The Forbes family had succeeded in creating what has been described as "one
of the most attractive small country houses of its period in Scotland".
The new Culloden House is itself a fine Georgian mansion incorporating much
of the original fortified house/castle within its structure. Built in an elegant
style, it shows the influence, or actual handiwork, of John Adam, considered to
be the pre-eminent architect of the late 19th century. In addition to the house
having an obvious compatibility with John Adam?s neo-classical style, his
influence on the design is buttressed by surviving letters showing him to be a
friend and houseguest during this period.
The Adam family was commissioned at this time by the King with the design and
construction of Fort George, not 10 miles away. The Fort was built to deter any
further Highland uprisings and to prevent foreign intrigue/invasion into the
area. The Fort?s stone and masonry work is of the same construct as Culloden
House, and it houses a fine military museum open to the public 364 days a year.
Today, it is the oldest and continuously active Fort in the United Kingdom
presently garrisoned by a battalion of the Black Watch.
Culloden House consists of a main block of three storeys joined by screened
walls to two, two storey pavilions built over 12 vaulted cellars which appears
to be the original first floor of the Scottish fortified house as the gun/bow
ports would attest to. It was here the wounded Jacobite soldiers lay waiting
their inescapable fate at the hands of "Butcher" Cumberland.
A sweeping staircase, leads to the main entrance which is crowned by a fine
coat of arms with the house's principal rooms all being on the first floor
level. Built between 1772 -1788, the surviving interior decoration shows how
splendid the house must have been in it's Georgian heyday with delicate
plasterwork, finely moulded Adam fireplaces and beautifully carved doorways.
The Forbes' continued to line in the house until 1897, when the untimely
death of the then Duncan Forbes with no heirs to succeed him and substantial
death duties to be paid led to the house passed from the immediate family. This
Duncan was a much loved laird locally, providing work at times of unemployment
for locals, never evicting for rent arrears and provided a focal point on the
battlefield for the many visitors even than by building the memorial cairn to
the fallen of 16 April 1746 in 1881. The house remained in private hands up
until 1975, when it was converted into a fine country house hotel, now know all
over the world.
Culloden House stands as part of Scotland's past, and is
surrounded by the past. Two nearby sites stand out as representatives of that
long past. One is the ancient site of Clava Cairns, while second, close to
Culloden House is the battlefield of Culloden. This is a site that changed more
than the history of Scotland. It has been estimated that there are some 20
million people of Scots descent living in other countries as a result of this
huge diaspora as the aftermath of this one battle.
Find out about the Battle
of Culloden, the last battle pitched on British Soil.
