Battlefields›Trot of Turriff
English Civil War

Trot of Turriff

1639
Aberdeenshire, Scotland
Era
English Civil War
Battle Type
Skirmish
Location
Aberdeenshire, Scotland
Status
Unregistered
The Combatants

Who Fought

Defeated
Covenanters
VS
Victor
Royalists (Marquis of Huntly's forces / Sir George Ogilvy of Banff and other Royalist lairds)
Forces involved

Approximate figures given in secondary accounts: Royalist troops numbering around 1,000 confronted a Covenanter garrison of roughly 400 to 500 at Turriff.

Outcome
Royalist forces routed a Covenanter garrison at Turriff, driving them from the town in disorderly flight; regarded as an early armed clash of the First Bishops' War, though sources differ on whether the earlier February 'Raid of Turriff' or this May engagement (or the associated action at Towie Barclay Castle) constituted the first actual bloodshed of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms.
The Battle

History & Significance

Trot of Turriff was a Civil War skirmish, fought at Aberdeenshire, Scotland in 1639. Royalists (Marquis of Huntly's forces / Sir George Ogilvy of Banff and other Royalist lairds) prevailed over Covenanters. Royalist forces routed a Covenanter garrison at Turriff, driving them from the town in disorderly flight; regarded as an early armed clash of the First Bishops' War, though sources differ on whether the earlier February 'Raid of Turriff' or this May engagement (or the associated action at Towie Barclay Castle) constituted the first actual bloodshed of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms.

Confirmed battlefield location
The ground

The ground they fought on

The site of Trot of Turriff lies on Southern Highland Group, bedrock that formed in the Middle Cambrian. The rock here is psammite and pelite.

Casualties & Losses
  • No specific casualty figures recorded for this engagement; several Covenanters, including Sir George Skene of Skene and Colonel Arthur Forbes of Echt, were captured. A separate, closely associated action at nearby Towie Barclay Castle reportedly produced one gunshot casualty, described by some sources as the first casualty of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms.
Questions & Answers

Frequently Asked Questions

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Everything a full report reveals about Trot of Turriff

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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 Trot of Turriff

North Pitglassie, stone circle 1320m SW of
North Pitglassie, stone circle 1320m SW of
Scheduled monument · Bronze Age · ~4.8 mi

North Pitglassie is a Bronze Age stone circle located in Aberdeenshire, south-west of the settlement from which it takes its name. The monument stands on bedrock belonging to the Southern Highland Group, a geological formation of psammite and pelite that dates to the Middle Cambrian period. This…

King Edward Old Parish Church,church 220m SW of Den Bridge
King Edward Old Parish Church,church 220m SW of Den Bridge
Scheduled monument · Medieval · ~4.9 mi

King Edward Old Parish Church is a medieval church situated 220 metres south-west of Den Bridge in Aberdeenshire, built upon bedrock of the Southern Highland Group formed during the Middle Cambrian period. The underlying geology comprises psammite and pelite, metamorphic rocks that characterise t…

Mains of Hatton, stone circle 575m NNW of
Mains of Hatton, stone circle 575m NNW of
Scheduled monument · Bronze Age · ~5 mi

Mains of Hatton is a Bronze Age stone circle located in Aberdeenshire, standing 575 metres north-north-west of the settlement it is named after. The monument comprises standing stones arranged in a circle, a characteristic ceremonial or ritual structure dating to the Bronze Age period. It is prot…

Eden Castle
Eden Castle
Scheduled monument · ~5.7 mi

Eden Castle is a ruined stronghold located in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The castle dates from the medieval period and survives as fragmentary remains of its fortified structure. Little detailed archaeological or architectural information has been widely published in the mainstream scholarly record…

Upperthird,stone circle 300m W of
Upperthird,stone circle 300m W of
Scheduled monument · Bronze Age · ~7.3 mi

Upperthird Stone Circle is a Bronze Age stone circle located in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, approximately 300 metres west of Upperthird. The monument stands upon bedrock belonging to the Southern Highland Group, metamorphic rocks of Middle Cambrian age composed of psammite and pelite that underlie m…

Bellman's Wood,stone circle
Bellman's Wood,stone circle
Scheduled monument · Bronze Age · ~7.5 mi

Bellman's Wood is a Bronze Age stone circle located in Banffshire, Scotland. The monument stands upon bedrock formed from an Ordovician to Silurian mafic igneous intrusion, creating a foundation of dark, dense rock typical of the region's ancient geology. This substantial geological base has supp…

Boat of Muiresk,circular enclosure 200m N of
Scheduled monument · Post-Medieval · ~1.2 miles
Haughs of Ashogle,circular enclosure 300m WNW of
Scheduled monument · Post-Medieval · ~1.9 miles
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