Keiss Castle is a partially ruined castle in

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 the ...

, which stands on sheer cliffs overlooking Sinclair's Bay less than one mile north of

Keiss Keiss ( gd, Cèis) is a fishing village at the northern end of Sinclair's Bay on the east coast of Caithness county in Scotland's Highland Council area. Keiss castle Keiss Castle, which is now partially ruined, is located less than 1 mile no ...

village centre,

Caithness Caithness ( gd, Gallaibh ; sco, Caitnes; non, Katanes) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. Caithness has a land boundary with the historic county of Sutherland to the west and is otherwise bounded by ...

, Highland, Scotland. It is 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 ...

. The old castle was replaced by Keiss House around 1755. The castle was constructed as a Z-plan tower house with 4 floors plus an attic and a vaulted basement. It had a pair of corner towers at opposite angles of a square central block, the main tower being very narrow for its height with tall chimneystacks.

History

The castle was built possibly on the site of an earlier fort in the late 16th or early 17th century by George Sinclair, 5th Earl of Caithness (1582-1643). It seems the castle was in existence in 1623 when James I commissioned Sir Robert Gordon to enter Caithness with an armed force. The 7th Earl died in the castle in 1698 but it is reported that the castle was ruinous in 1700 and in 1726 as being in repair with 'at the side of it a convenient house lately built'. The estate was purchased by Sir William Sinclair, 2nd Baronet of Dunbeath early in the 18th century and in 1752 Keiss became his family seat. The current house was built about 1755 but had to be sold in 1765 because of financial difficulties to the Sinclairs of nearby

Ulbster Ulbster is a scattered crofting hamlet on the eastern coast of Caithness, within the parish of Wick, in the Scottish Highlands, within the Highland Council area. The town of Wick is located seven miles north of the village along the A99 road. To ...

. This

Category B listed This is a list of Category A listed buildings in Scotland, which are among the listed buildings of the United Kingdom. For a fuller list, see the pages linked on List of listed buildings in Scotland. Key The organization of the lists in th ...

baronial mansion was altered to its current form on the instructions of Col. K. Macleay by David Bryce in 1860, during which it was extended in the Scottish baronial style. It was then sold to the Duke of Portland in 1866. Also included in the listing is the Walled garden to the NE of the house and the gate lodge and gate piers with cast-iron carriage gates installed in the 1860 alterations.

References

External links

Keiss Castle, Caithness
{{coord, 58.5381, -3.1062, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Castles in Highland (council area) Ruined castles in Highland (council area) Buildings and structures in Caithness Scheduled Ancient Monuments in Highland