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The Wardlaw Mausoleum at Kirkhill, a pale building with a belfry, among old headstones in the graveyard.
Inverness-shire

Wardlaw Mausoleum

The burial place of the Lovat Frasers at Kirkhill, west of Inverness, built in the 1630s, with a crypt of lead coffins and a tower raised by the Jacobite Lord Lovat.

Welcome

In the old graveyard at Kirkhill, eight miles west of Inverness, stands a small pale building with a belfry on top.

It is the Wardlaw Mausoleum, built in the 1630s as the burial place of the Frasers of Lovat, chiefs of the clan, on the end of a parish church long since gone.

In 1722 the Lord Lovat of the day, Simon Fraser, the Old Fox of the Jacobite risings, raised its roof and added the tower. He was executed in 1747 for his part in the Forty-Five, and whether his body ever came home has long been a mystery. In the crypt below lie the lead coffins of the Lovats, one of them headless; when Professor Dame Sue Black examined it, it turned out to hold a woman in her twenties or thirties.

Outlander fans come for the Fraser story. The building was rescued and restored in the 1990s. Call at Pilgrim Cottage by the gate to be shown the crypt and climb the tower.

A short drive awayRobertson's Farm ShopA farm shop at Beauly.10 min by roadSee itRobertson's Speciality Farm Shop near Beauly, a whitewashed building with a blue sign and a Farm Shop Open board on a barrel.
Before you go

The graveyard is open.

To see inside the mausoleum, call at Pilgrim Cottage at the graveyard entrance, where the keyholder shows visitors round; a donation keeps the building going.

Where
Wardlaw Road, Kirkhill, IV5 7NB.
Built
1630s; tower 1722.
Inside
Ask at Pilgrim Cottage.
Where it is

At the top of Wardlaw Road in Kirkhill, eight miles west of Inverness, IV5 7NB.

Close byKirkhill.
  1. A wild bridal bouquet of pale dahlias, grasses, daisies and berries by Wild Gorse Studio.Wild Gorse Studio4 miles8 min by road
  2. Café interior with green banquette seating, wooden tables and wildflowers in vasesCafe Biagiotti4 miles9 min by road
  3. Deli counter staff behind glass cases of pastries, with Shore crisps in wicker baskets belowCorner on the Square4 miles8 min by road
  4. The Singleton of Glen Ord Distillery, Muir of OrdThe Singleton of Glen Ord Distillery, Muir of OrdWhisky at Muir of Ord.8 miles15 min by road
  5. Culloden Visitor CentreCulloden Visitor CentreThe battlefield the Frasers fought on.15 miles28 min by road
Directions
Ruined stone chapel with arched windows surrounded by gravestones and bare treesAttractionsBeauly Priory1.5 miles over the water
The Old School Beauly, a twin-gabled Victorian stone school on the High Street, under a bright blue sky.ShoppingThe Old School Beauly1.5 miles over the water
Robertson's Speciality Farm Shop near Beauly, a whitewashed building with a blue sign and a Farm Shop Open board on a barrel.AttractionsRobertson's Farm Shop1.6 miles over the water
Corrugated metal building with Black Isle Brewing Co sign and porch entranceRestaurantsBlack Isle Brewery5.8 miles over the water
Bakery counter with pastries under glass and a chalkboard drinks menuCafeBad Girl Bakery6.8 miles
Kitchen Brasserie restaurant with orange awning and windbreak barriers on street cornerRestaurantsThe Kitchen8.3 miles
Rows of coffee bags on a wooden dresser under a "Good Coffee Good Day" signCafeInverness Coffee Roasting Co8.3 miles
Corner entrance of Rocpool restaurant with black canopy and menus displayed outsideRestaurantsRocpool8.3 miles
The gilded pipes of the Willis organ and the carved wooden pulpit inside the Old High Church, Inverness.AttractionsOld High Church8.4 miles
Stay nearby

Places to stay near the mausoleum, and when each is next free.

A white harled cottage with a slated roof and gabled porch sits behind a garden of wildflowers, a table and chairs on the patio.Garden Cottage
  • Sleeps 6
  • In Inverness-shire
  • 6 miles from the Wardlaw Mausoleum
Check datesA stone cottage with a slated roof and dormer windows sits behind a gravel drive, ivy covering one gable end.Ivy Cottage
  • Sleeps 4
  • In Inverness-shire
  • 6 miles from the Wardlaw Mausoleum
Check datesA stone steading with green shutters and a slated roof sits beside a gravel drive, mature trees framing the entrance.South Bothy
  • Sleeps 2
  • In Inverness-shire
  • 6 miles from the Wardlaw Mausoleum
Check datesA pink harled house with turreted gables and stepped chimneys stands among pine trees behind a dry stone wall.Gatehouse Cottage
  • Sleeps 4
  • In Inverness-shire
  • 6 miles from the Wardlaw Mausoleum
Check datesPlaces to stayEvery stay in Inverness-shireAll our places to stay nearby, to search by date and by who is coming.See them all
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