Before the first bridge was built across the Ness in the 12th century, Castle Street was the main route in and out of Inverness. In those days it was called the Doomsdale or the 'valley of judgement'.
The 'motte' has been home to several castles over the centuries. The south block of the present castle was designed as a courthouse and jail by William Burn in the 1830s and still used as a Sheriff Court into the 21st century.
James I held a Parliament here in 1427-8. He summoned all the Highland clan chiefs with a plan to punish those who were being dangerously disobedient. He executed three of them and imprisoned others in the castle jail.
When Mary, Queen of Scots visited in 1562, the Governor had entrusted the castle to his Captain. The Captain refused entry to the Queen, causing great offence, so he was executed and his head displayed on the castle wall for all to see.
In 1548 George Gordon, Earl of Huntly and Constable of Inverness, built the original 'Fort George' here on this site. Part of the rampart wall and the fortress well can still be seen today.
In the weeks before the Battle of Culloden, in 1746, 3000 of Bonnie Prince Charlie's Jacobite followers seized the castle fortress. They plundered the stores for food and weapons before razing the site in a blaze of explosives.
In 1909, and again in 1932, the earth moved at Inverness Castle! Both landslides have altered the eastern profile of Castle Hill. In 1932 the disturbance was caused by groundworks on Castle Street.
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