History

The Strathspey Estate is made up from parts of Seafield Estate, the Reidhaven Estate, and the Ogilvie-Grant Estate.

The Grant family has owned land in Strathspey since the 14th century. In 1735 Sir Ludwick Grant of Grant married Lady Margaret Ogilvie, the eldest daughter of the second Earl of Seafield, and their son Sir James Grant of Grant, ‘the good Sir James’, was responsible in 1766 for founding the new township of Grantown on Spey on what was then barren moorland.

No longer a part of the Estate (although its name continues on our salmon beats and grouse moor), the historic house of Castle Grant was the family seat. In 1747 it was occupied by Jacobite forces when the laird was away with his clansmen to block the path of Prince Charles’ army. The house was sold by the Estate in 1983.

The Seafield family has had many notable members including the 1st Earl of Seafield who was Chancellor of Scotland in 1707 at the time of the Union of the Scottish and English Parliaments. The family has always taken an active interest in the management of the Estate, and this personal involvement continues to the present day.