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ASTLE Forbes, formerly Putachie, and now the principal residence of theSenior Baron of the Scottish Peerage, is situated on the north bank of theRiver Don, which passes through the grounds on its course to the ocean.The Castle is removed but a short distance from the south-west shoulder ofthe Mountain of Bennachie, which there becomes the boundary of the Valeof Alford. Rising immediately from the river, and surrounded by extensive plantations, thelawn slopes gradually to its banks, and the view from the house being uninterrupted, is variedand extensive.
The building is modern, in the castellated style of architecture, and forms a striking andpicturesque object from all points of the valley beneath.
The late Lord Forbes erected the Castle , and greatly altered and improved the place,changing its name from Putachie to its present designation.
The Forbes family are descended from John de Forbes, of the reign of William the Lion .In the year 1304, the Castle of Urquhart was obstinately defended by Alexander Forbes, againstEdward I. of England, who, incensed at the resistance, upon gaining possession, put its garri-son to the sword ; but the family was continued by the birth of a posthumous son, afterwardskilled at the battle of Dupplin, in 1382. His son, John, was succeeded by Alexander, the firstLord Forbes, and his second son , William , became the ancestor to the Lords Pitsligo, the lastof whom incurred forfeiture by joining Prince Charles Edward, in 1745.
Alexander, first Lord Forbes, died in 1448, and was succeeded by his son , James , the secondLord , who had three sons—William , the third Lord; Duncan, ancestor of the present Sir JohnStuart Forbes of Pitsligo, and other families; and Patrick, ancestor of Sir William Forbes ofCraigievar, and of the Earls of Granard. William , the third Lord , also left three sons, of whomthe eldest, Alexander, the fourth Lord, acted a conspicuous part in the dissensions that agitatedScotland after the murder of James III. , joining the insurrection of the Earl of Lennox and
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