Dunnottar Castle and Forbes of Waterton

Few castles symbolize Scotland's turbulent past more vividly than Dunnottar Castle. Perched atop a rocky headland overlooking the North Sea, it served as the mighty seat of the Keith Earls Marischal, withstood sieges, and famously safeguarded the Honors of Scotland from Cromwell's army. Hidden within its story, however, is a lesser-known connection to Clan Forbes through the Forbes of Waterton, a cadet branch whose loyalty and service earned them a lasting place within the fortress.

The Forbes of Waterton descended from the Forbes of Tolquhon, themselves a cadet branch of the chiefly House of Forbes. Their founder, Thomas Forbes, fourth son of William Forbes, 8th Laird of Tolquhon, received the lands of Waterton in the parish of Ellon by sasine on 9 December 1630. Although the estate was modest compared with Druminnor or Castle Forbes, it established a family closely associated with the powerful Keiths, Earls Marischal.

The connection between the Forbeses and the Keiths long predated Waterton. In the fifteenth century, James, 2nd Lord Forbes, married Egidia Keith, daughter of William Keith, 1st Earl Marischal, linking two of northeastern Scotland's leading noble families. This longstanding kinship helps explain why members of the Forbes family later served within the Marischal household.

The clearest reminder of that relationship survives inside Dunnottar itself. Near the castle chapel stands a small residence known as "Waterton's Lodging." sometimes called the Priest's House. It consists of a hall and kitchen at ground level, private chambers above, and a projecting spiral stair. The building is named for Thomas Forbes of Waterton, who served William Keith, 7th Earl Marischal (1614–1671), as an attendant within his household.

The history of the lodging is not entirely straightforward. Architectural evidence suggests the building dates to about 1574, decades before Thomas Forbes occupied it, indicating that he was almost certainly a later resident rather than the original beneficiary. Regardless of its construction date, the name preserves the memory of a Forbes laird who lived and served within one of Scotland's greatest castles.

Thomas Forbes's life ended violently in 1652. During a bitter dispute with the neighboring Kennedy of Kermuck over drainage works that cut across the public road between their estates, the quarrel escalated into bloodshed. Thomas died from wounds received in the encounter, illustrating that even landed families could become embroiled in the local feuds that characterized seventeenth-century Scotland. He was succeeded by his son, Sir John Forbes of Waterton, who was knighted in 1663 and later became Hereditary Constable of Aberdeen.

A few miles inland stood Waterton Castle, the family's own seat. Acquired from the Bannermans around 1560, the estate remained in Forbes hands until at least 1770. The surviving ruins mark what was once a substantial four-storey tower house, while a memorial stone still identifies it as the ancient seat of the Forbes, Lairds of Waterton.

The Forbes connection with Dunnottar did not end there. During the nineteenth century, Dunnottar became associated with the Forbes of Auchernach, whose Third Laird, Lieutenant-General Nathaniel Forbes, was styled "of Auchernach and Dunnottar." Thus, from trusted members of the Earl Marischal's household to later proprietors of the estate, successive branches of Clan Forbes became woven into the history of one of Scotland's most celebrated castles. Today, Waterton's Lodging remains a quiet but enduring reminder that the legacy of Dunnottar belongs not only to the Keiths but also to the Forbes family whose service and stewardship helped shape its story.