Scotland · Restored
Forter Castle
Forter Castle is a 16th-century L-plan fortalice in Glenisla, Perthshire, Scotland, built in 1560 by James Ogilvy. It was burned in the 17th century and reconstructed in the early 1990s; today it is a restored, inhabitable building within the Cairngorms National Park. The restored castle contains a vaulted basement, a great hall on the first floor, upper bedrooms and corbelled turrets at the roofline.
Its prime
1560
Today
Restored
As it stood in 1560
What Forter Castle looked like in its prime.
A compact L‑shaped stone fortalice of roughly rectangular main block with a substantial square tower projecting from the southeast corner. Walls are coursed grey rubble with small, vertically proportioned windows and several tall chimney stacks and stepped gables at the roofline. On the third floor small corbelled angle turrets project at the NE and NW. The building stands alone in a grassy glen beside a minor road, with a low stone forecourt wall and a large deciduous tree nearby.
Its story
The story of Forter Castle.
James Ogilvy's Fortalice, 1560–1639
James Ogilvy, 5th Lord of Airlie, built Forter Castle in 1560 as a fortalice guarding the Balloch Pass route to Glenshee, at a time when marauding bands of caterans threatened the settled folk of the area and clan feuds were stoked by the religious differences of Protestantism supplanting the old Catholic faith. His grandson James, the 7th Lord, was named 1st Earl of Airlie in 1639.
The Earl's Covenant Refusal, Argyll's Burning and the Long Ruin
When the Earl refused to sign the National Covenant, Archibald Campbell, Earl of Argyll, burnt Forter along with Airlie Castle — dated to 1640 by one account, 1650 by another — a raid remembered in the ballad "Bonnie House of Airlie". The Ogilvys moved to Cortachy Castle, and Forter stood a roofless ruin, its L-plan of oblong block and square tower still legible when it was recorded in 1899 and again in 1958.
Robert Pooley's Restoration, 1988–1990
Robert Pooley bought the ruin in 1988 and, guided by Scottish Heritage, spent two years on the exterior rebuild, studying the scarring in the surviving stones to recreate the layout of the original L-shaped 16th-century fortified house; the only deliberate change was to make the Laird's bedroom span the full width of the castle, matching the dimensions of the Great Hall. Interior renovation followed, designed by his daughter, Katharine Pooley.
Katharine Pooley's Ownership Since 2003
Ownership passed to Katharine Pooley in 2003. As of 2020, she and her spouse, Daniel Voyce, used the castle at times, while at other times it was let out on a self-catering basis, with the basement chapel sometimes used for weddings. Forter has been a category B listed building since 1971 — a listing recorded while it was still a ruin — and stands within the Cairngorms National Park in Angus.
Step inside
9 places to explore in 1560.
The record describes 9 distinct spots at Forter Castle, including 6 interiors: circular stair turret and landing, vaulted basement: kitchen and cellars, basement chapel and more. Create your own photoreal reconstruction and explore every one, more scenes means more rooms, more angles, and more of the place to stand in.
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Recreate Forter Castle with AI to explore it.
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Clans who held Forter Castle.
The families that held Forter Castle for a decade or more across its history, follow a name to its clan.
Ogilvy
Built in 1560 by James Ogilvy, 5th Lord of Airlie; held by the Ogilvy Lords and Earls of Airlie until burnt by Argyll.
From the archive
Forter Castle on paper: the measured plan and period views.
The survey plan and photographs below are the ground truth this page's reconstructions are checked against, drawn and photographed while the castle was still a working garrison. Every image is public-domain or openly licensed, with its source named.
Fig. 547.—Forter Castle. View from South-West.
1889 · MacGibbon & Ross, vol. 3 (1889)
Public domain
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