Milntown Castle was an early 16th-century castle which was situated near

Milton Milton may refer to: Names * Milton (surname), a surname (and list of people with that surname) ** John Milton (1608–1674), English poet * Milton (given name) ** Milton Friedman (1912–2006), Nobel laureate in Economics, author of '' Free t ...

, in

Easter Ross Easter Ross ( gd, Ros an Ear) is a loosely defined area in the east of Ross, Highland, Scotland. The name is used in the constituency name Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, which is the name of both a British House of Commons constituenc ...

, in the

Scottish Highlands The Highlands ( sco, the Hielands; gd, a’ Ghàidhealtachd , 'the place of the Gaels') is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Sco ...

History

The castle was built by the

Munro of Milntown The Munros of Milntown were a family cadet branch of the Highland Clan Munro. As the earliest recorded cadet branch of the Munro chiefs, the Munros of Milntown were the 'senior' cadet branch of the clan, and spawned many cadet branches. They were f ...

family, a cadet branch of the

Clan Munro Clan Munro (; gd, Clann an Rothaich ) is a Highland Scottish clan. Historically the clan was based in Easter Ross in the Scottish Highlands. Traditional origins of the clan give its founder as Donald Munro who came from the north of Ireland and ...

. In 1656, the castle and estate was sold to

George Mackenzie, 1st Earl of Cromartie George Mackenzie, 1st Earl of Cromartie FRS (1630–1714), known as Sir George Mackenzie, 2nd Baronet from 1654 to 1685 and as The Viscount of Tarbat from 1685 to 1703, was a Scottish statesman. Life He was born at Innerteil, near Kinghorn, Fi ...

also known as George MacKenzie of Tarbet. He renamed the estate New Tarbat after Tarbat Castle (now more commonly known as

Ballone Castle 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 ...

), the family's original seat near

Portmahomack Portmahomack ( gd, Port Mo Chalmaig; 'Haven of My .e. 'Saint'Colmóc') is a small fishing village in Easter Ross, Scotland. It is situated in the Tarbat Peninsula in the parish of Tarbat. Tarbat Ness Lighthouse is about from the village at t ...

. Mackenzie had the Milntown Castle pulled down and only part of the basement survives. He then replaced the castle with a new mansion built nearby. When the new mansion was built, the old Milntown Castle was remodelled as part of the garden. That mansion was itself demolished and in 1787 was replaced with a Georgian house (now known as

Tarbat House Tarbat House is a Category A listed building in the Highland council area of northern Scotland. A three-story stone mansion in the neoclassical style, it was built in 1787 by the Edinburgh architect James McLeran for John Mackenzie, Lord MacLeod. ...

) by his descendant

John Mackenzie, Lord MacLeod John Mackenzie, Lord MacLeod (17272 April 1789) was a Scottish Jacobite politician and soldier of fortune. Life Born at Castle Leod near Strathpeffer, Scotland, he was the eldest son of George Mackenzie, 3rd Earl of Cromartie and Isabel G ...

Accounts of the castle

Although the castle no longer exists, descriptions of the building are provided in some books including the ''History of the Earldom of Sutherland'' by Sir Robert Gordon (1580–1625) and the ''History of the Munros of Fowlis'' written by Alexander Mackenzie in 1898. Sir Robert Gordon wrote: Alexander Mackenzie wrote:

References

{{Coord, 57, 44, 11, N, 4, 03, 50, W, region:GB, display=title Castles in Highland (council area) Clan Munro

History

Accounts of the castle

See also

References