Castle Grant stands a mile north of Grantown-on-Spey and was the former seat of the Clan Grant chiefs of Strathspey in Highlands, Scotland. [1] It was originally named Freuchie Castle but was renamed Grant in 1694. [1] The castle is a Category A listed building [2] and the grounds are included in the Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland. [3]
The castle is a Z-plan tower house that dates from the fifteenth century. [1] The lands had been held by the Clan Comyn but passed to the Grants in the fifteenth century and it became their main stronghold. [1]
The castle was originally named Freuchie (from 'Fraoichaich', Scottish Gaelic descriptor for being of or abounding in, Heather) Castle and James Grant of Freuchie supported James V of Scotland. [1]
The sixth laird, John Grant, made some improvements to the building. The castle was decorated with stone heraldic beasts and animals carved by Ralph Rawlinson. The long gallery and the heads of the dormer windows were painted and gilded by John Anderson of Aberdeen. [4] Although the Grants were Protestants, they joined James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose during the Scottish Civil War in the 1640s. [1] The name of the castle changed from Freuchie Castle to Castle Grant in 1694 when the lands were made into the regality of Grant. [1]
Ludovick Grant, the eighth laird, supported the Hanoverians against the Stewarts and fought against the Jacobites in both the Jacobite rising of 1715 and the Jacobite rising of 1745. [1] However Castle Grant was occupied by the Jacobites. [1]
In 1787, Robert Burns visited Castle Grant.
The castle was restored by Sir Robert Lorimer in 1912. [5]
It later became derelict, but was restored in the 1990s. [1] [6] The property was purchased for £720,000 by businessman Craig Whyte in 2006. [6] Castle Grant was seized by the Bank of Scotland after Whyte, who had led Rangers F.C. into its administration and liquidation in 2012, refused to make mortgage payments. [6] It was sold in September 2014 to ex-CEO of the Russian Author Society, Sergey Fedotov, [6] who was later arrested for fraud. [7]
Castle Grant is allegedly haunted by the ghost of Lady Barbara Grant, daughter of a sixteenth century laird. [1] However her small apparition is said to be sad rather than terrifying. [1] She is said to have died of a broken heart after being imprisoned in a dark closet for falling in love with the wrong man. [1]
The Highlands is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Scots language replaced Scottish Gaelic throughout most of the Lowlands. The term is also used for the area north and west of the Highland Boundary Fault, although the exact boundaries are not clearly defined, particularly to the east. The Great Glen divides the Grampian Mountains to the southeast from the Northwest Highlands. The Scottish Gaelic name of A' Ghàidhealtachd literally means "the place of the Gaels" and traditionally, from a Gaelic-speaking point of view, includes both the Western Isles and the Highlands.
Clan Campbell is a Highland Scottish clan, historically one of the largest and most powerful of the Highland clans. The Clan Campbell lands are in Argyll and within their lands lies Ben Cruachan. The chief of the clan became Earl of Argyll and later Duke of Argyll.
Clan MacLeod is a Highland Scottish clan associated with the Isle of Skye. There are two main branches of the clan: the MacLeods of Harris and Dunvegan, whose chief is MacLeod of MacLeod, who are known in Gaelic as Sìol Tormoid ; the Clan MacLeod of Lewis and Raasay, whose chief is MacLeod of The Lewes, are known in Gaelic as Sìol Torcaill. Both branches claim descent from Leòd, a Norse-Gael who lived in the 13th century.
Clan Shaw is a Highland Scottish clan and is a member of the Chattan Confederation.
Clan Mackintosh is a Scottish clan from Inverness in the Scottish Highlands. The chiefs of the clan are the Mackintoshes of Mackintosh. Another branch of the clan, the Mackintoshes of Torcastle, are the chiefs of Clan Chattan, a historic confederation of clans.
Clan Macpherson is a Highland Scottish clan and a member of the Chattan Confederation.
The Battle of Cromdale took place at the Haughs of Cromdale on 30 April and 1 May 1690. The site is on a hillside near the village of Cromdale, Strathspey, historically within the county of Inverness-shire. The battlefield has been included in the Inventory of Historic Battlefields in Scotland and protected by Historic Scotland under the Scottish Historical Environment Policy of 2009.
Clan Grant is a Highland Scottish clan, with one main branch, Grant of Grant, and several cadet branches, such as Grant of Glenmoriston.
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.
Clan MacDonell of Glengarry, also known as Clan Ranald of Knoydart & Glengarry is a Scottish clan and is a branch of the larger Clan Donald. The clan takes its name from River Garry where the river Garry runs eastwards through Loch Garry to join the Great Glen about 16 miles (25 km) north of Fort William, Highland. The progenitor of the MacDonells of Glengarry is Reginald, 4th great-grandson of the warrior Somerled. The clan chief is traditionally designated as the "Son of Alexander's son".
Clan Menzies ; Scottish Gaelic: Clann Mèinnear; a member is a Mèinnearach) is a Highland Scottish clan.
John Charles Ogilvy-Grant, 7th Earl of Seafield,, styled Viscount Reidhaven from 1840 to 1853, was a Scottish nobleman. He is numbered as the 26th Chief of Clan Grant.
Clan Drummond is a Highland Scottish clan. The surname is rendered "Druimeanach" in modern Scottish Gaelic.
Clan Maclachlan, also known as Clan Lachlan, Clann Lachainn (Argyll), and Clann Lachlainn, is a Highland Scottish clan that historically centred on the lands of Strathlachlan on Loch Fyne, Argyll on the west coast of Scotland. The clan claims descent from Lachlan Mor, who lived on Loch Fyne in the 13th century, and who has left his name upon the countryside he once controlled: places such as Strathlachlan, Castle Lachlan and Lachlan Bay. Tradition gives Lachlan Mor a descent from an Irish prince of the O'Neill dynasty, Ánrothán Ua Néill, son of Áed, son of Flaithbertach Ua Néill, King of Ailech and Cenél nEógain, died 1036. Clan Maclachlan has been associated with other clans, such as Clan Lamont, Clan Ewen of Otter, Clan MacNeil of Barra, and the MacSweens: as all claim descent from Anrothan O'Neill who left Ireland for Kintyre in the 11th century. From this descent the clan claims a further descent from the legendary Niall Noigíallach, High King of Ireland, who lived from the mid 4th century to the early 5th century.
Clan MacMillan is a Highland Scottish clan. The Clan was originally located in the Lochaber area of the Scottish Highlands during the 12th century. The clan supported Robert the Bruce during the Wars of Scottish Independence, but later supported the Lord of the Isles in opposition to the Scottish Crown. During the Jacobite rising of 1745 the clan was divided with some supporting the Jacobites and others not taking part in the rebellion.
Clan Matheson is a Highland Scottish clan.
Clan Forbes is a Highland Scottish clan from Aberdeenshire, Scotland.
Dunachton is an estate on the north-west shore of Loch Insh in Badenoch and Strathspey, in the Highlands of Scotland. It occupies land immediately to the north of the A9 road and General Wade's Military Road.
John Grant of Freuchie was a Scottish landowner.
Ludovick Grant, 1st of Grant and 8th of Freuchie (1641–1717) was a Scottish politician and soldier. He was the 19th Chief of Clan Grant and referred to as the "Highland King."
