coord , 57.4389, N, 4.1187, W, display=title Castles in Highland (council area)