Ormond Castle, also known as Avoch Castle, was a powerful stronghold, overlooking the village of

Avoch Avoch harbour Avoch ( ; from the gd, Abhach – meaning mouth of the stream) is a harbour-village located on the south-east coast of the Black Isle, on the Moray Firth. History Origins Ormond Castle or ''Avoch Castle'' was a stronghold built o ...

, on the

Black Isle The Black Isle ( gd, an t-Eilean Dubh, ) is a peninsula within Ross and Cromarty, in the Scottish Highlands. It includes the towns of Cromarty and Fortrose, and the villages of Culbokie, Jemimaville, Rosemarkie, Avoch, Munlochy, Tore, and ...

, in the former county of Ross and Cromarty, now part of Highland,

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 ...

. It controlled a prominent position overlooking the Moray Firth and critical to the sea access to Inverness.

Origins

The castle dates from the late 12th century and was rebuilt as a strong rectangular fortress with square corner towers (in the Norman style) between 1200 and 1214 by

William the Lion William the Lion, sometimes styled William I and also known by the nickname Garbh, "the Rough"''Uilleam Garbh''; e.g. Annals of Ulster, s.a. 1214.6; Annals of Loch Cé, s.a. 1213.10. ( 1142 – 4 December 1214), reigned as King of Scots from 11 ...

as a royal fortress.

De Moravia

By the thirteenth century, the castle was in the hands of the de Moravias of Petty and was where they ruled their vast tracts of land across Moray. Andrew de Moravia mustered the men of Moray to join King John Balliol at Ormond Castle following his dishonour in front of

Edward I of England Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he ruled the duchies of Aquitaine and Gascony as a vas ...

, at the outset of Wars of Scottish Independence. Sir Andrew Murray died here in 1338.

Douglas

The heiress to the de Moravias of Petty was Joanna of Bothwell, in 1362 she married

Archibald the Grim Archibald Douglas, Earl of Douglas and Wigtown, Lord of Galloway, Douglas and Bothwell (c. 1330 – c. 24 December 1400), called Archibald the Grim or Black Archibald, was a late medieval Scottish nobleman. Archibald was the bastard son of ...

, Lord of Galloway and later 3rd Earl of Douglas who claimed her estates and titles ''de jure uxoris'' (by right of marriage). Ormond Castle was the caput of the ''Barony of Ormonde'', and was created into an Earldom in 1445 for Hugh Douglas, Earl of Ormonde, third son of

James Douglas, 7th Earl of Douglas James Douglas, 7th Earl of Douglas, 1st Earl of Avondale (1371 – 24 March 1443), latterly known as James the Gross, and prior to his ennoblement as James of Balvenie, was a late mediaeval Scottish magnate. He was the second son of Archibald Do ...

. Following the fall of the Black Douglases after the

Battle of Arkinholm The Battle of Arkinholm was fought on 1 May 1455, at Arkinholm near Langholm in Scotland, during the reign of King James II of Scotland. Although a small action, involving only a few hundred troops, it was the decisive battle in a civil war be ...

in 1455 and the execution of the earl, his properties, like those of his brothers, was forfeit. Ormond Castle was taken by the crown and regranted to

George Douglas, 4th Earl of Angus George Douglas, 4th Earl of Angus, Lord Douglas, Abernethy and Jedburgh Forest (c. 1427 – 12 March 1463)Alan R. Borthwick, 'Douglas, George, fourth earl of Angus (c.1417–1463)’, ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University ...

. Angus, the "Red Douglas", was a kinsman and enemy of the Black Douglases, and became the new power from that mighty house. The title of Earl of Ormonde was recreated for the elder son of the 1st Marquess of Douglas in 1651, but became extinct upon the death of Archibald Douglas, 3rd Earl of Ormonde in 1715, who died of wounds following the Battle of Sheriffmuir.

Munro

From 1560 to 1568 the castle was owned by David Chalmers, Lord Ormond, but his support of

Mary Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legitimate child of James V of Sco ...

forced him into exile in 1568 and he was forced to sell the castle and the adjacent estates of Suddie and Avoch. In 1568 Ormond Castle and the lands of Suddie in Avoch were acquired under feu from the Earls of Angus and Ormonde, by Andrew Munro, 5th of Milntown, also known as Andrew Munro of Newmore during his father's lifetime.

Cromwell

Ormond Castle was destroyed in the 1650s by

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three K ...

, in order for him to build his fortress at Inverness. Only ruins of the castle remain today.Castle

References

{{reflist

External links

avoch.orgwalkhighlands.co.uk
Ruined castles in Highland (council area) Black Isle Clan Murray De Moravia family