Milntown Castle was an early 16th-century castle which was situated near
Milton, in
Easter Ross
Easter Ross () is a loosely defined area in the east of Ross, Highland, Scotland.
The name is used in the constituency name Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, which is the name of both a British House of Commons constituency and a Scotti ...
, in 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
The castle was built by the
Munro of Milntown family, a cadet branch of 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 ...
. In 1656, the castle and estate were sold to
George Mackenzie, 1st Earl of Cromartie
George Mackenzie, 1st Earl of Cromartie FRS (1630–1714), known as Sir George Mackenzie, 2nd Baronet from 1654 to 1685 and as the Viscount of Tarbat from 1685 to 1703, was a Scottish statesman.
Life
He was born at Innerteil, near Kinghorn, F ...
also known as George MacKenzie of Tarbet. He renamed the estate New Tarbat after Tarbat Castle (now more commonly known as
Ballone Castle
Ballone Castle was built in the 16th century. It was unoccupied for a couple of centuries and fell into ruin. In the 1990s it was purchased and restored by an architect. The original castle was built on a Z-plan castle, Z-plan and is unusual in ha ...
), the family's original seat near
Portmahomack
Portmahomack (; 'Haven of My .e. 'Saint'Colmóc') is a small fishing village in Easter Ross, Scotland. It is situated in the Tarbat Peninsula in the parish of Tarbat. Tarbat Ness Lighthouse is about from the village at the end of the Tar ...
.
Mackenzie had the Milntown Castle pulled down and only part of the basement survives. He then replaced the castle with a new mansion built nearby. When the new mansion was built, the old Milntown Castle was remodelled as part of the garden.
That mansion was itself demolished and in 1787 was replaced with a Georgian house (now known as
Tarbat House) by his descendant
John Mackenzie, Lord MacLeod
John Mackenzie, Lord MacLeod (17272 April 1789) was a Scottish Jacobite politician and soldier of fortune.
Life
Born at Castle Leod near Strathpeffer, Scotland, he was the eldest son of George Mackenzie, 3rd Earl of Cromartie and Isabel Gor ...
.
Accounts of the castle
Although the castle no longer exists, descriptions of the building are provided in some books including the ''History of the Earldom of Sutherland'' by
Sir Robert Gordon
Sir Robert Gordon (1791 – 8 October 1847) was a British diplomat.
Gordon was a younger son of George Gordon, Lord Haddo (himself the eldest son of the 3rd Earl of Aberdeen) and a brother of the 4th Earl of Aberdeen. He was educated at St ...
(1580–1625) and the ''History of the Munros of Fowlis'' written by
Alexander Mackenzie in 1898.
Sir Robert Gordon wrote:
Alexander Mackenzie wrote:
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
{{Coord, 57, 44, 11, N, 4, 03, 50, W, region:GB, display=title
Castles in Highland (council area)
Clan Munro