Thanage of Rothiemurchus

Rothiemurchus – Ràt Murchais, ‘the fort of Murchas’.

It would seem that the ancient thanage-estate of Rothiemurchus was granted to the Bishop of Moray before 1226, as is made clear in the following charter.

On 31 March 1226, the King gave the land of Rothiemurchus to the church of Moray and Bishop Andrew, in exchange for lands which Bishop Andrew claimed in the king's forests, that is - 1½ dabhaichean in the forest of Cullen at 'Calruneleu' and 'Belethyn'; ½ dabhach in the clearing of Morgrund {Longmorn NGR NJ 232583}; ¼ dabhach in Pluscarden; ½ dabhach in Darnaway; and, in the same forest (of Darnaway), ½ dabhach on the other side of the River Findhorn, opposite the church of Logie; thirty acres of land in Whitefield {Foynesfield NGR NH 892537} at Rait; and fifteen acres of land at Duldauy {Culdoich NGR NH 754435} - reserving to the bishop other lands and pastures which he and his predecessors justly possessed in the king's forests before this grant was made. He has granted that Bishop Andrew may hold the land of Rothiemurchus 'in free forest'; and prohibits anyone to fell timber or hunt there without his licence, on pain of full forfeiture of £10. The charter was given at Striling. [RRS, iii, no.119]

Within the bounds of the estate were the churches of St Duchaldus {the parish church) [NGR NH 886093], and the chapel at Acnahatnich [NGR NH 926116] dedicated to St Eata (d.686) who was the tutor of St Cuthbert at Melrose and later the abbot of Lindisfarne. The Doune of Rothiemurchus [NGR NH 886099] lay just to the north of the parish church and, possibly, was the seat of civil governance for the thanage. It is considered to be an iron-age fortification which had a motte in later ages. The positioning of the fort would afford a powerful control over anyone crossing the River Spey in this vicinity.
Only a very short distance to the south-west of the parish church is the famous castle of Loch an Eilein, for many years a bastion of the Earls of Buchan and, in particular, an imposing residence of the infamous "Wolf of Badenoch". However, the first residence on the island is thought to have been built by the Bishops of Moray, towards the southern end of the small island, some time between 1222 and1298.
In the spring of 1746, the widow of 5th Laird of Rothiemurchus sheltered fugitives fleeing the Battle of Cullodden in the castle.