Foulis Castle
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Foulis Castle is situated two miles south-west of Evanton in the parish of Kiltearn,
Ross and Cromarty Ross and Cromarty (), is an area in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. In modern usage, it is a registration county and a Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area. Between 1889 and 1975 it was a Shires of Scotland, county. Historical ...
,
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 ...
. It is a white washed mansion that incorporates an old tower house with gun loops. The castle was held by the
Clan Munro Clan Munro (; ) is a Highland Scottish clan. Historically the clan was based in Easter Ross in the Scottish Highlands. Traditional origins of the clan give its founder as Donald Munro who came from the north of Ireland and settled in Scotland i ...
from the twelfth century or earlier and they had a stronghold there. The remains of an 11th-century
Motte A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or Bailey (castle), bailey, surrounded by a protective Rampart (fortificati ...
(man-made mound topped by a wooden palisade), believed to be the first fortification at Foulis, still remain in the castle grounds today.


Early history

Foulis Castle itself is mentioned briefly in records that date back to the 14th century although the original Tower of Foulis was believed to have been built in 1154. It is recorded by contemporary evidence that
Uilleam III, Earl of Ross William (or Uilleam) III, 5th Earl of Ross (d. 1372) was a fourteenth-century Scotland, Scottish nobleman. He was the fifth O’Beolan earl of Ross, descending from the founder of the line, Fearchar, Earl of Ross, Fearchar of Ross (or Fearchar Ma ...
granted a charter to Robert de Munro of Foulis for the lands of "Estirfowlys" with the "Tower of Strathskehech" from 1350. It is also recorded that Euphemia I, Countess of Ross granted two charters to Robert's son, Hugh Munro, 9th Baron of Foulis in 1394. One of them dated 4 May 1394 is in respect of the "Wesstir Fowlys" and the "Tower of Strathschech", named so because of the
River Sgitheach River Sgitheach also known as Skiach or Skiack, (Scottish Gaelic ''Abhainn Sgitheach'', "Crataegus, Hawthorn River") () is a river in Ross and Cromarty, Scotland. It rises on the southern slopes of Ben Wyvis, passes through Strath Sgitheach, pass ...
that passes through nearby Strath Skiach and into the
Cromarty Firth The Cromarty Firth (; ; literally "kyles
traits Trait may refer to: * Phenotypic trait in biology, which involve genes and characteristics of organisms * Genotypic trait, sometimes but not always presenting as a phenotypic trait * Personality, traits that predict an individual's behavior. ** ...
of Cromarty") is an arm of the Moray Firth in Scotland. Geography The entrance to the Cromarty Firth is guarded by two precipitous headlands; the one on the north high and the one on the ...
. A document signed and sealed at Foulis Castle in 1491 reads in
Gaelic Gaelic (pronounced for Irish Gaelic and for Scots Gaelic) is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". It may refer to: Languages * Gaelic languages or Goidelic languages, a linguistic group that is one of the two branches of the Insul ...
"caisteal biorach, nead na h-iolair", which means "castle gaunt-peaked, the eagle's nest". This is in allusion to the clan chief's heraldic emblem. In 1542 Donald Mackay of Strathnaver, chief of the
Clan Mackay Clan Mackay ( ; ) is an ancient and once-powerful Scottish Highlands, Highland Scottish clan from the far north of the Scottish Highlands, but with roots in the old Mormaer of Moray, Kingdom of Moray. They supported Robert I of Scotland, Rober ...
was imprisoned in Foulis Castle, when he was captured after the Battle of Alltan-Beath. According to Fraser's Wardlaw manuscript which was written in the 17th century, because of the Munro's kindness and civility towards Donald Mackay "to this day" a correspondence was linked between the Munros and Mackays. The castles "tower and fortalice" are also mentioned in a charter from the crown in 1587. In times of clan warfare, a signal beacon was lit on the highest tower of Foulis Castle to gather the clan under arms, hence the Munro slogan or gathering cry of "''Caisteal Foghlais na theine''," meaning Castle Foulis ablaze. The castle survived up to the 18th century until it was attacked by Jacobites in 1746.
Sir Robert Munro, 6th Baronet Sir Robert Munro, 6th Baronet (24 August 1684 – 17 January 1746) was a Scottish military officer and politician whose life followed an 18th-century pattern. He fought in support of the Revolution Settlement and the House of Hanover, and their ...
was killed at the
Battle of Falkirk Muir The Battle of Falkirk Muir, or Battle of Falkirk, took place near Falkirk, Scotland, on 17 January 1746 during the Jacobite rising of 1745. A narrow Jacobite victory, it had little impact on the campaign. After their withdrawal from England in ...
in 1746 and the castle was sacked and burned by the Jacobites in the same year. Sir Robert Munro's son the next successive chief,
Sir Harry Munro, 7th Baronet Sir Harry Munro, 7th Baronet ( 1720 – 12 June 1781) was 25th Baron and the 28th chief of the Clan Munro. He was a Scottish soldier and politician. He was loyal to the Hanoverian dynasty and served as a captain in Loudon's Highlanders Regim ...
returned home from captivity to find the castle had been set on fire and much of the castle had been destroyed. The Jacobites were defeated just a few months later by Government forces at the
Battle of Culloden The Battle of Culloden took place on 16 April 1746, near Inverness in the Scottish Highlands. A Jacobite army under Charles Edward Stuart was decisively defeated by a British government force commanded by the Duke of Cumberland, thereby endi ...
. Sir Harry Munro set about rebuilding the castle incorporating what he could of the original building. However as the Battle of Culloden had brought a complete end to the Highland clan system there was no need for such a defensive fort anymore. As with many castles at this time it was re-built as a large classical mansion between 1754 and 1792 as it appears today. Foulis Castle still remains the home of the Chief of Munro, Hector W Munro of Foulis. However the most recent baronets of Foulis-Obsdale have lived in Southern England.


Restoration

No records survive of what the fortifications at Castle Foulis looked like before 1746. Some evidence was discovered in the 1746 restoration. It is thought that the castle was surrounded by a series of smaller dwellings, of possibly a fortified nature. They found in 1957–59 evidence to suggest that in the courtyard area horses and cattle were kept, and that it was a self-contained community able to withstand a siege when attacked. The Tower was a fortification, as its walls at the ground level are five feet six inches thick. In May 1985, while repairs were being carried out in part to the Courtyard building, Four "cannon loops of an inverted key hole type," dating from the early part of the 16th century, were discovered behind four wedge-shaped, blocked-up apertures facing north, south, east and west in the wall. Above them is a barrel-vaulted stone ceiling. This building, at one time separate from the Castle, had certainly been constructed as a small defensive fort with an all-round "field of fire" to guard against possible attack. At some later date, perhaps after 1746 and when the Chief felt that the chances of attack had lessened, the use of this building had changed. Three of the apertures had been completely blocked while the fourth had been partially blocked, leaving a narrow slit six inches wide and three feet long, into which a three-quarter-inch iron bar was strongly built, giving light, some air and access through which food could be passed to the unfortunate prisoner. It was likely the castle's gaol. According to Munro sources, some of the stone wall of the original castle was found under the plaster of the current main mansion house building at Foulis.


See also

*
Castles in Scotland Castles are buildings that combine fortifications and residence, and many were built within the borders of modern Scotland. They arrived in Scotland with the introduction of feudalism in the twelfth century. Initially these were wooden motte-an ...


References


External links

* * * {{coord, 57, 38, 42, N, 4, 21, 55, W, region:GB, display=title Category A listed buildings in Highland (council area) Listed castles in Scotland Castles in Highland (council area) Clan Munro Ross and Cromarty