Tillycairn was granted by Alexander, Lord Gordon, to James Forbes in 1444. The L-plan tower is thought to have been begun in 1538 when William Forbes married Elizabeth Keith. Work continued for David Lumsden to whom it passed in 1542, and in 1548 the Queen Regent granted him lands formerly belonging to John Strachan of Lynturk in recompense for damage done during a raid by the latter in 1544. Tillycairn was ruinous as early as 1722 (charred beam ends suggest it was destroyed by fire), and it remained so until purchased and restored in the 1970’s by David Lumsden, a descendant of the Cushnie branch of the family.
Tillycairn has a harled Craigievar pink exterior under a slate roof. Tillycairn has been carefully restored retaining the character and architectural integrity of the original structure with rounded corners, circular staircase tower and corbelled cylindrical turrets.
