Monument record MHG6523 - Torr Iain Ghairbh

Summary

No summary available.

Location

Grid reference Centred NG 5470 3659 (300m by 300m) (Buffered by site type)
Map sheet NG53NW
Geographical Area SKYE AND LOCHALSH
Old County INVERNESS-SHIRE
Civil Parish PORTREE

Map

Type and Period (1)

Full Description

NG53NW 10 547 366.

(Name centred NG 5478 3662) Site of Torr Iain Ghairbh (NR)
OS 25"map, (1877)

The name Torr Iain Ghairbh applies to the site of the residence of the McLeods of Raasay, which was fired after the rebellion of 1745 and later replaced by the present mansion, Raasay House. No trace of the tower, which is said to have had 3 stories (Pottle and Bennett 1963), is now visible, the foundation being removed about 1846 when the vegetable garden was extended (ONB 1877). It was noted by Dean Munro (Martin 1934) in the mid 16th century as the castle of Killmorocht with a fair orchard. The island is described by him as "perteining to M'Gyllychallan of Raarsay be the sword, and to the bishop of the iles by heritage. This same M'Gyllychallan shud obey M'Cloyd of Lewis." Martin Martin (1934) refers to it as "a little tower" at Clachan and Origines (OPS 1854), which quotes both Munro and Martin, calls it the castle of Kilmaluag. The site is listed by RCAHMS (1928) as Castle Killmorocht or Castle of Kilmaluag, but a tentative association by them with a ruin marked by the OS (q.v. NG53NW 4) must, in the light of what is now known about both sites, be rejected.
F A Pottle and C H Bennett 1963; Name Book 1877; M Martin 1934; RCAHMS 1928; Orig Paroch Scot 1854.
Raasay House is closed up and deserted, and the grounds are overgrown. No trace of a castle/tower could be found.
Visited by OS (A S P) 12 June 1961.

No change.
Visited by OS (R L) 22 September 1971.

Sources/Archives (6)

  • --- Text/Publication/Volume: Macleod, D J (ed.). 1934. A description of the Western Islands of Scotland circa 1695. 4th. 215, 505.
  • --- Text/Publication/Volume: Miket and Roberts, R and D L. 1990. The medieval castles of Skye and Lochalsh. 44.
  • --- Text/Publication/Volume: Pottle and Bennett, F A and C H. 1963. Boswell's Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides, 1773. 118.
  • --- Text/Report: RCAHMS. 1928. The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments and Constructions of Scotland. Ninth report with inventory of monuments and constructions in the Outer Hebrides, Skye and the Small Isles. . 185, No. 592.
  • --- Text/Publication/Volume: Name Book (County). Object Name Books of the Ordnance Survey. Book No. 15, 17.
  • --- Text/Publication/Monograph: OPS. 1854. Origines parochiales Scotiae: the antiquities ecclesiastical and territorial of the parishes of Scotland. 2/1. 348.

Finds (0)

Protected Status/Designation

  • None recorded

Related Monuments/Buildings (0)

Related Events/Activities (0)

Record last edited

Jan 28 2008 12:00AM

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