Forter Castle was built by the Ogilvys of Airlie as a fortified house or ‘Fortalice’ in 1560. The principal reason for construction was to fortify and protect the entrance to the Balloch Pass to Glenshee and the important Moneca Pass to Braemar and the North. At the time of construction, marauding bands of catarans threatened the settled folk in this area and the clan feuds, stoked by religious differences, as the Protestantism came in to supplant the old Catholic religion, made it necessary to build a new fortalice for the house of Ogilvy. A commanding position and natural barriers such as the approach to Glenshee, which surrounded by lofty mountains, made it very difficult for marauders to negotiate. Forter Castle, situated on sloping terrain with good drainage and sufficiently elevated yet not totally exposed to the elements at the top of high ground, made it hard to take Forter by surprise. Forter was also equipped with the best defenses known at the time and, when put to the test, faired extremely well; it was only as a result of a force of some five thousand men with heavy artillery to back them up, that in the year 1640 Forter eventually fell.
James Ogilvy, 5th Lord of Airlie, built Forter and,
in the 80 short years it was in existence, the Ogilvys' fortunes fluctuated
vastly. Their loyalty to the Catholic religion and the House of Stuart
cost them dearly. The destruction of Forter itself, as well as the neighboring
castles of Airlie and Craig, was enacted as retribution by the Scottish
Committee of Estates, who declared the Ogilvys ‘malignants’ and therefore
commissioned their principal strongholds to be brought down.
The personal feud which led to the bringing down of these castles began when the Abbot of Coupar Angus, Donald Campbell, sold the lands that Forter was to be built on to the Ogilvys. James Ogilvy, the 5th Lord, was married to Dame Katerine, Donald Campbell of Argylls’ niece and, because of this fact, the Abbot showed the Ogilvys preference in selling the lands.
Before Donald Campbell sold the lands of Forter, he inserted a clause in the agreement reserving fixity for several tenants at the head of the glen who were Campbell clan or owed allegiance to the House of Argyll. Lord Ogilvy evidently objected to these Campbell adherents and set about evicting them from the land and installing partisans of his own.
Thus a deep resentment was engendered by the two families despite their close ties. Lord Ogilvy and his brother, Sir John Ogilvy of Craig, so incensed at the clause and stirred into a hot headed rage, decided to carry this feud even further. Early in 1591 they raised a force and, setting out from Airlee Castle, raided to and plundered the Campbells in the vicinity of Coupar Angus, leaving behind at least four dead. At the same time, a religious gulf had been created by the two families for their opposing religious views. This gulf would turn to be a microcosm of what was happening in the reform of all Scotland. Argyll was fervently protestant while the Ogilvys stubbornly refused to relinquish their Catholic faith in the reformation. In fact for years the Ogilvys supported the Catholic Mary Queen of Scots and then later King Charles I.
Argyll, taking this as a personal matter, decided to take the law into his own hands. In retaliation for the Ogilvys plundering and killing on July 1591, he invaded Glenista with a force of five hundred men. With warning of the advance, Lord Ogilvy managed to spirit away his wife and child. The glensfolk were less fortunate losing houses, goods, and livestock; some unable to turn to the hills lost their lives in this " barbarous crueltie." Forter too was assaulted and, although damaged, remained stout and held off the attack. (There are records that show of repairs during this period.)
Lord Ogilvy appealed to the privy council and the council ordered Argyll to stop these onslaughts, which he did until a month later another force of catarans, whether ordered to do so or not but definitely Campbell men, attacked from over the hills and more vengeance was wreaked, this time in Glenisla and Glen Cova where the old castle was destroyed. The death toll was smaller with only three or four killed, but the marauders made away with all the sheep and horses and anything they could not carry, they burnt and destroyed. The Ogilvys at this time were finding themselves more and more isolated, surrounded on all sides by Protestants.
In1639, the 7th Lord Ogilvy, grandson of the James Ogilvy who had built Forter, rode out in support of King Charles I. He joined the royalist army at York on the 1st of April and it was there on the following day that the grateful king created him the first Earl of Airlie. On hearing this news in Scotland, the committee challenged the new Lord Ogilvy to sign the National Covenant, which naturally he refused to do. As punishment, the Committee of Estates sent the Earls of Montrose and Kinghorn, "to the place of Airlee and to take in the same, and for that
effect to carry cartows (cannons) with them".
With the Earl still in England with the King, the young Lord Ogilvy
found himself in sole charge of Airlee Castle when they arrived. On
being confronted to surrender, he defiantly replied that his father
was absent and had not given him the authority to do so and so would
defend the castle to the utmost of his power. In fact the Earl of Airlee
was a near kinsman to Montrose and so Montrose launched an attack with
no great enthusiasm, leaving without a single casualty on either side.
This incensed Argyll so much that he would not rest until the Ogilvys had been brought down. On the 12th of June he obtained authority from the Committee to suppress the ‘malignants’ of Badendoch, Atholl and the Braes of Angus. This time his target was all three castles of Airlie, Forter and Craig.
Leaving nothing to chance, he raised a formidable
force of five thousand men armed with heavy artillery against whom there
could be no real resistance. They approached Airlee Castle, first from
the south, and near reached its walls before their presence was known.
The Earl still away in England, the duty of defense remained with his
son yet again, the 8th Lord Ogilvy, who had bravely withstood the assaults
of Montrose and Kinghorn earlier that year. Realizing the futility of
resistance against such a force, Ogilvy withdrew his men, hoping the
worst excesses of Argyll's retribution would be stayed. This was in
vain as Archibald the Grim, bent on nothing short of total destruction,
took a personal hand in demolishing Airlie. Indeed it is said he took
a hammer to the doors and windows, "till he did sweate for heate at
his work." Whilst Argyll busied himself with Airlee, he sent his most
trusted lieutenant to raid the rich pickings of Glenisla and to make
sure that Forter Castle was razed to the ground.
The Great Earl took pained step to note to his lieutenant how the demolition of Forter was to be carried out. He itemized each step, how the windows and roof should be destroyed and "make the work short, ye will fyir it." Exacting that the last thing he should do was burn it to the ground.
THE BONNIE HOUSE OF AIRLY SONG
It fell upon a bonnie summer day,
When corn grew green and the barley,
That there fell oot a great dispute
Atween Argyle and Airlie.
Argyle he has chosen a hundred o' his men,
He marched them out right early;
He led them doon by the back o' Dunkeld
To plunder the bonnie house o' Airlie.
The Lady looked owre her window sae hie,
And oh but she grat sairly
To see Argyle and a' his men
Come to plunder the bonnie house o' Airlie.
'Come doon, come doon, Lady Ogilvie," he cried,
'Come doon and kiss me fairly,
Or I swear by the hilt o' my good broad sword
That I winna leave a stanin' stane in Airllie."
"I winna come down, ye cruel Argyle,
I winna kiss ye fairly;
I wadna kiss ye, fause Argyle,
Tho' ye sudna leave a stanin' stane in Airlie."
"Eleven bairns hae I born,
And the twelfth ne'er saw his daddy;
But though I had gotten as mony again
They sud a' gant to fecht for Charlie."
"But since it's so, tak ye my hand,
And see ye lead me fairly;
Ye lead me doon to yonder glen,
That I mayna see the burnin o' Airlie."
"Come tell me where your dowry is hid,
Come tell it to me fairly,
Come tell me where your dowry is hid,
Or I winna leave a stanin' stane in Airlie."
"I winna tell ye, fause Argyle,
I winna tell ye fairly,
I winna tell ye where my dowry is hid,
Tho' ye sudna leave a stanin' stane in Airlie."
So they sought up, and they sought down,
I wat they sought it sairly,
And it was below the bowling green
They found the dowry of Airlie.
"Gin my good lord had been at hame,
As he's awa' wi' Charlie,
Theres durstna a Campell o' a Argyle
Set a fit on the bonnie green o' Airlie."
He's ta'en her by the milk-white hand,
But he dina lead her fairly;
He led her up to the tap o' the hill,
Where she saw the burnin' o' Airlie.
The smoke and the flames they rose saw hie,
The walls were blackened fairly,
And the Lady laid her down on the green to die,
When she saw the burnin' o' Airlie.
The most vivid scenes recalled by the balladeer are those by the Countess Ogilvy, who is said to have been in residence at Forter during the sacking, it deemed the safest house. The countess was said to have witnessed the burning of Forter from high up on the hill; we can only imagine what she thought as she witnessed the wealth of her family go up in flames and the spoils of war be marched from under her nose. Even though it was only Lord Ogilvy and his father the Earl who had countered the wrath or Argyll, many glenfolks in the lands of Airlee were seen to suffer; it was said that in all the lands of Airlee there was not left "a cock to crow day."
Craig Castle was never re-built and Airlie Castle, which was the principal residence of the Ogilvy family for a matter of seventeen years, had to wait a further 150 years before being habitable again. Forter Castle had to wait a full 350 years until its restoration.