April 10 2020

A ruined 16th century tower house in the Highlands is to benefit from preservation works to prevent further deterioration, following the appointment of McGregor Bowes by the Clan Urquhart Foundation as project architect.

Castle Craig on the Black Isle is a protected scheduled monument and retains a commanding presence on the south coast of the Cromarty Firth but has fallen into a precarious state despite efforts to stabilise the structure.

Prior structural work carried out by Addison Conservation & Design to shore up the building will be continued in order to stabilise major structural cracks.

At one time serving as an occasional episcopal residence in the post-Reformation period the medieval redoubt has suffered from severe coastal erosion to a perimeter curtain wall 20m to the north, which rests on a near vertical crag of sandstone.

The tower house itself remains largely intact save for a collapsed west wall and retains features such as vaulted floors and a corbelled parapet.

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