Not much is known about the early history of Speyside, but there is evidence that Rothiemurchus is a very old human settlement, as the name dates to the 8th Century. The first inhabitants were most likely Picts and Rothiemurchus would have been the centre of the great Caledonian Pine Forest of Scotland.

The Parish of Rothiemurchus belonged to the crown until 1226 when Alexander II gave it to Andrew Bishop of Moray as a hereditary thanage. In 1370 Alexander Stuart (the Wolf of Badenoch) became protector of the Bishop of Moray, his men and his lands, including Rothiemurchus. However, relations between the two became strained and in 1389 the Bishop dismissed Stuart and took on Thomas Dunbar as protector. In June 1390 Stuart descended on Forres and Elgin and he sacked and burned two royal burghs, destroying the parish kirk and hospital. The Wolf of Badenoch was never punished.

In 1574 John’s son, Patrick Grant, was designated “of Rothiemurchus” by King James VI and he then moved to The Doune of Rothiemurchus from Muckrach near Dulnain Bridge in 1597.