Castle Chanonry of Ross, also known as Seaforth Castle, was located in the town of Fortrose, to the north-east of Inverness, on the peninsula known as the Black Isle, Highland, Scotland. Nothing now remains of the castle. The castle was also known as Canonry or Chanonrie of Ross, the former county.
Construction
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.
16th century siege
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.
The Mackenzies were not pleased to see their powerful neighbours, the Munros, in possession of this castle; and recognizing the inherent weakness in Munro's title, or lack of it, they purchased from Leslie the legal title and rights and proceeded to demand possession of their rightful property from Munro. However, Munro would not cede.
Munro decided to stay put and made a new approach to the new regent, Matthew Stewart, 4th Earl of Lennox who supported Munro. The situation became even more complex when Lennox was also shot and killed in September 1571. The next regent, John Erskine, Earl of Mar, subsequently also gave his approval for Andrew Munro to retain possession of the castle, but the Earl of Mar died in October 1572 after a short illness which some sources indicate was due to poisoning.
The Mackenzies regarded the Munros as wrongful possessors of their property which they had legally purchased from Leslie. They therefore laid siege to the castle. The Munros defended the castle for three years with the loss of many lives on both sides. Finally in 1573 the Munros peacefully passed the castle to the Mackenzies under an Act of Pacification, under the terms of which Munro was awarded compensation for his expenses in occupying the castle. This affair was probably part of a wider political intrigue and the rival claims of the King's and Queen's parties, known as the Marian civil war, which ended with the 'pacification' of Perth in 1573.
During the minority of James VI, which officially ended in 1578, Munro of Milntown, and his then chief Robert Mor Munro, 15th Baron of Foulis, had charge of the Crown lands of Ross and the Black Isle. On 31 October 1578, James VI gave the "castell, hous and place of the channonrie" to Henry Stewart, 3rd Lord Methven. The Chanonry had been given to Alexander Hepburn (d. 1578), the successor to John Lesley, Bishop of Ross, who shared Queen Mary's exile. Lord Methven would receive the income from the lands until such time as a new Bishop of Ross was appointed. In July 1589 James VI arrived at the Chanonry in person, where "he slew ane great hairt, and wes weill bancketted and ressavit by the barronis and gentilmen in the way."
Historical accounts
Calendar Writs of Munro of Foulis (1572)