Chanonry of Ross

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Castle Chanonry of Ross or simply Chanonry of Ross was a castle located in the town of Fortrose, to the north-east of Inverness, Highland, Scotland. Nothing now remains of the castle. The castle was also known as Canonry or Chanonrie of Ross, the former county.

1 History
2 See also
3 External links
4 References

[edit] History

[edit] 16th century, medi-evil period

The Castle no longer stands however it is known that it was a rectangular tower house built by the Bishop Fraser between 1497 and 1507.^{[citation needed]}

In 1569 a feud arose between the Clan Mackenzie and Clan Munro, who by this time were among the most powerful clans in Ross-shire. The trouble arose when John Leslie, Bishop of Ross, made over to his cousin Leslie, the Laird of Balquhair, the right and title to the castle at Chanonry together with the castle lands. Bishop Leslie had been secretary to the deposed Mary, Queen of Scots and there was strong feeling against episcopacy in Scotland. He therefore felt it best to get the church property under his bishopric passed into his family's hands to preserve some of the important privileges that came with being a bishop. Not withstanding this grant the Regent Moray, acting in the name of the infant King James VI of Scotland gave the custody of the castle to Andrew Munro of Milntown.

James Stewart, Earl of Moray, who was the illegitimate son of King James V of Scotland and the most powerful man in Scotland, promised Bishop Leslie that in return for ceding the castle and lands he would give him some of the lands of the baronry of Fintry in Buchan. This scheme, however, became somewhat interrupted when, in January 1570, the Regent Moray was shot dead, preventing Andrew Munro of Milntown from obtaining the title to the castle and lands of Chanonry, but that did not deter him from occupying them as though he did.

The Mackenzies were not particularly pleased to see their powerful neighbours, the Munros, in possession of this castle and recognizing the inherent weakness in Munro's title, or lack of it, they purchased from Leslie the legal title and rights and proceeded to demand possession of their rightful property from Munro. However Munro would not cede.

Munro decided to stay put and made a new approach to the new regent, the Earl of Lennox who seeing the justice of the situation supported Munro. The situation became even more complex when the unfortunate Earl of Lennox was also shot and killed in September 1571. The next regent, the Earl of Mar, subsequently also gave his approval to Andrew Munro to retain possession of the castle.

The Mackenzies regarded the Munros as wrongful possessors of their property which they had legally purchased from Leslie. They therefore laid siege to the castle. The Munros defended the castle for three years with the loss of many lives on both sides. Finally in 1573 the Munros peacefully passed the castle to the Mackenzies under an Act of Pacification, in the terms of which Munro was awarded compensation for his expenses in occupying the castle. ^[1] ^[2]^[3]

Sir Robert Gordon (1580 - 1656) writes of the feud in his book "Genealogical History of the Earldom of Sutherland":

The Munros defended and keipt the Castle for the space of thrie yeirs, with great slaughter on either syd, vntill it was delyvered to the Clanchenzie, by the Act of Pacification. And this wes the ground beginning of the feud and hartburning, which to this day, remaynes between the Clanchenzie and Munrois ^[4]

In Alexander MacKenzie's book The History of the MacKenzies, published in 1890, he claims that an attempted sortie by the Munros for fish at a nearby loch was foiled and as a result the MacKenzies took control of the castle. ^[5] Although it is recorded by contemporary evidence to have been handed over peacfully under King James VI. This affair was probably part of wider political intrigue and the rival claims of the King's and Queen's parties which ended with the 'pacification' of Perth in 1573.

[edit] 17th century and Civil War

Later during the 17th century, during the Civil War the Clan MacKenzie chief who was still in possession of the castle was now known as the Earl of Seaforth. However in 1646 James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose laid siege to the castle and took it from the MacKenzies after a siege of four days. ^[6]

In 1649 the the MacKenzies retook the Castle Chanonry of Ross from the Parliamentary forces. However the Parliamentary forces soon after took the MacKenzie's 'Red Castle' and hanged the garrison. ^[7]

At this period of time the people of the district became firm adherents of the King's party.

A 17th century poem, written by Brahan Seer, concerning the Castle Chanonry of Ross predicted that: "The day will come when, full of the Mackenzies, it will fall with a fearful crash. This may come to pass in several ways. The Canonry is the principle burying-place of the Clan, and it may fall when full of dead Mackenzies, or when a large concourse of the Clan is present at the funeral of a great chief."^[8]

Interestingly the castle was reduced to rubble during the Jacobite Uprisings in the 18th century. Although it is not known who was responsible for this.

[edit] The castle today

The castle itself no longer stands. However, the street it was on is now known as Castle Street. Nearby, built into the outside wall of an extremely old ware house is a stone known as a 'Dormer Pediment'. The stone consists of a coat of arms and some initials. The initials read CBS which stand for 'Countess Barbara of Seaforth'. Barbara was the wife of George MacKenzie, second Earl of Seaforth (1633-1651). It is possible that this stone is the only surviving relic of the castle. ^[9]