Castle Chanonry of Ross
| Siege of the Castle Chanonry of Ross | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Clan Munro and Clan Mackenzie feud | |||||||
 The town of Fortrose, on the peninsula known as Black Isle where the Castle Chanonry of Ross once stood. |
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| Belligerents | |||||||
| Clan Munro |
Clan Mackenzie Clan Mackintosh |
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Andrew Munro, 5th of Milntown | Unknown | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| Unknown | Unknown | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| According to Sir Robert Gordon (1625): "great slaughter on either syd" According to Alexander Mackenzie (1894): 26 killed |
According to Sir Robert Gordon (1625) "great slaughter on either syd" According to Alexander Mackenzie (1894): 2 killed and 3 or 4 wounded |
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Castle Chanonry of Ross, also known as Seaforth Castle, was located in the town of Fortrose, to the north-east of Inverness, Highland, Scotland. Nothing now remains of the castle. The castle was also known as Canonry or Chanonrie of Ross, the former county.
The Castle no longer stands. However, it is known that it was a rectangular tower house built by the Bishop Fraser between 1497 and 1507.
In 1569, during the Marian civil war between the deposed Mary, Queen of Scots and James VI of Scotland, a feud arose between the Clan Mackenzie and Clan Munro, who were among the most powerful clans in Ross-shire. The trouble started when John Leslie, Bishop of Ross granted to his cousin Leslie, the Laird of Balquhair, the right and title to the castle at Chanonry together with the castle lands. Bishop Leslie had been secretary to Queen Mary and there was strong feeling against episcopacy in Scotland. He therefore felt it best to arrange for the church property of his bishopric to pass into his family's hands to preserve some of the important privileges that he enjoyed as bishop. Notwithstanding this grant, the Regent Moray (James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray), acting in the name of the infant King James VI, gave the custody of the castle to Andrew Munro, 5th of Milntown.
Regent Moray, the illegitimate son of King James V of Scotland, promised Bishop Leslie that in return for ceding the castle and lands he would give him some of the lands of the barony of Fintry in Buchan. This scheme was interrupted when, in January 1570, James Stewart, Regent Moray was shot dead, preventing Andrew Munro of Milntown from obtaining the title to the castle and lands of Chanonry; but that did not deter Munro from occupying the castle.
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