Cannonball and beakers bought for Culloden battlefield centre

A cannonball and two silver beakers that once belonged to supporters of Bonnie Prince Charlie have been added to Culloden Battlefield Visitor Centre’s collection of artefacts.

The pieces were owned by the Ogilvys, an Angus family also known as the Earls of Airlie, that fought for the prince’s Jacobite army at the Battle of Culloden.

The Jacobites were defeated by government forces in the battle, which was fought near Inverness on 16 April 1746.

The National Trust for Scotland (NTS), which runs the centre, bought the items at auction and they are to be displayed in Montrose before being taken to Culloden.

The trust said it used a “generous donation” to help it buy the iron cannonball for £18,900 and the French-made beakers for £17,640.

The cannonball has an ornamental silver collar with the engraved words and date: “Ogilvy Culloden 16th April 1746”.

The beakers feature the Ogilvy coat of arms and an engraved heraldic crest for Col David Ogilvy, one of Prince Charles Edward Stuart’s closest advisers.

The colonel’s wife, Margaret, accompanied him during the Jacobites’ campaign of 1745 and 1746 up until just before Culloden.

She was taken prisoner in Inverness and sent to Edinburgh, but managed to escape in November 1746.

She was eventually reunited with Col Ogilvy in France.

After the Battle of Culloden, he had escaped to Scandinavia before joining the French army.

NTS curator for the Highlands and Islands, Rosalyn Goulding, said the auction had offered the trust an “exceptional opportunity” to add to the visitor centre’s collection.

She said: “These pieces are very special and thanks to the support of a generous donor, we were able to secure them at auction and save them for the nation.”

Specialists in Edinburgh are preparing the cannonball and beakers for display.

They are to feature in an exhibition about Angus and the Jacobites at Montrose Museum, before going on permanent display at the Culloden Battlefield Visitor Centre in late 2026.

Operations manager Gail Cleaver said: “These fantastic pieces with their incredible connection to the Battle of Culloden will help us tell the story of Culloden in an even more compelling way.”