Battlefields›Battle of Glenrinnes 1594

Tudor

Battle of Glenrinnes 1594

Q: When did Battle of Glenrinnes 1594 take place?

Battle of Glenrinnes 1594 took place in 1594, in Banffshire, Scotland. The Catholic earls won a decisive victory over the much larger royal army, but with no outside support they subsequently fled Scotland; King James VI later had Huntly's and Erroll's castles demolished. HES records that no organised pursuit followed the battle ('both parties severed of their own accords, without the pursuit of any chase'), which contradicts the previous database description of a separate government patrol being ambushed and driven off afterward in Strath Avon.

1594

Banffshire, Scotland

Era

Tudor

Battle Type

Pitched Battle

Location

Banffshire, Scotland

Status

Unregistered

The Combatants

Who Fought

Defeated

Protestant royal army under Archibald Campbell, 7th Earl of Argyll

Victor

Catholic Earls (George Gordon, 6th Earl of Huntly, and Francis Hay, 9th Earl of Erroll)

Forces involved

Huntly's Catholic force: approximately 1,500-2,000 men (Gordon, Hay, Gomyn and Cameron clansmen) with cavalry and six cannon. Argyll's Protestant/royal force: approximately 6,000-7,400 men, including Highland levies from several clans, 500 Irish arquebusiers and 400 men from Atholl (figures vary between sources).

Outcome

The Catholic earls won a decisive victory over the much larger royal army, but with no outside support they subsequently fled Scotland; King James VI later had Huntly's and Erroll's castles demolished. HES records that no organised pursuit followed the battle ('both parties severed of their own accords, without the pursuit of any chase'), which contradicts the previous database description of a separate government patrol being ambushed and driven off afterward in Strath Avon.

The Battle

History & Significance

Battle of Glenrinnes 1594 was a Tudor pitched battle between opposing field armies, fought at Banffshire, Scotland in 1594. Catholic Earls (George Gordon, 6th Earl of Huntly, and Francis Hay, 9th Earl of Erroll) prevailed over Protestant royal army under Archibald Campbell, 7th Earl of Argyll. The Catholic earls won a decisive victory over the much larger royal army, but with no outside support they subsequently fled Scotland; King James VI later had Huntly's and Erroll's castles demolished. HES records that no organised pursuit followed the battle ('both parties severed of their own accords, without the pursuit of any chase'), which contradicts the previous database description of a separate government patrol being ambushed and driven off afterward in Strath Avon.

Confirmed battlefield location

The ground

The ground they fought on

The site of Battle of Glenrinnes 1594 lies on Appin Group, bedrock that formed in the Neoproterozoic. The rock here is marble, meta-limestone.

Casualties & Losses

Historic Environment Scotland: Huntly's side lost around 70 killed including 12 landed gentlemen; Argyll's side lost 300-400 men, though Argyll's own report claimed only about 50 dead. Wikipedia gives approximately 500 Protestant dead and 14 Catholic gentlemen slain.

Questions & Answers

Frequently Asked Questions

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Everything a full report reveals about Battle of Glenrinnes 1594

This page covers Battle of Glenrinnes 1594. A full Aubrey report for the area pulls together this battle alongside scheduled monuments and everything else the record holds within a few miles:

Overview

An interactive map of the location with every monument and battle plotted, and a plain-language history built only from what the record holds.

Monuments

The legally protected scheduled monuments around the location, each with its period, type and significance.

Battlefields

The battles and sieges fought on this ground, mapped and set on a timeline of the wider conflict.

Roman Britain

The Roman roads, forts and towns near here, and the Iron Age people who held the land before Rome arrived.

Stat Accounts

The parish Statistical Accounts of the 1790s and 1830s, describing life, work and population here.

Civil War

The Civil War fighting, garrisons and recorded militaria in this area, woven into the arc of 1642 to 1651.

Geology

The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back hundreds of millions of years.

Local Names

What the street and field names around here actually mean, and the history buried inside them.

Historical Maps

Ordnance Survey maps from the 1800s, layered over the location as it stands today.

Literature

The books, county histories, charters and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.

Legal

The protected sites nearby and the metal-detecting, access and treasure laws that apply to this ground.

Spotlight

A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.

Target Zones

For detectorists: the most promising ground to search nearby, ranked by confidence, with what to expect.

Timeline

The whole story of the location told era by era, from prehistory to the present day.

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Protected heritage nearby

Scheduled Monuments near Battle of Glenrinnes 1594

Blairfindy Castle,20m N of Castleton

Scheduled monument · Medieval · ~3.1 mi

Blairfindy Castle is a medieval fortified structure located approximately 20 metres north of Castleton in Banffshire, Scotland. The castle represents a modest stronghold of the medieval period, constructed to control and protect interests in the locality. The surviving remains are fragmentary, re…

Drumin Castle

Scheduled monument · ~4 mi

Drumin Castle is a late medieval fortified residence located in Banffshire, in the northeast of Scotland. The castle dates to the fifteenth century and represents the domestic architecture of the Scottish landed gentry during the late medieval period. The structure survives as a tower house of mo…

Andrew Stuart / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons

Knock,souterrain 200m NNE of

Scheduled monument · Iron Age · ~6.1 mi

Knock souterrain is an Iron Age underground stone-built passage located near Knock in Banffshire, north-east Scotland. Situated 200 metres north-north-east of the settlement, the souterrain represents a distinctive form of prehistoric architecture found throughout northern Britain, typically dati…

Pitchroy, stone circle 240m NNE of

Scheduled monument · Bronze Age · ~7 mi

Pitchroy is a Bronze Age stone circle located in Morayshire, Scotland, situated 240 metres north-north-east of the settlement from which it takes its name. The monument is protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM1218. Stone circles of this type were constructed during the Bro…

Mortlach, Battle Stone, symbol stone

Scheduled monument · ~7.7 mi

Mortlach Battle Stone is a symbol stone located in Banffshire, Scotland, protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM350. The monument belongs to a class of carved stones that were erected across northern Britain during the early medieval period, typically associated with signifi…

Auchindoun Castle, castle and fort

Scheduled monument · Iron Age · ~8 mi

Auchindoun Castle is a castle and fort situated in Banffshire, Scotland, occupying a commanding position that has been fortified across multiple periods of occupation. The site demonstrates evidence of Iron Age settlement, with later medieval and early modern structures built upon or near the pre…

Deskie Castle

Scheduled monument · ~3.1 miles

Doune of Dalmore, cairn and stone circle

Scheduled monument · Bronze Age · ~4 miles

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Battles near Battle of Glenrinnes 1594

Alltacoileachan

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Battle of Glenlivet, 1594 (Argyll's Northern Campaign)

Battle of Glenlivet (Second)

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~1.7 miles away

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