Milntown Castle was an early 16th century castle which was situated near Milton, in Easter Ross

Easter Ross

Easter Ross is a loosely defined area in the east of Ross, Highland, Scotland.The name is used in the constituency name Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, which is the name of both a British House of Commons constituency and a Scottish Parliament constituency...

, in the Scottish Highlands

Scottish Highlands

The Highlands is an historic region of Scotland. The area is sometimes referred to as the "Scottish Highlands". It was culturally distinguishable from the Lowlands from the later Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Scots replaced Scottish Gaelic throughout most of the Lowlands...

. It was built by the Munros of Milntown

Munros of Milntown

The Munros of Milntown were a family cadet branch of the Highland Clan Munro. They were the 'senior' cadet branch of the clan and spawned many cadet branches. They were frequently recorded as 'Monro' as well as Munro...

, a cadet branch of the Clan Munro

Clan Munro

-Origins:The main traditional origin of the clan is that the Munros came from Ireland and settled in Scotland in the 11th century and that they fought as mercenary soldiers under the Earl of Ross who defeated Viking invaders in Rosshire...

. In 1656, the castle was sold to George Mackenzie, 1st Earl of Cromartie

George Mackenzie, 1st Earl of Cromartie

George Mackenzie, 1st Earl of Cromartie FRS , known as Sir George Mackenzie, 2nd Baronet from 1654 to 1685 and as The Viscount of Tarbat from 1685 to 1703, was a Scottish statesman....

 also known as George MacKenzie of Tarbet, who later became the Earl of Cromartie

Earl of Cromartie

Earl of Cromartie is a title that has been created twice, both times for members of the Mackenzie family. This branch of the family descends from Sir Roderick Mackenzie, whose elder brother Kenneth Mackenzie was created Lord Mackenzie of Kintail in 1609 and was the father of Colin Mackenzie, 1st...

. Milntown Castle was pulled down and only part of the basement survives. The castle was replaced by Tarbat House, built nearby, which was itself demolished and replaced with a Georgian house in 1784.

Accounts of the Castle

Although the castle no longer exists, descriptions of the building are provided in some books, including the History of the Earldom of Sutherland by Sir Robert Gordon (1580–1625) and the History of the Munros of Fowlis published by Alexander MacKenzie in 1898.

Sir Robert Gordon wrote:
Alexander MacKenzie wrote: