Historic Scotland, Autumn 2014

Castle cameos on the silver screen 44 GREAT EVENTS

INSIDE

THE MAGAZINE FOR HISTORIC SCOTLAND MEMBERS AUTUMN 2014

FANTASY OR FACT?

The real stories behind our gruesome legends

MY DAY IN COSTUME AT STIRLING CASTLE

TALL TALES

Scottish Ten experts scale new heights in Nagasaki

DISCOVER FORTROSE CATHEDRAL TANTALLON CASTLE BLACKNESS CASTLE URQUHART CASTLE STIRLING CASTLE DOUNE CASTLE FORT GEORGE

Highland adventure Perfect views, handsome ruins and fascinating stories WITH HELP FROM OUR HANDY VISITOR APP

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Mon 27 April to Sat 9 May

CALL 0131 529 6000 OR VISIT OUR WEBSITE edtheatres Registered Charity SCO18605

com TO BOOK

Welcome to

CLAIRE BOWIE Membership & CRM Manager

CHRISTMAS

Autumn can be the time to curl up with a good book or film and the latest issue of Historic Scotland is a welcome reminder that the properties in our care have many interesting tales to tell.

We’ve picked out a few grounded in reality and in the realms of fantasy, as we look at the filming of the big-budget television series Outlander at Doune and Blackness castles.

Their onscreen appearances are just the latest in a long line of Historic Scotland cinematic cameos.

Of course, you don’t always need a big cast and production crew to put an imaginative twist on historical events. As Halloween fast approaches, Steve Farrar discovers how legends surrounding witchcraft and the supernatural can add an important dimension to people and places.

Similarly sharing a few stories and taking on something of a theatrical role for a day is Fiona McKinlay, joining the costumed interpreters at Stirling Castle. She gets into character as Lady Huntly while holding court in the palace’s public rooms.

We also remember the sacrifice of Scots during the First World War as Chris Tabraham takes us on a tour of the stained glass panels in the Scottish National War Memorial.

So much of the vibrancy of Scotland’s history lies in a talent for storytelling – whether through art, architecture or folklore.

We hope that this season you’ll take the opportunity to create a few adventures for yourself, in familiar haunts, or pastures new.

MEMBERSHIP OFFER

HISTORIC SCOTLAND

MALCOLM COCHRANE

Visit the castles of TV’s Outlander P20

2

Meet 16th-century residents of Stirling Castle P38

3

Get spooked at Fortrose Cathedral P44

4

Explore the Highlands with our new app P26

5

Dirleton and Duff House have Christmas sorted P7

JACK KIBBLE!WHITE A Highland adventure (p26) Former editor of this very magazine, Jack has written several books and now works in programme development at Thames Television.

SEE PAGE 47

5 big things to see and do this issue 1

Contributors

A starring role for Blackness Castle

CHRIS TABRAHAM Lest we forget (p32) Chris retired as Historic Scotland’s Principal Historian in 2010, is an expert on medieval archaeology and has visited all 345 sites.

STEVE FARRAR Truth or scare (p44) Former commissioning editor of the Times Higher Education Supplement, Steve is now an Interpretation Officer with Historic Scotland.

WWW.HISTORIC!SCOTLAND.GOV.UK 1

HISTORIC SCOTLAND

Castle cameos on the silver screen 44 GREAT EVENTS

INSIDE

AUTUMN 2014

LOOK INSIDE HISTORIC SCOTLAND AUTUMN 2014

THE MAGAZINE FOR HISTORIC SCOTLAND MEMBERS AUTUMN 2014

FANTASY OR FACT?

MY DAY IN COSTUME AT STIRLING CASTLE

The real stories behind our gruesome legends

TALL TALES

Scottish Ten experts scale new heights in Nagasaki

DISCOVER

WWW.HISTORIC%SCOTLAND.GOV.UK/MEMBER

FORTROSE CATHEDRAL TANTALLON CASTLE BLACKNESS CASTLE URQUHART CASTLE STIRLING CASTLE DOUNE CASTLE FORT GEORGE

PLAN YOUR

Highland adventure

Perfect views, handsome ruins and fascinating stories

WITH HELP FROM OUR HANDY VISITOR APP

00_HS_aut14_COVER1_FIN.indd 1

21/08/2014 09:28

Headquarters Historic Scotland Longmore House, Salisbury Place Edinburgh EH9 1SH www.historic-scotland.gov.uk Membership enquiries 0131 668 8999 hs.members@scotland.gsi.gov.uk Editorial enquiries hs.magazine@scotland.gsi.gov.uk Membership & CRM Manager Claire Bowie Assistant Membership Manager Morag Paterson Acting Editor Fiona McKinlay fiona.mckinlay@thinkpublishing.co.uk Editor Kathleen Morgan kathleen.morgan@thinkpublishing. co.uk Design Matthew Ball, Katherine Pentney, Alistair McGown Sub-editors Sian Campbell, Sam Bartlett, Chris Tait, Kirsty Fortune Advertising Sales Daniel Haynes daniel.haynes@thinkpublishing.co.uk 0208 962 1257 Publisher John Innes john.innes@thinkpublishing.co.uk Think Suite 2.3, Red Tree Business Suites, 33 Dalmarnock Road, Glasgow G40 4LA 0141 375 0504 Photography All images provided by Historic Scotland unless otherwise stated. For access to images of Scotland and our properties, call 0131 668 8647/8785, email hs.images@scotland.gsi.gov.uk, or visit www.historicscotlandimages.gov.uk Historic Scotland is an Agency within the Scottish Government and is directly responsible to Scottish Ministers for safeguarding the nation’s historic environment and promoting its understanding and enjoyment.

Historic Scotland is published four times a year, and is printed on UPM Finesse, which is made from pulp sourced from sustainable materials.

The views expressed in the magazine do not necessarily reflect those of Historic Scotland. All information is correct at the time of going to press. © Historic Scotland. All rights reserved.

Reproduction in part or in whole is prohibited without prior agreement of the Membership and CRM Manager and Historic Scotland.

20 | Field work: Sam Heughan as Jamie Fraser in Outlander 2 HISTORIC SCOTLAND

04 | Her Majesty The Queen at Edinburgh Castle

ALAMY

Cover: Urquhart Castle

50

50 | Remembering WW1

EVENTS

Spooky sessions for Halloween, an invitation to Christmas dinner, and much more across Scotland

32 | A glass memorial

26 | The only way is app REGULARS

PLACES TO VISIT

THIS AUTUMN

Ring of Brodgar P48

Fort George P30 Duff House P7

Stirling Castle P38

21 | Meet Renaissance Man

38 | Rock and role

Blackness Castle P20

Tantallon Castle P18

4 THE SCRIPT News and updates including a royal visit and Tantallon dig 49 MEMBERSHIP 50 EVENTS 56 GUESS THE YEAR FEATURES

20 AS SEEN ON SCREEN With new TV series ‘Outlander’ filming at Blackness and Doune, we look back at some of Historic Scotland’s biggest stars 26 A HIGHLAND ADVENTURE Jack Kibble-White heads to Urquhart Castle, Fortrose Cathedral and Fort George 32 LEST WE FORGET The stories behind the

stained glass windows in Scotland’s National War Memorial 38 MY DAY AS A COSTUMED INTERPRETER Fiona McKinlay becomes a 16th century noblewoman at Stirling Castle 44 TRUTH OR SCARE Separating fact from fiction in some of our properties’ tales of witches, ghosts and ghoulish goings-on WWW.HISTORIC!SCOTLAND.GOV.UK 3

SCRIPT THE

PEOPLE, PLACES, RESEARCH, COMPETITIONS, AND MORE…

INCLUDING

The trouble with rhododendrons New shopping experiences at Duff and Dirleton Dane’s Stone restored after February downpour Win Scotland’s Heritage postcard books

Her Majesty The Queen meets the team from Historic Scotland

QUEEN OPENS MEMORIAL SPACE

EVENTS Monarch inaugurates garden area for contemplation honouring Scottish war casualties A COLLABORATIVE project between Historic Scotland and the trustees of the Scottish National War Memorial in the grounds of Edinburgh Castle received a royal unveiling earlier this summer.

Her Majesty The Queen officially opened a new area of contemplation within the existing Memorial Gardens while she and the Duke of Edinburgh were present to attend the 87th Annual Commemoration Service.

4 HISTORIC SCOTLAND

It was the culmination of 12 months’ work to mark the sacrifice and centenary of the First World War, and create a sympathetic addition to the Sir Robert Lorimer-designed Scottish National War Memorial, which was originally opened in 1927.

The new area enhances visitor access and introduces features such as polished stone benches inspired by Lorimer’s conceptual sketches and paving reclaimed from the

castle and across Edinburgh.

Following the inauguration, the Queen was presented with a cast resin-bronze replica of Seraphiel, one of the four archangels guarding the shrine casket that contains the Roll of Honour in the memorial’s hall.

Head of Conservation for Edinburgh David Storrar said: ‘We were honoured and privileged to be involved with this project. The team of architects, works managers, stonemasons, gardeners and a

blacksmith had to complete all site works within three months while the castle remained open to visitors; a challenge which was met by a cooperative effort from all. The intention was to create a sensitively designed addition to the garden, where visitors will be able to sit for a moment of contemplation.’

LOOKING BACK Visit www.scotlandsfirstworldwar. org for more on Historic Scotland’s World War One commemorations

CATHEDRAL CREATIONS

DISPLAY

Centenary of Dunblane additions is celebrated

THE stalls, organ case and reredos screen at Dunblane Cathedral are being brought to the attention of visitors this year as it is one hundred years since they were added.

Designed by Robert Lorimer, the choir stalls represent the story of ‘creation’. The reredos screen commemorates Bishop Robert Leighton, who founded the Leighton Library by leaving his collection of books and manuscripts to the cathedral after his death in 1684. The screen depicts the seven acts of mercy from Matthew 25:35 - visiting the prisoner; receiving the stranger; giving drink to the thirsty; clothing the naked; visiting the sick; feeding the hungry; and burying the dead.

AN UPDATE ON FUTURE PLANS SHUTTERSTOCK

MERGER

Parliamentary progress

THE MAIN ATTRACTION

RECOGNITION Edinburgh and Stirling castles shortlisted for award

EDINBURGH Castle and Stirling Castle have been shortlisted in the Best UK Heritage Attraction category of the 2014 British Travel Awards which is the UK’s largest consumer-voted awards programme.

The castles are the only Scottish attractions in the running for the prestigious award and have been

shortlisted alongside Arundel Castle in West Sussex, the Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland and the National Maritime Museum in Cornwall.

Edinburgh Castle has won the award for the past three years. The winner is voted for by the public and voting is open until 30 September.

More than 1 million votes

were cast for last year’s awards, and the winners of the 2014 British Travel Awards will be announced at a ceremony on 26 November in London.

June by the Scottish Parliament, and can now proceed through further stages of parliamentary scrutiny towards royal assent.

Scottish ministers will shortly seek to appoint a chair and up to 11 members to the board, ahead of HES taking up its role in October 2015.

During the parliamentary debate, Cabinet Secretary for Culture and External Affairs Fiona Hyslop announced that grant funding for Scotland’s historic environment should remain at the current level of around £14.5 million next year.

VOTE NOW To vote for Edinburgh or Stirling Castle to win the Best UK Heritage Attraction Award at the 2014 British Travel Awards visit www.britishtravelawards.com

Will Stirling Castle knock Edinburgh off the podium this year?

THE planned formation of Historic Environment Scotland (HES), bringing together Historic Scotland and the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS), has made further progress.

The Historic Environment Scotland Bill was debated last

WWW.HISTORIC!SCOTLAND.GOV.UK 5

THE SCRIPT

The 50m-tall Nagasaki Giant Cantilever Crane

LAST LAP FOR SCOTTISH TEN

HERITAGE

The experts behind an ambitious 3D-scanning project tell Kathleen Morgan about the high life TOWERING above Nagasaki harbour in Japan, the giant cantilever crane commands attention.

At 50m tall, the structure can lift 152-tonne loads.

Peer more closely, though, and you just might see tiny figures clambering across its girders, as the final chapter of the Scottish Ten unfolds.

The Nagasaki Giant Cantilever Crane is to be digitally scanned by a team of experts as part of an initiative to record for future generations five Scottish world heritage sites and five international landmarks. The crane, designed by the Glasgow Electric Crane and Hoist Company and built in 1909 by the Motherwell Bridge Company, is the last location in

an impressive line-up including the Sydney Opera House, Mount Rushmore and the Antonine Wall.

Over the next few months, the devil will be in the detail for six experts from the Centre for Digital Documentation and Visualisation – a partnership between Historic Scotland and Glasgow School of Art’s Digital Design Studio (DDS).

Dr Lyn Wilson and Alastair Rawlinson will lead the work in Japan, negotiating with the crane’s owners, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.

‘We will be completely hands on,’ said Dr Wilson, the Scottish Ten project manager.

‘We can access many areas of the crane and we’re going to be in harnesses at all times, but we have sufficient training to

do that. There are lots of areas where we’ll be clambering all over this crane.’

The Scottish Ten team has worked closely with ropeaccess experts to help scan the more inaccessible areas of each location, from the US presidents’ heads hewn from rock at Mount Rushmore, South Dakota, to the 27m-deep Rani-ki-Vav step well in India.

Dr Wilson said: ‘It’s important that when we go to a foreign country we make sure we adhere to our own health and safety guidelines.

At Mount Rushmore we were standing on the presidents’

heads and at their chins, but we were also working with rope-access teams.’

Alastair Rawlinson, the head of digital acquisition at DDS, added: ‘While we do 99 per cent of the scanning work, we can also use rope workers, remotely controlling their scanners and equipment.’

The team get as close as safely possible to every Scottish Ten project – often wearing harnesses and clambering at great heights.

‘There is a concrete spine that runs up the top of each of the shells on Sydney Opera House and Al did spend two

MOUNT RUSHMORE South Dakota, USA

ST KILDA Outer Hebrides, Scotland

CITY OF EDINBURGH Scotland

When we’re on site we run on adrenaline DR LYN WILSON

WHAT A LINE!UP

Nine of the Scottish Ten locations have been scanned since 2009

6 HISTORIC SCOTLAND

NEW LANARK South Lanarkshire, Scotland

ORKNEY Orkney islands, Scotland

RANI-KI-VAV Gujarat, India

EASTERN QING TOMBS near Zunhua, China

THE SCRIPT

ASSESSING DAMAGE AT ART SCHOOL

Fire devastated the Mackintosh building

CONSERVATION A DRAMATIC fire at the Glasgow School of Art’s iconic Mackintosh building on 23 May this year caused significant damage to the west wing of the A-listed property.

The fire service was able to limit the impact,

ensuring 90 per cent of the exterior and 70 per cent of the interior remained intact. Along with colleagues in RCAHMS, Historic Scotland was on site immediately to assist with assessment and documentation of the damage and to provide technical conservation advice. Over the last two months the building has been carefully consolidated in preparation for the work of restoration which will shortly begin.

CDDV, JAMIE WILLIAMS

Alastair Rawlinson (right) navigates the Sydney Opera House

weeks sitting at the very apex of each of those concrete spines,’ said Dr Wilson.

Besides the Nagasaki crane, the Scottish Ten team will also help digitally document the tiny Hashima Island, once inhabited by 5,000 coal miners and their families, and more recently used as a location for the James Bond film Skyfall. The project will involve long days – and nights – of gruelling work. ‘When we’re on site we’re running on adrenaline the whole time,’ said Dr Wilson. ‘We’re on set as long as daylight allows and often afterwards, because our scanners work in the dark.’

Once the scanning ends in June, the team will analyse the data captured. Then the hard work will really begin.

ANTONINE WALL Scotland

SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE Sydney, Australia

You’re spoilt for choice at Dirleton

PAST AND PRESENTS RETAIL Gift shops at Dirleton Castle and Duff House get a revamp DIRLETON CASTLE has relaunched its shop with an emphasis on contemporary gifts and independent suppliers.

New stockists include St Andrews Pottery; Miss IntegriTea; Earth Squared, which makes Fair Trade tweed handbags; the Country Candle Company; and the Whisky Sauce Company, whose sauces are made from 100 per cent natural ingredients in Tayside.

The castle opened the doors Just one of the gifts available at Dirleton on its new retail offering on

Sunday 13 July. A piper welcomed guests into the gift shop at a special launch event where visitors were treated to a preview of the new ranges as well as prize giveaways.

Meanwhile, the gift shop at Duff House has also been given a fresh new look. Its new range of products includes jewellery, knitwear and a selection of items with an upstairs, downstairs theme, including retro kitchenware, books, mugs and watches.

WWW.HISTORIC!SCOTLAND.GOV.UK 7

THE SCRIPT

One of last year’s top entries: Caerlaverock Castle

TIME TO FOCUS

PHOTOGRAPHY

Our 2014 competition is still open, so to have a chance of winning an iPad mini, get snapping

HOW TO ENTER Each entry should be labelled with your name, address, telephone number, membership number and email address, and the name of the property where the picture was taken. You must be 8 or over to enter and all entries by under-16s should be marked accordingly.

Email your entry to hs.photos@ thinkpublishing.co.uk, or send digital images on a CD to Historic Scotland Photography Competition, Think, Suite 2.3, Red Tree Business Suites, 33 Dalmarnock Road, Glasgow G40 4LA. The closing date is 17 October. Winners will be announced in the spring 2015 issue of Historic Scotland.

STIRLING CHRISTMAS SHOPPING

RETAIL Stunning gifts and decorations at the castle this winter FOR the first time, Historic Scotland is launching its very own Christmas shop at Stirling Castle. Situated on the Esplanade in the former White House, the store called Clan and Christmas is due to open at the beginning of October, and will boast a wide range of Christmas decorations and stunning Scottish gifts.

PRIZES TO BE WON

These will be arranged in themes – Shades of Red, Snowy Winter, Christmas Fun and Christmas Dinner – to help you coordinate your own gifts and displays. The Clan and Christmas store decorator will also be hosting workshops on

8 HISTORIC SCOTLAND

decorating your home. There will be a range of hampers, local food and drink products, and regular tastings so you can try before you buy.

TO FIND OUT MORE www.stirlingcastle.gov.uk

Category winners each receive a year’s renewal membership and the overall winner will also receive an iPad mini. Some of the photographs taken by entrants to the competition may feature in a future Historic Scotland calendar.

GRANT GLENDINNING

CATEGORIES JUNIOR Photographs taken in and around Historic Scotland properties by children under the age of 16.

PROPERTIES Shots of, or showing individual features of castles, cathedrals, chapels, barracks, mills, or any other properties under Historic Scotland’s care.

WILDLIFE Snaps of the natural world in and around our properties.

RULES 1. An entrant can submit a maximum of three photographs.

2. Entries must be taken in or near Historic Scotland locations.

3. All images must be submitted as digital files.

4. Digital images should be high resolution and submitted by email or on CD. Each image should not exceed 6MB in size.

5. Images may be enhanced only to remove spots or scratches.

6. All entries are sent at the photographer’s risk and Historic Scotland cannot accept liability for damage or loss. Entries will not be returned to entrants. All photographs must be legally obtained, with permission if appropriate.

7. Entrants must be the sole author and owner of copyright for all images entered.

8. Copyright in all images submitted for this competition remains with the respective entrants. Where an image is used in the magazine or Historic Scotland calendar, the photographer will be credited. However, in consideration of entering the competition, each entrant grants Historic Scotland a licence to feature competition images on the website or in the publication or promotional material connected to Historic Scotland.

9. The competition is not open to employees of Historic Scotland or Think.

10. Winners will be notified by 10 April 2015.

11. Historic Scotland reserves the right to cancel this competition or alter any of the rules, if necessary.

12. If the winner is unable to be contacted after reasonable attempts, Historic Scotland reserves the right to either offer the prize to a runner-up or to reoffer the prize in any future competition.

13. These rules are governed by the laws of Scotland.

14. The decision of the judges is final.

15. The first prize includes an iPad mini.

The prize is subject to availability. If, for any reason, it becomes unavailable we reserve the right to supply a suitable alternative prize of similar value.

16. Entrants must be a Historic Scotland member or, in the Junior category, their parent/ guardian must be a Historic Scotland member.

17. Historic Scotland photos submitted for the competition may be featured in Historic Scotland’s calendars.

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£50

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PURE BY NATURE. AWARD WINNING SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY FROM THE ISLE OF ARRAN.

San Francisco World Spirits Awards – Double Gold Medal, Islands

San Francisco World Spirits Awards – Gold Medal, Islands

Distillery & Visitor Centre Lochranza, Isle of Arran KA27 8HJ Tel: +44 (0) 1770 830264 www.arranwhisky.com

THE SCRIPT

EXPERTS DEBATE CONSERVATION CONFERENCE Looking towards a sustainable future Historic Scotland Conservation Directorate’s yearly conference will take place on 30 September and 1 October.

Experts from around the globe will gather at the conference, titled Towards a Sustainable Historic Environment, to discuss issues such as energy performance, retrofit guidance and research.

The Technical Research Team will launch three new publications at the event.

Short Guide 9: Climate Change Adaptation describes the adaptations that traditional buildings might need to undergo to withstand the more extreme weather variations that are a result of climate change.

Flood Management and Climate Change have also been added to our INFORM guide series.

A GREAT DANE

RESTORATION Fallen stone stands again THE iconic Dane’s Stone in Moulin near Pitlochry – which may have been standing for 6,000 years before heavy rain last February caused it to fall over – has been restored to its rightful place.

A scheduled ancient monument, the iconic monolith stands almost 7ft tall and boasts a rich history.

However, the passing of time and agricultural work had taken their toll, leading to more and more of the landmark’s base being exposed each year.

Studies of the historical site revealed that less than 20 inches of the huge stone remained underground at the time it fell. With funding from Historic Scotland, specialists from Stockdale and Lyall and CFA Archaeology Ltd were able to lift the 4.5-tonne stone back into position. While little is known about the stone’s function – similar structures often had ritual or religious significance – the quartzite block is believed to date to between 4,000 and 1,000BC.

The 4.5-tonne stone is returned to a standing position

FOR MORE INFORMATION Visit www.historic-scotland. gov.uk/conservation

TIME FOR A CHECK!UP PROJECT Traditional Health Check Scheme pilot gets under way in Stirling A five-year pilot project to promote proactive building maintenance has launched.

The scheme offers an impartial and affordable building fabric inspection service in which emergency small-scale repairs can be undertaken where access allows, and is open to owners

training opportunities. It is of all pre-1919 traditional being managed by Stirling City buildings within the Stirling Heritage Trust in partnership city boundary. A building with Historic Scotland and report will be produced for with support from the the owner Construction Industry and the Training Board. scheme will provide a TO FIND OUT MORE technical www.traditionalbuildings High hopes: helpline and healthcheck.org the Stirling

WIN

SCOTLAND’S HERITAGE POSTCARD BOOKS Showcasing Architecture some of the best ancient monuments and listed buildings in the country, two new postcard books have been launched.

Monuments and Architecture each contain 20 postcards, with stunning photography of famous landmarks including the Ring of Brodgar and Glasgow’s Burrell Collection.

Both are available at Edinburgh, Stirling and Urquhart Castles and Abbey Sanctuary, priced at £6.99 with a 20 per cent discount available to members.

We have three pairs to give away. For your chance to win a pair, answer the following: scot land ’s

heritage

twen ty post card s

PRIZE QUESTION What is the name of the country park where the Burrell Collection can be found?

Post your answer and details to Postcards Competition, Think Scotland, Suite 2.3, Red Tree Business Suites, 33 Dalmarnock Road, Glasgow G40 4LA, or email hs.comps@thinkpublishing. co.uk (with ‘Postcard Book Competition’ in the subject line). The closing date for entries is 17 October.

SUMMER COMPETITION ANSWER AND WINNER FIRST WORLD WAR BOOK

The real name of Germany’s infamous pilot, the Red Baron is Manfred von Richthofen. Congratulations to Graeme Wilson from Kirkcaldy

project

WWW.HISTORIC!SCOTLAND.GOV.UK 11

THE SCRIPT

WHERE MOVIES MEET ARCHITECTURE LISTED BUILDINGS Many buildings are of interest architecturally or historically, but it is only a select few that hold a special place in Scotland’s screen heritage. We look at the listed buildings famous for their appearances on film

K6 TELEPHONE KIOSK (Isle of Mull)

I Know Where I’m Going!

(1945) On the remote road to Carsaig Pier on the Isle of Mull, this kiosk can be seen in the Powell and Pressburger film I Know Where I’m Going! The distinctive K6 red telephone box, also known as the Jubilee Kiosk, commemorates the silver jubilee of King George V.

Hands on learning

CORROUR STATION (Highlands) Trainspotting (1996) Despite its lack of trains, the film does visit Corrour Station, on the West Highland Line near Loch Ossian, notable for the ‘estate style’ architecture of its waiting room and its polychromatic brickwork. It is the UK’s remotest operational train station, and the highest, at over 1,300 feet above sea level.

FIND OUT MORE HISTORIC SCOTLAND’S STARRING ROLES PAGE 20

CORROUR STATION !Highlands#

K6 TELEPHONE KIOSK !Isle of Mull#

FORTH BRIDGE !South Queensferry)

RIDDRIE PICTURE HOUSE !Glasgow)

FORTH BRIDGE

The 39 Steps (1935) Alfred Hitchcock brought his inimitable flair for suspense to one of Scotland’s greatest landmarks in his adaptation of John Buchan’s classic spy thriller. Acclaimed as one of the most ambitious and successful engineering achievements of the 19th century, the bridge is used in the film as the setting for a dramatic escape scene.

BACK TO SCHOOL

RIDDRIE PICTURE HOUSE (Glasgow)

Silent Scream (1990) Robert Carlyle (pictured) made his film debut in this feature, a biopic of murderer Larry Winters, which includes shots of the Art Deco Riddrie Picture House. Designed by architect James McKissack, it is arguably his masterpiece and stands as one of the best-preserved supercinemas in Scotland.

FACT!

Our new schools programme is now online with an enhanced search facility to improve usability.

We’ve also been working to give our web pages a bit of a makeover to improve access and reflect the nature of the work we do with schools,

12 HISTORIC SCOTLAND

young people and community groups at our sites across Scotland. This has also enabled us to do our bit for the environment by cutting down on printed materials.

TO FIND OUT MORE Visit www.historic-scotland.gov. uk/learning or email hs.learning@ scotland.gsi.gov.uk

The Celebration of the Centuries event at Fort George in August featured

200 47 8

dedicated re-enactors

year-old DC3 Dakota

parachutists

REX, ALAMY, SHUTTERSTOCK, ROSS WALLACE/SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

EDUCATION New teaching materials online

Rhododendrons in Princes Street Gardens, Edinburgh

THE CONNECTION

SCOTLAND’S GOLF COURSES

Scotland has 550 playable golf courses, but others have been neglected and lost. As RCAHMS maps the nation’s courses in an ambitious project, we rediscover three ‘missing links’.

Beauty and the beast

Historic Scotland’s Natural Heritage Advisor, Bob Tevendale, explains why rhododendron eradication is a matter of urgency

Cramond Brig Golf Club Edinburgh

Only the ruins of the Arts and Crafts clubhouse remain of this 18-hole course built in 1907 on Cammo House land originally owned by the Maitland-Tennent family.

Leverndale Golf Course Glasgow

A nine-hole course built for staff and patients of the Victorian asylum Leverndale Hospital. The land is now used for housing, with some lying as waste ground.

SHUTTERSTOCK, MARY EVANS, CORBIS

Roan Head Course Flotta, Orkney This 18-hole course on the island of Flotta was built and maintained by the navy around WW1. The holes were designed and constructed by the crews of different naval ships.

To see the RCAHMS aerial photographs of Scotland’s golf courses visit www.rcahms.gov. uk/golffromtheair

Historic Scotland has been busy clearing rhododendrons at Mavisbank House, built between 1723 and 1736, designed by Robert Adam for Sir John Clerk of Penicuik.

The house is on the north bank of the North Esk valley. Loanhead lies immediately to the north-east, and the property stretches eastwards to Lasswade. I was there to look at the rhododendrons which grow around the house within the woodland.

Rhododendrons are not native to Scotland. The first species was introduced from Switzerland in the late 1600s. Rhododendron ponticum, the species seen in woodlands throughout Scotland, was introduced from Gibraltar in 1763.

The popularity of rhododendrons took off in the late 1860s, with the outbreak of ‘rhododendromania’, as it has been called. This was largely due to the heroic efforts of a well-travelled English plant hunter, Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker.

A close friend of Charles Darwin, Hooker spent three exhausting years in the late 1840s in northern India, where he gathered many exotic, colourful rhododendrons.

Putting together a rhododendron collection became an obsession with

VIEW FROM OUTDOORS

many wealthy landed gardeners, and the designed landscape of many Scottish estates changed dramatically.

Most of the rhododendrons were quite fragile, so they were often grafted on to ponticum rootstock. If not managed, the plants would revert back to the ponticum – one of the reasons why rhododendron ponticum is so widespread throughout Scotland.

Unfortunately, rhododendron has become a problem in woodlands as it forms a very dense canopy which prevents other plants growing. It also exudes a chemical which suppresses other plant growth. This leads to a serious decrease in the biodiversity of woodlands. In addition, rhododendrons are liable to infection by ‘sudden oak death’, a fungus-like organism which affects many species of woody plants.

It is, therefore, increasingly important for landowners to eradicate this problem species. There have also been reported cases of poisoning from eating ‘honey’ made from rhododendron, which is toxic to humans.

It’s not just biodiversity that suffers from these plants. Rhododendron also completely obscures what is within the landscape. Behind Mavisbank House the removal of the rhododendrons has revealed a long-lost array of terraces and footpaths.

WWW.HISTORIC!SCOTLAND.GOV.UK 13

THE SCRIPT

SPOTLIGHT ON

EDINBURGH CASTLE

HALF!MOON BATTERY David’s Tower was built by King David II in the 1360s and stood 30m high within the castle. It was brought down during the Lang Siege in the 1570s and was later replaced with the Half-Moon Battery.

Underneath the cobbles, part of the tower’s lower floors still survive.

Prominently positioned powerhouse atop Scotland’s capital city EDINBURGH CASTLE commands the capital city’s skyline from atop an extinct volcano known as Castle Rock, which has been the stage for centuries of important history.

The site may have been first settled around 3,000 years ago and has been the location of a royal residence since at least the 11th century.

Much of the existing castle dates from later centuries: the castle suffered severe damage as a result of sieges in 1314, 1573 and 1689, and was remodelled many times to meet changing needs.

The majestic property remains the historical hub of the city, and won Best UK Heritage Attraction at the 2013 British Travel Awards for the third year running.

EXPLORE

EDINBURGH

Edinburgh Castle stands impressively in the centre of Scotland’s capital

One o’clock Gun: a tradition that began in 1861

TIMELINE TOP OF THE POPS

1991

2000

The castle has played host to concerts by many of music’s finest over recent years. Ahead of the Commonwealth Games earlier this year, a huge televised concert was held with performances

by Jessie J, Kaiser Chiefs, Culture Club, Smokey Robinson and more.

RUNRIG The Celtic rock group, then fronted by Donnie Munro, played at the peak of their popularity

ELTON JOHN The piano-playing Rocket Man hitmaker has featured on eight UK number one singles

14 HISTORIC SCOTLAND

CHRYS. CORBIS, GETTY, SHUTTERSTOCK

ST MARGARET’S CHAPEL Built at the beginning of the 12th century for David I in memory of his mother, the chapel is not only the oldest building in the castle, but in the whole of Edinburgh.

SCOTLAND’S CROWN JEWELS In 1818, the Honours of Scotland, the nation’s crown jewels, were rediscovered, having been locked away in a chest since 1707 following the Treaty of Union with England. The jewels have been on display since 1819, although they were briefly hidden during the Second World War in case of a German invasion.

LAIRD’S LUG An unusual iron grate above the fireplace in the great hall, the Laird’s Lug was used by past kings to eavesdrop on guests. In 1984, the Russian KGB asked that the Lug be bricked up in advance of a visit from Mikhail Gorbachev so he wouldn’t fall victim.

2001

2008

2010

2014

TOM JONES It’s not unusual to see Tom at the castle – he played again this summer

GIRLS ALOUD Later that year the Girls would release their final studio album, Out of Control

ROD STEWART On a tour promoting his 25th studio album, Soulbook, Rod played two nights at the castle

JESSIE J The Voice coach joined Smokey Robinson on stage for a version of his 1979 classic Cruisin’

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THE SCRIPT

ARCHAEOLOGY

REVEALING RESULTS

Excavation in the castle’s inner court

Adrian Cox reports from Tantallon Castle, where archaeologists have been unearthing its past OVERLOOKING the Firth of Forth and the North Sea, and home to one of Scotland’s most powerful families, the Red Douglases, Tantallon is among the most important castle sites surviving in the British Isles.

Built in around 1360, Tantallon was among the last of the great curtain-walled castles built in Britain, with three lofty towers. Its remarkable completeness offers a great insight into the lifestyle of a prominent medieval nobleman.

Last autumn, and again this summer, archaeologists from Historic Scotland’s Cultural and Natural Resources Team,

Tantallon Castle sits on the edge of the Firth of Forth

18 HISTORIC SCOTLAND

along with archaeological contractors Kirkdale Archaeology, excavated a series of trenches targeting a range of buried archaeological features exposed in an earlier survey.

The team was helped by local volunteers from the Friends of North Berwick Museum and Edinburgh Field Archaeology Society.

The investigation yielded a range of fascinating discoveries. In the castle’s inner close, the team revealed

part of a wall of neatly cut sandstone blocks that may have divided this close into two zones, one more residential in nature and the other more of a service area.

There were also tantalising glimpses of possible courtyard surfaces, well below the current ground

During the dig, visitors were able to handle excavated objects

surface. The team also found evidence of industrial activity and, in a trench positioned near the western part of the curtain wall, uncovered and investigated a compacted floor surface of a building.

This had animal bone, shell and pottery trampled into its surface.

In the eastern part of the inner close, mortar-filled linear features were identified, perhaps representing robbed-out

THE SCRIPT

STAY IN THE LOOP

Adrian Cox (right) discusses the dig with visitors

revealed more about how artillery defences were laid out, offering clues as to how these defences may have been breached.

During the dig, visitors to the castle were given guided tours of the work in progress and were also able to handle excavated objects.

Historic Scotland hopes to carry out more archaeological work at Tantallon Castle, which will be announced in due course.

FACEBOOK is a great way to keep in touch with us.

As well as Historic Scotland’s page, Edinburgh Castle and Stirling Castle have their own pages.

If you prefer your news in 140 characters or fewer, follow Historic Scotland on Twitter – @welovehistory.

For the latest on our

Historic Scotland on Instagram

number-one attraction, follow @edinburghcastle.

We’re lucky to have so many beautiful attractions, so it’s only right that we’re on popular photo-sharing app, Instagram. Search for HistoricScotland or Edinburgh Castle.

Then there’s The Chain Mail blog (www.historicscotland.gov.uk/blog). If there’s something you would like us to cover, let us know at hs.marketing@ scotland.gsi.gov.uk Meanwhile, our new mobile app lets you take Historic Scotland out on the road with you. Find out how Jack Kibble-White got on using it for his Highland adventure on page 26.

Finally, if you’re planning to visit a Historic Scotland property, you can check if there are any unexpected closures on the day. Search Twitter for #hsclosure or visit www.historicscotland.gov.uk/hsclosures

EDINBURGH GARDENS AND SQUARES CONFERENCE 2014 CONFERENCE THE past, present and future of Edinburgh’s New Town will collide in a conference celebrating its historic gardens and squares this autumn.

The Edinburgh Gardens and Squares Conference - organised

by Peter Ranson of Historic Scotland and Kristina Taylor of the Garden History Society – coincides with Doors Open Day in Edinburgh, allowing delegates to explore the New Town’s

gardens and architecture. The 26 September event will ask how ideas fused with the landscape during the evolution of the New Town, how the Georgian cityscape influenced international urban architecture, and why it drew Edinburgh’s elite from the medieval Old Town.

But what of the future? The landscape and buildings of the New Town are increasingly encroaching upon one another, explains Peter, a district architect for Historic Scotland.

‘The concept of the landscape design complementing the built environment has now been lost, with the landscape planting dominating the architecture and obscuring it from view.’

TO FIND OUT MORE Visit http://bit.ly/UaBRZs The new Royal Institution in Princes Street Gardens

WWW.HISTORIC!SCOTLAND.GOV.UK 19

PUBLIC DOMAIN, SHUTTERSTOCK

walls or garden features.

In the outer close, where only a 17th-century doocot now stands, excavation uncovered possible artillery works, pre-dating Cromwell’s 1651 siege, sealed below thick cultivation or landscaping deposits.

The archaeologists found evidence that earlier structures had been levelled to prepare the site for an artillery attack.

This year’s excavation

SOCIAL MEDIA Connect with Historic Scotland

AS SEEN ON SCREEN

With the recent production of Outlander at two Historic Scotland castles, ALEC MACKENZIE takes us around other locations that have featured on film

STARRING

BLACKNESS CASTLE

20 HISTORIC SCOTLAND

DOUNE CASTLE

EDINBURGH CASTLE

HOLYROOD PARK

TANTALLON CASTLE

Doomsday being filmed on location at Blackness Castle

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ilmmakers and broadcasters have always found the ancient monuments and buildings in the care of Historic Scotland ideal locations for making movies, as they offer a sense of place and history that can’t be recreated in a studio.

Over the last year, for example, Blackness and Doune castles have

hosted the production of Outlander, one of the most anticipated television series of 2014, based on the hugely popular series of books by Diana Gabaldon.

With a budget of more than £50 million the US cable channel Starz has made what has been described as Scotland’s answer to Game of Thrones and the biggest film or television production to be based in the country.

The series follows Claire Randall, a combat nurse from 1945 mysteriously swept back in time to 1743 and an unknown world where she falls for a young Scottish warrior.

Outlander was first aired in the USA in August, following a tartan-filled premiere at Comic Con in San Diego.

Let us take a look at a few of Historic Scotland’s other cinematic sites.

WWW.HISTORIC!SCOTLAND.GOV.UK 21

L O C AT I O N L O C AT I O N

BLACKNESS CASTLE

Outlander first aired in the USA this August

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22 HISTORIC SCOTLAND

Blackness Castle has proven a popular locale

DOUNE CASTLE

F BLACKNESS APPEARS IN Outlander (TV series, 2014), left; Doomsday (2008), below; Ivanhoe (TV mini-series, 1997), Macbeth (1997), The Bruce (1996), Hamlet (1990)

ans of the cult hit Monty Python and the Holy Grail making pilgrimages to the film’s Castle Anthrax – or Doune Castle to non-Pythonites – are now also being joined

by Outlander devotees, keen to see the kingly retreat that serves as the fictional Castle Leoch in the series.

Filming took place in late 2013 and the beginning of this year, and required a thorough set dressing of the castle’s courtyard and exterior to ensure that it convincingly portrays the two distinct time periods in Outlander.

Game of Thrones, the fantasy drama based on George RR Martin’s series of books, also filmed part of its pilot at Doune Castle in 2009. The castle was used for both internal and external shots of the series' northern fortress of Winterfell, with a banquet scene staged in the Great Hall.

OLIVIA SCOTT, REX, ALAMY

his dramatic castle built in the 15th century by the Crichtons has assumed a variety of roles throughout its colourful history, encompassing a garrison fortress and state prison, to the twilight of its days in the 19th century when it served as an ammunition depot.

As well as now being a popular visitor attraction, earlier this year Blackness Castle stood in for Fort William in the upcoming television series Outlander, the latest in a list of dramas that have sought to exploit the castle’s formidable masonry in their productions.

The famed Italian director Franco Zeffirelli brought Mel Gibson here when filming his 1990 adaptation of Hamlet, using the ‘stern’ tower as the perfect setting to introduce audiences to Ophelia.

The tragic fall of a Danish prince at Blackness Castle is complemented by the rise of a great Scottish king in The Bruce, a 1996 film in which Brian Blessed was cast as Edward I, and another 1997 version of one of Shakespeare’s best-known plays, Macbeth, again featuring Blessed, in the role of Edward the Confessor. Also around the same time, Sir Walter Scott’s Ivanhoe was brought to life at the castle in a BBC mini-series.

Leaving behind adaptations of historical literary fiction, in 2007 Blackness Castle was transformed for three weeks into an apocalyptic vision of the future in the big budget science fiction thriller Doomsday. The film tells the story of a Scotland ravaged by a killer virus, with society regressing to a medieval-like state.

The complex, effects-laden shoot involved a series of pyrotechnical displays, the like of which probably had not been seen at the castle since Oliver Cromwell’s heavy guns bombarded it in 1650.

TANTALLON CASTLE

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he former seat of the Douglas Earls of Angus, situated atop cliffs on the Firth of Forth, has long attracted visitors from far and wide.

However, it is unlikely that too many have been of the interplanetary variety as seen in last year’s film Under the Skin.

Directed by Jonathan Glazer and loosely adapted from Michel Faber’s novel of the same name, Scarlett Johansson plays an alien who preys on men across Scotland. Her character is shown wandering the ramparts and staircases of Tantallon Castle during scenes which were filmed over one day during the winter of 2011, when the castle was closed to the public.

Tantallon Castle overlooks the Firth of Forth

THE RISE OF FILM!SPECIFIC TOURISM

Doune Castle has been cast as a number of film dwellings

Doune Castle was built in around 1400 and with no expense spared by Robert Stewart, first Duke of Albany, and its swansong coincides with the Jacobite Rising on which much of Outlander is based.

In 1745, John MacGregor of Glengyle occupied it for Prince Charles Edward Stuart. After the Jacobite victory at Falkirk in 1746, MacGregor’s men imprisoned 150 redcoats there.

TANTALLON CASTLE APPEARS IN Under the Skin (2013)

DOUNE CASTLE APPEARS IN Outlander (TV series, 2014), Game of Thrones (TV series, 2011–2014), Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975), below

A YouGov survey has suggested that one in five people has been inspired to visit somewhere having seen it on film or television, taking the opportunity to tread in the footsteps of their favourite onscreen characters.

Audiences looking to add a cinematic angle to their days out can now embark on film-specific packages, such as a James Bond tour of Scotland, or pick up a guide to the filmography of an

entire city. The national tourism organisation VisitScotland, for example, has produced the Edinburgh film map, which explores 32 filming locations throughout the iconic city.

Jenni Steele, film and creative industries

Visitors to Scotland can follow a James Bond tour of the country

manager at VisitScotland, has been watching this trend closely.

She notes: ‘Over the years we’ve seen an increasing interest in the behind-thescenes aspects of filmmaking and with the rise of social media it’s become much easier to share and find out more.

It creates just that extra intrigue.’

For more information on film locations in Scotland and ideas on how to enjoy some of the country’s film heritage visit www.tinyurl. com/vsfilms

OO L UC T A!T A I OBNO LUOT CXAXTXI OXNX X X

Edinburgh Castle, atop its volcanic plug

EDINBURGH CASTLE

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s might be expected, the great fortress that dominates the capital's skyline is no stranger to appearances on film and television, providing as it does a stunning backdrop to period and contemporary productions.

It notably features in Ronald Neame’s much-loved classic The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, based on the novel by Muriel Spark, about a headstrong young teacher – played by Maggie Smith – and her impressionable group of 12-year-old charges. While guiding them through the historic Grassmarket area of the city Miss Brodie memorably exclaims: ‘Observe, little girls, the castle! It is built on a rock of volcanic plug.’

The rather prim and proper world of the 1930s all-girls school is certainly left behind in the castle’s incarnation in the 2010 film Burke and Hare, starring Simon Pegg and Andy Serkis. The castle is shown in the opening shots overlooking a vision of the city’s murky 19th-century streets.

Another feature from the same year depicting a spectacular view of the castle, albeit in animated form this time, is The Illusionist. Based on a never-filmed screenplay by Jacques Tati, this British-French 24 HISTORIC SCOTLAND

HOLYROOD PARK

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sweeping open space in the heart of Edinburgh, Holyrood Park was a royal pleasure ground for almost a thousand years that is now open for everyone to enjoy, including filmmakers.

In 2010, the romantic drama One Day shot scenes on location here in which its two main stars, Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess, hiked up the hill. Filming the sequence was a considerable logistical challenge, requiring a large steel camera deck platform to be built above Salisbury Crags and a helicopter to ferry equipment to and from the location.

The crags can also be seen in the background of the Oscarwinning Chariots of Fire and Holyrood Park has made regular appearances on the small screen as well. In the crime drama Case Histories, which is set in and around Edinburgh, Jason Isaacs’ character, the private investigator Jackson Brodie, is often seen running in the park.

HOLYROOD PARK APPEARS IN !FROM TOP" Chariots of Fire (1981), One Day (2011)

OTHER HISTORIC SCOTLAND CAMEOS

CRICHTON CASTLE Rob Roy (1995)

HERMITAGE CASTLE Mary Queen of Scots (1971)

STIRLING CASTLE The Adventures of Greyfriars Bobby (2005), Gregory’s Two Girls (1999), Kidnapped (1971), pictured

EDINBURGH CASTLE APPEARS IN !FROM TOP" Filth (2013), Burke and Hare (2010), The Illusionist (2010), and The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1969) production renders much of the cityscape and its landmarks in highly detailed watercolours.

Most recently, and far less romantically, the film adaptation of Irvine Welsh’s novel Filth depicts the main character, a corrupt policeman played

by James McAvoy, delivering a monologue on Scotland’s gifts to the world – namely whisky and television – from Edinburgh Castle and down the Royal Mile.

Holyrood Park is in the heart of Edinburgh

REX, ALAMY

Xxxxxxx

A Highland adventure Placing his faith in 21st-century technology, JACK KIBBLE!WHITE visits some striking properties near Inverness armed only with a satnav and Historic Scotland’s new app

Urquhart Castle overlooks Loch Ness

OUT ! ABOUT HIGHL ANDS

JACK KIBBLE!WHITE Former editor of Historic Scotland, Jack has written several books and now works in programme development at Thames Television

I’m at Urquhart Castle looking out across Loch Ness. If you were going to design a tourist destination from scratch, this is where you would put it. Clever then, of our ancestors from the AD500s, to decide this was a good place to construct a fort. How did they anticipate that all those centuries later the likes of me would turn up to take in this stunning vista?

I am on a round trip into history that starts and ends at my front door in Glasgow and is guided by 21st-century technology. It begins with a drive past Loch Lomond, along the A82 and through Glencoe.

Later, ensconced in my Drumnadrochit B&B, the route for tomorrow is planned out, thanks to the handy new Historic Scotland app on my smartphone that lets me know which properties are nearby. It tells me I will begin my tour at this gaunt, handsome ruin in the Highlands.

I hope it knows where we are going, because I don’t.

TOUR NOTES Jack travelled by car between his three destinations, guided by the Historic Scotland app

Urquhart Castle The site of much military action in the 13th to 17th centuries

Fortrose Cathedral A red sandstone building that was the seat of the bishops of Ross

Fort George Still a functioning army barracks, built after the Battle of Culloden

Highlanders' Museum Over three floors of former Lieutenant Governor’s house within Fort George

OUT ! ABOUT HIGHL ANDS

URQUHART CASTLE he first port of call at Urquhart Castle is the small cinema in the visitor centre. Here I witness a story that begins with the Irish saint Columba in the sixth century and culminates in 1692 with the garrisoned companies of Highlanders from Lord Strathnaver’s and Grant’s Regiment of Foot blowing up the castle’s gatehouse to stop the property falling into enemy hands. For those of us who would very much have liked to have seen this building intact, it is a down note upon which to conclude the programme, but what happens in the cinema when the film stops rolling is very uplifting. I shan’t spoil the surprise for you, but it tees up my visit perfectly.

A stroll around the castle and its grounds takes me to a working replica trebuchet. The guide book tells me it can propel a boulder around 200 yards at speeds of up to 126mph. We don’t know if Urquhart Castle ever had to

T

endure such an onslaught.

We do know, however, that it faced numerous sieges down the ages, as conflicting factions saw capturing the castle as an opportunity to assert power over rivals.

And it is an impressive place. Standing at the highest part of the property, I can imagine how those who ruled over Urquhart Castle might have felt that dominion over all they could see came with the keys to the front door.

Moving downwards to the Upper Bailey, this now largely grassy area is probably where things such as a bakery, brewery and stables were situated back in the late 1200s right up to the 1500s.

It’s difficult to get a sense of how all of those different functions could have been adequately performed here – the land is uneven, but evidence of the location’s industrious past is offered by

the remains of a circular doocot, from which supplies of pigeon meat and eggs would have been forthcoming.

Perhaps my favourite part of the castle is the Grant Tower, which is at the opposite end.

Spiral stairs take me first downwards to a stone-vaulted storeroom, and then all the way up to parapets and turrets. John Grant of Freuchie, who built and lived in the tower house, probably used the top floor as accommodation for family members or servants, but today it offers yet more magnificent views out to the loch in one direction, and back over the rest of Urquhart Castle in the other.

After a cup of coffee and a scone in the cafe, I study my app to discover that Fortrose Cathedral might well make for an interesting second destination.

It looks as if it will take me around 45 minutes to get there.

ABOVE The useful new Historic Scotland app LEFT Jack takes in the view around Urquhart Castle

28 HISTORIC SCOTLAND

OUT ! ABOUT HIGHL ANDS

URQUHART CASTLE TIMELINE The 500s A fort is probably established on the summit at Urquhart Castle

c.580 St Columba reputedly travels in the Great Glen and visits a Pictish settlement perhaps located where the castle now stands The canopied tomb of Countess Euphemia of Ross

1342 David II visits Urquhart Castle and becomes the only monarch ever to sleep within its walls 1545 MacDonald raiders carry off every vestige of portable wealth from the castle and its estate 1692 The gatehouse is destroyed with gunpowder 1911 Urquhart Castle is entrusted into state care, although it did not come under a guardianship agreement until 1913

FORTROSE CATHEDRAL n marked contrast to Urquhart Castle, Fortrose Cathedral is an easy place to miss. That’s not because it’s an unimpressive structure, but rather it resides in the middle of an intersection of streets in the centre of Fortrose. This beautiful redstone cathedral dates from the late 1200s, or at least that’s the oldest part of the present ruin (the north choir range). The building’s origins seem to lie with Pope Gregory IX who, in 1236, gave Bishop Robert permission to enlarge the cathedral chapter that at the time was situated in nearby Rosemarkie. This seems to have prompted the move south-west to Fortrose.

Little of the cathedral survives, with only the north choir range and south aisle and chapel remaining above ground. The building ceased to function as a cathedral after the Protestant Reformation in 1560, and the chapter house became the community tolbooth. The upper floor was at one time a council chamber. It has a quiet dignity, one that is enhanced by the

ABOVE The grassland on which the cathedral was built is well maintained BELOW The south aisle range of the late 14th/ early 15th century

I

SHUTTERSTOCK, ALAMY

1230 Alexander II grants the lordship of Urquhart to Sir Thomas Durward c.1231 The first stone castle is built at Urquhart 1307 King Robert I (The Bruce) uses the castle as a power base

canopied tomb of Countess Euphemia of Ross and the fine condition of the grassland upon which the building is situated. Fortrose itself is worth a stroll around, and as I make my way through its quiet streets, I am reminded that one of the joys of seeking out Historic Scotland properties is the chance to discover the surrounding area within which these great places have been located.

Returning to the 21st century, a consultation of my Historic Scotland app, cross-referenced with my car’s satnav, alerts me to the fact that the mighty Fort George is less than three miles away. However, that is as the crow flies. The Moray Firth cannot be traversed, at least not by my car, so a route down and round and over the Kessock Bridge is selected, and a 30-minute drive ensues.

WWW.HISTORIC!SCOTLAND.GOV.UK 29

OUT ! ABOUT HIGHL ANDS

Fort George boasts formidable defences

FORT GEORGE s I arrive, the cries of gulls are engulfed by muffled sounds of gunshot – I assume the birds aren’t the target. Yet the persistent firing reminds me that Fort George is the only Historic Scotland property that is still more or less used for the function for which it was originally built. I will later get confirmation on this fact from Lorraine MacDonald, who works at the fort and has very kindly agreed to show me around.

Built following the 1746 defeat of the Jacobites at Culloden, the fort was completed in 1769, by which time the Highlands had become far more Historic Scotland's peaceful. app helps Jack

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get around

30 HISTORIC SCOTLAND

A guard shot a Jacobite sneaking into the fort.

It turned out to be a cow The big design note here seems to have been impregnability. You sense almost nothing could force its way into this place.

Lorraine and I head off to enjoy a living history talk given by Mike Newcomen, known as ‘Mike the Redcoat’ because that’s the costume in which he delivers his talk. It takes place in the grand magazine, where the fort’s ample supply of gunpowder was stored – around 2,500 barrels.

‘The soldiers would put on woollen clothes to stop any risks of sparks,’ explains Lorraine.

Mike’s talk is delivered with good humour and knowledge. I learn that

although the guide book might state that Fort George has never been attacked, Mike knows differently. ‘There was one occasion when a guard was standing at the gate late one night when he saw a Jacobite spy sneaking into the fort,’ he explains. ‘He shot him and it turned out to be a cow.’

After Mike’s talk, my tour with Lorraine continues and one of the highlights is the chapel. It’s a warm, gusty day, but there is a coolness and a stillness in here, with the main focus being an unusual three-deck pulpit.

The drums and regimental colours are reminders of those who have died, and the records on display in front of the windows speak of historic battles. In this anniversary year I am particularly taken by the documentation from the First World War. More artefacts from history are to be found back near the entrance.

COMMON 21ST#CENTURY EXPRESSIONS WITH A MILITARY ORIGIN

EXPLORE

2 1

3

The museum holds artefacts from the First World War 1

URQUHART CASTLE is by Loch Ness near Drumnadrochit on the A82 2

FORTROSE CATHEDRAL is in Fortrose on the A832 3

JONATHAN EDWARDS

FORT GEORGE AND THE HIGHLANDERS’ MUSEUM is six miles west of Nairn, 11 miles north-east of Inverness off the A96

Fort George gives a compelling account of its history

THE HIGHLANDERS’ MUSEUM his is my first visit to the museum, but it’s clear to me that if you haven’t been for some time, it’s worth another look.

It has been revamped very recently as part of a £2.9 million project to create a Highland Military Heritage Centre.

On the ground floor is a temporary exhibition space, currently hosting artefacts related to the First World War, and a room dedicated to the modern history of the Highlanders formed just 20 years ago. The first floor tells the chronological story of the creation of this regiment, starting with the Seaforth Highlanders in 1778, all the way through to the Queen’s Own Highlanders in 1961 (the Gordon Highlanders’ story is told at a dedicated museum in Aberdeen).

There are also items from the Lovat Scouts, Liverpool Scottish and Allied Regiments from Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the Gurkhas.

Elsewhere, there’s a chance to try on some military garb and see up close some of the many medals awarded to Scottish soldiers, including more than one Victoria Cross - the highest military decoration in the Commonwealth.

It’s quite an experience, with social history in the form of music, paintings and recruitment posters recounting not only the story of how the Scottish army has changed over the centuries, but how those regiments have been represented in art and culture during that time.

A stroll up the ramparts brings the sight of a dolphin cutting through the Moray Firth, a reminder that I too must head off, back to my front door. Here’s hoping my satnav is up to the task.

T

Highland Homecoming is a two-month celebration of contemporary Highland culture, running throughout September and October.

For more visit www.bit.ly/ highlandhomecoming2014

FLASH IN THE PAN The flash pan was the part of a gun that soldiers used at Fort George. The faster you could load it, the more shots you could fire. However, if the gunpowder was damp that could result in a ‘flash in the pan’.

SIDEBURNS Gunpowder emanating from their muskets would burn into the cheeks of soldier – this was called ‘peppering’.

By the time of the Napoleonic War, rules around facial hair were relaxed so that some growth was allowed to protect against peppering.

These tufts of facial hair would come to be known as ‘sideburns’.

TAKING THE KING’S SHILLING Back in the early days of the fort many new recruits to the army couldn’t read or write.

However, law dictated that those who enlisted had to sign their name in a recruitment book. It was adjudged that in those cases a soldier could offer you a coin bearing the king’s head. Should you accept, that indicated your agreement to enlist which meant your name could be legally inscribed into the book.

MIKE NEWCOMEN WWW.HISTORIC!SCOTLAND.GOV.UK 31

HISTORY

LEST WE FORGET

PHOTOS BY ANTONIA REEVE

O

n the night of 2 April 1916 two Zeppelins crossed the North Sea to bomb Rosyth naval dockyard.

But in the dark they got lost and ended up dropping their deadly payloads on Edinburgh instead, leaving behind 10 dead and a trail of destruction. Several bombs landed harmlessly on the Castle Rock; a plaque marks the very spot.

The air raid, the first in Scotland’s history, was only briefly reported at the time due to wartime restrictions, but a permanent reminder of it is enshrined in stained glass in the National War Memorial on the summit of Edinburgh Castle Rock.

MEMORIAL UNVEILED Opened by HRH The Prince of Wales on 14 July 1927, with a frail Field Marshal Haig at his side, the Memorial expressed the nation’s collective grief and gratefulness to those who had made the ultimate sacrifice. It was truly the people’s memorial – built by Scottish brains, Scottish hands and Scottish money. The first subscription was £500 from a prominent businessman; the second, two shillings and sixpence, was given by an ex-tinker who had served with the Black Watch in France. These and countless other donations received from across the Scottish diaspora created a moving and humbling space what one contemporary called ‘a coronach (funeral lament) in stone’.

But while the stone itself predominates, it’s the details contributed by the other materials – iron, bronze, wood and glass – that draw one deeper into Scotland’s contribution to the Great War. As a historian, it’s the stained glass in the Hall of Honour that fascinates me most.

As Ian Hay observed in his book Their

32 HISTORIC SCOTLAND

WORKING WOMEN A window in the West Bay chronicles the enormous contribution made by women to the war effort – as land girls, munitions workers, Red Cross motorcyclists and nurses. The everincreasing demand for fighting men drained the land and factories of its male workforce, and into their shoes stepped the women, doing all sorts of jobs previously denied them.

By the time the Armistice was signed in November 1918, 70,000 Scotswomen were toiling away in factories – on Clydeside, filling shells, making howitzers and aeroplanes, and in the jute mills in Dundee, making sandbags for the trenches. A precious few made it to the front line, serving in the Women’s Emergency Corps and Dr Elsie Inglis’s Scottish Women’s Hospitals; they included 18-yearold Mairi Chisholm who rode her motorbike all the way from Nairn to Belgium to tend the wounded.

© ANTONIA REEVE AND TRUSTEES OF THE SNWM, RCAHMS

The stained glass in the Scottish National War Memorial in Edinburgh Castle tells the history of the Great War as it affected the lives of all Scots, discovers CHRIS TABRAHAM

BEST LAID PLANS Accurate drawings were turned into ‘a faithful record of actual facts’ in glass, iron, bronze and wood WWW.HISTORIC!SCOTLAND.GOV.UK 33

HISTORY

Name Liveth, the windows ‘set forth the whole history of the war as it affected the daily lives of the men and women of our country. Never was such a faithful record of actual facts presented in glass.’

During my 25-year association with Edinburgh Castle I seemed to find something new and poignant and humbling in those windows every time I gazed on them.

Their creator, the Aberdonian Douglas Strachan, captures almost every contribution to the war effort at home and overseas; soldiers, sailors, airmen, nurses, munitions workers, land girls, even the animals. His colours are intentionally pale and muted, enabling the chief purpose of the Hall of Honour to be fulfilled – namely, the reading of names of the fallen in those red leatherbound Books of the Dead.

TO THOSE WHO SERVED The Hall of Honour is chiefly devoted to the 12 regiments that bore the brunt of the fighting. Its walls are engraved with battle names that still resonate a century on – the Somme, Ypres, Gallipoli and the rest – while within each columned bay are those muchthumbed Books of the Dead. A window in the East Bay shows a heavy artillery gun crew at work, soldiers firing a machine gun, armoured tanks and cars, and a flame-thrower.

At either end of the hall is a tall window, with four roundels recollecting the critical contributions made by our Naval and Flying Services.

A destroyer ploughs the high seas, a minesweeper escorts a troopship, a battlecruiser leaves the Firth of Forth for the Battle of Jutland, and a submarine plumbs the depths. The stonework below bears names of battles that show how global 34 HISTORIC SCOTLAND

Stained glass windows depict the contributions of the Army (above left), the Naval Services (left) and the Flying Services (above right)

a conflict this was – among them the Suez Canal, Tsing Tau (China) and the Falklands.

The Flying Services are depicted by a biplane, a seaplane, an airship and an observation balloon hovering above Flanders trenches. Very much in their infancy in 1914, Britain’s Flying Services came of age during the war, culminating in the creation of the Royal Air Force in April 1918.

FOUR SEASONS ON THE HOME FRONT

SPRING The aforementioned air raid appears; below the central roundel depicting an antiaircraft gun crew in action is a tiny detail of a Zeppelin, picked out at the heart of a saltire created by two searchlights.

SUMMER A crowded troopship about to depart for foreign parts, reminding us of the 500,000 Scots who left Britain’s shores to fight and, below, a convalescent hospital where the returning wounded were nursed.

MONUMENT BACK STORY 1914 (4 August) Britain declares war on Germany. Ten days later the 2nd Royal Scots arrive in Boulogne

1914 (20 October22 November) In the first large-scalekilling battle – Ypres – the 2nd Royal Scots Fusiliers are all but wiped out

1915 (25 April) 1,200 Royal Scots and King’s Own Scottish Borderers die trying to land on the Gallipoli peninsula

1916 (1 July) 6,300 Scotsmen are killed or mortally wounded on the first day of the Battle of the Somme

AUTUMN Portraying the arrival of the much-anticipated ‘leave train’ at a railway station crammed with people, including sweethearts embracing and a child bestraddling its father’s shoulders.

1918 (11 November) The Armistice ends the Great War. Over 500,000 Scots fought; more than 100,000 never returned

1916 (2/3 April) 1917 (December) Edinburgh is bombed by The idea for a Scottish two Zeppelins – Scotland’s National War Memorial in first air raid. The 10 Edinburgh Castle is mooted. casualties include In 1918 a committee, three children chaired by the Duke of Atholl, is set up to realise the dream, and Sir Robert Lorimer is appointed architect-in-chief

WINTER A camouflaged convoy is shown, guns heavily iced up, while a deadly U-boat’s periscope emerges from the deep. Britain lost 15,313 merchant sailors, many of them Scots, and over half its merchant fleet in the war.

1927 (14 July) HRH The Prince of Wales opens the Memorial. King George V and Queen Mary are the first to visit

1923 (July) Formal approval of Lorimer’s revised scheme is granted and work begins

1928 (29 January) Field Marshal Earl Haig dies in London aged 66 and is buried in Dryburgh Abbey

WWW.HISTORIC!SCOTLAND.GOV.UK 35

HISTORY

THE TUNNELLERS’ FRIENDS It isn’t just Douglas Strachan’s stained glass that captures the intimate detail of the First World War. Carved stone and sculpted bronze also contribute. Most notable is the bronze frieze in the shrine itself.

Crafted by husband-and-wife team Alice and Morris Meredith-Williams, it depicts figures representing every service, unit and rank involved, attired in battle kit as they lived and died, and every weapon and article of equipment used.

Even the animals that ‘did their bit’ are represented in Phyllis Bone’s stone carvings – not just horses and oxen, dogs and carrier pigeons, but elephants, camels and reindeer too.

My favourite you’ll find low down in the West Bay – a wee stone panel carved with caged canaries and mice, who acted as an early warning system to alert diggers and miners of ‘bad air’ – entitled THE TUNNELLERS’ FRIENDS. Not a single living thing that helped Scotland in those dark years is forgotten. Truly this moving space – this ‘casket of memories’ – is the nation’s Memorial.

HISTORY OF HUMAN STRIFE The stained glass in the shrine tells not only of the Great War, but, through a combination of allegory and symbolism, the whole history of human strife, from Cain and Abel to the final triumph of the human spirit.

One tiny detail, so small you would easily miss it, is the most chilling in the 36 HISTORIC SCOTLAND

entire Memorial. High up in a window in the Shrine is a rider on a white horse, with the armies of Heaven following in his wake.

The rider is ‘Faithful and True’, from the Book of Revelations (19:15), who ‘will defeat the nations, and rule over them with a rod of iron’.

He wears a cloak, and on that cloak is a swastika.

Hardly had the mortar set when this ancient symbol of good fortune began to appear across Europe, the insignia of a man who too sought to ‘defeat the nations’. Those who’d fallen in ‘the War to end War’ would soon be joined by their comrades-in-arms from the next.

Allegory and symbolism are used to show conflict throughout the ages In her stone carvings, Phyllis Bone captures the contribution of animals big and small

The Meredith-Williamses used bronze to depict all the services, units and ranks that served

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BEHIND THE SCENES

MY DAY AS A

COSTUMED INTERPRETER How do you bring history to life? FIONA MCKINLAY finds out as she joins the costumed interpretation team at Stirling Castle and becomes Lady Huntly PHOTOS BY EUAN ROBERTSON

Every year without fail, my school teachers would write in my report card that I was very quiet and shy. I was never in the school play, and only allowed in the choir because my bad singing was too quiet to be heard.

Apparently I’ve changed a lot since then. A friend recently described me as ‘outspoken’, and today I am headed to Stirling Castle to be a costumed interpreter for a day. My 12-year-old self would be sick at the mere thought.

10AM I arrive at the castle and meet Eleanor Muir, Visitor Experience Manager. She welcomes me and A dramatic structure: Stirling Castle

38 HISTORIC SCOTLAND

takes me up to a corridor on the upper floor of the palace building, where the costumed interpreters are based.

My chief for the day will be Bob Holsman, who leads the team of living history performers in the palace. He takes me on a quick tour of their backstage area. The changing rooms are big and modern – 21st-century clothes hanging next to 16th-century gowns. A few interpreters have already started their shift for the day, as those on a later start get ready.

I meet Clara Vivette Koenig, who is busy fastening her headgear to complete today’s

WWW.HISTORIC!SCOTLAND.GOV.UK 39

Hazel Saunders Mary Seton, lady in waiting

Fiona McKinlay Lady Huntly

Peter McCarra Patrick Wemyss, deputy master of the household

Bob Holsman Jacques Gillion, decorative artist

Mairi Gibson Helene Ross, embroiderer

Clara Vivette Koenig maid of the chamber

MEET THE PLAYERS visitors about the replica Stirling Heads that grace the ceiling above him. He says that some people walk through without even looking up, and that it is great to be able to point out what they’re missing.

low status look. Her role today is maid of the chamber, and she will soon be downstairs engaging with visitors from around the globe.

10.30AM Bob shows me store rooms, the launderette and a shared office/ seamstress space where his wife Hilary works on mending clothes, resizing them for new cast members, or making new pieces. I’m eager to get dressed up, but I have a lot to learn first.

My lessons start with a tour of the palace, where I get to see members of the team in action. Hazel Saunders is Mary Seton, lady in waiting; Peter McCarra is Patrick Wemyss, deputy master of the household; and Mairi Gibson is Helene Ross, embroiderer.

None of these characters is fictional – every one has been researched carefully by the team from records on the castle and a range of related history books.

Peter – or should I say Patrick – is in the king’s inner hall, telling 40 HISTORIC SCOTLAND

The act of becoming Lady Huntly involves a lot of work

11AM I get a sneak peek at my costume for later. Hilary is mending some of the beadwork and temporarily pinning up the hem for me – I’m not very tall.

Bob reappears and places a large pile of books in front of me. It’s time to find out who I am going to be.

I am Lady Huntly. Elizabeth, if one must be so informal. I am a big supporter of Mary Queen of Scots, a confidante of her mother and the wife of the Earl of Huntly. I’m fluent in French and Scots. As a lady of the chamber, I may get to dress the Dowager Queen. I drink wine or ale all of the time, because the water is not safe to drink. I often eat mutton, but thankfully the French cook knows how to make a good sauce.

BEHIND THE SCENES

Patrick Wemyss alerts a tour group to the replica Stirling Heads on the ceiling

Bob asks: ‘Is there anything you’d like to know about Lady Huntly?’

Spotting a Bruce Springsteen sticker on his filing cabinet, I try to catch him out. ‘What’s her favourite band?’ I ask.

After a brief pause, Bob responds: ‘The Craddocks. They are a group of choristers from down south and were very popular at the time.’ I realise then just how prepared Bob is – how extensive his knowledge of the era and the palace’s characters is, and how great he is at thinking fast. These are two skills I don’t possess.

He shows me a 16th-century book about manners, and one in particular grabs me: ‘As you wash your hands, so too, clear troubles from your mind.

For it’s not good manners to be gloomy at dinner or to make anyone else miserable.’

On that note, it’s time for lunch.

1PM After a thoroughly ungloomy meal at Stirling Castle’s Unicorn Café, it’s time

THE WORLD’S OLDEST FOOTBALL The oldest known football was found in the palace at Stirling Castle.

The ball, made from cow hide, was discovered behind panelling in the queen’s inner chamber, dating it to the 1540s when the room was decorated.

It is thought the ball would have been placed there for superstitious reasons. In those days, many people believed

that when any person touched an object frequently, the object adopted the qualities of the person – thus a football played with by children would share their purity and could be used to ward off evil spirits.

to get into my frock. Now, I’ve worn the odd ballgown in my days, but ye olde fashion is a whole other kettle of fish.

With help from Hilary, I climb into the long padded skirt that will sit under my outfit. Next, a hip roll is tied around my waist. This is like a skinny cushion sitting above my derriere to make everything sit just right (and to give me the appearance of a woman with a more substantial rump).

Then is the kirtle skirt – gold and red with pearls inset. Over this goes the purple gown, and I start to feel a little weighed down.

Hilary is not finished dressing me yet, though. I have a range of jewellery and accessories to put on, the most puzzling to me being the girdle chain that wraps round my waist and is attached to my kirtle skirt. Attached to this is a mystery object on a separate piece of chain. I ask Bob what this is and he explains that it is a pomander – essentially a ball of perfumes that I can use to cover WWW.HISTORIC!SCOTLAND.GOV.UK 41

The Stirling Castle players act as an interactive resource for the public

unpleasant smells and to protect me from airborne illness. I wear a French hood on my head too.

2PM It is finally time for me to meet my adoring public. As soon as I arrive in the king’s outer hall, a buzz spreads.

A few people take photos, and I begin to feel like an A-lister on the red carpet.

A young girl approaches and shyly asks who I am.

“I am Lady Huntly,” I announce, a little timidly, as I don’t know what question might come next or whether I can answer it. Her mother asks to take a picture. We turn and pose.

2.30PM I make my way from room to room, so that I can spend time with each of the other costumed interpreters and learn from them.

I notice that Hazel, playing Mary Seton, is standing with her hands clasped in front of her. I suddenly realise how odd my little arms must look flapping around at the end of my puffy sleeves, and copy her pose. Suddenly I feel much more comfortable and more regal.

Peter, playing Patrick Wemyss, is commanding the king’s inner hall once more, when a large group of Japanese tourists shuffles in. I smile and face as many cameras as I can. It’s funny to think how many people will be going home with me in their holiday snaps.

3PM In the queen’s bed chamber, Mairi, playing embroiderer Helene Ross, has attracted an adoring audience.

When I enter the room, she is quick to introduce me. Her description is so vivid, I feel I should be taking more notes.

42 HISTORIC SCOTLAND

GET TO KNOW LADY HUNTLY BORN c.1516, Aberdeenshire PERSONALITY Sassy, confident, takes no prisoners SERVANTS 150 FRIENDS Marie de Guise, Dowager Queen EATS AND DRINKS Mutton, fish, ale FAVOURITE BAND The Craddocks (choristers) MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS Lute LIKES TO WEAR Something grand and probably purple – because I’m worth it!

HOBBIES Hunting, dancing, French fashion PROUDEST MOMENT Getting to dress the Queen

Apparently nobody messes with Lady Huntly - which is clear from my choice of attire. Purple was a colour reserved for royalty in those days, so for me to be dressed as I am is a very bold statement.

Bob tells me it’s time for a break. I’m having too much fun being the centre of attention, but I suppose a glass of water wouldn’t go amiss.

3.30PM When I return to the public arena, I am rejuvenated and ready to put on a proper performance. I quickly end up chatting to a pair of young sisters, who are slightly disappointed that I am not the queen. I explain to them that, as it’s 1546, Mary Queen of Scots is only three years old, and that she and her mother, my friend the Dowager Queen, are currently visiting another castle.

Even with all the notes I took, I feel unprepared to say much more. I have realised today just how tricky it is to become someone else and it makes me all the more admiring of Bob’s team, who do it so well.

4.30PM We gather the team quickly for a group portrait in the throne room, and I say my thank yous and goodbyes.

Back upstairs in the changing room, Hilary helps me back out of my elaborate costume.

My 21st-century clothes feel so comfortable and so light! Walking out of the palace, through the castle and down the esplanade, I have to adjust back to my regular role, as Fiona McKinlay, just a girl nobody wants in their holiday photos.

But at least now I’ve had my 15 minutes of fame.

Period suits of armour and a coat of arms are on display inside Stirling Castle

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LORE OF THE L AND

44 HISTORIC SCOTLAND

LORE OF THE L AND

Truthor scare THE REAL STORIES BEHIND OUR GRUESOME LEGENDS

T

BY STEVE FARRAR

he grisly fate of Coinneach Odhar – better known as the Brahan Seer – seems to have taken him rather by surprise.

According to legend, on the order of Isabella Mackenzie, Countess of Seaforth, the celebrated Highland prophet was seized, accused of witchcraft and roasted alive in a barrel of burning tar. But the seer still found time to deliver one final prophecy: he predicted in detail the downfall of the countess’s noble family.

In the ruins of Fortrose Cathedral stands a memorial to another

Mackenzie – Francis Humberston – whose demise ended the Seaforth Mackenzies’ male line of descent in 1815. The circumstances were an eerie match to those supposedly described by the seer 150 years earlier, and the story now features on a new interpretation panel installed at the cathedral.

The seer’s fame has spread far beyond the Highlands. Books, songs and plays have been written about his visions of the future. But his story is just one chapter in a great collection of supernatural tales that haunt sites cared for by Historic Scotland.

Fortrose Cathedral helps tell the legend of the Brahan Seer WWW.HISTORIC!SCOTLAND.GOV.UK 45

LORE OF THE L AND

TELLING TALES People have shared such stories for generations, keeping alive the undead in the abbey ruins, the ghost glaring down from the high castle window, the demon lurking in the shadows of a Neolithic cairn.

Great fun, but should tales of witchcraft and mermaids be valued alongside those of real people and events? Should Historic Scotland include them in our guidebooks and on our interpretation panels when that means leaving out other, less lurid (but perhaps more factual) stories? Are we right to tell the Brahan Seer’s tale at the cathedral?

Alexander Sutherland, of the University of Aberdeen, says that the value of such legends is often overlooked. ‘There are always kernels of truth in these stories,’ he said. Dr Sutherland’s study, The Brahan Seer: The Making of a Legend, revealed an amalgam of historical events, oral tradition and Romantic literature.

There was a ‘real’ Coinneach Odhar who was charged with witchcraft in 1577 but avoided capture and the fiery death near Fortrose Cathedral suffered by those accused with him. Yet in repeated retelling, Dr Sutherland noted, the seer’s story and his prophecies have been adapted, altered and added to, changing down the years in response to contemporary concerns and needs.

‘Despite evidence to the contrary, people persist in believing in the legend,’ he said. ‘The prophecies keep being moved to accommodate new situations.

They continue to evolve.’ And, clearly, they continue to be valued.

Tales of the supernatural can have

Hermitage Castle and, below, Dumbarton Castle

more intrinsic values. Ronald Hutton, a professor of history at the University of Bristol, believes they make home and community feel safer, and all that lies beyond seem more exciting. They also reinforce a communal sense of what constitutes good behaviour.

‘If you’re a member of the community to which these stories are attached, they enrich the landscape and provide comforting reference points,’ Professor Hutton said. ‘For the traveller, they make the world much more curious and inspiring.’

BOUND FOR HELL Few tales meet Professor Hutton’s criteria as well as that of William Soules, who was the Lord of Liddesdale and resident of Hermitage Castle in the Borders until 1320. According to legend, the evil Soules and his malevolent familiar Robin Redcap used the blood of kidnapped local children in black magic rituals. Ultimately, though, a mob succeeded in overpowering the demonic lord, wrapped him in lead and boiled him in a cauldron.

Except, it turns out that Soules actually died a prisoner in Dumbarton Castle, locked up for plotting against King Robert the Bruce. But a tale of a vicious lord meeting a nasty end clearly resonated with put-upon locals and is now a firmly established part of the region’s cultural heritage.

A similar story concerns Alexander Stewart, the Wolf of Badenoch. Stewart, brother of King Robert III, was a ferocious character who notoriously burnt Elgin Cathedral in 1390. Legend accords him a suitably fiendish fate,

JONATHAN EDWARDS

TELLING GHOST STORIES

MERMAID A mermaid urged a funeral procession passing Newark Castle to consume nettles and mugwort if they wanted long lives.

ZOMBIE An undead clergyman, whose tomb was inside Melrose Abbey, was hacked down by an axe-wielding monk and burnt to ashes at dawn.

MAGIC COW A white cow stood amid the Standing Stones of Calanais, providing milk to sustain starving locals until, the legend says, a witch milked it dry.

GHOST A ghost appeared in Jedburgh Abbey on Alexander III’s wedding day and predicted his demise. Within a year, the king was dead.

SEA MONSTER A giant sea monster was mistaken for an island by St Brendan the Navigator.

He celebrated Easter on it before landing on Eileach an Naoimh.

WWW.HISTORIC!SCOTLAND.GOV.UK 47

LORE OF THE L AND

The Ring of Brodgar, or the final resting place of a group of dancing giants

The ‘supernatural’ site of Ruthven Barracks

The grisly locale of Castle Hill

‘The fearefull aboundinge at this time in this countrie, of these detestable slaves of the Devil, the Witches or enchaunters, hath moved me to resolve the doubting both that such assaults of Satan are most certainly practised, and that the instrument thereof merits most severely to be punished.’

JAMES VI, 1597 On 6 March 1645, Agnes Finnie, a shopkeeper in her late 40s, was strangled and burnt at the stake on Castle Hill, where Edinburgh Castle’s esplanade is today. She had been convicted of witchcraft after a neighbourhood dispute spiralled out of control. Finnie’s was the last of 24 similar executions recorded on Castle Hill between 1590 and 1645, although the real total is likely to have been much higher. Certainly, tradition has long held that Castle Hill was a principal site where those convicted of witchcraft – often on the basis of confessions cruelly extracted – were executed.

48 HISTORIC SCOTLAND

dying after losing a game of chess with the Devil at Ruthven Castle – where Ruthven Barracks stands today.

FAIRY BUILDERS Some outlandish tales seek to explain the origins of particular sites. A Gaelic legend tells of an old man who persuaded a fairy to build Stirling Castle for him but tricked his way out of paying the price – his eternal enslavement. The enraged fairy turned into a fireball and seared a hole through the stone rampart, which could only be plugged with horse dung.

Magical builders also helped out at Urquhart Castle, where the nobleman Conachar Mor Mac Aoidh is said to have compelled a group of witches to raise the mighty fortress. Once the job was done, the witches stood on a nearby rock and hurled curses at their erstwhile boss.

The builders of the Ring of Brodgar in Orkney were not so fortunate. Legend holds that the standing stones are a circle of dancing giants that were petrified by the first rays of dawn.

KEEPING IT REAL? While not endorsing supernatural stories as statements of fact, Historic Scotland approaches them in the way we do any other.

We consider what the story’s inclusion on a panel or in a guidebook would add to a visitor’s enjoyment and understanding of a site, weighing it up against the other possible stories we might tell and checking for the most effective version. Professor Hutton describes this as ‘assuming the role of the communal storyteller, curating popular memory’.

It is that sense of popular memory, of local significance, which makes these stories so precious. So when Historic Scotland installed the interpretation panel at Fortrose Cathedral, telling the Brahan Seer’s story in a place connected so intimately with the narrative, it gave it particular potency.

Coinneach Odhar has been dead for centuries but, as Dr Sutherland reflects: ‘Because the legend exists, the Brahan Seer exists.’ His story is an major part of the cultural fabric of Fortrose Cathedral.

GET SPOOKED OUT Many Historic Scotland sites have stories about witchcraft and wizardry to tell: James VI is linked to two carvings at Stirling Castle, thought to ward off witches.

Merlin supposedly stayed at Alt Clut – later Dumbarton Castle – when it was ruled by King Rhydderch Hael in the 6th or 7th century AD.

Legend says Macbeth met the witches who told his future by Sueno’s Stone in Moray.

Two women held in Dirleton Castle’s pit prison in 1649

were ‘tested’ by a witchfinder and condemned to death.

According to legend, the stones of the White Caterthun hill fort were carried there by a single witch in a single night.

Macbeth’s famous witches

MARY EVANS

WITCHES AND WARLOCKS

Buy a Christmas gift of membership online and get two months extra free – 14 MONTHS FOR THE PRICE OF 12

CHRISTMAS MEMBERSHIP GIFT OFFER F

or a Christmas gift with a difference, buy your loved one a year’s membership to Historic Scotland. And if you pay for the membership online using a credit or debit card, your gift will include an extra two months’ membership for free.

What’s more, as a member you

will receive a 20 per cent discount.

To get your 20 per cent discount and two months extra free, make sure you are registered and logged in to the members’ website at www.historic-scotland. gov.uk/member For more information call 0131 668 8999.

Terms and conditions apply. See website for details. Offer valid for gift memberships purchased between 1 October and 31 December 2014.

Please note, last UK posting date is Monday 15 December 2014. Orders placed prior to this will be processed and posted out in time for Christmas, but we cannot guarantee delivery.

EXTRA 2 MONTHS FOR FREE

FIVE REASONS WHY HISTORIC SCOTLAND MEMBERSHIP MAKES THE PERFECT GIFT

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A personal copy of Historic Scotland direct to the gift recipient’s door every quarter, packed with news and features.

HISTORIC SCOTLAND

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GREAT EVENTS INSIDE

AUTUMN 2014

Free entry to more than 70 of Scotland’s top heritage attractions, including Edinburgh Castle, Stirling Castle and Urquhart Castle.

silver screen Castle cameos on the 44

THE MAGAZINE FOR HISTORIC

2014 SCOTLAND MEMBERS AUTUMN

FANTASY OR FACT?

The real stories behind our gruesome legends

MY DAY IN COSTUME AT STIRLING CASTLE

TALL TALES

Scottish Ten experts scale new heights in Nagasaki

PLAN YOUR

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WWW.HISTORIC

FORTROSE CATHEDRAL TANTALLON CASTLE BLACKNESS CASTLE URQUHART CASTLE NG

Highland adventure iews, handsome

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We’ll send you, or the recipient, a special gift pack complete with your own personal message.

It’s not just Scotland – half-price entry into 500 heritage attractions in England, Wales and on the Isle of Man.

4

Member activities, from guided tours to lunches and concerts.

EVENTS

FOR FULL DETAILS Pick up your events guide at any of our properties or visit www.historic-scotland.gov.uk/events

LOTS OF EXCITING THINGS TO DO RIGHT ACROSS SCOTLAND

REMEMBERING THE FIRST WORLD WAR 50 HISTORIC SCOTLAND

W

DAYTIME EVENTS ARE FREE TO MEMBERS, UNLESS OTHERWISE STATED

SEPTEMBER!NOVEMBER

ith so many properties connected to the First World War, Historic Scotland is hosting a range of commemorative events in this, the 100th anniversary year of its commencement. Stories from those troubled times will be brought to life through a range of talks, displays and activities.

Toilets

Restaurant / café

Gift shop

Reasonable wheelchair access

Dogs not permitted

Parking

Marching back in time to commemorate the First World War

A glimpse of the past

STIRLING 1914

THE GREAT WAR

STIRLING CASTLE

EDINBURGH CASTLE

Sat 4–Sun 5 October, 12pm–4pm 0131 668 8885

Sat 18–Sun 19 October, 12pm–4pm 0131 668 8885

Discover more about the important role the castle played as a recruitment centre during the First World War. Find out about the life of a new recruit in the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders and hear of the experiences from those returning from the front.

Meet the Gordon Highlanders and learn about the life of a Scottish soldier in the First World War. Find out about recruitment, try on a soldier’s kit and join in with an army training session. Hear stories of life in the trenches and learn about how wounded soldiers were cared for, including Edinburgh Castle’s role as a military hospital.

Try on a soldier’s kit and train with the army at Edinburgh Castle WWW.HISTORIC!SCOTLAND.GOV.UK 51

THE ORIGINAL

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!apping Our "istory

Mapping the City and Mapping the Nation for more information visit www.birlinn.co.uk

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Toilets

Restaurant / café

Gift shop

Reasonable wheelchair access

Dogs not permitted

Parking

SEPTEMBER

STANDING STONES OF STENNESS WALK STANDING STONES OF STENNESS

Every Wed in September, October and November, 10am 01856 841732 Join an easy guided tour of our oldest stone circle and explore its fascinating links with the nearby Neolithic village of Barnhouse.

RING OF BRODGAR WALK RING OF BRODGAR

Every Thu in September, October and November, 1pm 01856 841732 An easy walk around the Ring of Brodgar exploring the archaeology, wildlife and natural environment in and around the Brodgar area.

STAGING THE SATIRE STIRLING CASTLE

Until Sun 28 September, 9.30am–6pm 0131 668 8885 Admire the detail and mastery in the costumes created for last year’s unique performances of A Satire of the Three Estates. Learn about Sir David Lyndsay’s epic play of Scottish politics, power

Jolomo’s stunning interpretation of a sunset on the Isle of Harris

CHRISTMAS LUNCHES

CHRISTMAS WINE AND DINE

EDINBURGH CASTLE

EDINBURGH CASTLE

STIRLING CASTLE

Fri 5, Sat 6, Thu 11–Sun 14, Wed 17–Wed 24 December, 12.30pm–2pm £30 members, £36 nonmembers, £18 child members, £22 child non-members Set in the festive surrounds of the Jacobite Room and boasting panoramic views of Princes Street, New Town and beyond, indulge in a truly memorable experience. Enjoy traditional turkey, Loch Duart salmon or polenta and butternut squash.

Sun 14 December, 12.30pm £58 members, £65 nonmembers Sample the best of Scottish cuisine with Historic Scotland at our special Christmas Wine and Dine lunch in the prestigious Queen Anne Room at Edinburgh Castle.

Our chef will introduce each dish while the sommelier will describe the specially selected wine that accompanies each delicious course.

Tue 16–Wed 24 December, 1pm–4pm £26 members, £31.95 nonmembers, £17.25 child members, £19.80 child non-members Enjoy a delicious three-course Christmas meal with family, friends or colleagues. This year, diners will receive a royal upgrade with a move to the castle’s Green Room, nestled under the Great Hall.

The room is not open to daytime visitors.

Go to www.historic-scotland.gov.uk/member and log in to book 0131 668 8686 or hs.functions@scotland.gsi.gov.uk

and reform and the project that brought it back to life.

JOLOMO: WESTLIGHT $ NORTHEASTLIGHT

JOLOMO

CHRISTMAS LUNCHES

which compare and contrast the light of the north east with the light of the west coast.

MEET THE GARRISON

DUFF HOUSE

CORGARFF CASTLE

Until Thu 30 October, 11am–5pm 01261 818181

Tue 16–Thu 18 September, 10am–5pm 0131 668 8885

John Lowrie Morrison, better known as Jolomo, brings his contemporary colourful oil paintings of Scottish landscapes to Duff House. This major exhibition features new paintings

Visit Corgarff Castle and gain an insight into the daily life of a soldier living in the barracks in 1750 as the redcoat soldiers occupy the castle. Meet the soldiers and hear their tales.

WWW.HISTORIC!SCOTLAND.GOV.UK 53

The Mark of Heritage and Craftsmanship

EE BATHFR ROOM DESI N SERVG ICE

Cairncross has served the people of Perth since 1869, and it is with pride that we present the unique Perth kilt pin, beautifully crafted in silver.

The pin, featuring a flowing, Celtic inspired design to reflect the meandering River Tay, is topped by Perth’s emblem - the double headed imperial eagle.

Cairncross have been granted permission by the Edinburgh Assay Office to revive the town mark, which was used by Perth silversmiths in the 18th century and is now stamped on the reverse of these superb kilt pins.

Available exclusively from

18 St John Street Perth (01738) 624367 info@cairncrossofperth.co.uk Send for our complimentary brochure.

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Toilets

Restaurant / café

Gift shop

Reasonable wheelchair access

Dogs not permitted

Parking

BIG ROMAN DAY AT KINNEIL KINNEIL HOUSE

Sat 20 September, 12pm–3pm 01506 778 530 As part of the Big Roman Week festival Kinneil House opens its doors for tours. See inside this impressive mansion, which dates back to the 15th century, and boasts some of the best renaissance wall paintings in Scotland.

CELTIC CRAG HOLYROOD PARK

Sun 21 September, 9am–12pm 0131 652 8150 Ever wondered what life was like for people living in Holyrood Park 2,000 years ago? Join a ranger for a guided walk, where we delve into the park’s rich Celtic past to uncover the reality behind the myths. Booking essential.

ARCHAEOLOGY DAY HOLYROOD PARK

Sat 27 September, 11am–3pm 0131 652 8150

FRIGHT NIGHT LINLITHGOW PALACE

Fri 24, Sat 25, Fri 31 October and Sat 1 November, 7.30pm, 9.30pm Tickets £10, 10% member discount Must book in advance www.historic-scotland.gov. uk/member

As night falls, come to Discover what life was like in the Iron Age by meeting characters from the past and trying out skills from the period. Short easy graded guided walks over amenity grassland. Suitable for all the family. Booking essential.

Linlithgow Palace to meet some of the less pleasant characters and relive the gruesome events in its history. But don’t worry – you’re brave, not afraid of the dark, and are perfectly safe – or are you? Enjoy this fascinating and scary experience, which is genuinely NOT recommended for young children.

OCTOBER

VOLCANO FUN DAY HOLYROOD PARK

Sat 4 October, 11am–3pm 0131 652 8150

Come along to this fun-filled day where you can explore Edinburgh’s very own volcano – learn more about volcanoes of the world and even outer space. There will be lots going on; guess the rock, create your own volcano and make a model Earth from chocolate.

NOVEMBER

THE FLYTING STIRLING CASTLE

Fri 14 November, 7.30pm Adults £15, concessions £10 members get 10% discount 0131 668 8885 Book online www.historicscotland.gov.uk/member Hear all about Holyrood Park from a ranger

A rare chance to enjoy one of Scotland’s oldest art forms. The Flyting of the warring makars

William Dunbar and Walter Kennedy of 1504, which was originally performed in front of King James IV, is brought back into the 21st century in a battle of wit, learning and language. Learn more about 16th-century court life from Dr Katie Stevenson and discover more about the Scots Language from Chris Robinson.

Part of Previously...Scotland’s History Festival.

DARK SKY: A COMET’S TALE HOLYROOD PARK

Sun 16 November, 1pm Adults £5, concessions £4, children £3, members free 0131 652 8150 Join the Royal Observatory of Edinburgh’s Dark Sky team and the Historic Scotland Rangers for an afternoon of comet fun and facts. With the European Space Agency’s Rosetta probe due to land on comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko in November, we will look at what comets are made of, why they are so important and what makes them so interesting.

Booking essential.

WWW.HISTORIC!SCOTLAND.GOV.UK 55

GUESS THE YEAR

WIN

WORK OUT THE MYSTERY YEAR AND WIN

HOW TO ENTER If you can identify the correct year from the options below, visit www.historic-scotland.gov.uk/ guesstheyear or post your answer, with your name, membership number and address, to Guess the Year, Historic Scotland magazine, Longmore House, Salisbury Place, Edinburgh EH9 1SH by Friday 17 October. See www.historicscotland.gov.uk/member for terms and conditions.

WINNING PRIZE The winning entry will receive a cheese and wine hamper from Scottish Hampers (www.scottishhampers.co.uk) containing a bottle of Bordeaux, Scottish cheese, crackers and flame-roasted coffee, among other treats. Please note: the competition is only open to members aged over 18.

THE PAINTING Daniel Mytens’ portrait of James VI of Scotland and I of England presents him dressed in full robes of the Garter against a lavish tapestry backdrop. Son of Mary Queen of Scots, James was baptised in the Chapel Royal at Stirling Castle. He remained in Scotland until crowned James I of England in 1603.

This portrait emphasises James’s excessive lifestyle, and the money and honours he bestowed on his favourites made him an unpopular ruler.

LAST ISSUE’S GUESS THE YEAR Douglas Haig began his officer training at Sandhurst in 1884. Congratulations to Harriet O’Donnell from Paisley 56 HISTORIC SCOTLAND

GETTY

KING JAMES VI OF SCOTLAND AND I OF ENGLAND, BY DANIEL MYTENS !1590&1648*, 1621, OIL ON CANVAS, PORTRAIT OF KING JAMES VI OF SCOTLAND AND I OF ENGLAND IN FULL ROBES.

ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTION In which year under James’s reign did the Gunpowder Plot take place?

A: 1605, B: 1610 or C: 1615

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