tower house 70m NNW of Inshoch House

Heritage listing

Date Added 01/09/1934 Last Date Amended 09/03/2007 Type Secular: castle; tower Local Authority Highland Parish Auldearn NGR NH 93646 56700 Coordinates 293646, 856700 — The monument comprises the ruined remains of a Z-plan tower house built during the second half of the 16th century and the remains of associated activity surrounding the building. It is situated 5 km to the E of Nairn and within 3 km of the S shore of the Moray Firth at 40 m above sea level. The monument was first scheduled in 1934 and subsequently rescheduled in 1998, but the scheduling contained inaccuracies: the present rescheduling rectifies this. The rectangular core and earliest element of the tower house lies roughly E-W with the larger of two round towers containing accommodation at the NW corner. The second, smaller tower is located in the opposite SE corner (giving the house its distinctive Z-plan footprint) and contained the stair to the first floor. The stair to the upper floors was carried in a turret in the return of this second tower and the E wall. The house was subsequently replanned with the addition of a sub-rectangular extension to the W. In some places the walls still stand to their full height, though in others, such as the SE tower and the kitchen range, they are reduced to less than 2 m and are largely hidden by collapsed rubble. The original quality of the building is apparent in extensive use of finely cut dressed stone. The area proposed for re-scheduling is sub-rectangular on plan, to include the remains described and an area around them within which related material may be expected to be found, as shown in red on the accompanying map. The above-ground elements of the well immediately to the S of the castle and the machinery associated with the well are specifically excluded fr

From Historic Environment Scotland under OGL v3.