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Dingwall Castle


Dingwall Castle was once an important castle, and possibly the birthplace of MacBeth, but now only a few ruins remain.

Whether or not MacBeth was born at Dingwall Castle, supposedly around the year 1005, seems up for debate, as the details of his early life are far from clear. What is known is that in the late 12th century a motte and bailey castle was built here for William the Lion at the mouth of the River Peffrey where it discharges into the Cromarty Firth.

This earth and wood castle was replaced with a stone one, and it is marked on Matthew Paris’ map, published around 1250, as “Castrum Dinkeval”. From 1291 until 1292 Sir William of Braytoft (Willelmus de Braitofthe) was the keeper of Dingwall Castle (as well as Inverness Castle). During the Wars of Independence, as a royal castle Dingwall was held temporarily for Edward I of England.

In 1308 Robert the Bruce granted the burgh of Dingwall to Uilleam II, the Mormaer or Earl of Ross (also known as William of Ross), despite Uilleam having earlier sided with Edward against Bruce. Uilleam would later go on to fight alongside Bruce at the Battle of Bannockburn. The Earls of Ross subsequently held Dingwall Castle for the Crown.

When the male Ross line failed with the death of Uilleam II’s grandson Uilleam III, the Earldom or Mormaerdom of Ross passed to Uilleam III’s daughter, Euphemia, who became Countess of Ross. Euphemia married Sir Walter Leslie and had two children, Alexander Leslie, who succeeded his mother to the Earldom, and Mariota, who married Domhnall of Islay, the Lord of the Isles.

Upon the death of Alexander Leslie in 1402 his daughter became Euphemia II, although she doesn’t seem to have had much influence over her earldom, being a ward of her maternal grandfather, Robert Stewart, the Duke of Albany and Regent from 1406 following the capture of the infant James I.

Mariota and Domhnall were unhappy about Albany’s influence, and in 1411 the Lord of the Isles attacked and took Dingwall Castle by force, prior to the Battle of Harlaw. The battle was intended to settle the competing claims for the Earldom of Ross, and while the Lord of the Isles withdrew and Albany claimed a strategic victory, the Lord of the Isles had inflicted greater losses on his rival and both sides continued to press their claims.

In 1415 Albany persuaded Euphemia II to resign the earldom in favour of his son, John Stewart, the Earl of Buchan, which was again opposed by Domhnall.

When a ransom was paid to the English for James I in 1424, he returned to Scotland, and executed the Duke of Albany’s successor and son, Murdoch Stewart, destroying their power. He was also concerned about the power and influence of the Lord of the Isles however, and in 1428 defeated Mariota and Domhnall’s son, Alexander, in battle at Lochaber, then took the castles of Dingwall and Urquhart by force.

James later forgave Alexander however, and he became Earl of Ross in 1437, with Dingwall Castle being his main seat. He was succeeded by his son, John of Islay, who was to be the last Lord of the Isles. After fighting against James III, John was stripped of the Earldom of Ross in 1475, and Dingwall Castle captured by George Gordon, 2nd Earl of Huntly. The estates were placed in the care of John Munro, 11th Baron of Foulis, who became the governor.

In 1480 John was succeeded as governor by Sir Andrew Munro, 2nd of Milntown. The following year James III’s second son, James Stewart, was created Earl of Ross. Upon James III’s death in 1488, his first son came to the throne as James IV, and elevated his brother from Earl of Ross to Duke of Ross. The same year Sir James Dunbar of Cumnock became the governor of Dingwall Castle.

Some time prior to his death in 1506, Sir David Sinclair of Sumburgh, illegitimate son of William Sinclair, the 3rd Earl of Orkney and 1st Earl of Caithness, was the Keeper of Dingwall Castle.

Early in the 16th century, considerable work seems to have been done on Dingwall Castle. Following a visit by James IV to his royal castle in 1503, soon after his wedding, improvements were made and the castle significantly strengthened A new Great Hall was built at a cost of 20 pounds in 1507, and other repairs made. From 1504 until 1513 “Thomas the mason” was apparently the master mason at Dingwall Castle.

In 1507 Andrew Stewart (the elder), Bishop of Caithness, son of John Stewart the 1st Earl of Atholl, carried out some improvements to the castle after it had been attacked by the MacDonalds and the MacKenzies. Land around the castle was bought to make the approach easier to defend.

Stewart was followed as governor by his brother, John Stewart, 2nd Earl of Atholl, who was in charge of the castle from 1516 until 1522. He in turn was succeeded by James Stewart, the Earl of Moray and half-brother of James V, from 1523 onwards.

During the reign of Mary, Queen of Scots, George Munro, 4th of Milntown, was appointed bailie and chamberlain of the Earldom of Ross and the lordship of Ardmeanach, so becoming the next governor of Dingwall Castle.

In 1584 Andrew Keith of Forsa was created the 1st Lord Dingwall by James VI, and made governor of the castle. Keith died some time before 1606, but had previously resigned his estates and honours to William Keith of Delney, possibly in 1593. However William appears not to have taken up the title Lord Dingwall, and in 1608 the Crown sold the barony and the constabulary and keepership of the castle to James Elphinstone, 1st Lord Balmerino.

Possibly due to Balmerino’s fall from grace, he transferred these to Sir Richard Preston of Craigmillar in 1690. A favourite of James VI, he was created Lord Dingwall and Constable of Dingwall Castle. Following the death of James VI in 1625 Dingwall Castle seems to have been abandoned by the Crown, at a time when Tulloch Castle was in the ascendancy.

Preston was succeeded in 1628 by his daughter Elizabeth, as Lady Dingwall, and following her death in 1684 the castle passed to her heir and grandson, James Butler, 2nd Baron Butler of Moore Park, (later 2nd Duke of Ormonde) who became the 3rd Lord Dingwall. Butler held various offices and commands in England in particular, which he lost following the ascension of George I in 1714.

As a result, Butler supported James VII in the rising of 1715, after which his Scottish, Irish and English titles, honours and estates were forfeited to the Crown. Dingwall Castle was subsequently bought by William Munro of Ardullie, although by the mid-18th century the it was derelict and in ruins.

The castle passed through Munro’s daughter to her son, the Reverend Colin Mackenzie, the minister of Fodderty, just outside Dingwall. He used it as a quarry, removing stone to build farmhouses at Fodderty and Millmain, while one of his sons made fertiliser from the castle’s limestone.

In the 19th century more stone was taken to build new houses in Dingwall, and by 1817 the site was levelled, leaving just the few remnants that can be seen today. In 1820 Captain Donald Maclennan built a new house, known as the Castle House, partly from some of the remaining sandstone of the old castle.

Dingwall Castle

Plan of the Town of Dingwall
John Wood, 1821

Today a section of ruined masonry from the old castle still stands next to the driveway. It consists of a small circular tower around 2.6m tall, with a diameter of around 3.4m and walls around 0.5m thick. Projecting from the north-west side of the tower is a section of wall around 1.5m in length, while attached to the north-east side is a large chunk of masonry around 3.0m in height and around 3.2m in width.

Dingwall Castle

Around 10.0m to the south-west of the tower is an entrance to an underground chamber with a barrel-vaulted ceiling. The chamber measures around 5.0m in length by around 1.8m wide, with the ceiling at a height of around 1.7m in its centre.

On Castle Street is a rebuilt doocot taking the form of a small castellated tower. The doocot may have been built by the aforementioned Andrew Stewart, Bishop of Caithness, in 1507, although judging by its style and condition it was presumably rebuilt at a time contemporary with the building of Castle House.

Dingwall Castle

The doocot does however have some interesting features. An octagonal tower of around 4.0m in height and around 3.7m in diameter, on three of the south-facing sides there are gun loops piercing the walls, which are 0.6m thick.

Dingwall Castle

On the east side of the doocot are a fireplace and a doorway. It has been suggested that the doocot may originally have been one of the corner towers of Dingwall Castle, although if it is in its original position then it may more likely be part of an outer wall surrounding the castle.

A tunnel is said to have connected Dingwall Castle with Tulloch Castle, part of which can still be seen through an air vent on the front lawn of Tulloch Castle. The tunnel has apparently collapsed, and the exact position of the Dingwall end has been lost.

However since Dingwall Castle is around 1.45km from Tulloch Castle, and the tunnel would have to have crossed the River Peffrey, it seems rather an unlikely story.

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Alternative names for Dingwall Castle

Castle Hill; Castle House; Castrum Dinkeval; Mote Of Dingwall

Where is Dingwall Castle?

Dingwall Castle is in the parish of Dingwall and the county of Ross and Cromarty.

Grid reference:NH 5536 5900

Lat / long:57.597754,-4.422327

Bing Maps | Google Maps | Historic maps (NLS) | OpenStreetMap | Ordnance Survey | PastMap | Streetmap | Wikimapia

OS Map for Dingwall Castle

OS map 432
Black Isle (Fortrose, Cromarty & Dingwall)
OS Explorer map 432


OS map 437
Ben Wyvis & Strathpeffer (Dingwall)
OS Explorer map 437


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Directions to Dingwall Castle

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Weather at Dingwall Castle

9°C
max 11°C / min 9°C
11km/h SSW
1026mb
86%
100%
08:14 16:48

Overcast clouds
Weather observed at Dingwall at 00:20

References (books)

Royal Palaces of Scotland
Helen Douglas-Irvine
London, 1911
The Castellated and Domestic Architecture of Scotland Volume 4
David MacGibbon
Edinburgh, 1892
The Castellated and Domestic Architecture of Scotland Volume 5
David MacGibbon
Edinburgh, 1892
The Castles of Scotland
Martin Coventry
Prestongrange, 2015

References (websites)

Canmore
Wikipedia

Castles near Dingwall Castle

Tulloch Castle

1.4km away

Dochmaluag House

3.5km away

Kinkell Castle

4.7km away

Brahan Castle (site of)

6.1km away

Foulis Castle

6.2km away

Castle Leod

6.7km away

Kilcoy Castle

8.1km away

Kinbeachie Castle (site of)

8.7km away

Balconie Castle (site of)

9.1km away
more castles....

Ancient sites near Dingwall Castle

Humberston (site of) stone circle

1.0km away

Clootie Well sacred site

10.2km away

Eilean na Faoileag crannog

11.6km away

Balnuaran of Clava kerb cairn and rock art

24.9km away

Balnuaran Of Clava, South-West chambered cairn, stone circle and rock art

25.0km away

Balnuaran Of Clava, Centre ring cairn and stone circle

25.0km away

Balnuaran Of Clava, North-East chambered cairn, stone circle and rock art

25.0km away

Carriblair stone circle, cist

30.4km away

Urquhart Castle fort

30.4km away
more ancient sites....

Pictish stones near Dingwall Castle

Dingwall Churchyard Class I symbol stone

0.4km away

Clach an Tiompain Class I symbol stone

6.9km away

Dalnavie Class I symbol stone

17.8km away

Ardross Class I symbol stone

18.1km away

Nigg Class II cross slab

28.1km away

Ardjachie Class I symbol stone

32.0km away

Invereen Class I symbol stone

36.9km away

Glenferness House Class II cross slab

41.5km away

Rodney's Stone Class II cross slab

43.0km away
more Pictish stones....
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Pictish sites near Dingwall Castle

Torvean silver chain

18.5km away

Burghead fort

56.4km away

Gaulcross hoard

98.1km away

Parkhill silver chain

141.2km away

Nigg silver chain

148.9km away

Dunnicaer fort

150.9km away

Norrie's Law hoard

173.1km away

Haddington silver chain

207.6km away

Traprain Law silver chain

209.5km away
more Pictish sites....
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Accommodation near Dingwall Castle

Tulloch Castle Hotel
hotel, restaurant, barDingwall
1.4km away
Dunglass Cottage
self-catering cottageDingwall
4.6km away
Dunglass Farmhouse
self-catering cottageDingwall
4.7km away
Balnain Cottages
self-catering cottagesDingwall
5.8km away
Balnain Farmhouse
self-catering cottageDingwall
5.9km away
Ben Wyvis Hotel
hotel, restaurant, barStrathpeffer
6.8km away
West Lodge
self-catering cottageDingwall
7.1km away
Seaforth
self-catering cottageDingwall
7.8km away
The Dower House
hotelUrray
8.0km away
The Ord Arms
hotelMuir of Ord
9.1km away

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Cafés, restaurants & bars near Dingwall Castle

Tulloch Castle Hotel
hotel, restaurant, barDingwall
1.4km away
Ben Wyvis Hotel
hotel, restaurant, barStrathpeffer
6.8km away
Ord House Hotel
hotel, restaurant, barMuir of Ord
9.4km away
Lovat Arms Hotel
hotel, restaurant, barBeauly
12.9km away
The Old North Inn
hotel, restaurant, barInverness
14.1km away
Bunchrew House Hotel
hotel, restaurant, barInverness
14.7km away
Ramada Encore Inverness
hotel, barInverness
17.6km away
Premier Inn Inverness Centre (River Ness)
hotel, restaurant, barInverness
17.6km away
Mercure Inverness Hotel
hotel, bar, restaurantInverness
17.7km away
Best Western Inverness Palace Hotel and Spa
hotel, restaurant, barInverness
17.8km away
more food.... / more drink....

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Garden of Cosmic Speculation plus castles
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Inveraray Castle and standing stone
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A doocot, a castle and a beach in East Lothian
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A pair of castles on the River Tweed
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Dunbar harbour and castle
Dunbar harbour and castle
Published on the 12th of February 2012 at 6:10 pm. Updated on the 24th of October 2022 at 11:06 am.

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Andy Sweet above Fast Castle

Stravaiging around Scotland is written, photographed and researched by Andy Sweet.
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