Bunchrew comes from the old Gaelic word ‘Buncrev’ or ‘Buncrieve’ meaning the ‘root of the tree’ or ‘the wooded slope’. The house was started as far back as 1505 by Alexander of Lovat, but then had just two rooms. It would have been the type of dwelling known at the time as a “black house” and the family would have lived in it along with their animals. There is a fine reconstruction of this type of house at the Battlefield at Culloden. The original wall still stands behind the wood paneling in the Drawing Room. The House was enlarged to near its present state by Simon the eighth Lord Lovat, for his wife Lady Jane, a cousin of the Earl of Moray. It was completed in 1621.
The house was built largely due to the ambition of Lady Jane who had her husband build two grand houses – one at Dalcross and one at Bunchrew. Although she preferred Bunchrew as a residence she had Dalcross (near where Inverness airport stands today) built in order to keep up with her cousin who was at that time building Castle Stuart (also near the airport). All three residences were finished in 1621. Sadly Lady Jane did not live long to enjoy her two houses and died at Bunchrew in 1622. The cause of her death is not certain – it might have been perfectly innocent or just perhaps, she might have asked her husband to build her another house!!!
Duncan Forbes was largely responsible for the defeat of the Jacobite force at Culloden in 1746, but was not in favour of the means used to ensure that this could never happen again – i.e. the Highland Clearances. He was also disillusioned by the fact that he was never compensated for the money - £4,500 a (huge sum at the time) he spent on helping quash the rebellion. He was granted the privilege of ‘distilling into spirits the grain of the Barony of Ferintosh’ which he also owned but that in no way really repaid him.
At that time there was great uncertainty in the Inverness area due to the Jacobite rebellion and it was common practice to hide valuables pending the “result” at Culloden. There is a tradition that ‘valuables’ from Bunchrew were buried near the top of the hill at Craig Dunain, but that the spot was not clearly marked. It is said that a redheaded girl driving a dun cow will find them. So all you redheads –you provide the hair and we’ll find a cow!!
Around 1673 Bunchrew was bought by John Forbes. The Forbes’ of Tolquhon were an Aberdeen family of high standing. John’s father Duncan became Provost of Inverness and a copy of his portrait hangs in the Town House in Inverness. He died in 1654 aged 82. John bought Bunchrew and the estate eventually passed on to his son Duncan – the most famous of the Forbes family who was actually born at the house. He became Lord President of the Court of Session at Inverness. He was known to be a very diligent student, as well as a very sociable man, and is said to have read the bible three times in the original Hebrew, during his various holidays at Bunchrew. At that time there was a moat round the house and a drawbridge the last remains of which could be traced until 1839 when the last arch fell into ruins.
During his time at the head of the Town Council President Forbes was responsible for the first hats ever to be worn in the Town council in place of the old blue bonnets. He presented them to the Councilors one day after lunch at Bunchrew. These hats were so highly cherished that they were worn only on council days and the rest of the time were locked up at home. Before this there were only four hats in Inverness – those of the two ministers, the Provost and the Sheriff.
When Forbes took over the house he is reputed to have had the motto “Fraser – Lord Lovat” which was carved above the door removed. This evoked a vigorous response when a squad of about 30 Lovat ruffians came and smashed all the windows and destroyed the meal mill in the grounds. Forbes planted the grounds as they are today including the magnificent Cedar of Lebanon tree opposite the front entrance. This tree is known locally as the ‘Loving Tree’ and it is said to bring good luck if young couples plight their troth underneath the branches. There is also a holly tree at the far end of the top lawn, which is reputed to be one of the oldest, if not the oldest in Scotland.
The Forbes’ Trustees sold the House to John Fraser in August 1842 for sum of £13,650. He was a tea merchant and a native of Inverness. His son Robert married Beatrice Mackenzie of Ord and the name became Fraser-Mackenzie. She owned Allangrange estate. Their son Jack was in charge of the estate.
Their other son Leo was an officer in the Inverness Battery, Royal Horse Artillery and served through the 1914-18 war under General Allenby in Palestine. He retired with the rank of major and became factor for the Bunchrew and Allangrange estates until his death after a serious illness.
During the 1939-45 war the House was occupied by the Royal Air Force. There was also a great sensation round about this time when their cousin Dick met a tragic death by falling from the balcony of the Highland Club in Inverness.
The House became an hotel in 1986 and was opened by Sir Malcolm Rifkind, then Scottish Secretary of State. Its character has been largely retained and visitors can enjoy the comfort and extremely relaxing and welcoming ambience and imagine how it must have been to live there in a different time. We have had many famous visitors including controversial author Andrew Morton, Ted Danson and Joely Richardson (when they were filming Loch Ness), World Cup winner Sir Bobby Charlton, singer Belinda Carlisle, Penelope Keith and Iain Banks, award-winning Scottish author, to name but a few.
Bunchrew is an old house and like all such houses when she settles down for the night, your senses can play all sorts of tricks on you. You might hear a soft clink or creak or scrape and fool yourself that you’ve seen something move out of the corner of your eye. Chances are that it’s just the sound of the last dying embers dropping in the fires, or floorboards contracting or a shadow thrown by a lamp…….. or is it??? It just might be that you’ve been privileged to experience Isobel, our elderly and extremely benign ghost who occasionally walks the corridors at night. She is the long deceased daughter of Sir Gilbert Ogilvie of Powrie and wife to Kenneth 12th Chief of the Clan MacKenzie. Apart from her nocturnal ramblings she has a favourite table in the restaurant – we won’t tell you which one until you’re seated!
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