Corgarff Castle

Built in 1530, Corgarff was the fortified home of the Forbeses of Corgarff.

In November 1571, Adam Gordon, laird of Auchindoun Castle came to seize the castle from the Forbeses. Gordon was from Glen Fiddich to the north and the two families often feuded. The laird was away, but his wife Margaret was at home and refused Gordon entry. Gordon set fire to the castle, burning Margaret, her family and her servants to death; all told 27 people perished. The event is recited by the scots ballad, ‘Edom o Gordon’.

In 1626 the derelict building was acquired by the Earl of Mar and it was used as an assembly point by the troops of the Marquis of Montrose.

Corgarff was subsequently repaired but was torched in 1689 and 1690 by the Jacobites, who wanted to ensure that government forces couldn’t use the castle against them. It was briefly resettled in 1745 by the Forbes family, but had to be forfeited due to their Jacobite affiliations.

By the mid-1700s the Jacobite threat has become a major concern to government troops in the north. In 1748 the Redcoats reappropriated Corgarff after the Battle of Culloden. The tower was gutted to create a barracks and the impressive star-shaped outer defence was added which gives Corgarff its unique appearance today.

For 95 years, Corgarff Redcoats patrolled the region, weary of a Jacobite resurgence and hunting down Jacobite sympathisers. The army abandoned Corgarff in 1831 but by this time their function had switched from the Jacobite threat to stamping out the illegal production and smuggling of whisky.

Corgarff itself briefly housed a distillery in the 1820s and a small whisky still from the period is displayed in the castle.