Skelbo Castle is a ruined 14th century

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 ...

, located near

Dornoch Dornoch (; ; ) is a town, seaside resort, parish and former royal burgh in the county of Sutherland in the Highlands of Scotland. It lies on the north shore of the Dornoch Firth, near to where it opens into the Moray Firth to the east. ...

Sutherland Sutherland () is a Counties of Scotland, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in the Scottish Highlands, Highlands of Scotland. The name dates from the Scandinavian Scotland, Viking era when t ...

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 ...

. The remaining wall is best preserved at the northern side of the castle. The remains are protected 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 ...

. The castle is located at a former ferry crossing and commanded views over

Loch Fleet Loch Fleet () is a sea loch on the east coast of Scotland, located between Golspie and Dornoch. It forms the estuary of the River Fleet, a small spate river that rises in the hills east of Lairg. The loch was designated a National Nature Reserve ...

History

Hugh de Moravia Hugh de Moravia (died c. 1219), Lord of Duffus, Strathbrock and Sutherland, was a Scottish noble. He was the eldest son of William, the eldest son of Freskin, a Flemish settler who arrived in Scotland in the reign of King David I of Scotland. ...

granted Skelbo in 1211 to

Gilbert de Moravia Gilbert de Moravia (died 1245), later known as Saint Gilbert of Dornoch, or Gilbert of Caithness, was the most famous Bishop of Caithness and founder of Dornoch Cathedral. His name may suggest that he came from the semi-Gaelicized family of ...

the

Bishop of Caithness The Bishop of Caithness was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Caithness, one of Scotland's 13 medieval bishoprics. The first referenced bishop of Caithness was Aindréas, a Gael who appears in sources between 1146 and 1151 as bishop. Ai ...

. In 1235, the castle was granted to

Richard de Moravia Richard de Moravia or Richard de Moray of Culbin House, Culbin or of Cubyn, was a Scottish nobleman famed for his victory over the Vikings at the Battle of Embo which took place in Sutherland, Scotland in 1245. Origins Richard was a son of Mur ...

by his brother Gilbert de Moravia, Bishop of Caithness. King

Edward I of England Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots (Latin: Malleus Scotorum), was King of England from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he was Lord of Ireland, and from 1254 ...

's commissioners were awaiting the arrival of

Margaret, Maid of Norway Margaret (, ; March or April 1283 – September 1290), known as the Maid of Norway, was the queen-designate of Scotland from 1286 until her death. As she was never crowned, her status as monarch is uncertain and has been debated by historia ...

at Skelbo Castle, when they learned of her death in

Orkney Orkney (), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago off the north coast of mainland Scotland. The plural name the Orkneys is also sometimes used, but locals now consider it outdated. Part of the Northern Isles along with Shetland, ...

in September 1290, aged 7 years, whilst on her voyage from Norway to Scotland, to assume the Scottish throne. In 1308,

Robert the Bruce Robert I (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329), popularly known as Robert the Bruce (), was King of Scots from 1306 until his death in 1329. Robert led Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland during the First War of Scottish Independence against Kingdom of Eng ...

captured a castle at the site belonging to the Sutherlands. In 1494, Marjory Mowat widow of John of Kinnaird disputed ownership of the castle with Thomas of Kinnaird. The court ordered a lawyer to interview the witnesses to a charter.''Acts of the Lords Auditors of Causes and Complaints'' (Edinburgh, 1839), p. 203-4. In 1494, the Murrays of Aberscross were also in dispute with the Kinnaird family over the ownership of Skelbo Castle which eventually went to the Kinnairds, who, like the Murrays, were also descended from Richard de Moravia. In 1529, the castle was bought by William Sutherland, 6th of Duffus who entered into a contract with John Kinnaird

Of that Ilk "Of that Ilk", otherwise known as "Chief of that Bluid", is a term used in the Scottish nobility to denote a clan chieftain in some Scottish clans. The term '' of that ilk'' means "of the same ame, and is used to avoid repetition in a person's ti ...

to pay him 2300

merks The merk () is a long-obsolete Scotland, Scottish silver coin. Originally the same word as a Mark (currency), money mark of silver, the merk was in circulation at the end of the 16th century and in the 17th century. It was originally valued at 1 ...

by installments and for each installment he received certain lands including Skelbo to be held from the

Earl of Sutherland Earl of Sutherland is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created circa 1230 for William de Moravia, 1st Earl of Sutherland, William de Moravia and is the premier earldom in the Peerage of Scotland. The earl or countess of Sutherland is al ...

as overlord. Kinnaird also conveyed to him, the lands of Aberscors, Invershin and others with the whole sale and transfer of Skelbo finally taking place on 15 September 1529. A 16th-century house was built adjacent, but the whole site was abandoned as a residence in the 20th century. * Mikhail de Buar (d.2009) – last owner of the castle, who died without the testament. His legacy is now the subject of a major scandal and litigation in Russia.

References

External links

* * * * {{Authority control Castles in Highland (council area) Scheduled monuments in Highland Listed castles in Scotland Ruined castles in Highland (council area) Buildings and structures in Sutherland

History

See also

References

External links