Huntly Castle

When James VI demolished Huntly Castle after the Battle of Glenlivet in 1594 he is said to have shown his fury at the Gordons by personally taking up a hammer and hacking away at its great walls. The story is probably apocryphal, for gunpowder was used to bring the castle down, but it may have been a token gesture, for this mighty fortalice was a symbol of Gordon power.
Originally known as the Castle of Strathbogie, it was first built in the latter part of the 12th century by Duncan, earl of Fife, who took the title of de Strathbolgyn. It was a motte-and-bailey castle constructed mainly from timber and earthworks.

The first of a long line of royal visitors to beat a path to the gates of Strathbogie was Robert Bruce, who was taken there after falling III at Inverurie. On Christmas Eve 1307 he dragged himself out of his sick bed to defeat the Comyn Earl of Buchan at the Battle of Barra, near Oldmeldrum. Later, David de Strathbogie rebelled against Bruce before the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314 and was made to forfeit his lands, which were then granted to Sir Adam Gordon of Huntly in Berwickshire.

The Castle of Strathbogie played host to many people of distinction in its troubled lifetime, among them Perkin Warbeck, the pretender to Henry Vll's English throne, who in 1496 married the lovely Lady Catherine Gordon at the castle. In 1506 the castle's name was changed from Strathbogie to Huntly. George, the fourth earl of Huntly, between 1551 and 1554 practically rebuilt it from the basement upwards.

The historian John Spalding described the castle as 'a stately palace', and the Gordons ensured that it lived up to its reputation. When Mary of Guise, regent for her daughter Mary Queen of Scots, visited it in 1556, she was magnificently entertained by the fourth earl. The
queen mother remarked to one of her suite that their host was known as the 'Cock o' the North', a name still applied to the head of the Gordon family.

In 1562 the Gordons were defeated at the Battle of Corrichie, and the castle was plundered by the Earl of Moray. Although Huntly was 'cast down' by James VI, it was restored by the sixth earl, who made his peace with the king and was created the first marquis of Huntly. During the turbulent years of the Wars of the Covenant the castle changed hands on a number of occasions. In 1640 it was surrendered to the Covenanting forces, who held it for several weeks, then four years later Montrose held it against General Leslie, but was starved into surrender.

The end of The Troubles' marked the end of the old Castle of Strathbogie. The stately palace quickly fell into decay, but even today it clings to its former glory, for it is recognised as one of the noblest baronial ruins in Scotland.