Lovat Castle was a castle in the

Highlands Highland is a broad term for areas of higher elevation, such as a mountain range or mountainous plateau. Highland, Highlands, or The Highlands, may also refer to: Places Albania * Dukagjin Highlands Armenia * Armenian Highlands Australia *Sou ...

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 ...

, near

Kirkhill Kirkhill or Kirkhills may refer to a number of places. In Canada: * Kirkhill, Nova Scotia * Kirkhill, Ontario, an area of North Glengarry In Northern Ireland: * Kirkhills, a townland in County Antrim In Scotland: *Kirkhill industrial estate, near ...

and

Beauly Beauly ( ; ; gd, A' Mhanachainn) is a village in the Highland area, on the River Beauly, west of Inverness by the Far North railway line. The town is historically within Kilmorack Parish of the Scottish County of Inverness. The land around Be ...

. The castle stood on the south bank of the

River Beauly The River Beauly ( gd, Abhainn nam Manach, ) is a river in the Scottish Highlands, about 15 km west of the city of Inverness. It is about 25 km long, beginning near the village of Struy, at the confluence of the River Farrar and the R ...

. Originally known as ''Beauly Castle'', it was built by the Bissets in the 11th-12th century. The castle came into the

Fraser Fraser may refer to: Places Antarctica * Fraser Point, South Orkney Islands Australia * Fraser, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb in the Canberra district of Belconnen * Division of Fraser (Australian Capital Territory), a former federal ele ...

's hands with the marriage of Simon Fraser to a Bissett heiress in the 13th century. Nothing remains of the castle. It is now the site of farm buildings at Wester Lovat. The castle was dismantled for building materials in 1671. The stone and oak beams were ferried over the

to a new site.

History

There was a fire at Lovat around 1505. Rory Mackenzie, a nephew of Thomas Fraser, 2nd Lord Lovat, and later the father of Murdo Mackenzie of Fairburn, was staying and he rescued the Fraser charter chest from the flames. Thomas, Lord Lovat enlarged the orchard, and planted elms, planes, and ash trees. He had a new well dug in the central courtyard.

Hugh Fraser, 3rd Lord Lovat Hugh Fraser, 3rd Lord Lovat (c. 1494 – 15 July 1544) was a Scottish peer and Chief of Clan Fraser of Lovat from 1524 until 1544. Biography Fraser was the eldest son of Thomas Fraser, 2nd Lord Lovat (died 1524) and Janet Gordon, daughter ...

was said to have fortified the courtyard of Lovat during the reign of

James V 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 duri ...

with

yett A yett (from the Old English and Scots language word for "gate") is a gate or grille of latticed wrought iron bars used for defensive purposes in castles and tower houses. Unlike a portcullis, which is raised and lowered vertically using mecha ...

s and installed a great oaken entrance gate. He built a dyke planted with aspen trees around the green, and repaired the castle chapel which was dedicated to St Laurence. In the autumn of 1634 a man cutting withies in the orchard of Lovat Castle found an earthenware pot filled with gold coins and rings. It was thought the treasure was brought to Lovat by Elizabeth Stewart, the bride of

Hugh Fraser, 5th Lord Lovat Hugh Fraser, 5th Lord Lovat (c. 1545–1577) was a Scottish landowner. He was the son of Alexander Fraser, 4th Lord Lovat (d. 1557) and Janet Campell, a daughter of John Campbell of Cawdor. He was known as "Red Hugh" from the colour of his hair ...

, and had been stolen and hidden by her maid.William Mackay, ''Fraser Chronicles'' (Edinburgh, 1905), pp. 268-71.

References

* Clan Fraser Clan Bissett Ruined castles in Highland (council area) {{Scotland-castle-stub