Scotland · Still standing
Castle Forbes
Castle Forbes is an early 19th-century country house in the Scots Baronial style near Alford in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, and the seat of the Lord Forbes. The present building was begun in 1815 to designs by Archibald Simpson and completed by John Smith; it stands within designed gardens and overlooks the River Don, with a prehistoric stone circle to the north.
Its prime
1815
Today
Still standing
As it stood in 1815
What Castle Forbes looked like in its prime.
A compact Scots Baronial country house of warm pink-brown granite ashlar, composed of a rectangular main block with several short, corbelled turrets and a prominent cylindrical round tower at one corner surmounted by a crenellated parapet and flagpole. Regular vertical sash windows puncture each façade in rows. The roofline is defined by crenellated parapets and small drum-like corner towers. The house sits on well-kept lawns and flowerbeds, overlooking the River Don with trees behind.
Its story
The story of Castle Forbes.
The Forbes Estate and the 1815 House
The 6,000-acre Vale of Alford estate, above the River Don in Aberdeenshire, is the seat of the Lord Forbes. The lands were granted to Sir Alexander Forbes in 1411 for his part in the defeat of Donald of the Isles at the Battle of Harlaw. An earlier house on the site was named Putachie.
The present building overlooking the River Don was begun in 1815 by the 17th Lord Forbes, to designs by the architect Archibald Simpson. Simpson ran into structural problems when an older section of the house, dating from about 1731, began to crack; he was dismissed, and the City Architect of Aberdeen, John Smith, completed the work.
Malcolm Forbes, 23rd Lord Forbes, and the Estate Today
Castle Forbes is occupied by Malcolm Forbes, 23rd Lord Forbes, and is open to residential guests; the estate offers fishing and golf, and in 1996 a former dairy building was converted into a small perfumery. The castle is a category B listed building, and its grounds are included in the Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland. A prehistoric stone circle stands to the north of the castle.
Step inside
7 places to explore in 1815.
The record describes 7 distinct spots at Castle Forbes, including the full exterior approach. Create your own photoreal reconstruction and explore every one, more scenes means more rooms, more angles, and more of the place to stand in.
Build Your Own Castle
Recreate Castle Forbes with AI to explore it.
The artist rebuilds it as it stood in 1815, a photoreal reconstruction that belongs to you alone. Pay with coins, no subscription needed.
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Clans who held Castle Forbes.
The families that held Castle Forbes for a decade or more across its history, follow a name to its clan.
Seat of the Lords Forbes since the lands were granted to Sir Alexander Forbes in 1411 after the Battle of Harlaw.
