Castle Grant
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Castle Grant stands a mile north of Grantown-on-Spey and was the former seat of the Clan Grant chiefs of Strathspey in Highlands, Scotland.[1] It was originally named Freuchie Castle but was renamed Grant in 1694.[1] The castle is a Category A listed building [2] and the grounds are included in the Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland. [3]
History
15th-16th centuries
The castle is a Z-plan tower house that dates from the fifteenth century.[1] The lands had been held by the Clan Comyn but passed to the Grants in the fifteenth century and it became their main stronghold.[1]
The castle was originally named Freuchie Castle and James Grant of Freuchie supported James V of Scotland.[1]
17th-18th centuries
Although the Grants were Protestants, they joined James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose during the Scottish Civil War in the 1640s.[1] The name of the castle changed from Freuchie Castle to Castle Grant in 1694 when the lands were made into the regality of Grant.[1]
Ludovick Grant, the eighth laird, supported the Hanoverians against the Stewarts and fought against the Jacobites in both the Jacobite rising of 1715 and the Jacobite rising of 1745.[1] However Castle Grant was occupied by the Jacobites.[1]
In 1787, Robert Burns visited Castle Grant.
Modern history
The castle was restored by Sir Robert Lorimer in 1912.[4]
It later became derelict, but was restored in the 1990s.[1][5] The property was purchased for £720,000 by businessman Craig Whyte in 2006.[5] Castle Grant was seized by the Bank of Scotland after Whyte, who had led Rangers F.C. into its administration and liquidation in 2012, refused to make mortgage payments.[5] It was sold in September 2014 to ex-CEO of the Russian Author Society, Sergey Fedotov,[5] who was later arrested for fraud.[6]
Ghost
Castle Grant is allegedly haunted by the ghost of Lady Barbara Grant, daughter of a sixteenth century laird.[1] However her small apparition is said to be sad rather than terrifying.[1] She is said to have died of a broken heart after being imprisoned in a dark closet for falling in love with the wrong man.[1]
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Coventry, Martin. (2008). Castles of the Clans: The Strongholds and Seats of 750 Scottish Families and Clans. pp. 241 - 243. ISBN 978-1-899874-36-1.
- ^ Historic Environment Scotland. "Castle Grant (LB348)". Retrieved 18 June 2020.
- ^ Historic Environment Scotland. "Castle Grant (GDL00092)". Retrieved 18 June 2020.
- ^ Dictionary of Scottish Architects: Robert Lorimer
- ^ a b c d "Craig Whyte's former Castle Grant home is sold". The Scotsman. 16 September 2014. Retrieved 30 November 2014.
- ^ Fedotov, Sergey. "Highland castle owner arrested over an alleged multi-million pound fraud". pressandjournal. Retrieved 14 December 2018.
External links
