From various sources:
The seat of the Earls of Moray, Darnaway Castle lies 3 miles (5 km) southwest of Forres in Moray in the midst of an extensive forested landscape. It was once the centre of the powerful Province of Moray, the original castle being associated with the Dunbar, Gordon and Douglas families before being acquired by the Stuarts in 1562. Darnaway Castle, the principle residence of the Earls of Moray since the Late Middle Ages, stands upon the site of a castle built by Thomas Randolph, Regent to David II during his minority. About 1450 the existing ancient hall was begun which contains a contemporary open timber roof, one of the very few examples left in Scotland. In 1810 a large new castle was erected in front of the ancient hall, and connected with it, so that the hall forms part of the existing mansion. But its walls have been greatly altered and all that now remains of the ancient hall is its timber roof. The new house, built in the style of a Gothic French mansion, was designed by Alexander Laing for the 9th Earl of Moray in 1802. The castle has a fine collection of family portraits and the story of the Darnaway Estate is told in the Visitor Centre at Tearie, 2½ miles (4 km) west of Forres.
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