Forse Castle (11)
John Campbell Sutherland 15th of Forse, died in 1828 and was succeeded by his eldest son John, 16th laird, who was a Cornet in the 9th Lancers and later a Lieutenant in the fifty-sixth Regiment of Foot, before dying aged 26 in 1846.

Now, for what happens next, we have to go back several generations to a time when the Sutherlands of Forse still lived here in the castle.  At that time, a mentally deficient daughter had been born to the laird, who, being a proud man, looked on the affliction as a stigma on himself and his house and resolved that the poor girl would never be allowed to see the light of day, or allow her presence to be known outside.  She was thus kept incarcerated either in the keep itself, or in one of the buildings adjoining it on the castle rock.  In course of time the trouble of keeping her hidden and of looking after her became too tedious and so she was put to death.  At the time, whether it was by the victim herself, or by some Celtic mystic is not clear, a terrible curse was pronounced.  For this hideous crime it was said, sooner or later, the house of Sutherland would become extinct, and as a sign that this had come to pass, two standing stones, one on the upper end of the Forse estate at Rangag, and another at the lower estate at Forse, would fall to the ground at the time of the death of the last “Forse Sutherland” (as the lairds of Forse were known).

The death of Lieutenant John Sutherland, 16th laird of Forse, occurred on the night of 28th February 1846.  The next morning the two standing stones were lying prostrate on the ground!  There was no wind or any unusual occurrence to account for their falling. The stone at Rangag still remains where it fell and was noted in 1910 by Dr Curle in his “Inventory of the Ancient Monuments of Caithness”.  It is close to the ditch beside the Causwaymire road, but in recent years has been covered over with the ditch cleanings.  The stone at Forse was close to the cliff and some years ago disappeared due to coastal erosion.

<i>(Source <a href="http://www.caithness.org" rel="noreferrer nofollow">www.caithness.org</a> )</i>
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