Redcastle historically known as Edirdovar and Ederdour, is a mediaeval castle in Killearnan on the Black Isle

Black Isle

The Black Isle is an eastern area of the Highland local government council area of Scotland, within the county of Ross and Cromarty. The name nearly always includes the article "the"....

, northern Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

. It is so named from the colour of the stone of which it is built. The castle is now in a state of ruinous disrepair, although it is protected as a category B listed building.

History

Redcastle was until relatively recently one of the oldest inhabited houses in Scotland. A castle on this site was first constructed by William the Lion in 1179 and was known as Edirdovar. The castle was held by Sir John Bysset 1230 and in 1278 by Sir Andrew de Besco. In 1455 the Black Isle was annexed to the Crown.

By 1492 the castle and its lands were under the control of Kenneth Mackenzie, 7th of Kintail

Kenneth Mackenzie, 7th of Kintail

Kenneth Mackenzie , traditionally reckoned 7th of Kintail and nicknamed Coinneach a'bhlair , was a Highland chief, being head of the Clan Mackenzie.-Origins:...

, and they remained in the possession of Clan Mackenzie

Clan MacKenzie

Clan Mackenzie is a Highland Scottish clan, traditionally associated with Kintail and lands in Ross-shire.-Origins:The Mackenzies, a powerful clan of Celtic stock, were not among the clans that originated from Norman ancestry. Descendants of the long defunct royal Cenél Loairn of Dál Riata, they...

 until 1790. The present building is dated 1641, and was remodelled in the 19th century by William Burn

William Burn

William Burn was a Scottish architect, pioneer of the Scottish Baronial style.He was born in Edinburgh, the son of architect Robert Burn, and educated at the Royal High School. After training with the architect of the British Museum, Sir Robert Smirke, he returned to Edinburgh in 1812...

. The estate was bought by Colonel H.D. Baillie in 1838 and passed into the ownership of the family of Lord Burton

Baron Burton

Baron Burton, of Burton-on-Trent and of Rangemore in the County of Stafford, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1897 for the prominent brewer, philanthropist and Liberal politician Michael Bass, 1st Baron Burton. He had already been created a Baronet in 1882 and...

 of Dochfour. The castle was requisitioned by the army during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

and was finally vacated and part stripped in the 1950s.