Culloden ( ; from

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well ...

', "back of the small pond"; modern Gaelic ') is the name of a village east of Inverness,

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

and the surrounding area. east of the village is Drumossie Moor, site of the Battle of Culloden.

History

Culloden village was originally made up of estate houses attached to Culloden House. Historic buildings include Culloden House itself, which is now a hotel, the Culloden stables, now rebuilt as holiday homes, and the historic

tithe barn A tithe barn was a type of barn used in much of northern Europe in the Middle Ages for storing rents and tithe A tithe (; from Old English: ''teogoþa'' "tenth") is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious orga ...

which is now the Barn Church. Additional interesting buildings nearby include the Loch Lann Kennels, the

Doocot A dovecote or dovecot , doocot ( Scots) or columbarium is a structure intended to house pigeons or doves. Dovecotes may be free-standing structures in a variety of shapes, or built into the end of a house or barn. They generally contain pige ...

and the ice house. In the 1960s an area near the historic village was drained for a council housing project, including Culloden Stores, Culloden Academy and Duncan Forbes Primary School, named after the Forbeses of Culloden, who owned Culloden House from 1626 to 1897. More recent private housing developments have since grown up around it. Culloden House is now a luxury country house hotel. The parish of Culloden includes three other communities: Balloch , Smithton and Westhill. Like Culloden, Balloch is a village of some antiquity. Smithton and Westhill are post-war housing developments.

Battlefield of Culloden

Today, the battlefield of Culloden is under the care of the

National Trust for Scotland The National Trust for Scotland for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, commonly known as the National Trust for Scotland ( gd, Urras Nàiseanta na h-Alba), is a Scottish conservation organisation. It is the largest membership organi ...

, and its visitors' centre is a huge tourist attraction. The National Trust for Scotland has built a visitor centre that includes an interactive battle experience with an immersion film battle room. The visitor centre was officially opened to the public on 16 April 2008 and received 209,011 visitors in 2019.The Official Opening of the Visitor Centre, stv News 16 April 2008

Clootie well

Apart from the battlefield, the most notable site in the surrounding area is the " clootie well", in Culloden Woods, where brightly coloured rags are hung as offerings from people wishing to be cured of ailments. This well was traditionally visited on the first Sunday in May. Until the early 1970s, this pilgrimage was well attended with 'buses laid on to cater for the crowds. The practice of visiting on a specific day has declined sharply in recent years. A similar, and better known, well is near

Munlochy Munlochy ( ; Scottish Gaelic: ''Poll Lochaidh'') is a small village, lying at the head of Munlochy Bay (''Ob Poll Lochaidh''), in the Black Isle in Ross and Cromarty, in northern Scotland. There are few early records of a settlement, but it seem ...

. This tradition may be based on Celtic ceremonies, involving

votive offerings A votive offering or votive deposit is one or more objects displayed or deposited, without the intention of recovery or use, in a sacred place for religious purposes. Such items are a feature of modern and ancient societies and are generally ...

to water spirits. The Cairns of Clava, a group of Bronze Age burial mounds, are located at Balnauran of Clava, about south-east of the battlefield.

References

{{Authority control Populated places in Inverness committee area Areas of Inverness