Milntown Castle

Milntown Castle was a 16th-century fortress near Milton in Easter Ross, Highland. It stood close to the modern Tarbat House, a Georgian mansion built in the late 18th century. The site once belonged to the Munro of Milntown family, a branch of Clan Munro. In 1656 George Mackenzie, 1st Earl of Cromartie, bought the estate and renamed it New Tarbat. He demolished most of the castle, keeping only the basement and reworking the rest into garden terraces. His descendant later replaced the mansion with the present Tarbat House in 1787. Historians have left vivid descriptions of the lost castle. Sir Robert Gordon recorded how the Earl of Sutherland protected the Munros while they built it around 1500. Neighbours the Rosses of Balnagowan opposed the work, but Sutherland sent men to defend the site until the castle stood complete. Alexander Mackenzie noted that Sir George Mackenzie renamed the estate after his title, Lord Tarbet, though locals still call it Balie-Mhuillinn Andrea in Gaelic. The only remains today are a vault door and the old terraces. Visitors to the grounds find the quiet parkland around Tarbat House. A single beech tree, said to have been planted by Mary, Queen of Scots, once towered over the lawn. Old accounts claim it took a week to fell and had to be buried where it fell. The vault door and high terraces mark the footprint of the vanished castle. The estate lies near Beauly Priory, adding to the sense of historic landscape.