Chanonry Castle
The Castle Chanonry of Ross is also sometimes spelt Canonry or Chanonrie.
History
The Castle no longer stands however it is known that it was a rectangular tower house built by the Bishop of Fraser between 1497 and 1507.
The Castle Chanonry of Ross is an ancient fortification and has been fought over fiercly throughout history.
Most notably between the Clan Munro and the Clan MacKenzie who were often at feud; Andrew Munro of Milntown defended and held, for three years, the Castle Canonry of Ross, which he had received from the Regent Moray who died in 1569, against the Clan MacKenzie, at the expense of many lives on both sides. Mackenzie failed to take the castle by force. It was, however, afterwards delivered up to the Mackenzies peacefully under the act of pacification (a treaty of peace to cease hostilities), as the MacKenzies had more legal right to own the castle. In Alexander MacKenzie's book 'The History of the MacKenzies' published in 1890 he claims that an attempted sortie by the Munros for fish at a nearby loch was foiled and as a result the MacKenzies took control of the castle. However there is no evidence for this, his books are unsourced and it is believed likely to be fiction. [1][2]
Later during the Civil War the Clan MacKenzie Chief who was still in posession of the castle was now known as the Earl of Seaforth. However in 1646 James Graham the 1st Marquess of Montrose laid siege to the castle and took it from the MacKenzies after a siege of four days. [3]
Later still in 1649 after the Clans Munro, MacKenzie, Fraser and Urquart together took Inverness Castle, the MacKenzies then retook the Castle Chanonrie from the current Parlimentry forces. However the Parlimentry forces soon after took the MacKenzie's 'Red Castle' and hanged the garrison. [4]
At this period of time the people of the district became firm adherents of the King's party.
The Castle Today
The castle itself no longer stands however the street it was on is now known as Castle Street. Nearby, built into the outside wall of an extremely old ware house is a stone known as a 'Dormer Pediment'. The stone consists of a coat of arms and some initials. The initials read CBS which stand for 'Countess Barbara of Seaforth'. Barbara was the wife of George MacKenzie, second Earl of Seaforth (1633-1651). It is possable that this stone is the only surviving relic of the castle.[5]