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Castle Hill

Only a motte, standing on a large, flat-topped natural knoll survives here, with no stone remains.

The site is situated on a wide promontory, defended to the north by the River Brora and to the south and east by the North Sea. The motte is at the north-west corner of the knoll, with the knoll itself probably forming a surrounding bailey. The land to the south may once have been marshland, and may have been entirely surrounded by a loop of the River Brora.

The motte is quite small, measuring around 10m in diameter, and only rising to a height of around 1.0m above the knoll on which it stands. To the north and west the motte’s slopes continue into those of the knoll, offering considerable protection, and to the south and east a ditch has been dug, around 0.8m deep by around 7.0m wide.

The knoll is considerable in size, measuring around 150m east to west by around 40m north to south, and rising 8.0m above the surrounding flood plain of the River Brora. If the entire area of the knoll had been enclosed as a bailey then that was suggest that it was an important site.

Located as it is in the parish of Clyne, it is tempting to suggest that this was the site of an earlier castle of Clyne. However it should be pointed out that there is very little in the way of written history or oral tradition concerning Castle Hill.

Since motte and bailey castles were largely superseded by other designs around the end of the 13th century, it is likely that any castle here fell out of use around that time, and was abandoned for another site. Interestingly the church at Clyne is first mentioned in records from the 13th century.

Old maps from the 16th and 17th centuries show a castle named Clyne, and appear to site it in between two rivers, the more northerly of which is the River Brora, and on the opposite bank to the town of Brora. This might suggest that the castle of Clyne was on the promontory on which Castle Hill stands.

However the same maps are full of mistakes and discrepancies, so it is difficult to rely on them for exact locations. Maps from later in the 17th century almost exclusively show a castle named Clyne to the north of the River Brora, suggesting that if there ever had been a Clyne Castle at Castle Hill, it had certainly been superseded by this time by the one at Clyne.

Joan Blaeu’s map of Southerlandia (Sutherland) from 1654 shows a castle at Brora south of the river, nothing at Castle Hill, and two castle-like symbols named “Clyn K” in close proximity to one another north of Brora. These perhaps signify the church at Clynekirkton with the castle of Clyne.

Southerlandia

Blaeu Atlas of Scotland, 1654

Neither Clyne nor Castle Hill are marked on Roy’s map from the mid-18th century (although Clynelish is), however an estate plan of the Farm of Doll from 1772 shows the Castle Hill, marked as “Knock Castle” with the land to the south of it named “Pool of the Doll” perhaps suggesting marshy origins. Any trace of a castle had obviously gone by this point in time.

Farm of Doll

John Kirk, c.1772

By the time of the Ordnance Survey maps of the 1870s the site is marked as “Castle Hill”.

Due to the lack of evidence it is impossible to be certain about the history of Castle Hill. If it is indeed the remains of a motte and bailey, the lack of documentary references to it would suggest that it was abandoned at an early time.

Whether or not this was due to the focus switching to a new castle at Clyne across the River Brora is unknown, as is whether Castle Hill had any connection to Clyne at all.

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Alternative names for Castle Hill

Knock Castle

Where is Castle Hill?

Castle Hill is in the parish of Clyne and the county of Sutherland.

Grid reference: NC 8952 0369

Lat / long: 58.008656, -3.871356

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

OS Map for Castle Hill

OS map 441
Lairg, Bonar Bridge & Golspie (Dornoch & Brora)
OS Explorer map 441


Directions to Castle Hill

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Weather at Castle Hill

12°C
max 13°C / min 12°C
7km/h NNE
1021mb
82%
5%
03:41 20:43

Clear sky
Weather observed at Brora at 20:20

References (websites)

Canmore

Castles near Castle Hill

Brora Castle (site of)

1.2km away

Clyne (site of)

2.3km away

Loch Brora

4.5km away

Dunrobin Castle

5.3km away

Golspie Tower (site of)

6.5km away

Aberscors (site of)

13.0km away

Skelbo Castle

13.3km away

Old House of Embo (site of)

14.3km away

Proncy Castle

16.6km away
more castles....
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Ancient sites near Castle Hill

Carn Liath broch

3.4km away

Eilean nam Faoileag (possible) crannog

4.5km away

Ousdale Burn broch

23.2km away

Langwell Water (middle) souterrain

25.3km away

Langwell Water (West) souterrain

25.3km away

Langwell Water (East) souterrain

25.5km away

Carriblair stone circle, cist

26.2km away

Strathy souterrain

26.7km away

Tulloch Turnal broch

27.3km away
more ancient sites....
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Pictish stones near Castle Hill

Clynekirkton 1 Class I symbol stone

2.4km away

Clynekirkton 2 Class I symbol stone

2.4km away

Carn Liath Class I symbol stone

3.4km away

Clynemilton 1 Class I symbol stone

3.7km away

Clynemilton 2 Class I symbol stone

3.7km away

Kintradwell 5 Class I symbol stone

5.5km away

Kintradwell 1 Class I symbol stone

5.5km away

Dunrobin 1 Class I symbol stone

5.5km away

Dunrobin 2 Class I symbol stone

5.8km away
more Pictish stones....

Pictish sites near Castle Hill

Burghead fort

40.5km away

Torvean silver chain

64.7km away

Gaulcross hoard

74.9km away

Parkhill silver chain

133.6km away

Nigg silver chain

144.6km away

Dunnicaer fort

153.4km away

Norrie's Law hoard

202.4km away

Haddington silver chain

237.6km away

Traprain Law silver chain

238.1km away
more Pictish sites....
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Accommodation near Castle Hill

Sutherland Inn
hotelBrora
1.0km away
Royal Marine Hotel, Brora
hotelBrora
1.5km away
Royal Golf Hotel
hotel, restaurant, barDornoch
16.9km away
Dornoch Castle Hotel
hotel, restaurant, barDornoch
17.1km away
The Eagle
hotel, restaurant, barDornoch
17.1km away
The Bridge Hotel Helmsdale
hotelHelmsdale
17.7km away
Helmsdale SYHA Hostel
hostelHelmsdale
17.8km away
Morangie House Hotel
hotelTain
24.3km away
Railway Hotel
hotel, barTain
24.3km away
Royal Hotel Tain
hotel, bar, restaurantTain
24.4km away

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Cafés, restaurants & bars near Castle Hill

Royal Golf Hotel
hotel, restaurant, barDornoch
16.9km away
Dornoch Castle Hotel
hotel, restaurant, barDornoch
17.1km away
The Eagle
hotel, restaurant, barDornoch
17.1km away
Railway Hotel
hotel, barTain
24.3km away
Royal Hotel Tain
hotel, bar, restaurantTain
24.4km away
Mansfield Castle Hotel
hotel, restaurant, barTain
25.0km away
Golf View Hotel & Spa
hotel, restaurant, barNairn
46.8km away
Windsor Hotel
hotel, restaurant, barNairn
47.1km away
Brodie Countryfare
café, restaurantBrodie
47.2km away
Plough Inn
pubRosemarkie
48.5km away
more food.... / more drink....

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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 15th of February 2012 at 9:46 pm. Updated on the 25th of May 2014 at 4:03 pm.

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Andy Sweet above Fast Castle

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