Description:

The castle dates back to the early thirteenth century, when Hugo Freskyn, Thane of Sutherland, granted his Skelbo lands to Gilbert de Moravia, later Bishop of Caithness. Gilbert received them not on behalf of the Church but as a private owner, with the right to pass them on to his heirs. When he became Bishop, he transferred the lands to his brother, Sir Richard. In 1290, the Scottish Commissioners stopped at Skelbo for the night on their way north to meet the Maid of Norway, who was set to marry the heir to the English throne. News of her death reached them there, and they stayed two nights consulting with the English Commissioners before riding on to Wick, likely to confirm her death aboard a ship near Orkney.