Relics collected from Culloden Moor in the aftermath of the Battle…

At the time of the Battle of Culloden, Culloden Castle (now Culloden House) was owned by Duncan Forbes, 5th of Culloden. He owned all of Drumossie Moor, and most certainly the land our home now stands on (we live between Culloden House and Culloden Battlefield). This was all part of the Culloden Estate.

Bonnie Prince Charlie took residence in Culloden Castle for three days prior to the battle in 1746. The Jacobites camped all around the grounds. Duncan Forbes, a loyal Hanovarian, fled his Culloden home as the Jacobite army marched closer.

Culloden House was the first place that I worked when I moved to the Highlands in 1990 as a lass aged 22. I remember my time there very well. The Hotel was owned by the MacKenzies at that time, and they had two beautiful Rough Collies which followed them everywhere. My office back then was where the Whisky Bar is now, and there was an arch built into the wall where I would greet guests as they arrived.

On my first day I was shown around by the MacKenzies, and I remember being guided up the main staircase and into a short hallway which contained two guest bedroom doors and also, strangely, a fireplace. Mr MacKenzie explained that these two guest bedrooms used to be one much larger room, and that the fireplace in the hallway used to be part of that room. This had in fact been Duncan Forbes’ room, and subsequently also Prince Charlie’s room, where he’d slept for the three nights preceding the Battle.

In the photos below, you can see some bed-hangings in a gold frame, which were from the bed used by Prince Charlie. This frame hangs in the foyer at Culloden House, and it is one of the first things guests see when they enter the building.

The black and white photo of the bedroom included below right was taken in 1897, so the bed-hangings shown there are not the same as those from 150 years earlier. The space to the left of the large four poster bed later became partitioned off to form the hallway mentioned above, which of course contained the fireplace also shown in the photo. The fireplace has since been removed at the insistence of Health and Safety Executives, so the hallway is now just a normal hallway without a fireplace.

I always remembered that conversation with the MacKenzies with so much clarity, though I couldn’t have known at the time just how important Culloden House would become to my future.

The Prince’s bed (above right) was the most expensive item sold in the Culloden House Auction, making an incredible £750 back in 1897 (equivalent to approximately £130K today). You can see this listing in the Auction Catalogue below.

Relics collected from the Battlefield…

As the site of the battle was on the Culloden Estate, many items were collected from the battlefield in the aftermath and taken back to Culloden Castle. These items were held in storage until eventually being sold in Auction when the House was sold in 1897. You can see these relics below. The official sale catalogue, of which we own a copy, contains many pages of items collected from the Battlefield.

We were recently contacted by a gentleman, Tim Coleman, who owns one of these incredible relics. The cannonball below was fired during the Battle of Culloden and is one of those in the above photos. This magnificent cannonball was purchased in the 1897 Auction by Tim’s family and passed on to him at the age of 10 by his Great Grandmother, along with her copy of the Auction Catalogue (photo below left). The Auction Catalogue has a tartan cover and the dates 1745 – 1897. The record of the sale of this item to their family is listed in the Catalogue. What an incredible piece of history, and to be the custodian of this piece from the age of 10 is quite something.

The two below photos are copyright to Tim Coleman, the owner of this magnificent cannonball, fired at the Battle of Culloden in 1746. They have been shared in this post with his permission. Thank you Tim!

The Leanach Cottage Cannonball…

During the Battle of Culloden, one cannonball lodged into the side of Leanach Cottage, which sits on the Battlefield itself. This cannonball was also one of those taken to Culloden Castle and sold in the 1897 Auction. You can see the listing in the Auction Catalogue below. “A Cannon Ball, taken out of the Turf Wall of the Farm House of Leanach, on the Battlefield”. This same cannonball sold for a second time in 2025, and this time for £19K.

Items owned by us relating to Culloden…

We have many items associated with Culloden House. They include a set of pewter meat domes which include the Forbes of Culloden Crest. These were made for Duncan Forbes 5th of Culloden during the early 18th century by Hammerman Thomas Simpson – you can read about the domes and learn about Thomas’s life here.

We have the original Commission of John Forbes of Culloden (Duncan’s son), Brigadier, into the Royal Company of Archers, dated 1748. We also have letters to John Forbes of Culloden dated 1762, from a wealthy Inverness man.

We have Arthur’s Forbes’ Commission into the Inverness Volunteers dated 1797, correctly sealed and signed by King George III. Arthur was Duncan’s grandson, and son to John mentioned in the paragraph above. Arthur commissioned renowned Architect William Adam to rebuild Culloden House between 1772 and 1788. In typical Adam’s style, the walls and dungeons of the old castle, which had lain partially derelict since 1753, were incorporated into the new Georgian outer walls. Thus Culloden House has the history of the former castle hidden everywhere…

The items mentioned above are just a few of the antiques we treasure which relate to Culloden House. We also own two items listed in the Culloden House Auction Catalogue, which we save specifically for our tours. We welcome our multi-day tour guests into our Culloden home where they can see each of these items personally. It really brings the history alive.

On our Seven Day Outlander Tour, a visit to our home is followed by a visit to Culloden House, where we show you the hidden history, before you sit down to enjoy a wonderful Afternoon Tea in their magnificent Adams Drawing Room.

The final goodbye to the Forbes of Culloden…

You might be wondering why all the contents of Culloden House were put up for Auction in 1897. Well, Culloden House had been owned by generations of the Forbes family from 1626 until 1897 – a total of 271 years. The final Laird of Culloden, Duncan Forbes, pictured below right, died in Culloden House on 8th April 1897. He was unmarried and had no children. With no one to take over the Culloden Estate, everything went up for sale.

Culloden House subsequently changed hands a few times after 1897 and became a private hotel. We have some of the original adverts for its sale, dating back to the 1960s.

Below left – the first Duncan Forbes of Culloden – 1626.
Below centre – Duncan Forbes (1685–1747), 5th of Culloden, who owned the Castle at the time of the Battle of Culloden. This painting hangs in Inverness Town House.
Below right – the final Duncan Forbes of Culloden, who died at Culloden House on 8th April 1897.

In 1881 the final Laird, photo above right, had the Cairn built on the Battlefield, and the Clan gravestone markers placed upon the mass graves there, as a tribute to the Jacobite soldiers who died in the Battle of Culloden on 16 April 1746.