Chanonry of Ross facts for kids

Castle Street in Fortrose, Scotland, in 2012. It's named after the old Castle Chanonry of Ross.

Castle Chanonry of Ross, also known as Seaforth Castle, was once a castle in the town of Fortrose, in the north-east of Inverness, Scotland. It was on a piece of land called the Black Isle. Today, nothing is left of the castle. It was also known as Canonry or Chanonrie of Ross, which was an old county.

Building the Castle

The castle is no longer standing. We know it was a tall, rectangular tower house. It was built by a church leader named Bishop Fraser sometime between 1497 and 1507.

The Big Fight of the 1500s

Quick facts for kids Siege of the Castle Chanonry of Ross
Part of Clan Munro and Clan Mackenzie feud
Historic picture of the Chanonry of Ross, now the town of Fortrose
Date 1569 - 1573 Location Castle Chanonry of Ross, Fortrose, Black Isle, Scotland Result Munros hand castle over to Mackenzies by an 'Act of Pacification'
Belligerents
Clan Munro	Clan Mackenzie Clan Mackintosh
Commanders and leaders
Andrew Munro, 5th of Milntown	Colin Cam Mackenzie, 11th of Kintail
Strength
Unknown	3000 men
Casualties and losses
According to Munro Writs (1572): 3 killed According to Sir Robert Gordon (1508- 1656): "great slaughter on either syd" According to George Mackenzie (1669): 3 killed According to Alexander Mackenzie (1894): 26 killed	According to Sir Robert Gordon (1580 - 1656): "great slaughter on either syd" According to George Mackenzie (1669): 2 wounded According to Alexander Mackenzie (1894): 2 killed and 3 or 4 wounded

In 1569, a big argument started between two powerful Scottish families, the Clan Mackenzie and Clan Munro. This happened during a time of civil war in Scotland, when people were fighting over whether Mary, Queen of Scots or her young son, James VI, should be king or queen.

The trouble began when John Leslie, who was the Bishop of Ross (a church leader), gave the castle and its land to his cousin. Bishop Leslie had worked for Queen Mary. He wanted to make sure his family kept some of the church's important property.

However, the person ruling Scotland for the young King James VI, known as the Regent Moray, gave the castle to Andrew Munro. The Regent promised Bishop Leslie other lands in return. But then, in January 1570, the Regent Moray was killed. This meant Andrew Munro didn't get the official ownership papers for the castle, but he still moved in.

The Mackenzies were not happy that the Munros had the castle. They saw that Munro's claim wasn't very strong. So, they bought the legal rights to the castle from Bishop Leslie. Then, they demanded that Munro give them their rightful property. But Munro refused to leave.

Munro tried to get support from the next Regent, Matthew Stewart, who also supported him. But Matthew Stewart was also killed in September 1571. The next Regent, John Erskine, also agreed that Andrew Munro could keep the castle. But he too died in October 1572.

The Mackenzies believed the Munros were wrongly holding their castle. So, they surrounded the castle and attacked it. This is called a siege. The Munros defended the castle for three years. Many people from both sides were hurt or killed during this time.

Finally, in 1573, the Munros peacefully gave the castle to the Mackenzies. This was part of an agreement called an "Act of Pacification." Munro was paid back for the money he spent while holding the castle. This whole event was part of the bigger civil war in Scotland.

Old Stories About the Fight

Many old writings tell us about this fight.

What the Old Documents Say (1572)

Some old legal papers from 1572 include a letter from Andrew Munro. He complained that Colin Mackenzie and his men had "killed three of my servants and left three badly wounded." He also said they "burned and destroyed my crops, houses, and barns." Munro claimed that "three thousand men" from the Mackenzie clan surrounded the castle for a long time. He also said the castle was "at present in the hands of Walter Urquhart," who was the Sheriff of Cromartie. Another letter from 1572 also mentions that the Mackenzies and Mackintoshes had about three thousand men besieging the castle.

Sir Robert Gordon's Story (1630)

Sir Robert Gordon wrote a history book in the 1600s. He said the Mackenzies bought the castle rights and then besieged it. He wrote that the Munros defended it for three years, with "great slaughter on either side," meaning many people were killed. He said the castle was finally given to the Mackenzies as part of a peace agreement. He believed this fight was the start of the bad feelings between the two clans that lasted for a long time.

George Mackenzie's Story (1669)

George Mackenzie, who was an Earl, wrote his family's history in 1669. He said the Mackenzies tried to take the castle from the Munros. He mentioned an event in June 1572 when the Munros went fishing. The Mackenzies attacked them, but they were outnumbered. A friend, Robert Graham, helped the Mackenzies. George Mackenzie said the Munros ran away, and three of them were killed. Only two Mackenzies were hurt. He said the castle was then given to Walter Urquhart.

John Mackenzie of Applecross's Story (1669)

John Mackenzie also wrote a history around the same time. His story is very similar to George Mackenzie's. He also said Robert Graham helped the Mackenzies. However, he wrote that twenty-six Munros were killed, not just three. He agreed that only two Mackenzies were wounded. He said that after this fight, the Munros could not hold the castle and gave it to Colin Mackenzie.

Later Historians' Accounts

Later historians, like Alexander Mackintosh-Shaw (1880) and Alexander Mackenzie (1894/1898), also wrote about this feud. They mentioned that the Frasers helped the Munros, and the Mackintoshes helped the Mackenzies. They agreed that the fight ended after a lot of bloodshed. Arbiters (people chosen to settle a dispute) decided the castle belonged to the Mackenzies. Alexander Mackenzie also mentioned the story of the Mackenzies taking control of the castle after a skirmish. He said twenty-six Munros were killed, and two Mackenzies were killed with three or four wounded.

Castle in Later Wars

Later, in the 1600s, during the Scottish Civil War, the Mackenzies still owned the castle. Their leader, George Mackenzie, 2nd Earl of Seaforth, supported the Covenanters (a group in Scotland). In 1646, a royalist commander named John Middleton, 1st Earl of Middleton, attacked the castle. He took it from the Mackenzies after four days.

In 1649, after another fight in Inverness, the leader of the Scottish Parliamentary army, David Leslie, Lord Newark, left soldiers in the castle. But soon after, the Mackenzies took the castle back from these forces. The Parliamentary forces then captured the Mackenzies' Redcastle and hanged the soldiers there.

A poem from the 1600s, written by a prophet called Brahan Seer, made a prediction about Castle Chanonry of Ross. He said: "The day will come when, full of the Mackenzies, it will fall with a fearful crash." This could mean it would fall when many dead Mackenzies were buried there, or when a large group of the clan was at a funeral for an important chief.

The castle was destroyed during the Jacobite uprisings in the 1700s. We don't know exactly who knocked it down.

Castle Today

The castle itself is gone now. But the street where it stood is still called Castle Street. Near there, on the outside wall of a very old house, there is a stone called a "Dormer Pediment." It has a family crest and the letters CBS on it. These letters stand for Countess Barbara of Seaforth, who was the wife of George MacKenzie, the second Earl of Seaforth (who lived from 1633 to 1651). This stone might be the only part of the castle that still exists today.