Lemlair House is a mansion house in the parish of

Kiltearn Kiltearn (Gaelic: ''Cill Tighearna'') is a parish in Ross and Cromarty, Scotland. It is in the Presbytery of Ross. The local landowners since the 11th century reign of Malcolm II have been the Clan Munro. The principal settlement is the villag ...

Ross-shire Ross-shire (; ), or the County of Ross, was a county in the Scottish Highlands. It bordered Sutherland to the north and Inverness-shire to the south, as well as having a complex border with Cromartyshire, a county consisting of numerous enc ...

, in the

Highland council area Highland (, ; ) is a council areas of Scotland, council area in the Scottish Highlands and is the largest local government area in both Scotland and the United Kingdom. It was the 7th most populous council area in Scotland at the United Kingdo ...

of the

Scottish Highlands The Highlands (; , ) is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Scottish Lowlands, Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Scots language, Lowland Scots language replaced Scottish Gae ...

History

A 17th century manuscript of the

Clan Mackenzie Clan Mackenzie ( ) is a Highland Scottish clan associated with Kintail and Ross-shire. Its chiefs trace their lineage to the 12th century, though the earliest recorded chief is Alexander Mackenzie of Kintail, who died after 1471. The clan suppo ...

claims that the Mackenzies burnt 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 ...

lands of Lemlair in the aftermath of the

Battle of Logiebride The Battle of Logiebride or Logie-Riach, also known as a Tumult in Ross was more of a small skirmish rather than an actual battle. The disturbance is said to have taken place on 4 February 1597 at the Logie Candlemas market near Conan House (a m ...

in 1597. The lands of Lemlair were made into a barony direct from the Crown in 1643 for Colonel John Munro of Lemlair who was a leading supporter of the

National Covenant The National Covenant () was an agreement signed by many people of Scotland during 1638, opposing the proposed Laudian reforms of the Church of Scotland (also known as '' the Kirk'') by King Charles I. The king's efforts to impose changes on th ...

and who opposed

Charles I of England Charles I (19 November 1600 – 30 January 1649) was King of Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, and Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland from 27 March 1625 until Execution of Charles I, his execution in 1649. Charles was born ...

's church innovations. In 1738 the lands of Lemlair reverted to the chief of the Clan Munro and later went through a period of Mackenzie ownership when it was connected with the neighboring

Mountgerald Mountgerald () is a small Hamlet (place), hamlet which lies close to the head of the Cromarty Firth, on the west coast. It is northeast of Dingwall, in the western edge of Ross-shire, Scottish Highlands and is in the Scotland, Scottish counci ...

. It was later bought back by another member of the Munro family. The name "Lemlair" is thought to come from the

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 ...

for "a bare place suitable for grazing horses".

Rebuilding

In 1859, it was bought from Sir Charles Munro of Foulis by "Red John" Munro and it was Red John's grandson, another John, who rebuilt it into the present mansion with its internal fittings featuring the Munro eagle in 1876. He moved into the house in 1879 and it has had only three owners since then.

Lemlair today

The mansion is set in of grounds. The building features a

Rennie Mackintosh Charles Rennie Mackintosh (7 June 1868 – 10 December 1928) was a Scottish architect, designer, water colourist and artist. His artistic approach had much in common with European Symbolism (movement), Symbolism. His work, alongside that of hi ...

tiled fireplace and mantelpiece, a snooker room, a tiled-floor veranda overlooking the firth, a tennis court, eight bedrooms, stained-glass windows and Munro clan features such as a fireplace depicting the famous eagle emblem. The house has recently been extensively refurbished including exterior woodwork to bring the house back to original standard. The area boasts excellent fishing, shooting and stalking and countryside walks.

References

External links

* * * {{coord, 57, 37, 39, N, 4, 23, 3, W, region:GB_type:landmark, display=title

Lemlair House Lemlair House is a mansion house in the parish of Kiltearn, Ross-shire, in the Highland council area of the Scottish Highlands. History A 17th century manuscript of the Clan Mackenzie claims that the Mackenzies burnt the Clan Munro lands of Lem ...

Houses completed in 1643 Category B listed buildings in Highland (council area) Listed houses in Scotland 1643 establishments in Scotland