Mundole

Location uncertain

The farm of Mundole is situated about a mile to the south-west of Forres, and upon level ground above the level of the Findhorn floodplain. The river itself is a short distance to the west, and to the south the land rises gently towards the Altyre woods. A short distance upstream, the valley of the Findhorn narrows dramatically, and it may be that in early medieval times Mundole was the location of the safe crossing point for the River.

Originally, Mundole lay close to the mouth of the River Findhorn, at the time that the Burghead to Lossiemouth area was entirely separate from the mainland, and as such was an important area. The Findhorn itself has changed course dramatically many times, and at one point may have entered the sea near Loch Loy, just east of Nairn. However at Mundole, its position was stable. As the bay silted up, the lands to the north of Mundole became valuable as farmland, and being productive land close to the royal town of Forres, Mundole would have been highly prestigious.

It first appears in a list of teinds due to the Bishop of Moray in 1238, at which date it was known as Mundol, and is mentioned again in a charter of Alexander II where the lands of Mundol are mentioned as a boundary point. In 1337, it reappears when Andrew de Bur of Culbin and Mundole was granted a remission. At this time Culbin was a possession of the de Moravia family, suggesting that Andrew may have held the lands as a tenant of the Moravias, who held extensive lands across the north. It is intriguing to note that Alexander de Bur, the future Bishop of Moray, was archdeacon from 1350 onwards, holding as his prebend the churches of Forres and Edinkillie. The local connection combined with an unusual name and the timescale suggest that the two were related somehow.

In 1398, Robert, Duke of Albany, granted John Ramsay, son of William of Culuthy, the lands and castle of Leuchars, Fife in exchange for the lands of Balnaferry, Mundole, Balnakeith and Tarras. Sir William Ramsay was a notable warrior, having been captured at Nevilles Cross and at Poitiers fighting for the French. He had married Isabel, Countess of Fife and was invested with the Earldom as a result, but he had no male heirs, leaving a daughter only. It would therefore appear that John Ramsay his son must have been illegitimate. The Ramsay portion of Leuchars in Fife was the possession of his father, so it may be that John Ramsay exchanged lands he held in Moray to secure possession of some of his father’s estates. It is not clear how John would have come by these lands. Mundole therefore passed directly into the hands of the power behind the throne, and since the Albany Stewarts were forfeited by James I it seems likely that the lands passed to the crown at this point.

In the reign of James II Mundole was part of the extensive lands granted out to Alexander Dunbar, son of the last Dunbar Earl of Moray, and it was inherited by one of his younger sons. It is not entirely clear what happened to Mundole thereafter, but it was held by Alexander’s heir James of Cumnock, from 1488 , since in that year he was granted the fee farm of the lands gained by Albany, plus the Castlehill of Forres and the lands of Kintessack. In 1498, a letter of tack was issued in favour of Alexander, Lord Gordon in 1498, which allowed for him to hold lands including Mundole for nine years in the event that Sir James of Dunbarris had no issue.

This could not have referred to James of Cumnock, whose son James was born before 1485; presumably it refers to James junior. However, James junior did not die without an heir, and the letter was never used. There is a record in the Privy Seal that Mundole was let out to his uncle, David of Durris, who died c1521. Mundole disappears from the records for most of the sixteenth century, and only reappears in 1599. During this period, Mundole had passed into the hands of the Dunbars of Tarbet, descended from Alexander Dunbar of Tarbet who was Sheriff of Elgin and Forres, and may have been a son of James (II) of Cumnock.

Also descended from Alexander were the Dunbars of Moyness, who became involved in a feud with the Rose family. In 1599, David Rose of Clune had an eviction order served upon him by Dunbar of Moyness. New tenants were installed, and the furious Rose managed to get a gang together who targeted the property of the Dunbars. Dunphail, Moyness and Mundole all went up in flames, and the Dunbars retaliated by burning lands of the Roses. The feud escalated with the Roses employing MacGregors and the Dunbars employing Clan Ranald. David Rose was betrayed and hanged, following which Dunbar of Tarbet was murdered. The Dunbar Sheriff of Moray arrested the Rose laird of Belivat and burned his house down.

At this time, the house of Mundole consisted of a simple tower and barmkin wall, surrounded by woods and possibly a further wall or wet ditch - Pont has drawn a circle around the whole, which is unusual. In 1610, the Dunbars sold off their Tarbet lands and adopted the name Dunphail, and it would appear likely that Mundole as a former Tarbet estate was one of those which left the Dunbar family at this point. In 1704, Robert Innes of Mundole makes an appearance as a commissioner of supply, showing that by this date it was certainly in the possession of a different family. It is not clear who Robert Innes was, or how he had come by the lands as he makes no further appearance in the charters.

By the time of Roy’s map, a house can be seen amid a small enclosure of trees, with a smaller house with an enclosed garden area to the east. It is not clear which of these buildings is actually Mundole House, which had clearly been rebuilt following the destruction of 150 years earlier. Possible evidence of these trees could still be followed on the first edition Ordnance Survey map to the south of the modern farm, but all traces of the smaller building and wall to the east had vanished by this date. By 1775, it was owned by the Grant family, who had sold it to the Gordonstoun estate by 1798.

There is no trace of the tower if any survived to be incorporated into the new Mundole House, as the house was demolished and a new building built which was part of the farm steading buildings which can be seen today. Mundole is now used as an equestrian centre, which means that the site of the old Mundole House is now beneath paddocks and is not accessible to the public.

Simon Forder 2013.