THE 1692 PLANNED JACOBITE RAID ON SLAINS OR DUNNOTTAR CASTLE

Mike Shepherd

While researching my book (with Dacre Stoker) on the history of Slains Castle I came across references to a planned Jacobite raid on either Slains Castle or Dunnottar Castle in 1692. It gets briefly mentioned in the book.

The references come from the Calendar of the Stuart Papers Belonging to His Majesty the King Preserved at Windsor Castle (published in 1902), and I’ll start by quoting large extracts from them. The James II referred to below had been James II of England and James VII of Scotland.

 

James II to Major-General Buchan. Queneville, France. May 1692.

‘Ordering him to march, with such Scots officers and soldiers as are at present with him, from Havre to Dunkirk, where he is to take command not only of those with him but of such others as shall be ordered to attend him, and embark with the same on the frigates appointed to transport him to the North of Scotland, where he is to land at or near the Castle of Denoter [Dunnottar Castle] in the shire of Mearns, or of Slains in Aberdeenshire, or at any other place where he shall think it best to debark, the King not doubting that the foresaid places will on demand be put into his hands to serve for garrisons, if need be, and he is to act according to the further instructions which shall be given him...’

And a later missive:

James II to Lord Keith. Queneville, France. May 1692.

‘Whereas it has pleased God to put us in a condition to return to England... and requiring you to forward the success thereof by declaring for our interest, taking up arms for us, raising the militia, and all others... for which effect we have sent you our commission of colonel, and we further require of you, that, in case it be thought necessary to put a garrison in Slains Castle, you shall deliver it to such troops as Major-General Buchan shall think fit to put thereinto...’

The 1902 text adds the comment ‘With note that a like letter was writ and signed to Lord Erroll to desire him to deliver up Denotar Castle, and both were to have been delivered by Major-General Buchan, but the expedition of La Hogue failing, they were not sent.’

 

James VII / II

Before explaining the context of the planned raid, I’ll point out that James II had mixed up his orders.  Lord Keith (George Keith, Earl Marischal)  was the resident of Dunnottar (‘Denoter’) Castle, whereas it is Lord Erroll (the Earl of Erroll) who was resident at Slains.

James had been both King of England and Scotland up until 1688. That is, until William of Orange turned up in the south of England with an army. James panicked and then fled to France. William had been invited in by English parliamentarians who despised the Stuart king; James having made himself unpopular in both countries by promoting the Catholic faith and through his autocratic approach to both Parliament and numerous official bodies throughout both England and Scotland.

When William and his wife Mary were made joint rulers on the throne in 1689, the first Jacobite rebellion arose and was led by John Graham, Viscount Dundee. The Jacobites subsequently won the Battle of Killiecrankie, although their leader was killed. After that the Jacobite fortunes went into reverse: they lost a battle at Dunkeld in Perthshire and then suffered utter humiliation in May 1690 at Cromdale near Grantown-on-Spey when their camp was ambushed at three o’clock in the morning by government soldiers. The Jacobite commander on this occasion was Thomas Buchan, the Major-General Buchan mentioned in the orders above. The rebellion was now over.

In 1692 France was at war with England and nominally Scotland. James VII in exile in France now persuaded Louis XIV, the French king, to mount an invasion of England in May with the objective of restoring him to the throne. Louis XIV probably liked this idea because the English would have had to move their soldiers from the European theatre of war to defend their homeland.

Troops, mainly Irish exiles, gathered around Cherbourg in Normandy in preparation for the invasion. Their transports required protection by warships, so the French navy was sent for to accompany the transports across the England Channel. It was at this point that Thomas Buchan was ordered to Dunkirk where he was to meet up with the exiled Scots Jacobites who had been sent there to take part in the raid.

The plan came to nothing. An Anglo-Dutch naval force with 82 ships confronted the 40 ships of the French fleet off the Normandy coast.  After both sides received a severe pummelling, the outnumbered French fleet made their escape. Fifteen of their ships, badly damaged, tried to seek refuge at Cherbourg and La Hogue: all were destroyed by the Anglo-Dutch navy.

Badly beaten, the weakened French navy had lost control of the seas to their enemies in the alliance against them. It would have been too dangerous to launch the Jacobite raid on Slains or Dunnottar which was intended to accompany the planned invasion of England.

James VII would now remain a king ‘o’er the water’.

You can find more about the history of Slains Castle in Shepherd and Stoker, 2021: Slains Castle's Secret History.  Available in paperback on Amazon and in local outlets including Cruden Bay Post Office and the nearby shop.