Originally built by Sir John Campbell of Lochow, a nephew of King Robert the Bruce, who was created Earl of Atholl in 1320 by his cousin, King David II, the castle was an important stronghold in medieval times.

In 1500, the great plague (an galar mor) devastated the Highlands and was particulary deadly in the parish of Moulin where it carried off a large number of inhabitants. After the plague broke out amongst the garrison in the Black Castle, killing all those stationed there, nobody would enter the castle. As a result the castle was battered down with cannon and made a funeral cairn over those victims of the 'black death'. The ruins can still be seen today, five centuries later.

Picture copyright Andrew Wood and licensed for reuse under the Creative Commons Licence