Brahan Castle was situated 3.5 miles (5.6 km) south-west of Dingwall, in Easter Ross, Highland Scotland. The castle belonged to the Earls of Seaforth, chiefs of the Clan Mackenzie, who dominated the area.
Brahan Castle was situated 3.5 miles (5.6 km) south-west of Dingwall, in Easter Ross, Highland Scotland. The castle belonged to the Earls of Seaforth, chiefs of the Clan Mackenzie, who dominated the area.
Brahan Castle was built by Colin Mackenzie, 1st Earl of Seaforth in 1611. [1] Kenneth Mackenzie, a labourer on the estate, was a reputed seer who made a number of prophecies in the later 17th century. He is remembered as the Brahan Seer.
The Mackenzies were prominent Jacobites, and took part in the Jacobite risings of 1715, 1719 and 1745. The Siege of Brahan took place in November 1715. [2] William Mackenzie, 5th Earl of Seaforth, was attainted, forfeiting the estate, which in 1725 became the headquarters of General Wade during his "pacification" of the Highlands. [3] After the later Jacobite rising of 1745, the Mackenzies were the first clan to surrender, being forced to swear allegiance to the British Crown on the steps of the castle. [4]
The estate was later sold back to the Mackenzie family, although the direct line of descent died out in 1781. The estate passed to Francis Mackenzie, 1st Baron Seaforth who carried out tree planting in the grounds. On his death in 1815, Brahan passed to the baron's eldest daughter Mary Elizabeth Frederica Mackenzie who married James Alexander Stewart of Glasserton in 1817. [5] During the first half of the 19th century, the castle was rebuilt and extended as a large country house. [1]
James Stewart-Mackenzie was created Baron Seaforth in 1921, but on his death without heir in 1923, he left the estate to a trust. [3] Brahan Castle was briefly requisitioned during World War II, and after the war its condition deteriorated. In the early 1950s the building was demolished, leaving only the north wall of the 19th century building, which served as a garden ornament. The stable block survives, and is now known as Brahan House. Several heraldic panels and other decorative stones are preserved in the house. [1]
A monument on the estate, around 1 mile (1.6 km) west of the site of the castle, commemorates the death in 1823 of Caroline Mackenzie, daughter of the last earl, who died after being thrown from a pony carriage near the same location. [6]
Clan Ross is a Highland Scottish clan. The original chiefs of the clan were the original Earls of Ross.
Clan Mackenzie is a Scottish clan, traditionally associated with Kintail and lands in Ross-shire in the Scottish Highlands. Traditional genealogies trace the ancestors of the Mackenzie chiefs to the 12th century. However, the earliest Mackenzie chief recorded by contemporary evidence is Alexander Mackenzie of Kintail who died some time after 1471. Traditionally, during the Wars of Scottish Independence, the Mackenzies supported Robert the Bruce, but feuded with the Earls of Ross in the latter part of the 14th century. During the 15th and 16th-centuries the Mackenzies feuded with the neighboring clans of Munro and MacDonald. In the 17th century the Mackenzie chief was made Earl of Seaforth in the peerage of Scotland. During the Scottish Civil War of the 17th century the Mackenzies largely supported the Royalists. During the Jacobite rising of 1715 the chief and clan of Mackenzie supported the Jacobite cause. However, during the Jacobite rising of 1745 the clan was divided with the chief, Kenneth Mackenzie, Lord Fortrose, supporting the British-Hanoverian Government and his relative, George Mackenzie, 3rd Earl of Cromartie, supporting the Jacobites.
Earl of Seaforth was a title in the Peerage of Scotland and the Peerage of Ireland. It was held by the family of Mackenzie from 1623 to 1716, and again from 1771 to 1781.
The Clan Macrae is a Highland Scottish clan. The clan has no chief; it is therefore considered an armigerous clan.
Clan Gordon is a Highland Scottish clan, historically one of the most powerful Scottish clans. The Gordon lands once spanned a large territory across the Highlands. Presently, Gordon is seated at Aboyne Castle, Aberdeenshire. The Chief of the clan is the Earl of Huntly, later the Marquess of Huntly.
William Mackenzie, 5th Earl of Seaforth, and 2nd titular Marquess of Seaforth, also known as Uilleam Dubh, or Black William, was a Scottish peer and head of Clan Mackenzie. Educated in France and brought up as a Roman Catholic, he was attainted for his part in the 1715 Jacobite Rising and also joined the 1719 Rising.
Castle Chanonry of Ross, also known as Seaforth Castle, was located in the town of Fortrose, to the north-east of Inverness, on the peninsula known as the Black Isle, Highland, Scotland. Nothing now remains of the castle. The castle was also known as Canonry or Chanonrie of Ross, the former county.
Clan Matheson is a Highland Scottish clan.
Castle Leod is the seat of the Clan Mackenzie. It is a category A listed building, and the grounds are listed in the Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes of Scotland, the national listing of significant gardens. It is located near Strathpeffer in the east of Ross-shire in the Scottish Highlands.
Sir Robert Munro, 5th Baronet of Foulis was also 23rd Baron and 26th chief of the Clan Munro. He became blind and was known as the Blind Baron.
Clan MacIver or Clan MacIvor, also known as Clan Iver, is a Scottish clan recognised by the Lord Lyon King of Arms. The clan, however, does not have a chief recognised by the Lord Lyon King of Arms. Because of this the clan can be considered an armigerous clan. The clan name of MacIver is of Gaelic origin, derived from an Old Norse personal name. Various forms of the surname MacIver, like MacGiver, are considered sept names of several historically large Scottish clans, such as clans Campbell and Mackenzie. There exists a Clan Iver society in Fife, Scotland.
The chiefs of the Scottish highland Clan Mackenzie were historically known as the Mackenzies of Kintail. By tradition the Mackenzie chiefs descend from Kenneth Mackenzie, 1st of Kintail however their earliest ancestor proven by contemporary evidence is Alexander Mackenzie, 6th of Kintail. The chiefly line became the Earls of Seaforth during the 17th century but this title was later forfeited in the 18th century due to support of the Jacobite rising of 1715. The current official chief of the Clan Mackenzie is John Ruaridh Grant Mackenzie, 5th Earl of Cromartie.
Clan Munro 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 settled in Scotland in the eleventh century, though its true founder may have lived much later. It is also a strong tradition that the Munro chiefs supported Robert the Bruce during the Wars of Scottish Independence. The first proven clan chief on record however is Robert de Munro who died in 1369; his father is mentioned but not named in a number of charters. The clan chiefs originally held land principally at Findon on the Black Isle but exchanged it in 1350 for Estirfowlys. Robert's son Hugh who died in 1425 was the first of the family to be styled "of Foulis", despite which clan genealogies describe him as 9th baron.
The Battle of Glen Affric took place in 1721 in Glen Affric, in the Scottish Highlands. It was fought between Government backed forces of the Clan Ross against rebel the forces of the Clan Mackenzie and their allies the Clan Macrae.
The Skirmish of Alness was a conflict that took place in October 1715 in Alness, in the county of Ross in the Scottish Highlands. It was part of the Jacobite rising of 1715 and pitted Highlanders loyal to the British-Hanoverian Government of George I of Great Britain against Highlanders loyal to the Jacobite House of Stuart.
The siege of Brahan took place in Scotland in November 1715 and was part of the Jacobite rising of 1715. Highlanders loyal to the British-Hanoverian government of George I of Great Britain laid siege to Brahan Castle, seat of William Mackenzie, 5th Earl of Seaforth, who was a staunch Jacobite, loyal to the House of Stuart.
The Battle of Coille Bhan was fought in 1721 near Attadale, in the county of Ross in the Scottish Highlands in the aftermath of the Jacobite rising of 1719. It was fought between a British government force against Highlanders of the Clan Mackenzie.
The Jacobite Rising of 1719 was a failed attempt to restore the exiled James Francis Edward Stuart to the throne of Great Britain. Part of a series of Jacobite risings between 1689 to 1745, it was the only one to be supported by Spain, then at war with Britain during the War of the Quadruple Alliance.
The Murchison family of Loch Alsh, Ross-shire, Scotland were a minor Scottish clan, and a sept of the larger Clan Mackenzie. In modern times the Murchison surname is still considered a sept of the Clan Mackenzie by the Clan Mackenzie Society of Scotland & the UK.
George Mackay, 3rd Lord Reay (1678–1748), was a Scottish noble and chief of the Clan Mackay, a Scottish clan of the Scottish Highlands. During his life the Glorious Revolution took place which directly affected his family and estate, and during his chiefdom he served the British-Hanoverian Government during the Jacobite rising of 1715 and the Jacobite rising of 1745.