Cawdor Castle Cawdor Castle is set amid gardens in the parish of Cawdor , approximately east of Inverness and southwest of Nairn in Scotland . The castle is built around a 15th - century tower house , with substantial additions in later centuries . Originally a property of the Clan Calder , it passed to the Campbells in the 16th century . It remains in Campbell ownership , and is now home to the Dowager Countess Cawdor , stepmother of Colin Campbell , 7th Earl Cawdor . The castle is perhaps best known for its literary connection to William Shakespeare ' s tragedy " Macbeth " , in which the title character is made " Thane of Cawdor " . However , the story is highly fictionalised , and the castle itself was built many years after the life of the 11th - century King Macbeth . The castle is a category A listed building , and the grounds are included in the Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland , the national listing of significant gardens . History . The earliest documented date for the castle is 1454 , the date a licence to fortify was granted to William Calder , 6th Thane of Cawdor ( or Calder , as the name was originally spelled ) . However , some portions of the 15th - century tower house or keep may precede that date . Architectural historians have dated the style of stonework in the oldest portion of the castle to approximately 1380 . One curious feature of the castle is that it was built around a small , living holly tree . Tradition states that a donkey , laden with gold , lay down to rest under this tree , which was then selected as the site of the castle . The remains of the tree may still be seen in the lowest level of the tower . Modern scientific testing has shown that the tree died in approximately 1372 , lending credence to the earlier date of the castle ' s first construction . The iron yett ( gate ) here was brought from nearby Lochindorb Castle , which was dismantled by William around 1455 , on the orders of King James II , after it had been forfeited by the Earl of Moray . The castle was expanded numerous times in the succeeding centuries . In 1510 the heiress of the Calders , Muriel , married Sir John Campbell of Muckairn , who set about extending the castle . Further improvements were made by John Campbell , 3rd of Cawdor ( c . 1576 - c . 1642 ) , who purchased rich lands on Islay . By 1635 a garden had been added , and after the Restoration Sir Hugh Campbell of Cawdor added or improved the north and west ranges , employing the masons James and Robert Nicolson of Nairn . In the 1680s Sir Alexander Campbell , son of Sir Hugh , became stranded in Milford Haven during a storm , where he met a local heiress , Elizabeth Lort of Stackpole Court . The two were married and afterwards the Campbells of Cawdor lived mainly on their estates in Pembrokeshire . Cawdor was home to younger brothers of the family who continued to manage the estates , building a walled flower garden in 1720 , and establishing extensive woodlands in the later 18th century . John Campbell of Cawdor , a Member of Parliament , married a daughter of the 5th Earl of Carlisle in 1789 , and was ennobled as Baron Cawdor in 1796 . His son was created 1st Earl Cawdor in 1827 . During the 19th century , Cawdor was used as a summer residence by the Earls . The architects Thomas Mackenzie and Alexander Ross were commissioned to add the southern and eastern ranges to enclose a courtyard , accessed by a drawbridge . In the 20th century John Campbell , 5th Earl Cawdor , moved permanently to Cawdor and was succeeded by the 6th Earl , whose second wife the Dowager Countess Angelika lives there still . In 2001 it was reported that the Countess had prevented her stepson from sowing genetically modified rapeseed on the Cawdor estate , and in 2002 the Countess took the Earl to court after he moved into to the castle while she way away . Gardens . The castle is known for its gardens , which include the Walled Garden ( originally planted in the 17th Century ) , the Flower Garden ( 18th century ) , and the Wild Garden ( added in the 1960s ) . In addition , the castle property includes a wood featuring numerous species of trees ( as well as over 100 species of lichen ) . Shakespeare connection . The name of Cawdor will forever connect the castle to Shakespeare ' s play " Macbeth " . However , the story portrayed by Shakespeare takes extensive liberties with history . In the play , Shakespeare has three witches foretell that Macbeth , then Thane of Glamis , would become Thane of Cawdor and King thereafter . Duncan almost immediately makes Macbeth Thane of Cawdor , after which Macbeth and his Lady plot the murder of Duncan in order to fulfil the prophecy . Duncan is killed in his sleep , at Macbeth ' s castle in Inverness , an act that leads to Macbeth ' s ultimate downfall . The historical King Macbeth ruled Scotland from 1040 to 1057 , after his forces killed King Duncan I in battle near Elgin . Macbeth was never Thane of Cawdor , this being an invention of the 15th - century writer Hector Boece . Moreover , Cawdor Castle did not exist during the lifetimes of Macbeth or Duncan . The 5th Earl Cawdor is quoted as saying , " I wish the Bard had never written his damned play ! "