Corgarff Castle

Corgarff Castle stands west of the village of Corgarff in Aberdeenshire, beside the Lecht road that crosses the pass between Strathdon and Tomintoul. Built around 1530 by the Elphinstone family, it was leased to the Forbes of Towie. In 1571 Adam Gordon of Auchindoun burned the castle, killing Margaret Campbell, Lady Forbes, her children and 26 others, an event remembered in the ballad Edom o Gordon. In 1607 Alexander Forbes of Towie captured the castle with hammers and battering rams, bringing a piper called George McRobie and a garrison of Highland thieves. The Earl of Mar acquired the castle in 1626 and in 1645 it served as an assembly point for troops led by the Marquis of Montrose. Jacobite supporters burned it again in 1689 and 1716. The Forbes family returned in 1745 but forfeited the castle because of their Jacobite allegiance. In 1748 the British government bought it, rebuilt it as a barracks and stationed troops there on the military road from Braemar Castle to Fort George. After military use ended in 1831, the tower helped suppress illegal whisky distilling. It remained part of the Delnadamph estate until 1961, when the Stockdale family gave it to state care. Historic Environment Scotland now manages the castle, which is open to the public at certain times. The scheduled monument includes a tower and extended barracks buildings set in a remote Highland landscape.