The Castles of Clan Henderson

Clan Henderson has a long and winding history and have used their great influence to acquire a number of stunning castles in the beautiful Scottish countryside. We find that exploring the places that once held great significance to a family is the perfect way to get to know them a little better, so come along with us to discover a few fascinating sites of Clan Henderson!

Deep in the idyllic countryside of Fife, you can find Fordell Castle, which stands as an enduring symbol of Clan Henderson’s power and legacy. 

Fordell is a classic Scottish castle, built to follow a Z-plan, with square towers at the north-west and south-east corners, each containing a spiral staircase. However, while some of its features will be very familiar with fans of 16th-century architecture, in other ways the castle is completely unique! Fordell is the only castle in Scotland to have two main staircases, each with its own entrance, highlighting Clan Henderson’s great wealth and pioneering attitude.

The first floor contains another one of the castle’s most striking features, the Great Hall, which holds a grand stone fireplace complete with a cast iron grate and stone surround. A carving above the entrance to the hall tells a dark tale from the Henderson’s past, as it is said to depict Margaret Echlin, the daughter of James Henderson, the 3rd Laird of Fordell, who was accused of witchcraft and imprisoned in 1649. Sadly, before she could even make it to trial, she was found dead, thought to have been poisoned. 

Fordell Castle by Leon Hicks

To the east of the Great Hall, there is a smaller room which boasts a beautiful, panelled ceiling decorated with stars and crescent moons, echoing Clan Henderson’s coat of arms. Another striking chamber in the castle is known as ‘Queen Mary’s Room.’ Vaulted, panelled, and featuring another stunning stone fireplace, it was potentially named to honour the momentous occasion in the mid-16th century, when Mary Queen of Scots supposedly stayed at Fordell, after one of her ladies in waiting married a Henderson laird. 

Clan Henderson is thought to have gained ownership of Fordell estate from around 1510 – 1512, when James Henrysoun (Henderson), and his wife Elene, inherited portions of the land, then also purchased further areas. It was officially consolidated into a barony in 1511, granted by King James IV. 

The family showed a great interest in maintaining and improving the castle, extending it in 1566, and rebuilding it in 1568 after it was damaged by a fire.

In the 19th century, the Hendersons built a new home nearby, Fordell House, leading to Fordell Castle being occupied less and less. 

Today, Fordell still stands and is in pristine condition, thanks to Andrew Berry who purchased the land in 1999, and made extensive impressive restorations of the castle. While it is now a private residence, it is still greatly heartening to know that such an iconic bastion of Clan Henderson’s history continues to thrive! 

A few miles west of Aberdour in Fife, stands another, largely forgotten, old home of Clan Henderson.

Otterston Tower is often overshadowed by the grandeur and vast history of Fordell Castle, but it too once served as a striking home for the great Henderson lairds. It is thought to have been built in the early 16th century and is a perfect example of the classic Scottish L-plan tower house. This design suggests that the Hendersons built Otterston with both defence and domestic comfort in mind. With its strong, stone walls, arrow-slit windows, and spiral staircases, it reflected Clan Henderson’s power and status throughout Fife. 

Otterston Castle in 1850

The Hendersons owned Otterston Tower until around 1589, when the Mowbrays of Barnbougle acquired the land, and eventually made several additions and alternations to the castle. However, interestingly, much of the original tower structure remains visible to this day, standing as a reminder of Clan Henderson’s heyday. 

As with Fordell, Otterston is now privately owned and not open to the public, but it continues to stand as a reminder of Clan Henderson’s long and winding history and contains countless nods towards their story. 

Our final Clan Henderson site for today is a bit more unusual!

In an eerily beautiful valley of Glencoe, nestled among rugged hills, stands an unassuming granite boulder known as ‘the Henderson Stone,’ that supposedly played a surprising role in one of Scotland’s deadliest battles, the 1692 massacre of Glencoe. 

While this is of course a legend, so we can’t entirely verify its accuracy, the story is both fascinating and touching.

According to local tradition, a group of Campbell soldiers were billeted with the MacDonalds of Glencoe, enjoying the hospitality of their hosts. However, supposedly the Campbells had orders to kill the MacDonalds the next day, in a betrayal that would go completely against the Highland code of conduct. 

The Henderson Stone by Jason Henderson

The tale goes that one of the Campbell soldiers was wracked with guilt, so found a way to warn the MacDonalds of the impending danger without breaking his oath of loyalty to his chief. He went on a walk with a local MacDonald, then turned and spoke to the stone, cryptically suggesting that if the stone knew what was about to happen, it would flee from its spot in the field.

The MacDonald man understood what was meant by this, and managed to escape, but sadly wasn’t able to alert many others. By the next day, dozens of MacDonalds had been slaughtered, and the massacre became an infamous violation of clan conduct. 

The stone was named to commemorate the Hendersons of Glencoe, who served as hereditary pipers and bodyguards for the MacDonalds, and suffered greatly in the battle. It has been marked by a commemorative plaque since at least the 19th century, and it is now a beloved and peaceful site of reflection for members of both Clan Henderson and Clan MacDonald. 

If you are looking for a quiet, idyllic spot to honour your ancestors, we couldn’t think of anywhere better. 

We hope you have enjoyed exploring a few Clan Henderson sites with us and perhaps feel a bit closer to understanding this fascinating family. Please do get in touch if you know of any other Henderson landmarks, we’d love to hear about your experiences. 

 

If you’d like to learn more about Clan Henderson, head over to our Clan Henderson page and keep an eye out for the rest of our content, as we will be focusing on this intriguing bunch for the whole month! 

Image Sources:

Fordell Castle by Leon Hicks - Leon Hicks, CC BY-SA 4.0

Otterston Castle in 1850 drawing by Internet Archive Book Images - https://www.flickr.com/photos/internetarchivebookimages/14782200175/Source book page: https://archive.org/stream/castellateddomes05macg/castellateddomes05macg#page/n356/mode/1up, No restrictions

View of the stone with fields and hills behind by Jason Henderson, CC BY-SA 2.0