Jacobites

Both Jacobite rebellions affected Keith in different ways. During the 'I 5, the Jacobite army occupied Keith for about 2 months, and looted the town. That the town was on 'war footing' is suggested by the vast store of arms given up under the 'Disarming Act' of 1716 and sent to store in Banff - 634 swords, 91 Dirks, 396 guns and barrels of guns, 15 locks of guns, 219 pistols - and more.

Just before Culloden, a Jacobite Army in Keith met with a number of Hanoverian Campbells, with many Campbell casualties. These were buried in the Old Churchyard in the 'Campbells' Hillock'. But legend supersedes History and leads to the nearby Auld Brig (I 609) and a large flat rock called the Campbells' stone. From it can be seen a narrow opening allegedly the mouth of a tunnel leading down river to the House of Milton, home of part of the Ogilvie family Legend has it that the Prince's part ' carried a chest of coins, designed to pay the army, but because of their own casualties they could not take it with them. It was left in the passage, with one of the Royal Pipers, ordered to remain there till the Prince returned. There he still is and on a winter's night can be heard tuning his pipes for a triumphal march to signal that return. Since the House of Milton now lies between two distilleries, a more mundane explanation may be in order. Personal examination, many years ago, of the tunnel has sho me that it extends only a few feet from the entry, and no traces have ever been found of the treasure.