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Dingwall Castle was a medieval fort and royal castle in the town of Dingwall, eastern Ross-shire,
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...
. The castle is believed to have been established by Norse settlers in the area in the 11th century.


Wars of Scottish Independence

During the Wars of Scottish Independence the castle was garrisoned by the forces of 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, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he ruled the duchies of Duchy of Aquitaine, Aquitaine and D ...
. However it was later captured by Scottish forces for king Robert I of Scotland (Robert the Bruce) led by Uilleam II, Earl of Ross. From the castle, the Earl of Ross (chief of Clan Ross) led the men of Ross to fight against the English at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314. As a reward in 1321 King Robert granted Dingwall Castle with the town and lands of Dingwall to the Earl of Ross.


Murder in the Castle

In 1370 a feud arose between William de Moravia, 5th Earl of Sutherland (chief of Clan Sutherland) and Iye Mackay, 4th of Strathnaver (chief of Clan Mackay). A meeting was arranged for them to meet at Dingwall Castle to resolve their issues. However, Iye Mackay and his son Donald Mackay were both murdered in the castle while they were asleep by Nicholas Sutherland, 1st of Duffus, brother of the Earl of Sutherland. See page: Iye Mackay, 4th of Strathnaver for a detailed explanation of the feud.


Duel

Sometime at the beginning of the 15th century a
duel A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two people, with matched weapons, in accordance with agreed-upon Code duello, rules. During the 17th and 18th centuries (and earlier), duels were mostly single combats fought with swords (the r ...
is said to have taken place between the governor of the castle, who had been appointed by Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany and Thomas Munro, brother of Hugh Munro, 9th Baron of Foulis (chief of Clan Munro). The two met at the village of Maryburgh and after an argument dirks were pulled and a duel took place in which Thomas Munro killed the governor of Dingwall Castle. The Scottish Castles Association states that the new governor of the castle was "assassinated" by one of the Munroes and replaced by a
Mackay Mackay may refer to: *Clan Mackay, the Scottish clan from which the surname "MacKay" derives Mackay may also refer to: Places Australia * Mackay Region, a local government area ** Mackay, Queensland, a city in the above region *** Mackay Airport ...
.


Lord of the Isles occupation

In 1411 Domhnall of Islay, Lord of the Isles (chief of
Clan Donald Clan Donald, also known as Clan MacDonald ( gd, Clann Dòmhnaill; Mac Dòmhnaill ), is a Highland Scottish clan and one of the largest Scottish clans. The Lord Lyon King of Arms, the Scottish official with responsibility for regulating heraldry i ...
) captured Dingwall Castle as part of his pursuit of his claim to the earldom of Ross by right of his wife, Mariota Leslie. This took place shortly before the Battle of Harlaw. In 1438 the next successive Clan Donald chief, Alexander of Islay, Earl of Ross was officially recognized as the Earl of Ross and took up his residence at Dingwall Castle. His son, John of Islay, Earl of Ross was not as successful; the Earldom of Ross was confiscated and the castle became a royal possession once more in 1475.
John Munro, 11th Baron of Foulis John Munro of Foulis (died 1491) was a Scottish clan chief of the highland Clan Munro in Rosshire, Scotland. He is by tradition the 11th Baron of Foulis and 14th overall chief of the clan. However, he is actually only the 4th chief of the Clan Mu ...
was then made governor of the castle, who in turn was succeeded by Andrew Munro, 2nd of Milntown. The next governor in 1488 was Sir James Dunbar.


16th century

In 1507 Andrew Stewart, Bishop of Caithness carried out improvements after the castle had been assaulted by the MacDonalds and Mackenzies. Later governors were John Stewart, 2nd Earl of Atholl (1516 - 1522), John Earl of Moray - brother of king
James V of Scotland James V (10 April 1512 – 14 December 1542) was King of Scotland from 9 September 1513 until his death in 1542. He was crowned on 21 September 1513 at the age of seventeen months. James was the son of King James IV and Margaret Tudor, and dur ...
, David Sinclair - until 1550, George Munro, 4th of Milntown also known as "of Docharty" in 1561, Sir Andrew Keith, ( Lord Dingwall), in 1584, Sir John Preston Earl of Desmond in 1605.


Downfall

The Crown abandoned Dingwall Castle in about 1600 and it eventually fell into a ruin. The castle ceased to be maintained after the death of king
James VI of Scotland James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until h ...
in 1625. It was used as a quarry until 1817 when it was finally levelled and only a few fragments remain. 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 and d ...
.


Tunnel

A tunnel still exists that runs from the site of Dingwall Castle to the basement of nearby Tulloch Castle. The tunnel has now collapsed, but it is possible to view this passageway through an air vent on the front lawn of Tulloch Castle's grounds.


References


External links


Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland: Record for Dingwall Castle
{{coord, 57.59770, N, 4.42195, W, region:GB_type:landmark, display=title Dingwall Ruined castles in Highland (council area) Scheduled Ancient Monuments in Highland Clan Ross