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Part 1 Part
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Of Castles and Feuds
The pictures and quoted text on this page are
from the book "The Castles of Grampian and Angus" by
Mike Salter (Folly Publications).
 here
were numerous castles and fortified houses that were associated
with the Gordons over the years. Pitlurg Castle, now almost totally
in ruins, is one that was definitely occupied by our direct ancestors
in the time of Jock o' Scurdargue.
| Huntly Castle, ancestral home of
the Gordons |
The more famous Gordon castle of the times was the one at Huntly,
home of the Gordon Earls of that region. Huntly Castle is open to
the public as a historical site near Aberdeen.
A famous incident in which the Gordons were involved occurred in
1571 when Adam Gordon, a descendant of the Huntly line, attempted
to capture Corgarff Castle, occupied by the Forbes clan, for Mary
Queen of Scots. The laird was not at home, and his wife refused
entry to the band.
The tower was … occupied by the Forbes of
Towie as vassals of Lord Elphinstone. In 1571 it was the scene
of a celebrated outrage when the Gordons set the tower (probably
then roofed with thatch) on fire. Among the 27 people burnt alive
were Margaret Campbell, wife of Forbes of Towie.
| Corgarff Castle, stronghold of the
Forbes clan |
This touched off a feud between the Gordon and Forbes clans that
raged on for quite a few years. Corgarff Castle today is a popular
tourist destination, and is quite a beautiful work of architecture
with its star-shaped outer wall layout.
The Forbes clan apparently got their revenge for Corgarff according
to this story about the occupant of Knock Castle:
The Gordon laird of Knock was killed in 1592
by a party of Mackintoshes who were his guests. His successor
Alexander, who is thought to have built the tower on a ridge high
above the Dee soon afterwards, is said to have fallen to his death
down his own staircase after being overcome with grief when his
servant reported that a party of Forbes had killed his seven sons
while they were out cutting peat and impaled their heads on their
spades.
Finally, there is this story about another Gordon stronghold, the
Castle of Gight:
The estate belonged to the Maitlands until in
1479 it passed to William Gordon, 3rd son of the 2nd Earl of Huntly.
Many of this branch of the family suffered violent deaths. William
himself was killed at Flodden in 1513, a son was killed at Pinkie
in 1547, three of his grandsons including the 3rd laird of Gight
and a son-in-law were murdered, a fourth grandson was executed
by the Crown, a fifth drowned, and a sixth and seventh were killed
fighting in Holland and Flanders respectively. The 13th laird
was Catherine Gordon who married the Hon. John Byron. Their son
was the celebrated Lord Byron, although he never owned Gight which
had been sold off to the Earl of Aberdeen in 1787 to pay off his
father's debts. By then the castle was probably long abandoned.
These excerpts give us an even better idea of the general way of
life of that age. Scotland was civilized, but just barely by the
standards of our times.
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