Teaninich House is an 18th century mansion which is thought to incorporate parts of an earlier castle.

Little seems to be known about the early history of Teaninich, possibly due to complications regarding its name. Some sources state that the present day Teaninich was originally called Culmalachie, while The Register of the Great Seal of Scotland states that Culmalachie was an alias of Culcraigie, presumably the present day Culcraggie. A second reference in The Register of the Great Seal refers to Culcragy, with its brewery and its mill, alias Kilmaloquhy, Mylntoun de Kilmaloquhy, the lands of Ovir Culmaloquhy and lie Stell de Culmaloquhy.

To complicate matters further there are references to “the two Culmelathquhyis”, presumably Over and Nether Culmalachie. Additionally the name Teaninich originally only applied to the lands of what are now known as Wester Teaninich, which lies around 3km to the west of the present Teaninich, and it isn’t clear when the name was transferred to the present day Teaninich, which was originally known as Milntown of Alness.

Whether Milntown of Alness and Mylntoun de Kilmaloquhy are one and the same I haven’t been able to establish. It would seem that all of these lands were originally part of the lands of Fyrish which were in turn a part of the earldom of Ross, held by by John MacDonald of Islay, Earl of Ross and Lord of the Isles, in the 15th century.

Milntown of Alness was a possession of the Munro family from at least the late 15th century, held from the Earl of Ross, with the first of the family being Robert Munro of Milntown of Alness, sixth son of Hugh Munro of Coul, who was born in the second half of the 15th century. There is thought to have been a castle here in the 16th century, which may have been built by Robert as a replacement for an earlier castle nearby at Cnoc a’ Chaisteil.

The Earl of Ross was forfeited in 1475 and the following January James III granted lands in the earldom to the Earl’s wife, Elizabeth de Levingstoun, including the lands of Culcragy and the two Culmyllach.

In 1526 Walter Innes of Tulchis, deputy chamberlain to the Earl of Ross, was granted a charter of feuferme of the lands of Nether Cullnelloquhy, Over Culnelloquhy and its mill. Meanwhile Robert Munro of Milntown of Alness was succeeded by his second son, Donald. In 1565 Mary Queen of Scots granted the lands and earldom of Ross to Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, including Culcragy, with its brewery and its mill, alias Kilmaloquhy, Mylntoun de Kilmaloquhy, the lands of Ovir Culmaloquhy and lie Stell de Culmaloquhy.

Donald Munro had been succeeded in Milntown of Alness by his eldest son, John, who was in turn succeeded by his eldest son, also John, who became a soldier, attaining the rank of Captain. He was succeeded by his eldest son, another John, who seems to have been the last of the family to own the lands of Milntown of Alness in the 17th century, more of which later.

By the late 16th century Fyrish had been divided into four parts. In 1587 James VI granted one part, the barony of Delny, to William Keith, Master of the Royal Wardrobe and a son of Andrew Keith of Ravenscraig.

Another part, the lower quarter known as Teaninich, was granted the following year to Hugh Munro, the second son of John Mor Munro of Coul and Balconie and Katharine Vass, daughter of John Vass of Lochslinn. Hugh, who previously had been described as Hugh Munro in Fyrish, was the first Munro to be known as Munro of Teaninich, however this Teaninich was actually the aforementioned Wester Teaninich. He married Euphemia Munro, daughter of Andrew Munro of Culnauld. Hugh died in 1593 and was succeeded by his eldest son, Robert, who was married to Janet Munro, daughter of Hugh Munro of Assynt.

In 1603 Robert was granted a precept of clare constat of the lands of Teaninich by John Keith of Ravenscraig, William Keith’s brother and heir, who held the barony of Delny at that time, followed by a sasine of the same lands in 1604.

Robert alienated the lands of Teaninich to his eldest son and heir, Hugh, in 1626, who succeeded upon his father’s death in 1641. In 1644 Hugh received a charter of confirmation of the lands of Teaninich from Sir Robert Innes of Innes who had been granted the barony of Delny in 1631.

Hugh Munro took part in “the Engagement” in 1648 when the Duke of Hamilton led an army into England to reconquer it for Charles I. Whether this involvement led to some financial difficulties is not clear, however Hugh borrowed some 5780 merks Scots from James Farquhar, a merchant in Aberdeen, in December 1649 and as security granted Farquhar a charter of alienation of all of his lands within the parish of Alness. When the sum outstanding the following November was £3756 Scots Farquhar forced Hugh to sell Teaninich, but he did so to his cousin, Hugh Munro of Tearivan, Collector Customs for Inverness-shire and a grandson of the first Hugh Munro of Teaninich.

By 1660 the lands of Milntown of Alness, complete with the castle, were owned by Robert Gray of Arboll who in February of that year sold them to the new Hugh Munro of Teaninich, formerly of Tearivan, for £515 12s 6d Sterling. How Gray came to possess Milntown of Alness I have not yet established, however there were familial links between the Munros and the Grays. In the second half of the 17th century an Anna Munro, “probably of the family of Teaninch”, married Alexander Gray, second son of George Gray of Skibo and Jane Gordon of Embo.

Hugh was pre-deceased by his two sons, Hugh and Hector, and so upon his death was succeeded by his grandson, Hugh, who married Catherine, daughter of William Duff of Drummuir, Provost of Inverness. Following Hugh’s death in 1728 he was succeeded by their eldest son, also Hugh, who died unmarried in 1766 and was succeeded by his brother, Captain James Munro, a naval officer, who married Margaret, only child and heiress of Murdoch Mackenzie of Ardross, in 1768.

A stone at the back of Teaninich House carved with the Munro arms and the date 1784 is often cited as evidence for the date of its building or remodelling. Around this time the house consisted of two storeys and was built on a U-plan with two wings projecting west-north-west.

Around 1786 Captain James sold Wester Teaninich, Balachraggan and Culcraggie to Sir Hector Munro of Novar, retaining the superiority. James died in 1788 and was succeeded by his eldest son, Hugh, who was also a Captain but in the army. Captain Hugh was blinded in both eyes in a battle in Holland but this is said to have not stopped him from commissioning the knocking down of part of the old castle and a significant remodelling of the building in the early 19th century. Supposedly the remains of the castle had been incorporated into a steading near the new house and the steading was blown down in a storm with the castle’s stone perhaps being used in the new work.

A new three storey five bay front was added to the east-south-east side of the house, with an advanced centre housing a Tudor-arched entrance at ground floor level, a Tudor-arched window at first floor level and a rose window on the second floor. The wall heads were given a crenellated parapet with conical-roofed bartizans at each of the four corners and also two on the central projection. The original two storey mansion was also given crenellations to match.

In 1831 Hugh sold Teaninich to his brother, General John Munro, and died unmarried in 1846 having retired to Coul Cottage near Alness, the estate’s dower house. John died in 1858 and was succeeded by his third son, Stuart Caradoc Munro. The second son, Major John Munro, had been killed on the Battle of Mudki in 1846, and the eldest son, James St. John Munro, disposed of his right of succession to Stuart prior to taking up a position as Consul-General for Uruguay in 1857. Stuart died unmarried in 1911 and was succeeded by his nephew, Almeric Stuart John Munro Spencer, the son of Stuart’s elder sister, Charlotte, who had married George Augustus Spencer, second son of the first Lord Churchill.

Almeric sold Teaninich in 1923 to Francis Burton Harrison, the American former Governor-General of the Philippines, who took up residence in the castle until he was recalled to Manila in 1934.

Later Teaninich became a hotel before reverting back to a private home.