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Tolquhon Castle

Tolquhon Castle, was a fashionable and noble residence for more than 300 years. It was a spacious and sophisticated country house owned by William Forbes. Pronounced locally as, Tu-Hun, the castle is first recorded in a charter dated 2nd December 1536, when it is described as a tower and a fortalice. It was one of two principal seats in the ancient thanage of Formartine, which covers the area between the River Don and the River Ythan, in Aberdeenshire. The area was held by the Preston family who were also Lairds of Craigmillar, near Edinburgh. When Sir Henry Preston, Lord of Formartine died without a male heir, the thanage was divided between the husbands of his daughters. In 1547, Tu-Hun passed to Sir John Forbes, who was married to Sir Henry’s second daughter, Marjorie. He rebuilt the castle in the 1580s. It wasn’t a defensive castle; it was a sophisticated and very fashionable country house. However, the wealth and means of the Forbes family would have left visitors in no doubt of the resources available to defend it, should that become necessary. Alexander Forbes, the 10th laird, received a knighthood for saving King Charles II’s life at the Battle of Worcester in 1651. But it was the family’s pro-Jacobite stance during the 1715 Rising that led to their downfall and the estate was forfeited, marking the end of Tu-Hun castle as a residence of gentry and to it being bought by George Gordon, Earl of Aberdeen. Successive generations of the Gordons failed to manage the castle’s upkeep and by the mid-1800s it was at best an uninhabited farmhouse. It was passed into state care in 1929. In front of the castle is the outer court. This grassy area would have been a spectacular Renaissance garden divided into enclosed areas with perhaps a kitchen garden, a flower garden, an orchard, a fish pond and maybe a bowling green. Archaeological evidence has been found which indicates planting and pathways were here at one time. The impressive gatehouse is decorated with armorial panels and sculpted figures – one of which is said to be Forbes himself. The gunholes are more decorative than useful. The arched doorway bears the laird’s coat of arms below the royal arms of James VI; he visited here in 1589. The drum towers are impressive with heavily grilled windows and moulded string courses. There would have been a solid timber door, secured with a drawbar – the holes for which can be seen on either side of the doorway. There is also a panel which is inscribed “al this warke excep the avld tovr was begvn be William forbes 15 April 1584 and endit be him 20 October 1589”. The cobbled inner court is quadrangular in design and these four sides would have incorporated all the accommodation needed; residential, servant, cookhouse, prison, storage, etc.. Though now roofless, it’s easy to appreciate the palatial splendour the castle would have presented when you passed through the gatehouse. Preston’s Tower, named after the Preston family who were lairds of the area, is the oldest part of the castle. It was built as Sir John’s residence in around 1420. This is the “auld tour” in the gatehouse’s inscription. The two-storey East Range was added in the 1580s. The first floor provided extra living accommodation. The ground floor was for service and storage. It also housed the bakehouse which had two domed ovens. The above chamber had a trap door which led to a prison cell behind the ovens. There is also a 6m deep well. The main house was William Forbes' four-storey private lodging.The ground floor housed the kitchen and storage cellars which were linked by a corridor, a novel feature for this period. It also had wide windows and seats. The kitchen has a great arched fireplace with a bread oven, which might have been added after the original ovens in the east range were abandoned. The principle rooms on the first floor were: an outer hall and an inner private chamber. The outer hall was a handsome room with a large fireplace and generous windows. The beautiful hexagonal and square sandstone block paving is original to the building. The walls would have been plastered and covered with expensive hangings and elaborately painted and there would have been an impressive painted timber beamed ceiling. The laird's private chamber would also have been lavishly embellished. This secret hiding place probably held the laird's money and other valuables. The West Range, or gallery, held the library and family portraits as well as other paintings. It was used in inclement weather for exercise. The Pleasance is the area around the castle but within the outer wall. It was used for exercise and presented a more natural aspect as opposed to the formal gardens in front of the gatehouse. There are yew and holly trees here as well as chestnut and lime, but there may well have been fruit trees here too. There are 12 bee boles in the forecourt wall as well as the remains of a doocot.