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Where and what is Newton of Kinkell?

Newton of Kinkell is a scattered crofting township just south-east of Conon Bridge, paired historically with the neighbouring Newton of Ferintosh. It lies within the old parish of Urquhart and Logie Wester, in historic Ross & Cromarty on the Black Isle.

Deep roots: prehistory to early medieval

The Black Isle shows evidence of human activity from the Neolithic through the Iron Age. In this parish, early medieval activity is marked by Pictish sculpture, including fragments of symbol stones. Such stones reflect the conversion era and the beginnings of local church sites that later formed the parishes.

Parish and early lordship

Urquhart and Logiebride were two medieval parishes later united in the 19th century as Urquhart & Logie Wester. The largest settlement in the parish is Conon Bridge, but smaller communities like Easter Kinkell and Bishop Kinkell preserve the older place-names on the ridge above the River Conon.

Castles, clans and conflict (16th–17th centuries)

Kinkell Castle, a late-16th-century Z-plan tower house, stands a short distance south of Newton of Kinkell. Built around 1594 for John Roy Mackenzie of Gairloch, it marked the Mackenzie presence along the Conon. The house was restored in the late 20th century.

The Battle (or Tumult) of Logiebride in 1597 took place at the Candlemas market near Conon. It involved Mackenzies, Bains of Tulloch and Munros in a brief but bloody skirmish that lived long in local memory.

Ferintosh and whisky (17th–18th centuries)

The district of Ferintosh, which includes Newton of Kinkell and Newton of Ferintosh, became famous for whisky when Parliament granted Duncan Forbes of Culloden (1690) the right to distil here largely free of duty. This privilege, given in compensation for Jacobite losses, made “Ferintosh” a byword for Highland whisky until it was revoked in the 1780s. The remains of the old distillery at Mulchaich Farm still survive.

Farms, crofts and improvement

The ridge land around Easter Kinkell and the Newtons is good arable ground by Highland standards, reflected in names like Ryefield and Corntown. From the 18th to the 19th centuries, estate “improvements” reorganised holdings, built steadings and introduced crop rotations. The pattern of scattered crofts that remains today around Newton of Kinkell stems from this period.

19th–20th centuries: community and continuity

As transport links developed, the population focus shifted towards Conon Bridge, while the Newtons stayed rural. Religious and community traditions remained strong: open-air communion gatherings at the Ferintosh Burn were famous for their scale. Local memory of Pictish stones, medieval parishes, Mackenzie castles and whisky-making continued to shape community identity.

Today

Newton of Kinkell remains a quiet, dispersed settlement of crofts and smallholdings, with wide views to Ben Wyvis. Within a few miles are reminders of every period of its past: Pictish sculpture, a Mackenzie tower house, the Ferintosh distilling tradition, and the old market site of Logiebride.