Skibo Castle - History

History

Construction of Skibo Castle was started by Gilbert de Moravia, the Bishop of Caithness, around 1186 at "Schytherbolle" in the southern area of his bishopric. Skibo Castle remained the residence of subsequent bishops until 1545, when the estate was, as a tactical measure by the church, given to John Gray in order to reinforce its alliance with a powerful family as the threat of a Protestant uprising spread towards the north.

In 1745, Robert Gray surrendered the estate. It was later bought by a relative who built a modern house before 1760. Its ownership changed frequently until 1872, when it was bought by Evan Charles Sutherland-Walker, who extended the house and improved the grounds. However, the condition of the building had declined by 1897, when wealthy industrialist Andrew Carnegie took a one year lease, with an option to buy. In 1898 he exercised that option for £85,000. However its condition had declined so much by this time that a further £2 million was spent on improvements, including an increase in area from 16,000 square feet (1,500 m2) to over 60,000 square feet (5,600 m2), plus the creation of Loch Ospisdale and an 18-hole golf course.

Skibo stayed with the Carnegie family until 1982. It was later purchased by businessman Peter de Savary and used as the foundation of a private members club, the Carnegie Club. Establishment of the club required restoration of the castle to recreate the luxury of an Edwardian sporting estate. Similar renovation was undertaken on the many lodges located amongst the castle grounds to provide additional accommodation for club members. De Savary sold the club to Ellis Short in 2003, for £23million. In 2007, Mrs Short allegedly threatened to shoot a retired couple’s dogs because they were walking across the estate; in Scots law, the concept of trespass on open land does not exist. In May 2011, a shoot manager on the Skibo Estate was convicted of possessing over 10.5kg of carbofuran, a pesticide  banned in the UK since 2001.