Scheduled Monuments›Scotland›Loch an Eilein Castle

Loch an Eilein Castle

Scotland
HES SM957
Nation
Scotland
Boundary

Scheduled area

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Overview

History & significance

Loch an Eilein Castle is a ruined medieval fortress situated on an island within Loch an Eilein in Inverness-shire, Scotland. The castle dates primarily to the thirteenth century, with evidence of occupation and modification extending into the sixteenth century. The surviving remains consist of a curtain wall enclosing the island, incorporating a rectangular keep, reflecting the defensive architecture typical of Highland strongholds of the medieval period. The site held strategic significance as a stronghold in the Cairngorms region and is associated with successive occupation by local lordships, serving as evidence of medieval settlement patterns and military architecture in the Scottish Highlands.

Loch an Eilein Castle is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM957. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Loch an Eilein Castle?

Loch an Eilein Castle is a ruined medieval fortress situated on an island within Loch an Eilein in Inverness-shire, Scotland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM957.

Who is responsible for protecting Loch an Eilein Castle?

Loch an Eilein Castle is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Historic Environment Scotland — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in Scotland. The official designation reference is SM957.

What other scheduled monuments are near Loch an Eilein Castle?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Balvattan, settlement and field system, Rothiemurchus (1.9 km), Doune, motte, Rothiemurchus (2.3 km), Rothiemurchus, palisaded enclosure to NW of Dell Farm (3.8 km).

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Everything a full report reveals about Loch an Eilein Castle

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Loch an Eilein Castle's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:

Overview
An interactive map of the location with every monument and battle plotted, and a plain-language history built only from what the record holds.
Monuments
The legally protected scheduled monuments around the location, each with its period, type and significance.
Battlefields
The battles and sieges fought on this ground, mapped and set on a timeline of the wider conflict.
Roman Britain
The Roman roads, forts and towns near here, and the Iron Age people who held the land before Rome arrived.
Stat Accounts
The parish Statistical Accounts of the 1790s and 1830s, describing life, work and population here.
Civil War
The Civil War fighting, garrisons and recorded militaria in this area, woven into the arc of 1642 to 1651.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back hundreds of millions of years.
Local Names
What the street and field names around here actually mean, and the history buried inside them.
Historical Maps
Ordnance Survey maps from the 1800s, layered over the location as it stands today.
Literature
The books, county histories, charters and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.
Legal
The protected sites nearby and the metal-detecting, access and treasure laws that apply to this ground.
Spotlight
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Target Zones
For detectorists: the most promising ground to search nearby, ranked by confidence, with what to expect.
Timeline
The whole story of the location told era by era, from prehistory to the present day.
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Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.

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Nearby

Other scheduled monuments within 10 km

Balvattan, settlement and field system, Rothiemurchus
Post-Medieval · Settlement and field system, rothiemurchus1.9 km
Doune, motte, Rothiemurchus
Medieval · Motte, rothiemurchus2.3 km
Rothiemurchus, palisaded enclosure to NW of Dell Farm
Post-Medieval · Palisaded enclosure to nw of dell farm3.8 km
Easter Delfour, ring cairn 220m SSW of
Bronze Age · Ring cairn5.5 km
Aviemore, cairn 25m SW of 24 Muirton
Cairn 25m sw of 24 muirton5.6 km
Loch Nan Carraigean, cairns 40m S of
Cairns7.6 km
Pityoulish, barrow cemetery 465m WSW of West Croftmore
Barrow cemetery 465m wsw of west croftmore8.1 km
Avielochan,Tor Beag,fort
Iron Age · Tor beag,fort9.3 km
The ground beneath

The bedrock under Loch an Eilein Castle

Loch an Eilein Castle stands on Grampian Group, bedrock that formed in the Neoproterozoic. The rock here is psammite and semipelite.

The wider landscape

Around Loch an Eilein Castle

Battle of CromdaleBattle (1690) · ~17.3 milesBattle of CullodenBattle (1746) · ~24.8 miles
All Scheduled Monuments