Lilias, Countess of Cromartie

A much-loved and respected pillar of the North Highlands community and wife of the late chief of Clan Mackenzie has died. Lilias, Countess of Cromartie, passed away peacefully on 11th October 2013 at her home Dower House in the clan seat of Castle Leod at Strathpeffer.

Born on the 25th March 1918, Lilias Janet Garvie MacLeod was the eldest of seven children to James Walter MacLeod, Professor of Bacteriology at Leeds University, and Jean Garvie, who were both immensely proud of their Scottish heritage. She grew up in Leeds and later went to boarding school at Esdaile School in Edinburgh. A gifted pianist, Lilias chose to study medicine, enrolling at Leeds University as one of the only female students there at the time.

She married her first husband Dick Richard in 1940, and during the war years worked in London as a medical officer, running family and children’s clinics in Marylebone. Following the break up her marriage, she joined the Strathpeffer Medical Practice where she became a much respected doctor in the tight-knit community, covering a scattered rural area and driving an average of 100 miles a day. It was here she met Roderick MacKenzie, 4th Earl of Cromartie and Caberfeidh Chief of Clan Mackenzie. They married in 1962 and the Countess adapted to the role of chief’s wife with great tact and commitment, bringing Castle Leod back to life as a family home and focal point in the local community, a venue for concerts and charitable fundraising activities.

Castle Leod, seat of Clan Mackenzie

The Earl and the Countess enjoyed 27 happy years of marriage together before the Earl passed away in 1989. In 2000 Lilias visited members of the MacKenzie clan in New Zealand, who spoke very highly if her visit. She was equally impressed with the clan society there.

The Countess had a wide-ranging interest in art and music, supporting the Strathpeffer Pavilion and Eden Court Theatre, performing in the Strathpeffer Amateur Operatic Society and was the first president of the National Association of Decorative & Fine Arts Societies.

Although after her second marriage she felt the roles of Countess, wife of the Mackenzie Clan Chief and continued GP practice to be incompatible, she put her medical background, intelligence and commonsense to good use providing wise leadership for many years on the Highland Hospital Board, as president of the Ross and Cromarty Red Cross and of the District Nurses.

The Countess leaves behind a wide circle of friends and admirers of diverse ages and backgrounds. She is survived by her two sons, Nigel and Roderick, by five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. The current chief is John Ruaridh Grant Mackenzie, 5th Earl of Cromartie (1948). He is the son of Roderick, 4th Earl of Cromartie and his first wife Olga Laurence.

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The Signal Rock

A few days ago we were walking around the North end of Glencoe. A forest path eventually takes you to a rocky outcrop called “Tom a’ Ghrianain”. The legend has it that this hill was the site of a beacon which would be lit by the clan in time of emergencies or when they needed to rally the men of the clan. In this way it is very similar to the burning hill of MacKenzie legend. There is a legend that this beacon was last lit to signal the start of the infamous Glencoe Massacre in 1692.

The Gaelic name for this hill “Tom a Ghrianain” is translated into English as “The Hill of the Sun” and this gives us another clue about its significance going way back beyond the times of the MacDonalds who settled these lands. Possibly this was a site of ancient pilgrimage where people would gather to worship the sun.

Bidean nan Bian

Indeed what is interesting about this spot is how the setting sun in spring and summer bathes the side of the huge mountains that surround the glen such as Aonach Eagach and Bidean nan Bian making them look like great angry gods.

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Aird Hill

MacKenzie Crest

Ard Hill is a wooded promontory on Lochalsh, south of Reraig.  It is enshrined in MacKenzie Clan Law.

When the Clan needed to communicate with all it’s Clan members, usually to rally them in times of trouble, a barrel of tar would be set alight at the top of the hill.  This image of the burning mount became the Seaforths’ badge and ‘Tulloch Ard’ (the High Hillock) was the Clan MacKenzie’s war cry and slogan.

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The castle was built in the early 15th Century and during the next two centuries the land surpassed too and fro between the rival clans according to the royal favour of the time, this intensified the bitterness between the MacDonalds and the MacKenzies and eventually spelt disaster for Strome Castle.

The year 1602 saw the castle under seige by the MacKenzies once again. After a long offensive the MacDonalds imprisoned in the castle for so long made two unfortunate blunders. According to an contemporay account some ‘silly women’ from the MacDonald Clan left the castle in order to draw water from the well, however they were so fearfull and the light was so bad they made the disaterous mistake of pouring the water into the gun powder vat instead of the water barrel.

When the MacDonald men discovered this blunder they cursed the women loudly, but this made matters worst. A MacKenzie prisoner overheard the commotion in the castle and managed to escape back to his own camp telling his Clan Chief what had happened. Which promted a final attack.

The MacDonalds knew they were facing a sure defeat, their only option was to surrender and to save their lives. Agreeing to this the MacKenzie Clan watched the MacDonalds leave they then blew up the castle. Strome Castle has remained in ruins to this day.

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