Dingwall Castle

Dingwall Castle has all but vanished, and what remains is hidden within the private garden of the 1820 house built from the masonry of the ruined castle. Built on low lying ground near to the mouth of the River Peffer, the castle was almost certainly originally on a raised platform enclosed by a wet moat, and erected to serve the needs of the burgh of Dingwall.

Traditionally the burgh was founded by King William the Lion in the late 12th century, but there was an existing settlement here centuries earlier, given prominence by the Norse, and the castle location does not sit comfortably with the medieval burgh. Instead, the castle sits near the mouth of the Peffer well outside the burgh bounds, and seems to serve a naval purpose, perhaps dating to the Norse period. The castle was in existence in 1259, and it seems probable that it was a stronghold of the earls of Ross, who held Dingwall in thanage from Alexander III, Robert I, and Robert II. Subject to disputes among the claimants for the Ross earldom, it was seized by the Lord of the Isles in 1411, and became a royal castle under King James III. The last repairs date to the reign of James VI, after which it seems to have been abandoned altogether.

HES Canmore database entry