Corgarff Castle | |
---|---|
Aberdeenshire Near Corgarff in Scotland | |
Coordinates | 57°9′46″N3°14′3″W / 57.16278°N 3.23417°W |
Type | Castle |
Site information | |
Owner | Historic Environment Scotland |
Open to the public | Yes |
Condition | Restored |
Website | Historic Scotland |
Site history | |
Built | Mid-16th century Rebuilt in mid-18th century |
Built by | Clan Forbes |
In use | 16th Century-1831 |
Events | Razed in 1571 by Adam Gordon |
Corgarff Castle is located slightly west of the village of Corgarff, in Aberdeenshire, north-east Scotland. It stands by the Lecht road, which crosses the pass between Strathdon and Tomintoul.
The castle was built around 1530 by the Elphinstone family and leased to the Forbes of Towie. [1] In 1571 it was burned by their enemy, Adam Gordon of Auchindoun, resulting in the deaths of Margaret Campbell, Lady Forbes, her children, and numerous others, 26 in total, and giving rise to the ballad Edom o Gordon [ dubious – discuss ].
In May 1607 the castle was captured from Alexander, 4th Lord Elphinstone by Alexander Forbes of Towie and his companions, including a piper called George McRobie. They used hammers and battering rams to break down the gate, then fortified the house with a garrison of "Highland thieves and limmers". [2]
In 1626 it was acquired by the Earl of Mar. In 1645 it was used as an assembly point by the troops of the Marquis of Montrose. It was burned again in both 1689 and 1716 by Jacobite supporters. It was resettled by the Forbes family in 1745 but had to be forfeited due to their Jacobite leanings. [1]
In 1748 it was bought by the British government and rebuilt and extended as a barracks. A detachment of government troops were stationed there, on the military road from Braemar Castle to Fort George, Inverness. Military use continued as late as 1831, after which the tower was used to suppress illegal whisky distilling in the surrounding area. It remained part of the Delnadamph estate belonging to the Stockdale family until they passed the castle into state care in 1961 and gave the ownership of the castle to the Lonach Highland and Friendly Society.
It is now in the care of Historic Environment Scotland and is open to the public. [3] It has been designated a scheduled ancient monument. [4]
Aberdeenshire is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland.
Braemar Castle is situated near the village of Braemar in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is a possession of the chief of Clan Farquharson and is leased to a local charitable foundation. It is open to the public.
Drum Castle is a castle near Drumoak in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. For centuries it was the seat of the chief of Clan Irvine. The place-name Drum is derived from Gaelic druim, 'ridge'. The site is located approximately 6+1⁄2 miles northeast of Banchory and 3 miles west of Peterculter. The property is now owned by the National Trust for Scotland and is open to the public.
Kildrummy Castle is a ruined castle near Kildrummy, in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Though ruined, it is one of the most extensive castles dating from the 13th century to survive in eastern Scotland, and was the seat of the Earls of Mar. It is owned today by Historic Environment Scotland and is open to the public as a scheduled ancient monument with gardens that are included in the Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland.
Slains Castle, also known as New Slains Castle to distinguish it from the nearby Old Slains Castle, is a ruined castle in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It overlooks the North Sea from its cliff-top site one kilometre east of Cruden Bay.
Auchindoun Castle is a 15th-century L-Plan tower castle located in Auchindoun near Dufftown in Moray, Scotland.
Clan Farquharson is a Highland Scottish clan based at Invercauld and Braemar, Aberdeenshire, and is a member of the Chattan Confederation.
Clan Gordon is a Highland Scottish clan, historically one of the most powerful Scottish clans. The Gordon lands once spanned a large territory across the Highlands. Presently, Gordon is seated at Aboyne Castle, Aberdeenshire. The Chief of the clan is the Earl of Huntly, later the Marquess of Huntly.
Edzell Castle is a ruined 16th-century castle, with an early-17th-century walled garden. It is located close to Edzell, and is around 5 miles (8 km) north of Brechin, in Angus, Scotland. Edzell Castle was begun around 1520 by David Lindsay, 9th Earl of Crawford, and expanded by his son, Sir David Lindsay, Lord Edzell, who also laid out the garden in 1604. The castle saw little military action, and was, in its design, construction and use, more of a country house than a defensive structure. It was briefly occupied by English troops during Oliver Cromwell's invasion of Scotland in 1651. In 1715 it was sold by the Lindsay family, and eventually came into the ownership of the Earl of Dalhousie. It was given into state care in the 1930s, and is now a visitor attraction run by Historic Environment Scotland. The castle consists of the original tower house and building ranges around a courtyard. The adjacent Renaissance walled garden, incorporating intricate relief carvings, is unique in Scotland. It was replanted in the 1930s, and is considered to have links to esoteric traditions, including Rosicrucianism and Freemasonry.
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Corgarff is a hamlet in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, in the Grampian Mountains. The nearby Corgarff Castle was used as a military barracks in the 18th century. The hamlet's primary school closed in 1998.
Edom o Gordon or Captain Car is a traditional Scottish ballad that exists in several versions. The ballad recounts the gruesome events of Gordon's burning down of his enemy's castle that killed the lady of the house, her children and most of the servants.
Clan Forbes is a Highland Scottish clan from Aberdeenshire, Scotland.
Knock Castle is a ruined tower house in Aberdeenshire, north-east Scotland. It is typical of the traditional type of residence of a laird, a Scottish landed gentleman. Knock Castle is in Royal Deeside, about 1 mile (1.6 km) west of the town of Ballater, and about 6 miles (9.7 km) east of Balmoral. It sits on a knoll in a field on the south side of Craig of the Knock, a low hill at the entrance to Glen Muick. The castle is a category B listed building, and is in the care of Historic Environment Scotland.
Pitsligo Castle is a ruined castle half a mile east of Rosehearty, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Modified in the 1570s by the Forbes of Druminnor, it was described by W. Douglas Simpson as one of the nine castles of the Knuckle, referring to the rocky headland of North-East Aberdeenshire. It is listed by Historic Environment Scotland as a scheduled monument.
A network of military roads, sometimes called General Wade's Military Roads, was constructed in the Scottish Highlands during the middle part of the 18th century in the wake of the Jacobite rebellion of 1715.
Abergeldie Castle is a four-floor tower house in Crathie and Braemar parish, SW Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It stands at an altitude of 840 feet (260 m), on the south bank of the River Dee, five miles (8 km) west of Ballater, and about two miles (3 km) east of the royal residence of Balmoral Castle. Behind it rises Creag nam Ban, a rounded granite hill about 527 metres (1,729 ft) high, and across the river to its front is the cairn-crowned Geallaig Hill, rising to 743 metres (2,438 ft).
Inverugie Castle or Cheyne's Tower is the ruins of a motte-and-bailey castle in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is a scheduled ancient monument.
Towie Castle was a 17th-century tower house, about 3.5 miles (5.6 km) southwest of Kildrummy in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, on the right bank of the Don. It was sometimes known as Towie Forbes to distinguish it from Towie Barclay near Turriff.
Colquhonnie Castle is a ruined 16th-century tower house, about 10.5 miles (16.9 km) north of Ballater, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, around 1.0 mile (1.6 km) east of Strathdon, north of the River Don, Aberdeenshire. The alternative spelling is Colquhonny. The castle is designated as a scheduled monument.