Wikipedia, Castle Sinclair Girnigoe, Highland

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What is recorded here

Castle Sinclair Girnigoe is a linked pair of strongholds built by the Sinclair earls of Caithness on a narrow sea stack. Girnigoe began in the late fifteenth century, and an early seventeenth-century range called Castle Sinclair was joined to it. A bitter inheritance struggle ended in Sinclair defeat at Altimarlach in 1680, after which the castle was abandoned.

Who built and held it

William Sinclair, second Earl of Caithness, built Castle Girnigoe in the late fifteenth century. George Sinclair, fifth Earl, added the neighbouring Castle Sinclair range after 1606 and linked the two. The Sinclairs held the complex until debt and a disputed succession opened the way for Campbell control.

Attack, change and use

George Sinclair, sixth Earl, transferred his lands to Sir John Campbell of Glenorchy in 1672 because of heavy debt. The Sinclair heir tried to recover them by force in 1680, but Campbell troops defeated his men at the Battle of Altimarlach. The castle was damaged and abandoned during or after this struggle rather than rebuilt as the family's seat.

What survives

Tall ruined walls occupy a spectacular narrow rock above Sinclair Bay, separated from the mainland by a deep cut. Remains of both Girnigoe and the later Sinclair range survive, joined into one complex. Conservation has helped keep the fragile masonry standing while preserving its exposed coastal character.

Why it mattered

The castle was the main seat of the earls who dominated much of Caithness. Its sea-stack position combined defence with a striking display of authority to anyone travelling along the coast. The succession fight and nearby battle show how debt, title and land could turn a family dispute into open war.