Forbes is an old Scottish name, coming from the lands of Forbes in
Aberdeenshire, close to the modern town of Alford. The first bearer
of the name on record is one Duncan de Forbeys in c.1272 They were an
east coast family, prominent in Aberdeenshire, and spread around the
Moray Firth in the medieval period. They appear in Inverness at an early
date, and rapidly became successful merchants. In 1622 for the Scottish
Parliament's tax on annual rents, money loaned with property as security,
Duncan Forbes 'owed to 5 individuals £6,666 13s 4d Scots', but
was in turn owed £10,000 Scots by another five individuals, including
the clan chief, Sir Adam MacKay of Strathnaver in Sutherland.
He was wealthy enough by 1626 to be able to buy the estate of Culloden
- a clear example of a wealthy urban merchant leaving trade to set his
family up as land owners and lairds. This Duncan Forbes, the progenitor
of a long line of Duncan Forbes of Culloden, was descended from the
family of Forbes of Tolquhoun on his father's side, and of the Keiths,
Earls Marischal of Scotland, on his mother's side. (This family built
one of Scotland's finest renaissance houses, now in ruins, at Tolquhoun
in Aberdeenshire, and it is interesting to speculate what Duncan of
Culloden may have done at Culloden to emulate his family.) He was both
provost of Inverness and a member of the Scottish Parliament for the
town, before dying in 1654, aged 82.
His grandson, now styled "of Culloden" was another Duncan,
and was also Provost of Inverness as the family kept a very close relationship
with the town. He was also the father of perhaps the most famous of
the Forbes' of Culloden, another Duncan, born in 1685, he became an
eminent lawyer, who at the age of 52, became Lord President of the Court
of Sessions, one of Scotland's most senior law officers and one of the
most influential men of his day. For most of his life, his elder brother
John was the Laird of Culloden, but in 1745 it was Duncan who occupied
the family seat. And it is to him, and to him alone, that the new Hanoverian
dynasty held their throne during the Rising of 1745-1746.
The Forbes family were staunch Presbyterians and firm supporters of
the Covenanters, but they suffered for their beliefs under Charles II
and James VII. Because of their known support for the Presbyterian Party,
the lands of Culloden were occupied and plundered by Jacobite troops
under the command of Viscount Dundee in 1688. The family was recompensed
in 1689 by the Scottish Parliament with a grant of the privilege of
distilling whisky from the barley of their property at Ferintosh in
Ross-shire free of all duty. This was a most lucrative privilege, and
was eventually rescinded in 1785 for compensation of £20,000.
Duncan Forbes the lawyer and Lord President of the Court of Sessions,
was the second son of the father's marriage to Mary Innes, the daughter
of Sir Harry Innes, of Innes House, near Elgin. Their elder son John,
was the 4th Laird of Culloden, and was well known throughout the Highlands
for his lavish lifestyle and hospitality. His nickname of "Bumper
John" come from his fondness for French wines. Around 1730 an English
army officer, Captain Edmund Burt, in his Letters from a Gentleman
in the North of Scotland wrote, "There lives in our neighbourhood
at a house or castle called Culloden, a gentleman whose hospitality
is almost without bounds. It is the custom of that house, at the first
visit or introduction, to take up your freedom by cracking his nut (as
he terms it), that is a coconut shell, which holds a pint filled with
champagne, or such other sort of wine as you shall choose. You may guess
by the introduction, at the contents of the volume, few go away sober
at any time; and for the greatest part of his guests, in the conclusion,
they cannot go at all". A hogshead of fine claret was kept in the
hall, so that guests or even passers-by could refresh themselves with
a pint of claret. John died in 1734 with no children to succeed him,
and his brother Duncan became the fifth Forbes laird of Culloden and
the most famous of all.
He was described by Sir Walter Scott as "the distinguished Scotsman
who saved the Kingdom for the House of Hanover ... He suppressed
by his personal exertions the desperate and alarming riots (in
Glasgow) concerning the Malt Tax in 1725, and was among the patriots
who saved the City of Edinburgh from the vindictive measures meditated
on it, on account of the 'Porteous Mob'. Many other patriotic
and community labours occupied his attention. He was the first
to give examples of those effects which careful agriculture can
produce. It was he who took first measures for preserving and
arranging the Records of the Kingdom of Scotland ... who proposed
encouragement to the linen trade and other manufactures in Scotland.
It was doubtless through his influence and exertions, some of
the most powerful Highland chiefs were prevented in joining in
the '45. The enormous sums of money he advanced to assist in paying
King George II's troops and other expenses occasioned by the '45
impaired and almost ruined his private fortune". He also
had a particular aversion to tea, considering drinking it the
worst of all evils!
Find out more about the history of the Forbes
Family
Find out about the present
day Culloden House
Find out about the Battle
of Culloden, the last battle pitched on British Soil.
