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

Inverness Inverness (; from the gd, Inbhir Nis , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness"; sco, Innerness) is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands. Histo ...

Highland Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally speaking, upland (or uplands) refers to ranges of hills, typically from up to while highland (or highlands) is ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

, and west of the

River Nairn The River Nairn ( gd, Narann / Abhainn Narann) is a 35 mile long river in the Scottish Highlands. Etymology The hydronym ''Nairn'' is Pictish in origin. The name may involve ''*Naverna'', of which the ultimate genesis is the Celtic root ''*(s ...

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

Scheduled Ancient 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 and d ...

History

A castle was built at the property by the

Moravia Moravia ( , also , ; cs, Morava ; german: link=yes, Mähren ; pl, Morawy ; szl, Morawa; la, Moravia) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. Th ...

family. The later castle was constructed by the

Lindsay Lindsay may refer to: People * Clan Lindsay, a Scottish family clan * Lindsay (name), an English surname and given name, derived from the Scottish clan name; variants include Lindsey, Lyndsay, Linsay, Linsey, Lyndsey, Lyndsy, Lynsay, Lynsey Plac ...

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 for Sir David Lindsay in 1398. It is the premier earldom recorded on the Union Roll. Early history Sir David Lindsay, who ...

, probably

David Lindsay, 1st Earl of Crawford David Lindsay, 1st Earl of Crawford (c. 13601407) 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 known unt ...

. 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 ax in American English; see spelling differences) is an implement that has been used for millennia to shape, split and cut wood, to harvest timber, as a weapon, and as a ceremonial or heraldic symbol. The axe has ma ...

head was found on the property in 1856 and was exhibited by Archaeological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

Structure

Daviot Castle had both a

keep A keep (from the Middle English ''kype'') 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 ...

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 ...

. 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 ...

, 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)