Druminnor, Formerly Castle Forbes: an Investigation Int Originae Oth L Building of a Mid-Fifteenth-Century Palace House
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DRUMINNOR, FORMERLY CASTLE FORBES: AN INVESTIGATION INT ORIGINAE OTH L BUILDING OF A MID-FIFTEENTH-CENTURY PALACE HOUSE . GORDObH y N SLADE, F.S.A.SCOT. FROM at least 1270 Druminnor was the seat of the ancient family of Forbes whose head is the holder of the premier barony of Scotland. It remained in the family, passing alway direce th n si t male line until 1770 than I . t yea deterioratioe th r f no famile th y finances cam heaa James d o et d an , 17th Lord Forbes forces , wa selo dt l intendeestatess e th wa t I .d tha Keare tth n portio estatee th f no s shoul preservee db d e familyfoth r , for, althoug e mosth t t valuablehno t stooi n o d, Druminnore th , ancient Duthus. The purchaser was John Forbes of Newe but instead of holding it behal n famile o th himself e fo yh forces fwa d through financial troublet i sello sd t ,an passed to his son-in-law, Robert Grant of Rothemaise. It remained in the Grant family for nearly two hundred years, passing twice through the female line, until the estate was finally broken up in 1954. Druminnor was then acquired by the late the Hon. Margaret Forbes-Sempill who was descended in the fifteenth generation from Alexander, ist Lord Forbes e originath , r he l s entirel i o buildert t i e d ydu an ; enthusias hard man d work thapresene th t t investigatio bees nha n possible. Period i (c. 1271-2) Although tradition ascribes the first building of Druminnor to Ochonochar, the thir thaf do t name, some time before A.D. 1000 earliese th , t dat citee eb thas da n tca perioa likelf do y buildin thin gi s are s 1271-2ai , when, accordin Joho gt n Skene, Alexande I granteII r Duncao dt n Forbe land e tenementd th s an s Forbef o s d an s Kearn.1 This is the first known charter in the name of Forbes and was in the hands famile ofth y until 1730. Subsequen representew no thio s t i t slosts d datdan ,wa t ei b ylata e sixteenth-century copy made apparently for John Lorh 8t , d Forbes, some time before I593-2 Whatever may have existed before, by 1300 it is probably safe to assume that Druminnor took the form of a simple earth and timber castle and stood about a mile presene th f o . t buildingN e hala th o d ft .an name Th e 'Druminnor', deriving fro Celtice mth meaningd an , , 'Ridge th f eo Confluence', ridge referth eo t s betwee Keare nth n Bur Bogid nan e Water. Whilst t particularlthino s si y applicabl presene th o t e t appropriats siti t ei aree th ao t e know Castlehills na fare thif mTh o . s name stands abou quartea t f mila o f . o reS the junction of these two streams, but at the point of confluence there is a mound 1 Skene, Antiquities, , 372IV . 2 This copy forme firse dth t Registrume iteth mn i followsdes a Forbess i d :an 'John, Lord Forbes (the 8th) for verification of ye ancientie of his house, produceis ane charter granted be King Alexander to Duncan of Forbes, his predecessor, of all and haill ye landis of Forbes and Kearn. To be haldin immediateli saie y df eo Kin g Alexande successorss hi frie d ean an r baronin I . soccm ecu t saccao e , furca et fossa, etc. The quilk charter is daited the XXIII year of the said King Alex. his Rigne, qlk was in y1272.d e yeigo f ro ' (Forbes Charter Chest.) 148 DRUMINNOR HUNTLY, Strafhbogie Land over 1000 feet F//AI Fic. i. Location map. (Scale f in. = i mile) 150 PROCEEDING SOCIETYE TH F O S , 1966-67 which, allowing for the erosion of time, and the plough, could indicate the remains o simplfa e earthen castle t unti —bu propela r investigatio sitbeee s th e ha f nno made, impossibls i t i more b o et definite. It is interesting, however, to note that in a fresh charter of I5321 which was grante Johno t d h Lor6t , d Forbes, amongs e placeth t s name a 'Castlehill' s di , indicating tha traditioe tth n connecting this site wit recena hcastlt a no ts e i one d an , it is also referred to in the charter granted in 16732 by Charles II to William, i2th Lord Forbes. Period 2 (c. 1440-80) Some time in the first half of the fifteenth century it seems that it was decided to rebuild Druminno styla n ri e mor keepinn ei g wit pretensione hth famile th d f so yan the advancing standards of the times. Instea rebuildinsitef d do ol lying ,w e whiclo th s ,n gunsheltereo hwa cond dan - streamso tw e finecompletelth a , y db y fresh starmads twa e abou hala mila t d f ean away, wher sheltereea d position leven o , l ground facin . acros gSE Keare sth n Burn, was chosen. How much of the existing building dates from this period is still difficult to decide, but if, as seems likely, the two lower floors and parts of the first and second floors do, then the importance of Druminnor as a 'palace' building, ante-dating Huntl somy yb e twelve years, mus considerede b t . buildino Thertw e ear g document whicn so rel e whar h w e yfo knoe th w t f wo building work being don t Druminnoea r durin fifteente gth h century addition I . o nt these Bil,e Divorcf therth lo e ear e (wit accouns h it arrangemen e th f o t roomf to n so the principal floor at Druminnor) brought, in 1573, by the Master of Forbes against his wife, Margaret Gordon, and John Leyden's description of 1800. Taking the morden i havee rw : 1. 4th July 1440 A memorandum that John Kemloc Williad kan Ennerkypf mo e have been paid e hundreon d fifthundreo dan ytw e buildinf marko th dt r markfo ou sf go e du s Druminnor. This could indicate that the remaining fifty marks were a form of retention money. If this is so, and means that work was not started until the second half of 1440, then the dating of the 1456 document does not indicate an excessive time-lag as would be the case were 1440 the date of the completion, and not the commencement, of the work.3 2. 4th May 1456 A licence granted by James II at Brechin to James, 2nd Lord Forbes, for the building of the tower or fortalice of Druminnor, commonly called Forbes, and the 1 Charter unde Greae rth t Seal, i8th July 1532. (Forbes Papers.) 'A Charte Williamo rt , iath Lord Forbes, containin gNova o Damus Whol e ofth e Baronie of Forbes . Given2 at the Court of Whitehall the 6th day of June 1673 and of his Majestie's reign the 25th year.' (Forbes Papers.) 3 Forbes Papers, quoted in Appendix I. DRUMINNOR 15! fortificatio same th f eno wit h walls, ditche constructiodoore d th san iro f d so nan f no a 'decorative and defensive superstructure'.1 . 24th3 June 1573 Describin e misconducgth Mistrese th f o tf Forbe o s s with Patrick Hepburt na Druminnor at various times between 1571 and 1573, it is stated that when at Druminnor . 'he lay in the uter chalmer within the hall, nixt to the said Margratis chalmer qukeri mighe nh t have enteri plesis hi bean e t rh a t d soletar withi saie nth d uter chalmehale th l doud ran r steiket upone hime withi .'.. n. 2 4. 1800 From Journal of a Tour in the Highlands and Western Islands of Scotland by John Leyden. 'I saw the ruins of Druminnor tower, which the proprietor had demolished. The wal abous i l t nine fee cemene t th thic d exceedingls i ktan y strong t consistI . a f so square tower unite hala o dft squar whicd ean h contain staircase.e sth ' From these extracts it would appear that between 1440 and 1456 a major stone buildin coursin erectiogeof was Druminnornat ; tha 1573 in tyear two , s afteit r has generally been accepted thae castl th d beet eha n destroyed perfectls wa t i , y habitable and that there was a third main room on the first floor, which has since disappeared, probably in the demolition recorded by Leyden. necessarw no s historicai e past o th yI t o s t architecturad an l le evidencth o t d ean parallels afforded by Huntly Castle. We know that building operations must have started at Druminnor in 1440, or earl 1441yn i thad an ,t wor stils klwa goin sixteen go n years later whe licence nth o et fortify was granted. It is, of course, possible that the licence may have been granted retrospectively, the work already having been finished, but it is not likely that work was delayed until the licence was granted. At any rate, it seems certain that work was going on from 1440 until 1456, by which date it was probably nearing comple- tion. In 1452, when Lord Huntly was fighting on the King's behalf in the civil war following the murder of Lord Douglas, the Earl of Moray descended on the Gordon land n Strathbogii s d destroyean e d thei d towerol r .