About one 100 meters from Balnakeil Church stands the imposing mansion of Balnakeil House. Perched on top of an outcrop of rock at the southern end of Balnakeil Bay the Tigh MOR or Big House has witnessed many changes. The present house, which dates from 1744 is built on the site of a monastery that served the church of Balnakeil.
There are references to imply that a substantial building was on this site in the 12th century as the summer residence of the Bishop of Caithness. By the 16th century, the house belonged to the chiefs of the Clan Mackay. It was probably a fortified manor house corresponding roughly to the size of the present house. The chief of Mackay who later became Lord Reay had his principal house in Tongue but at least part of the year was spent in Durness holding criminal courts in the house at Balnakeil. The condemned were hanged at the nearby Loch Croispol, the Loch of the Gallows. The hanging tree or gallows was in one of the fields bordering the loch. The last person to be hanged in the area in the late 18 century was a man from Strathmore found guilty of murder

Balnakeil House stands overlooking Balnakeil Bay