Corse Castle near

Lumphanan Lumphanan ( ; gd, Lann Fhìonain) is a village in Aberdeenshire, Scotland located from Aberdeen and from Banchory. History Lumphanan is documented to be the site of the Battle of Lumphanan of 1057 AD, where Malcolm III of Scotland defeated ...

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire ( sco, Aiberdeenshire; gd, Siorrachd Obar Dheathain) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the County of Aberdeen which has substantially differe ...

, now ruined, was a fortress and centre of a landed estate in the north-east of Scotland. The present castle dates from the 16th century and stands by the Corse Burn, around north-west of Lumphanan. Corse was a property of the

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...

family. In the 16th century, the original house on the site was destroyed by bandits in a raid. The

laird Laird () is the owner of a large, long-established Scottish estate. In the traditional Scottish order of precedence, a laird ranked below a baron and above a gentleman. This rank was held only by those lairds holding official recognition in ...

of the day, Sir William Forbes, is reputed to have said of his projected new castle "Please God I will build me such a house as thieves will need to knock at ere they enter." He went on to erect the present castle, which bears his initials, with the date 1581. William Forbes had seven sons, of whom the eldest,

Patrick Patrick may refer to: * Patrick (given name), list of people and fictional characters with this name * Patrick (surname), list of people with this name People * Saint Patrick (c. 385–c. 461), Christian saint *Gilla Pátraic (died 1084), Patrick ...

(1564–1635), was born at the castle before the rebuilding. In 1618 he was appointed

Bishop of Aberdeen The Bishop of Aberdeen (originally Bishop of Mortlach, in Latin Murthlacum) was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Aberdeen, one of Scotland's 13 medieval bishoprics, whose first recorded bishop is an early 12th-century cleric named Nech ...

, serving until his death. The second son, William, a merchant, bought and completed nearby

Craigievar Castle Craigievar Castle is a pinkish harled castle or fortified country house south of Alford, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It was the seat of Clan Sempill and the Forbes family resided here for 350 years until 1963, when the property was given to the ...

in the 1620s. The third son, John Forbes (c. 1565–1634) also entered the church. The sixth son,

Arthur Arthur is a common male given name of Brittonic languages, Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. An ...

, settled in Ireland and was created a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

. Patrick's second son, the theologian John Forbes (1593–1648), inherited Corse in 1635 and died there in 1648, having opposed the National Covenant and been exiled for three years. The Corse estate then went to John Forbes' son George and then his grandson, but due to a lack of further heirs it reverted to the Forbeses of Craigievar, descended from his brother William. In 1869 the castle was occupied by James Ochoncar Forbes (1837—1900), second son of the late Sir John Forbes, 7th Baronet of Craigievar, by his marriage to Charlotte Elizabeth, a daughter of James Ochoncar Forbes, 17th Lord Forbes. His older brother,

William Forbes-Sempill, 17th Lord Sempill William Forbes-Sempill, 17th Lord Sempill (20 May 1836 – 21 July 1905), born William Forbes, was a Scottish peer, the 17th Lord Sempill and 8th Baronet of Craigievar. He was the son of Sir John Forbes, 7th Baronet, and succeeded his father t ...

, had inherited

and a peerage from a cousin. In ''The Castellated and Domestic Architecture of Scotland'' (1887), David MacGibbon and Thomas Ross say: The castle thus became redundant in the mid 19th century, when it was replaced by a new house. On the death of James Ochoncar Forbes in 1900, the estate was inherited by his son John Walter Forbes, who died unmarried in 1912, and then by his younger son Lieutenant Colonel James Ochoncar Forbes (1867—1945), who was a Deputy Lieutenant for Aberdeenshire. His son Lieutenant Colonel Patrick Walter Forbes (1914—1979) also lived on the estate and likewise became a Deputy Lieutenant. Corse Castle Plan

The castle is described by Historic Scotland as "a remarkable survival of the compact 16th century, Scottish

Z-plan castle Z-plan is a form of castle design common in England and Scotland. The Z-plan castle has a strong central rectangular tower with smaller towers attached at diagonally opposite corners. Prominent examples of the Z-plan include Brodie Castle in ...

", although

W. D. Simpson William Douglas Simpson CBE (2 August 1896 – 9 October 1968) was a Scottish academic and writer who focused on the study of medieval architecture and archaeology. Career Simpson was appointed Assistant in History at the University of A ...

described it as "an unusual combination of L and Z plans." It has been designated a

scheduled ancient monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...

Notes

* * {{coord, 57.1552, N, 2.7477, W, type:landmark_region:GB_source:wikidata, display=title

External links

Take a Virtual Tour of Corse Castle Ruin
Ruined castles in Aberdeenshire Scheduled Ancient Monuments in Aberdeenshire