Clan Forbes Society

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.

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.

Inverernan House lies in the Forbes dùthchas, on the River Don between Druminnor Castle and Corgarff Castle. Part of the larger Skellater estate, these lands were first claimed by Alistair Cam, 1st Laird of Brux, who was a brother of Sir Alexander, 1st Lord Forbes. In 1686, William Forbes, 2nd of Skellater, gave a portion of the Skellater estate to his son John, known as “Black Jock,” marking the first documented creation of the Forbes of Inverernan branch.

Edinglassie House stands in the quiet upper reaches of Glen Ernan, a side valley of Strathdon long associated with the Forbeses of Newe. Its personality is unmistakably shaped by the family who built, expanded, and stewarded it: practical Highland lairds who became global merchants, political figures, and symbols of Forbes resilience.

Perched on parkland in the approaches to Inverurie, Thainstone House is an elegant country mansion now operating as a luxury hotel and spa. However, this was once the center of the estate owned by two branches of the House of Forbes: first to a cadet of the Forbes of Tolquhon and then a cadet of the Forbes of Craigievar, later known as the Forbes-Mitchells.

By B. R. Forbes, Clan Historian & Storyteller Pitfichie Castle, just seven miles from Castle Forbes, was built around 1560 by the Hurrie (or Urrie) family then sold in 1597 to John Cheyne of Fortrie. Sir John Forbes of Monymusk, 3rd Baronet (1640 – 1700), received a Crown Charter of Pitfichie in 1661 and gave the estate to his eldest son of his second marriage, John Forbes (1680 – 1716). In 1711, John purchased the estate of Upper Boyndlie in Buchan from Alexander Forbes, 4t

By B. R. Forbes, Clan Historian & Storyteller Historic Bellabeg House, located in the hamlet of Bellabeg in Strathdon, links Forbes heritage to the modern era. The mansion house overlooks the Lonach field, the site of the annual Lonach Highland Gathering and Games. Originally called Invernochty, or confluence of the Water of Nochty, Bellabeg is the site of a large motte, or mound, of the Pictish Doune of Invernochty. This is from the Scottish Gaelic “dùn” which means “castle”

By B. R. Forbes, Clan Historian & Storyteller Skellater House sits at the base of Lonach Hill and overlooks the River Don four miles from Strathson, Aberdeenshire. Built in the eighteenth century, the modest mansion house has been renovated and updated with modern conveniences, or “modcons.” In 1604, George Forbes received a charter of the lands of Skellater from Alexander, Master of Elphinstone, with the consent of Alexander, Lord Elphinstone. Forbes was the second son of Wi

By B. R. Forbes, Clan Historian & Storyteller Enlarged from a medieval stronghold to a stately mansion house, Castle Newe was once a showplace and a stop for the British Royal Family. Due to heavy financial losses the early twentieth century, the Forbes of Newe were forced to sell off their estates and to demolish the castle. The lands of Newe (pronounced “nee-ow,” similar to a cat’s “meow”) were owned by two successive branches of the House of Forbes. The original Forbes of