Clan Forbes Society

Arthur Forbes, 1st Earl of Granard, lived through a period in which governments changed, monarchs were overthrown, and political allegiance could determine the survival of a family and its estates. His career carried him from the battlefields of Scotland to the Irish Parliament, the Privy Council, and command of the army in Ireland.

Balfluig Castle rises above the Howe, or valley, of Alford with the solid, square‑shouldered confidence of a house built for endurance rather than display. The tall tower reflects the disposition of the Forbeses who lived here: practical, disciplined, and deeply rooted in the land. This is a working laird’s residence—fortified, functional, and quietly dignified.

Corgarff Castle stands alone on a windswept rise above the valley of Strathdon, its stark white walls and star-shaped enclosure set in sharp relief against the heathered hills. Corgarff is the austere and stoic elder of the family—spare in manner, uncomplaining in hardship, and shaped by a lifetime of loyalty and loss.

Rising on a wooded ridge above the Corse Burn, Corse Castle stands like a thoughtful sentinel. Strong-shouldered, disciplined, and quietly refined, it is neither wholly medieval nor fully modern. Instead, Corse is the scholar-reformer of Forbes architecture: principled, restrained, and purposeful—a stronghold that thinks as much as it defends. Today the castle survives as a gaunt, roofless shell. Yet it was once the heart of a powerful and influential Forbes cadet family.

The House of Monymusk emerged from a landscape shaped by centuries of spiritual discipline, long before the Forbes family ever set foot on its soil. The estate’s quiet orderliness echoes the rhythms first established by the monks who settled here five centuries before.

Pitsligo Castle is the noble fallen warrior who paid dearly for choosing honor over comfort. Its broken walls and roofless chambers do not speak of neglect so much as consequence of loyalty to a doomed cause. The castle represents conscience—a reminder that some legacies are measured not in wealth but in principle. Pitsligo Castle stands in weathered silence on the north-east coast of Scotland overlooking the North Sea.

Grounded in defensive austerity, Tolquhon Castle was transformed into an elegant Renaissance showplace. However, later generations chased wealth through risky ventures. They ultimately lost this house of cultured confidence through creditors, lawsuits, and mounting debt. Now a shell of its former glory, the castle remains a lesson in the dangers of hubris.

Set on a commanding rise above the River Don, the castle wears its Scottish Baronial towers and battlements with the confidence of a clan that, after centuries of feuds, debts, and misfortunes, has finally succeeded in the world.

Poet, musical arranger, and outspoken defender of Scottish interests, William Forbes of Disblair gave expression to the political passions and artistic traditions of early eighteenth-century Scotland.

Druminnor Castle was the seat of the Chiefs of Clan Forbes for over 500 years until it was sold by the 16th Lord Forbes in 1770. Castle Forbes, as it was then called, was the stage for much of Forbes history. At its peak, the castle comprised two courtyards of buildings surrounded by a massive defensive wall, with a formal entrance forecourt to the west and extensive walled gardens to north and south.

In the spring of 1662, the quiet parish of Auldearn became the setting for “one of the most remarkable documents in the history of witchcraft.” (Levack, Brian P. 2015. The Witchcraft Sourcebook, 2nd ed. London: Routledge.) At its center were two very different figures: Harry Forbes, Minister of Auldearn, and Isobel Gowdie, the wife of a cottar (farm laborer) from nearby Lochloy. Over six weeks, Gowdie described encounters with the Devil, meetings with the fairy folk, transfor

John Colin Forbes helped establish a distinct Canadian artistic tradition while maintaining close connections with the cultural institutions of Britain and Europe. He became a prominent portraitist whose subjects included prime ministers, parliamentary leaders, and members of the British royal family. His career reflected the growing importance of portraiture in Canada's public life, as political institutions sought lasting visual records of the people who shaped the country.