Milton ( gd, Baile Mhuilinn Anndra), known as Milntown of Tarbat until the early 1970s, is a small

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 ...

community between

Kildary Kildary ( gd, Caoldaraigh) is a small village in Easter Ross, Ross and Cromarty, Highland, Scotland. The village is located on the Balnagown River and is bordered by Balnagown Castle and the Balnagown estate, owned by Mohamed Al Fayed, former ...

and

Barbaraville Barbaraville ( gd, An Cladach) is a small settlement on the north shore of Nigg Bay in the Cromarty Firth in the Highland (council area), Highland council area of Scotland. Housing dates from 1820 on when local people were allowed to build on p ...

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 ...

's North East coast.

History

The Scottish clans

It was a centre for

oatmeal Oatmeal is a preparation of oats that have been de-husked, steamed, and flattened, or a coarse flour of hulled oat grains (groats) that have either been milled (ground) or steel-cut. Ground oats are also called white oats. Steel-cut oats are ...

and later

flax Flax, also known as common flax or linseed, is a flowering plant, ''Linum usitatissimum'', in the family Linaceae. It is cultivated as a food and fiber crop in regions of the world with temperate climates. Textiles made from flax are known in ...

production, fed by the many surrounding farms during the heyday of the

Clan Ross Clan Ross ( gd, Clann Anndrais ) is a Highland Scottish clan. The original chiefs of the clan were the original Earl of Ross, Earls of Ross. History Origins The first recorded chief of the Clan Ross was Fearchar, Earl of Ross, "Fearcher Mac ...

. According to historian R. W Munro the family that did most to extend the territory 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 ...

was the senior line of the numerous descendants of John, brother of

George Munro, 10th Baron of Foulis George Munro of Foulis (died 1452) is traditionally the 10th Baron and 13th successive chief of the Clan Munro. However, he is only the third successive chief of the clan who can be proved by contemporary evidence. He was the eldest son of Hugh Mu ...

.Munro, R. W. (1987). ''Mapping the Clan Munro''. Edinburgh. 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's base,

Milntown Castle Milntown Castle was an early 16th-century castle which was situated near Milton, in Easter Ross, in the Scottish Highlands. History The castle was built by the Munro of Milntown family, a cadet branch of the Clan Munro. In 1656, the castle and ...

, was at Milntown of Meddat which was so near to

Balnagown Castle Balnagown Castle is beside the village of Kildary in Easter Ross, part of the Highland area of Scotland. There has been a castle on the site since the 14th century, although the present building was remodelled in the 18th and 19th centuries. It i ...

that the Ross chiefs tried to stop them building there. The last of in the senior line of the Munros of Milntown was killed at the

Battle of Kilsyth The Battle of Kilsyth, fought on 15 August 1645 near Kilsyth, was an engagement of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. The largest battle of the conflict in Scotland, it resulted in victory for the Royalist general Montrose over the forces of ...

in 1642 and Milntown Castle was burned down by carelessness in the same year. The castle was demolished to make way for the Mackenzie purchaser's improvements; the original

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. ...

18th to 19th centuries

The village of Milntown's

market cross A market cross, or in Scots, a mercat cross, is a structure used to mark a market square in market towns, where historically the right to hold a regular market or fair was granted by the monarch, a bishop or a baron. History Market crosse ...

dates from the late 18th century. The

mill Mill may refer to: Science and technology * * Mill (grinding) * Milling (machining) * Millwork * Textile mill * Steel mill, a factory for the manufacture of steel * List of types of mill * Mill, the arithmetic unit of the Analytical Engine early ...

was powered by a feed from the

Balnagown Balnagown Castle is beside the village of Kildary in Easter Ross, part of the Highland area of Scotland. There has been a castle on the site since the 14th century, although the present building was remodelled in the 18th and 19th centuries. It i ...

River. The original village, a conservation area, features classic

Scottish Vernacular Scottish Vernacular architecture is a form of vernacular architecture that uses local materials. Overview In Scotland, as elsewhere, vernacular architecture employs readily available local materials and methods handed down from generation to gene ...

architectural Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing buildings o ...

features, and a short distance away the

Tarbat Estate Tarbat (Gaelic , meaning 'a crossing or isthmus'Place-names of Ross and Cromarty, by W J Watson, publ. The Northern Counties Printing and Publishing Co. Ltd., Inverness 1904; p.45) is a civil parish in Highland, Scotland, in the north-east corner ...

includes Major-General Lord MacLeod's 1787

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

, now in a state of ruin but with many original features within the grounds, including the burial sites of favourite horses and dogs and an impressive, although now uncared for Victorian

arboretum An arboretum (plural: arboreta) in a general sense is a botanical collection composed exclusively of trees of a variety of species. Originally mostly created as a section in a larger garden or park for specimens of mostly non-local species, man ...

. The view from the top floors of the mansion in its early days before the encroachment of trees would have taken in the grounds and the

Cromarty Firth The Cromarty Firth (; gd, Caolas Chrombaidh ; literally "kyles /nowiki>straits.html"_;"title="strait.html"_;"title="/nowiki>strait">/nowiki>straits">strait.html"_;"title="/nowiki>strait">/nowiki>straitsof_Cromarty.html" ;"title="strait">/no ...

Modern history

Today it has a modern

council A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or natio ...

housing development to the west and north of the original village, built during the early and late 1970s on what was

arable land Arable land (from the la, arabilis, "able to be ploughed") is any land capable of being ploughed and used to grow crops.''Oxford English Dictionary'', "arable, ''adj''. and ''n.''" Oxford University Press (Oxford), 2013. Alternatively, for the ...

for many centuries.

References

External links

Fearn Peninsula
Populated places in Ross and Cromarty {{Highland-geo-stub