A visit to Fortrose Town Hall to view the Seaforth Portraits is more than a visit to an exhibition of fine portraits, it is a walk through the history of the area of Chanonry Ness and the family Seaforth. The pictures hang with much grace in the town hall of the village in the manner in which they would enhance a medieval hall in a Scottish laird’s house. The Town Hall was built in 1821 but used as the Church of Scotland prior to 1929.

The portraits, a catalogue of style from the 16th century to the early 20th century, were presented to the town council in 1952 by Madeleine, Countess of Midleton, in memory of the long association of the Seaforth family with Fortrose. She was a direct descendant of the Mackenzies who were the Lords of Kintail, Earls of Seaforth and Chiefs of the Clan Mackenzie until the death of the last Lord Seaforth, her great-great-grandfather, who died without male issue in 1815.