Rait Castle, near Nairn (geograph 1645388)

Rait Castle is a ruined hall-house castle dating from the thirteenth century, situated just south of

Nairn Nairn (; gd, Inbhir Narann) is a town and royal burgh in the Highland council area of Scotland. It is an ancient fishing port and market town around east of Inverness, at the point where the River Nairn enters the Moray Firth. It is the tradit ...

near

Inverness Inverness (; from the gd, Inbhir Nis , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness"; sco, Innerness) is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands. Histori ...

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 ...

.Coventry, Martin. (2008). ''Castles of the Clans: The Strongholds and Seats of 750 Scottish Families and Clans''. pp. 486. . It is 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 ...

Architecture

The remains of the courtyard walls are nine feet high and also contain the remains of the Chapel of St Mary of Rait. The building was a two story building, measuring 20 metres by 10 metres.Rait Castle - Architecture
saveraitcastle.org. Retrieved 14 September 2014. It had an unvaulted basement and an upper hall. The hall was entered from the outside and was protected by a

portcullis A portcullis (from Old French ''porte coleice'', "sliding gate") is a heavy vertically-closing gate typically found in medieval fortifications, consisting of a latticed grille made of wood, metal, or a combination of the two, which slides down gr ...

and a drawbar. The walls of the castle are nearly 6 feet thick.Rait Castle - Archeological Notes
rcahms.gov.uk. Retrieved 18 September 2014. A tower projects from one corner of the castle and there is a

garderobe Garderobe is a historic term for a room in a medieval castle. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' gives as its first meaning a store-room for valuables, but also acknowledges "by extension, a private room, a bed-chamber; also a privy". The word der ...

tower on the west side that projects nearly 13 feet.

History

The castle was originally a property of the

Comyn family Clan Cumming ( gd, Na Cuimeinich ), also known as Clan Comyn, is a Scottish clan from the central Highlands that played a major role in the history of 13th-century Scotland and in the Wars of Scottish Independence. The Clan Comyn was once the mo ...

, who took the name of de Rait.Mackenzie, Steven (BBC Highlands and Islands reporter)
Haunted castle: The ruin with a colourful past, 14 May, 2013
bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 18 September 2014. Sir Alexander Rait killed the third Thane of Cawdor (chief of

Clan Calder Clan Calder is a Highland Scottish clan.Way, George and Squire, Romily. (1994). ''Collins Scottish Clan & Family Encyclopedia''. (Foreword by The Rt Hon. The Earl of Elgin KT, Convenor, The Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs). pp. 369. The clan ...

), and then fled south where he married the heiress of Hallgreen. The castle later passed from the de Raits to the Mackintosh family and then to the Campbell family. In 1442, when the castle passed to the Mackintoshes from the de Rait family, a feast was held at the castle between the two families which ended in the slaughter of most of the Comyns and de Raits.Coventry. (2008) pp. 383. The laird blamed his daughter, whom he chased around the castle. She climbed out of a window but he chopped off her hands and she fell to her death. The castle is said to be haunted by her ghost, with no hands. The

Duke of Cumberland Duke of Cumberland is a peerage title that was conferred upon junior members of the British Royal Family, named after the historic county of Cumberland. History The Earldom of Cumberland, created in 1525, became extinct in 1643. The dukedo ...

is said to have stayed at the castle before the

Battle of Culloden The Battle of Culloden (; gd, Blàr Chùil Lodair) was the final confrontation of the Jacobite rising of 1745. On 16 April 1746, the Jacobite army of Charles Edward Stuart was decisively defeated by a British government force under Prince Wi ...

in 1746, although the last recorded reference to the castle was in 1596. American singer

Bonnie Raitt Bonnie Lynn Raitt (; born November 8, 1949) is an American blues singer and guitarist. In 1971, Raitt released her self-titled debut album. Following this, she released a series of critically acclaimed roots-influenced albums that incorporated ...

is a descendant of the Rait clan, and visited Rait Castle in 1990.

References

{{reflist

External links

Stand Up for Rait Castle!
saveraitcastle.org
Rait Castle
canmore.rcahms.gov.uk. (Canmore)

Rait Rait () is a small village in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. It lies northwest of Errol, in the Gowrie area west of Dundee, on a minor road crossing the Sidlaw Hills through the Glen of Rait. The village is mainly residential with stone cottage ...

Rait Castle Rait Castle Scheduled Ancient Monuments in Highland