Monument record MHG31324 - Gardens & Parkland, Invergordon Castle

GR to area to SE of Castle building
1st ed OS shows v extensive woodlands, park, gardens & policies around the post med castle site. Much of this is retained by 2nd edition. There is belt planting around the whole of the park, with more extensive woodland around the castle building itself and on the SW corner which is called variously Beechwood & the American Garden.
The American Garden is shown as woodland with extensive pathed walks, these focus on an oval feature roughly in the centre, although others lead to the "sculptured stone" - the Hilton of Cadboll Stone placed here for a time (NH66NE0048). There are giant avenues to the S of the castle. A "nursery" in the woods to the E of the castle. A pair of buildings on a terrace? To the N of the castle, with later a "fountain " marked to the NW of this. A large walled garden lies to the SE of the castle. Quartered, it has a building in the middle of both the N & S sides. To the S of this are more beds, and paths leading to a "bellpost". Mains of Invergordon (with kennels) lies to the SE of this. There are East, West and South Lodges on the approaches to the Castle estate. <1>

An archaeological evaluation by trial trenching took place in June 2008 in an area that was formerly part of the policies of Invergordon Castle. One of the trenches (Trench 7) was laid across the location of the field boundary dividing up the area on Roy's 1770 and the 1st edition OS map. A dyked and ditched field boundary was identified consisting of two rubble dykes between which were two infilled ditches separated by an area of pale sandy soil. Only the lowest course of the dykes remained. Another trench (Trench 2) was placed across the west boundary of the site where a ditch and a slight rise indicated a possible former boundary dyke or wall. Stones resulting from probable field clearance were identified. Several 19th-century land drains were also identified in the northernmost of the two fields. <2>