Knock Castle is a four-story ruined tower house in Aberdeenshire dating from approximately 1600. The rectangular keep strongly resembles that of a Borders pele tower. The external walls of the castle survive intact, although the tower is roofless. An unusual feature at Knock are the defensive shot holes, for pistols, under each of the numerous windows, each of these having a defensive grate protecting them. The shot holes are all angled to the ground, with the center one pointing forward and the two outer holes pointing slightly askew. The Castle sits in a strong position on a knoll in a field on the south side of Craig of the Knock, at the entrance to Glen Muick.
Knock Castle was granted to the Gordons of Abergeldie by the 4th Earl of Huntly, after the battle of Corrichie. Fought on the 28 October 1562, the Gordons were defeated by the forces of Mary, Queen of Scots during her suppression of the rebellious Huntly.
A feud between the neighboring clan, the Forbes, intensified when Henry Gordon, the 2nd Laird of Knock, was murdered during a raid by the Forbes and Clan Chattan men. His brother Alexander Gordon succeeded Henry. It is said that one day, when Alexander sent his seven sons out to cut peat for the winter store, the brothers are said to have strayed onto the Forbes Clan lands, when after several hours cutting were discovered by the Forbes and his men. A battle ensued, by the end of which all the brothers were killed. After the affray the Forbes decided to make an example of the Gordons. They severed the heads of the brothers and impaled them on their peat spades. After a while, concerned about the whereabouts of his sons, the Laird sent out one of his servants with a meal for the boys to look for them. When the boy’s heads were discovered the servant, distraught, ran back to Knock with the news of what had transpired that day. Upon hearing the news, Alexander Gordon collapsed at the top of the turnpike stair and tumbled to his death. The Forbes Laird was then taken and executed and all his lands were forfeited to Abergeldie.
