Kilcoy Castle is a 16th-century

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

near

Muir of Ord Muir of Ord ( gd, Am Blàr Dubh) is a village in Easter Ross, in the Highland council area of Scotland. It is situated near the western end of the Black Isle, about west of the city of Inverness and south of Dingwall. The village has a populatio ...

and

Tore Tore is a Scandinavian masculine name. It is derived from the Old Norse name ''Thórir'', which is composed of ''thorr'' which means thunder, and ''arr'' which means warrior. So Thunder Warrior or Thor's Warrior. The most famous person by this nam ...

on the

Black Isle The Black Isle ( gd, an t-Eilean Dubh, ) is a peninsula within Ross and Cromarty, in the Scottish Highlands. It includes the towns of Cromarty and Fortrose, and the villages of Culbokie, Jemimaville, Rosemarkie, Avoch, Munlochy, Tore, and Nor ...

, in

Ross and Cromarty Ross and Cromarty ( gd, Ros agus Cromba), sometimes referred to as Ross-shire and Cromartyshire, is a variously defined area in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. There is a registration county and a lieutenancy area in current use, the latt ...

, Scotland. Kilcoy Castle is a ‘Z’ plan fortalice dating from no later than 1618 and possibly founded as early as 1580 (contemporary with

Dalcross Castle Dalcross Castle is a restored 17th century tower house, about southwest of Croy, Highland, Scotland, and about northeast of Inverness. The castle stands on a ridge.Lindsay, Maurice (1986) ''The Castles of Scotland''. Constable. p.180 Histo ...

QV).

History

The castle was built beginning as early as 1580 by the

Stewart family Clan Stewart ( Gaelic: ''Stiùbhart'') is a Scottish Highland and Lowland clan. The clan is recognised by Court of the Lord Lyon; however, it does not have a Clan Chief recognised by the Lord Lyon King of Arms. Because the clan has no chief it ...

, and completed by Alexander Mackenzie, third son of Colin Cam Mackenzie of Kintail around 1618. As a result of his marriage (contract 15 August 1611) to the widow of Sir James Stewart of Kilcoy, he had a charter of the lands of Kilcoy dated 18 July 1616 and a further charter of the Barony of Kilcoy dated 29 January 1618. The estates passed through the male line of the Mackenzies of Kilcoy until the death in 1883 of Sir Evan Mackenzie, 2nd Baronet, when they were inherited by his eldest daughter, who married a Colonel Burton.Alexander Mackenzie, ''History of the clan Mackenzie'' (A & W Mackenzie, 1879), at page 433 It fell into a ruinous state during the late 18th and 19th Centuries and was restored in 1891 by the Inverness Architects Ross and McBeth, who added a four-storey wing to the north. The castle was restored from a ruinous condition in about 1891.

Construction

The castle is a Z-plan

tower house A tower house is a particular type of stone structure, built for defensive purposes as well as habitation. Tower houses began to appear in the Middle Ages, especially in mountainous or limited access areas, in order to command and defend strateg ...

. It has five storeys with two round corner towers. The slated roof has

crow-stepped gable A stepped gable, crow-stepped gable, or corbie step is a stairstep type of design at the top of the triangular gable-end of a building. The top of the parapet wall projects above the roofline and the top of the brick or stone wall is stacked in a ...

s and (probably late 17th century) dormer-head windows. There are many

gun loops An embrasure (or crenel or crenelle; sometimes called gunhole in the domain of gunpowder-era architecture) is the opening in a battlement between two raised solid portions ( merlons). Alternatively, an embrasure can be a space hollowed ou ...

.The Gazetteer for Scotland
(accessed on 15 April 2010)

Present day

The castle is owned by relations of the original Stewart builders of Kilcoy. Its gardens are periodically open to the public under Scotland’s Gardens Scheme. The Menkings of Kilcoy maintain the Castle as their official residence but are rarely in residence. The castle is used primarily for evangelical and charitable purposes and regularly hosts events for a variety of Christian and local charities. Mark Menking of Kilcoy, the current feudal Baron of Kilcoy is heir to the feudal Lordship of the Garioch (in Aberdeenshire) currently held by George David Menking of Garioch. The Garioch Charitable Trust holds its annual trustee meetings at the castle.

References

{{coord, 57, 31, 44, N, 4, 22, 44, W, region:GB, display=title Castles in Highland (council area) Clan Mackenzie Category A listed buildings in Highland (council area) Listed castles in Scotland Black Isle Lowland castles