Glenbuchat Heritage

184 Great Houses of Strathdon

Great Houses of Strathdon

The photographs above were kindly supplied by Ken Cruickshank:

Castle Newe c.1910

Auchernach House and walled garden 1927

Edinglassie Lodge probably about 1900

Edinglassie today 2015

There was an influx of money into Strathdon in the 17th Century especially from branches of the Forbes Family.

John Forbes (‘Bombay Jock’) made a fortune in India and this was passed to his nephew Charles Forbes who built Castle Newe in 1831.
Sir Charles Forbes then bought a series of estates stretching from Newe up to Corgarff including the House and Estate of Edinglassie.

Unfortunately the family money ran out and in 1900 there was a series of sales of the Forbes estates; Delnadamph, went to J.J. Mowbray, Candacraig to A. F. Wallace, and Deskry to Col Leith of Glenkindie. In 1908 Edinglassie was sold to H.J. Tenant and in 1911 part of Newe itself was sold to A.F. Wallace. The final blow came in 1924, when the Castle of Newe and the remaining lands were sold to Provost Donald Munro, Banchory, timber merchant and close friend of Sir Harry Lauder.

The Edinglassie was purchased in 1956 by Viscount Cowdray

Lieut-General Nathaniel Forbes of Hon East India Co built Auchernach House in 1809 but it was demolished in 1945. Although neglected, the Auchernach walled garden retains much of its outstanding original fabric. The garden stands on a prominent hillside and when glimpsed from the Glen Nochty road it gives the appearance of an Indian hill fort upon which it is believed to have been modelled.

Auchernach House can be seen in George Washington Wilson photos kept at the Aberdeen University Archives.
To see the pictures click the following link and enter ‘Achernach’ (note the different spelling) in the search box.

George Washington Archives

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