 The site may have been occupied by Harold II of Orkney, Mormaer of Caithness (d. 1206), although the present building is of the fourteenth century.The "Castle of Brathwell" was granted by King Robert II of Scotland to his son, David Stewart, Earl of Caithness.His descendant, Walter Stewart, forfeited his estates in 1437 when he was executed for his role in the murder of King James I.