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 and is unusual in having one round tower and one rectangular tower. Situated north of Rockfield on the east coast of the parish of

Tarbat Tarbat (Gaelic , meaning 'a crossing or isthmus'Place-names of Ross and Cromarty, by W J Watson, publ. The Northern Counties Printing and Publishing Co. Ltd., Inverness 1904; p.45) is a civil parish in Highland, Scotland, in the north-east corner ...

, Ballone castle, which was also known as Tarbat castle, was reputedly built by the Earls of Ross, but came into possession of the family of Viscount Tarbat and the Earl of Cromartie. John Mackenzie, who was created

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14t ...

of Tarbat in the County of Ross in 1628, died there in 1654. The building is a Z-plan castle with a square tower on the south west and a circular drum-tower on the north east.

New Statistical Account The ''Statistical Accounts of Scotland'' are a series of documentary publications, related in subject matter though published at different times, covering life in Scotland in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. The ''Old (or First) Statistical Ac ...

Vol 14, publ. William Blackwood & Sons, Edinburgh, 1845; p.461Historic Environment Scotland website (article on Ballone) canmore.org.uk/site/75455 and portal.historicenvironment.scot/designation/LB14104 retrieved April 2021 After the Tarbat family moved to Tarbat House further south in the parish of Kilmuir Easter, the castle became a ruin, but it has recently been restored as a private house.Gazetteer for Scotland website www.scottish-places.info/scotgaz/features/featurefirst6603.html Retrieved April 2021Historic Environment Scotland website (article on Tarbat House) canmore.org.uk/site/14596 - retrieved April 2021

References

Ross and Cromarty {{Highland-geo-stub