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Castle Grant is the ancient,
ancestral seat of the the Chiefs of the Grant Clan. There was an
original fortification called "Ballachastell" meaning "Castle of
the Pass" which was located about .25 miles south-east of the
present castle, but the present location is on a slight rise
called "Freuchie-hillock". Castle Grant was originally called "Freuchie",
which means "Heathery Place", and the Chiefs of Grant were
styled "of Freuchie" ("Grant of Freuchie") from roughly the late
15th century through the early 17th century. In the late 15th
century the lands and Castle became part of the barony of
Freuchie. Then, in 1694, by act of William and Mary of England,
the lands and baronetcy of Freuchie were erected into the
regality "of Grant". From that point the castle was renamed
"Castle Grant" and the Chiefs were styled "of Grant" ("Grant of
Grant" instead of "Grant of Freuchie").
According to "Castles of Scotland", the
original building was a Z-shaped tower house, typical of many
that exist in Scotland from the same period, and it dates from
probably around the 15th century. The castle has had a number of
additions added over the years, with the largest expansion
taking place in the 1750's. This latter expansion enclosed the
main building, and attached the two outer buildings to the
south, creating "wings" on the south side which now enclose the
courtyard. The castle has stayed roughly the same since that
period. Originally a Comyn stronghold, Clan traditions tell us
that the castle was taken from the Comyns by a combined force of
the Grants and the MacGregors.
According to legend, in the 14th century,
a younger son of a Grant of Stratherrick ran off with a daughter
of the MacGregor Chief, the MacGregor's being a very powerful
clan at this time. They fled to a cave near-by the present
castle, today called "Huntly's Cave", where they were set upon
and much harrassed by the Chief of Comyn and his people, who
were none too happy with these new settlers on their lands.
Meanwhile, the MacGregor Chief and his men, catching up with the
couple, were received graciously and with much hospitality by
Grant and his retinue, and were welcomed into their hideaway.
The Grant supposedly gave a feast and arranged the comings and
goings of his men such that they appeared as a large force about
him, and the MacGregor Chief was so impressed that he forgave
the couple and even agreed to help his son-in-law against the
Comyns.
The very next morning the Grants and
MacGregors stormed the castle and in the process slew the Comyn
Chief - and kept the Chief's skull as a trophy of this victory.
Another variation of this tale is that a Comyn ran off with a
Grant woman. Her father and a number of Grant men pursued the
couple and one of the Grants slew the Comyn, decapitating him
with his large two handed sword. In either event, the skull of
the Comyn was taken as a macabre trophy and was kept in Castle
Grant and became an heirloom of the Clan. (In the late Lord
Strathspey's book on the Clan, he mentions that the top of the
cranium was hinged, and that he saw documents kept in it.) Clan
tradition predicts grave things if the skull ever leaves the
hands of the family - prophecying that the Clan would lose all
of its lands in Strathspey. One can only hope it is still safely
in the hands of our Clan!
The Castle also has its own ghost story.
The ghost of Lady Barbara Grant, a daughter of one of the chiefs
in the 16th century, is said to haunt the tower of the castle
(the tower is still visible from the south and west sides of the
castle, but slightly enclosed in its lower sections by
architectural additions) called "Barbie's Tower" or "Babbett's
Tower".
As the story goes, Lady Barbara fell in
love with a man whom her father deemed unsuitable for her, a man
below her station, and instead he found another man of his own
choosing that he considered more suitable for her to wed.
Barbara defied her father and refused to marry the man her
father had chosen for her. Supposedly the Chief then had Barbara
locked in a hidden closet in the tower that was concealed by
tapestries and which was called "The Blackness". She was to be
kept there until she ceased to defy his wishes. How long she was
kept in the closet, no one knows, but legend says she died in it
"of a broken heart". Witnesses later claimed to have seen her
ghost coming through the door of the closet from behind the
tapestry in the tower, stopping at one point and appearing to
wash her hands - before disappearing through the door of the
tower.
When the closet was opened in the 1880's, there was no body
found in it. There were only some old swords and muskets hidden
inside.
Recently when workmen were working late at night in the Castle
on the refurbishment of one of the upstairs floors (for the most
recent owner), near the tower, they were disturbed by the sounds
of footsteps in the tower, the sounds of the door opening and
closing, and the sounds of crying and of voices. The workers
fled the Castle that night and refused to ever work there again
after dark. It may be safe to assume that if the legend is true,
then Lady Barbara is still walking the tower which bears her
name.
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