Publication Account
Date 1995
Event ID 1016674
Category Descriptive Accounts
Type Publication Account
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/1016674
This ruined tower-house stands dramatically on the very edge of a sheer cliff falling to the sea below. Most of it survives to its full height of four-storeys and an attic, but one corner has fallen away completely, so that one can see the interior without going inside, which is unsafe.
Two round towers, one containing rooms and the other the principal wheel stair, are attached to the main oblong block at curious angles, perhaps to conform to the shape of the cliff top. The ground floor was vaulted and the hall was on the first floor; the entrance was on the ground floor at the northeast corner which has fallen away. Keiss is a late tower-house, and has the characteristic proliferation of upper works, such as a number of extra stair turrets serving the upper floors, the main stair tower corbelled out to form a squa re room at the top, and a generous provision of fireplaces necessitating several chimney-stacks. Though the walls are made of local flagstone, dressed and moulded imported sandstone frames the doors and windows, and there are a number of purely decorative carved features such as the chequered corbelling below some of the turrets, and a panel at the top of the south gable.
The castle belonged originally to the Earls of Caithness, and later to two other branches of the Sinclair family. It was finally abando ned when the new Keiss Castle was built in 1755 (ND 355617). This white-harled building stands inland from the old castle and was originally a simple three-storey house, until altered and extended in Scottish Baronial style in 1860. It now has a four-storey tower and circular corner turrets.
On the way back to the harbour the path by the shore passes close to the remains of two iron-age brochs (ND 353610 and 354612; see chapter 10).These were excavated at the turn of the century but have decayed badly since; both have outbuildings round them. There is yet another excavated broch on the A9, next to the cemetery by the war memorial (ND 348615). For the harbour, parliamentary church and manse see no. 13.
Information from ‘Exploring Scotland’s Heritage: The Highlands’, (1995).
