Balconie Castle

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Balconie Castle before its demolition

Balconie Castle ( Scottish Gaelic : Bailcnidh ) is an abandoned castle in the parish of Kiltearn , about 800 meters east of the village of Evanton in the Scottish administrative division of Highland .

history

The castle was formerly the seat of the Mormaer family , the Earls of Ross and heads of Clan Ross . Later it belonged to their successors, the MacDonald clan . Alexander MacDonald of Lochalsh , chief of the Macdonald of Lochalsh clan and relative of the Earls of Ross and Lord of the Isles , had a festival held at Balconie Castle. He invited all members of his own clans and many chiefs of other clans to the Highlands. Kenneth Mackenzie , chief of Clan Mackenzie , came to the festival with 40 men, but after some confusion, he and his men wisely withdrew.

From the end of the 15th century to the 17th century, the castle was in the hands of a branch of the Munro clan , the Munros of Coul and Balconie , descended from George Munro, 10th Baron Munro , of Foulis Castle , the chief of the clan . The owners of Balconie Castle were consecutively: John Munro, 1st , John Mor Munro, 2nd , John Munro, 3rd , Hugh Munro, 4th , Robert Munro, 5th , Donald Munro, 6th and John Munro, 7th. , all from Balconie Castle. John Munro, 7th of Balconie, sold the property.

The castle later passed into the hands of the Mackenzies and in the 19th century it was also owned by the Frasers for a short time . It was then that the nearby village of Evanton was founded.

In 1891 changes and additions were made by the architects at Andrew Maitland & Sons .

At the beginning of the Second World War , the castle belonged to George Bankes and served as a summer resort. During the war the building was requisitioned by the army and used as quarters for the soldiers. After the war, AJM Munro , a timber merchant from Alness , bought Balconie Castle. It stood empty for several years, which u. a. Caused problems with brown rot . The castle fell into disrepair and was in danger of collapsing in the 1960s. The children of the village explored the area and therefore the castle was torn down to prevent accidents. The rubble was used to build a new aluminum smelter a few kilometers away in Invergordon . Today nothing remains of the building - just an empty field. Only an ice house and an enclosed garden are still preserved today and are in private hands.

Individual references and comments

  1. ↑ Evanton was founded by Alexander Fraser von Balconie, who named it after his son Evan .
  2. ↑ a b R. W. Munro: Clan Munro Magazine No. 13 . 1975. pp. 34-35.
  3. ^ Alan Mackenzie: History of the Mackenzies . 2006. Chapter 3. Retrieved February 10, 2017.
  4. ↑ RW Munro: Clan Munro Magazine No. 13 . 1975. pp. 34-36.
  5. ^ DSA Building / Design Report . Dictionary of Scottish Architects. Archived from the original on March 1, 2012. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved March 12, 2008. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.codexgeo.co.uk
  6. ↑ RW Munro: Clan Munro Magazine No. 13 . 1975. pp. 34-38.

Coordinates: 57 ° 39 ′ 37 ″  N , 4 ° 19 ′ 20 ″  W.