Captain William Fraser purchased the Kilmuir estate in the north of the Isle of Skye in 1855. For £80,000 he was reported to have acquired an estate which was ‘one of the most susceptible to improvement in the Highlands’ and one which was sure to be a ‘profitable investment’ – a euphemistic way of saying that the tenants could be evicted and the land used for more lucrative purposes. Soon after purchasing the estate Captain Fraser erected this round tower overlooking Uig Bay.