Skelbo Castle

from a flickr posting:

"In the 15th century, the castle passed by marriage from the de Moravia family to the Kynnards, and then in 1529 it passed to the Sutherlands of Duffus - descendants of Freskin de Moravia again."

from: http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~caithara/page1.htm

The Castle itself dates back to the early part of the thirteenth century, when Hugo Freskyn, Thane of Sutherland, granted his lands of Skelbo to Gilbert de Moravia, afterwards Bishop of Caithness.

The Moravia family possessed Skelbo for upwards of two hundred yars, when it passed to the Kynnards, through the mariage of Thomas Kynnard to Egida, daughter and heiress of Walter Murray of Skelbo and Culbin. In 1529, it was sold by John Kynnard for 2,300 merks to William Sutherland of Duffus, kinsman to the Earl of Sutherland, who with this acquisition, rounded off his estates, which included some of the fairest parts of Sutherland. The Duffus family had need of this stronmg fortress in their frequent quarrels with their neighbours.

Hardly had William Sutherland completed his purchase, when the whole county was thrown into an uproar by his murder at Thurso by the Clan Gunn. Andrew Stuart, Bishop of Caithness, seems to have had a hand in this crime, and the Earl of Sutherland took the Bishop's part in the ensuing troubles when William Sutherlands heir, disdaining all offers of compensation, tried to avenge his fathers death. High handed methods, however, only landed him in an Edinburgh jail, where he was forced to come to terms with the Bishop in order to regain his liberty.

The war was carried on by his son, who allied himself with the Earl of Caithness, the bitterest enemy of the Earl of Sutherland, and this in spite of the fact that the Duffus' were bound to give service to the Earl for Skelbo. It was an alliance that brought them neither good fame nor profit, and was to keep the country in turmoil for two generations.

It culminated in the attack on Dornoch, made in 1570, by Alexander Sutherland of Duffus and his brother, aided by the Master of Caithness and Hugh McKay, also supported by many of the locals from the two counties. Dornoch was burnt and plundered, and the supporters of the Earl of Sutherland retiring to the tower of the Cathedral, where they held out for a week. At length a truce was arranged and the hostages given, but the Duffus' completed their raid by beheading the hostages "against all humanitie and the law of nations". Sir Robert Gordon, the historian, relates with evident relish that immediately after this crime, the Laird of Duffus, "seikenede and never rose again out of his bed, through the sting of conscience which he conceived and through the strange visions which appeared unto him for being accessorie and participant of the shedding of their blood."

History of Skelbo

1. The name Skelbo shows that it was an important farmstead of the early Viking age, built around 850. It means "framstead of shells" or possibly "of shell sand".

2. In 1211 Hugo Freskyn gave Skelbo to his Kinsman, Gilbert of Moray, later to become Saint Gilbert. He made it over to his brother in 1223; Richard was probably killed in the battled of Embo in 1245, when a band of pirates landed at Little ferry.

3. In 1290 the Scottish and English Commissioners were at Skelbo, to meet the young Queen of Scotland, the Maid of Norway, who was to marry the heir to the throne of England. It was at Skelbo that they heard of her death in Orkney. This link to the history of both Scotland and England would justify the preservation of Skelbo as a National Monument.

4. In 1308 Robert the Bruce was campaigning in the Highlands, he captured Balvenie Castle and destroyed Duffus Castle in Moray, one of his supporters, William Wiseman attacked and captured Skelbo castle from the Earl of Sutherland

5. In the 15th century Skelbo passed by marriage from the clan Moray ( the lineage of Hugo Freskyn) to the chief of Kynnard, whose possession caused dispute with John, 8th Earl of Sutherland, over lord of Skelbo. His spouse was killed near Skelbo.

6. In 1529 Skelbo passed from the Kynnards to the Sutherlands of Duffus, Kinsmen of the Earls of Sutherland. Alexander Sutherland of Duffus was knighted by Charles I, before 1643. Lord Duffus accompanied Charles II returning from exile in the Netherlands to Scotland in 1650. That same year Skelbo was reinforced as a garrison of the Earl of Sutherland, whose army came from Skelbo and elsewhere to partake in the battle of Carbisdale which ended the fatal campaign of Montrose and its army marching south from caithness. Montrose was captured and Executed in Edinburgh.

7. In 1654 General Middleton stored army supplies in Skelbo Castle after his landing at Little ferry. Lord Duffus, supporting Charles II, joined general Middleton and the Earl of Glencairn in the rising against cromwell which was centered on Dornoch but defeated at Dalnaspidal. In the 17th century, Skelbo was frequently at the centre of feuding between the clansmen of Gordon and Sutherland.

8. In 1715 at Tain, Kenneth 3rd Lord Duffus with hundreds of Jacobites proclaimed King James VIII. After the defeat of the Jacobites, Skelbo was forfeited. Lord Duffus fled through Caithness to sweden. Seized in Hamburg and imprisoned in the Tower of London he was freed without trial in 1717 returning to exile. He died in St Petersberg in 1734. His son Eric lived at Skelbo.

9. In 1746 the Earl of Cromarty and his jacobite army occupied Skelbo Castle. They captured four Hanoverian ships with arms at Little Ferry and moved to Dunrobin where they took and briefly held Dunrobin castle. (Dunrobin ws the last castle in Scotland to be taken by force) Cromarty was eventually ambushed by the Earl of Sutherlands Militia. This prevented them from taking part in the battle of Culloden and may have influenced the outcome.

10. In 1747 at Skelbo, Lady duffus wrote to the earl of Sutherland about his motherless daughter. the child in her care was making good progress. this letter gives a vivid impression of domestic life at Skelbo Castle. In 1757 the Laid of Duffus and Skelbo wrote to the Eral of Sutehrlands factor about the conditionof the Mansion house, the kiln and girnell. The Roof at the north end of the house was beyond repair. By 1769 the Castle was ruinous. Skelbo was sold by the 4th Lord Duffus in 1787, to whom the forfeited title was restored by Parliament in 1826. The baronial title of Skelbo reverted to the Countess of Sutherland in 1804.