Historic Scotland Winter 2021

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Five great dog walks for winter HISTORIC SCOTLAND

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RUTHVEN BARRACKS DRYBURGH ABBEY CRAIGMILLAR CASTLE

WINTER 2021

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WINTER 2021 THE MAGAZINE FOR HISTORIC SCOTLAND MEMBERS

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Blackness Castle Glasgow Cathedral Stirling Castle Aberdour Castle Arbroath Abbey

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years of Glasgow’s subway

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HIDDEN TREASURES Find them all at this year’s spectacular Castle of Light event

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Welcome to

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After a year off, we are excited to be bringing back our dazzling Castle of Light event at Edinburgh Castle this November and December. If you don’t have your ticket yet, turn to page 48 for all the details.

In this issue, we have some great stories to share with you. Rosemary Goring explores what is known of two ‘Moorish Lassies’ in the court of James IV, who are the subjects of a forthcoming play by Rona Munro. This article is accompanied by stunning new illustrations by Jacqueline Briggs. See page 18.

Kathleen Nutt pops in to the headquarters of AOC Archaeology to find out what they are doing with objects from a dig in Orkney that uncovered two Viking graves. See page 30.

We also look at some of the fabulous places we hope you might visit over the winter months – Blackness Castle (page 36), Glasgow Cathedral (page 16), Aberdour Castle and Gardens (page 4) and a flurry of dog-friendly properties to explore with your canine companion (page 24).

Don’t forget to check our events listings for details of Christmas lunches, afternoon teas and more (page 49). We also have three pages of great gift ideas for you – don’t forget to use your member discount code (page 52).

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West Street

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CHRIS SCOTT, HES – REPRODUCED COURTESY OF J R HUME, NEWSQUEST (HERALD & TIMES).

CLAIRE BOWIE Head of Membership & CRM

CONTRIBUTORS

Buchanan Street

JACQUELINE BRIGGS The Moorish Lassies (page 18) Highlands illustrator Jacqueline is a graduate of Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design

JOAN MCFADDEN I’ve never been to ...

Blackness Castle (page 36) Joan writes regularly for The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Times and The Herald

KATHLEEN NUTT Grave expectations (page 30) Freelance journalist Kathleen contributes to The National, The Herald and The Times

Subway stations Glasgow’s circular subway turns 125 in December, and we’ve dug out some images from the archive to show how it has changed through the years. For more on the ‘clockwork orange’, turn to page 42.

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HISTORIC ENVIRONMENT SCOTLAND Longmore House, Salisbury Place, Edinburgh EH9 1SH 0131 668 8600 historicenvironment.scot Membership enquiries 0131 668 8999 members@hes.scot Editorial enquiries members@hes.scot

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Head of Membership & CRM Claire Bowie Membership Operations Manager Pauline Brews Membership Operations Supervisor Hannah Rose

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Editor Fiona McKinlay fiona.mckinlay@thinkpublishing.co.uk News editor Jonathan McIntosh Design Juanita Adu Sub-editors Sian Campbell, Andrew Littlefield

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Advertising Sales Jamie Dawson jamie.dawson@thinkpublishing.co.uk 0203 771 7201 Executive Director, Think John Innes john.innes@thinkpublishing.co.uk

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Think Suite 2.3, Red Tree Business Suites, 33 Dalmarnock Road, Glasgow G40 4LA 0141 375 0504 Photography All images provided by Historic Environment Scotland unless otherwise stated. For access to images of Scotland and our properties, call 0131 668 8647/8785 or email images@hes.scot Historic Scotland is published quarterly and printed on paper made from pulp sourced from sustainable materials.

The views expressed in the magazine do not necessarily reflect those of Historic Environment Scotland.

All information is correct at the time of going to press. © Historic Environment Scotland. All rights reserved. Reproduction in part or in whole is prohibited without prior agreement of the Membership and CRM Manager of Historic Environment Scotland.

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Go forth!

Our writer takes a first-time trip to Blackness Castle

Historic Environment Scotland (HES) is a Non Departmental Public Body established by the Historic Environment Scotland Act 2014. HES has assumed the property, rights, liabilities and obligations of Historic Scotland and RCAHMS. Visit historicenvironment.scot/about-us Scottish Charity No. SC045925.

18 The ‘Moorish Lassies’ in the court of King James IV 2 HISTORIC SCOTLAND

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30 Archaeological finds

Contents

Places to visit this winter

BROCH OF GURNESS P28

Glasgow Cathedral

DUFF HOUSE P50

RUTHVEN BARRACKS P26

ARBROATH ABBEY P11

DUNSTAFFNAGE CASTLE P27

ABERDOUR CASTLE P4 GLASGOW CATHEDRAL P16

EDINBURGH CASTLE P48 CRAIGMILLAR CASTLE P26

BLACKNESS CASTLE P36 DRYBURGH ABBEY P24

REGULARS

JACQUELINE BRIGGS, ANGELA CATLIN, THE SCOTSMAN PUBLICATIONS LTD

6 16 48 52 56

ACCESSIBLE VERSION Historic Scotland magazine is also available as an accessible PDF. Please log in to our website at historicenvironment.scot/member to download your copy, or contact the membership team on 0131 668 8999 and they will be happy to help.

THE SCRIPT News and updates SPOTLIGHT EVENTS SHOP TIME TRIP

11 FEATURES

18 THE MOORISH LASSIES Two little-known figures from the 16th century 24 WALK THE DOG Five great winter days out with your pup 30 GRAVE EXPECTATIONS Archaeologists investigate Viking finds from Orkney

36 I’VE NEVER BEEN TO …

BLACKNESS CASTLE

Joan McFadden checks out the popular property on the Firth of Forth 42 TUNNELLING THROUGH HISTORY

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BIG PICTURE

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Big pic ABERDOUR CASTLE

William Douglas, the 7th earl of Morton, was treasurer of Scotland from 1630 to 1636. It was at around this time that he oversaw the construction of Aberdour Castle’s Renaissance east wing, pictured, and the property’s walled garden.

Shortly after this he was forced to sell the barony to the earl of Buccleuch having invested heavily in the doomed Royalist cause in the 1640s.

The earls of Morton continued to live at Aberdour until the early 18th century, when they moved to an adjacent property. ● Could you have got by in Renaissance Scotland? Take our interactive quiz to find out opinionstage.com/historicenvironment-scotland/ aberdour-time-travel-adventure ● Aberdour Castle is open daily except Thursday and Friday, 10am-4pm (the shop and ticketing may close 12-1.30pm). Book online at historyawaits.scot

PORRIDGE PICTURE LIBRARY / ALAMY

A residence fit for the powerful

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PEOPLE, PLACES, RESEARCH AND MORE…

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Scotland’s latest themed year will celebrate the country’s world-famous storytelling heritage

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hey have witnessed pivotal battles, housed famous figures and inspired some of the world’s greatest thinkers. If the walls of our properties could talk, they would have quite the tome of tales to tell – making Scotland’s Year of Stories 2022 the perfect opportunity to shout about the many plots they have witnessed unfolding throughout the years.

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Over the course of the next year, we will be running a series of special events, exhibitions and more as part of the Year of Stories. Our events will place the spotlight firmly on our sites, which have influenced the well-thumbed chapters and lesser-known narratives of Scotland’s story, past and present.

Plus we’ll explore the ways in which the stories of our built and

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Telling tales in Year of Stories 2022

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Telling Tales in Year of Stories 2022

Projections on Smailholm Tower earlier this year to celebrate 250 years of Walter Scott

UNFORGETTABLE: THE UNTOLD STORIES OF PEOPLE WHO SHAPED SCOTLAND This touring exhibition celebrates the lives of individuals who shaped and were shaped by Scotland, including disabled rights campaigner Dr Margaret Blackwood.

GORDON TERRIS HERALD &TIMES GROUP

MAUD SULTER AT DUFF HOUSE This exhibition, created in partnership with the NTS, will look at the cultural influences on the Scottish-Ghanaian artist and writer.

cultural historical heritage continue to contribute to the country’s everchanging chronicle.

From literary icons and local legends, to social media tales and fresh voices, the Year of Stories will celebrate the wealth of stories inspired by, and written and created in Scotland. Our nation has an especially rich heritage of stories and storytelling.

Whether it’s oral traditions, beloved and cult classics in literature and on-screen, or emerging talent sharing untold and under-represented perspectives, stories of all forms help us to connect, share our experiences, and bring modern and traditional cultures to life.

Look out for more information in the spring magazine.

CONTEMPORARY ART AT DUNDRENNAN ABBEY In partnership with Arts&Heritage, we have commissioned a new artwork encapsulating the history of Dundrennan Abbey.

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A warning sign at St Andrews Castle SUBS ART PRODUCTION

Coastal erosion at Skara Brae

Schoolgirls skating on Loch Leven in 1959

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Win £250 in our Visions of Climate Heritage competition Enter your art and photography that highlights Scotland’s changing landscapes

THE SCOTSMAN PUBLICATIONS LTD, SHUTTERSTOCK

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he world is facing a climate emergency.

But how did we reach this point? And how do we tackle these issues to help protect Scotland’s beloved environment?

Enter our Visions of Climate Heritage competition and help us tell Scotland’s climate story.

Run in partnership with the Heritage Trust Network and Scottish Council on Archives, the competition will show how our environments have changed and point us in the direction of how to safeguard Scotland against climate change as the country works toward a future of netzero carbon emissions.

A total of £750 worth of prizes – including a £250 cash prize for first place for the overall best photograph – is up for grabs.

HOW TO ENTER

Entry is free and you can submit up to five images.

Each image must align to one of the competition’s three themes, outlined below.

• ••

SHOW YOUR CREATIVITY Your entry could be a historic family photo that reveals a more innocent time before we understood the impact of climate change, or a snapshot of some extreme

weather that you’ve seen in Scotland.

We’re also inviting creative entries using paints, pastels, acrylics, pens or pencil; digital artwork; and alternative media, such as textiles and sculpture.

THEMES

The past was a different place This is an emergency A greener future

Prizes will be awarded for Best Photograph, Best Artwork, Best Mobile

Photograph and Young Creative. Winners will be selected in January 2022.

An online exhibition showcasing winning and shortlisted entries will be featured on our website.

The competition closes on 30 November at 5pm.

To enter and for full terms and conditions, visit historicenvironment.scot/ climate-comp

Submission should be by digital image, in JPEG format and no larger than 6MB (if you have created a physical artwork, please photograph it). We can only accept entries submitted via the competition entry form. Please don’t send your artwork or photographs to us via email or as physical entries as they won’t be entered into the competition. Entrants must be resident in Scotland, England or Wales. Entries for the Young Creative Award by those under the age of 18 must be submitted with consent from a parent or guardian.

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Literary legend

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Online exhibition marks 250 years of Sir Walter Scott

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e are celebrating the 250th anniversary of the birth of Sir Walter Scott with an online exhibition.

Featuring drawings and photographs of the properties linked to the revered author, and excerpts from his most popular works, the exhibition explores all aspects of the life of one of Scotland’s most iconic figures.

This exhibition also features numerous audio recordings of Scott’s wide array of writings, recorded by actor Kirsty Stuart for Pitlochry Festival Theatre, and Edinburgh-based actor Gavin Paul.

Walter Scott – novelist, poet, playwright, historian

Visitors can scan QR codes at selected properties with links to Scott to learn more about the life behind the literary

LEARNING GROUP ACCESS RELAUNCHED

legacy of one of Scotland’s most famous sons.

Visit historicenvironment. scot/sir-walter-scott

● We’ve relaunched our Free Learning Visits Scheme and Heritage Travel Subsidy for Schools this autumn.

Open to UK-based schools and nurseries, third sector and charitable groups, and services helping those with additional support needs, the Free Learning Visits Scheme provides inclusive access to our sites, while the Heritage Travel Subsidy for Schools offers grants covering travel costs to our sites.

Visit historicenvironment. scot/learn

Are we doing enough?

We want your views on our climate crisis action and activities

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s international leaders come together in Glasgow this November to discuss action on climate change at the United Nations Climate Change Conference – also known as COP26 – we want your thoughts on climate change.

Whether you’re looking for ways to learn more, concerned how climate change could impact Scotland’s historic sites, or wondering if we’re doing enough to encourage sustainable days out and reduce our carbon footprint, we want to hear your views.

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COOL AS ICE

Coastal erosion could threaten Tantallon Castle

What you tell us will inform our projects in the future.

You can also visit cultureatcop.com for details of art, culture and

heritage events at COP26.

Tell us what you think at historicenvironment.scot/ climate-survey

● A survey of Mavisbank Icehouse and Game Larder was recently completed as part of our 3D Digital Documentation venture, The Rae Project.

The site – originally used for storing ice from the winter months for use at Mavisbank House in the 18th and 19th centuries – was a novel precursor to today’s refrigeration technology. A complete 3D spatial dataset of these structures will help teams at HES better understand these properties going forward.

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A trip down memory lane How our photo archive is helping those with dementia to Unlock & Revive some great rock ’n’ roll reminiscences

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sing our extensive online image archive, the Unlock & Revive heritage research project examines how images of Scotland’s heritage and cultural events of the past can benefit those affected by memory impairment.

In collaboration with the University of Edinburgh and Edinburgh Napier University, Unlock & Revive has delivered reminiscence sessions via Zoom to those living with dementia or a brain injury.

One strand of the project, titled Entertaining Archives, displays archive photographs of Edinburgh’s cinemas, concerts, celebrities and dance halls from the 1950s onwards, to encourage participants to reminisce on old times.

“We’re working on similar programmes across the country, such as the ‘At Home @ Stirling Castle’ sessions with Alzheimer Scotland, which is enabling unique digital visits to the property.”

For more, follow #UnlockAndRevive on Twitter

Destined for great things

SHUTTERSTOCK, THE SCOTSMAN PUBLICATIONS LTD

ANSWER THIS QUESTION

From which Historic Scotland property is this detail taken?

A: Craigmillar Castle B: Stirling Castle C: Linlithgow Palace HOW TO ENTER

Submit your answer at historicenvironment.scot/ guesstheplace by 8 December 2021. Terms and conditions apply (available at the web address above). Open to UK residents only.

UP FOR GRABS

Remembering the colourful history of the Stone of Destiny This year marks the State for Scotland, 725th anniversary of Michael Forsyth, in a King Edward I of England special ceremony on stealing the stone as St Andrew’s Day. a spoil of war and taking A new exhibition at it to Westminster Abbey.

It is also the 25th anniversary of the stone’s return to Scotland, where it was welcomed back to Edinburgh by the St Andrew’s Day ceremony then Secretary of

Eyes on the prize Test your historical knowledge and be in with the chance to win an M&S E-Gift card.

Cliff Richard with fans in 1957

“These sessions often trigger fascinating memories,” says Learning Manager Jackie Sangster. “Recently, one woman talked about seeing Cliff Richard at least twice in concert and taking one of the Bay City Rollers to meet her mother! All fascinating memories sparked off by Unlock & Revive.

COMPETITION

Arbroath Abbey about the Declaration of Arbroath includes the story of an incident on Christmas Eve in 1950, when four Scottish students removed the stone from Westminster Abbey. They subsequently left the stone on the altar of Arbroath Abbey on 11 April 1951.

The winner will receive a £50 M&S E-Gift card.

CAN YOU GUESS?

This property was the location of Mary Queen of Scots’ coronation in 1543, and was the hub of royal life until 1603.

Last issue’s answer: Melrose Abbey

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We explore how four communities used grants from the Coasts and Waters Heritage Fund to fund diverse projects

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We have awarded £194,349 from the Coasts and Waters Heritage Fund to 18 community-based projects throughout 2021 to help them protect, promote and encourage audiences to engage with Scotland’s coastal and waterway heritage.

From outreach and educational activities and traditional skills workshops, to repairs to historic and marine structures, the scope of these projects was diverse.

Here, we showcase four projects that received these grants and learn how it will help them to continue making a splash in celebrating the diversity of Scotland’s coasts and waters heritage.

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Cromarty Harbour

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A £20,000 financial boost enabled this project to improve the safety and accessibility of the Smeaton Mole – the outer pier of the A-listed Cromarty Harbour, located in the Highlands. The work has helped to ensure that a fine working example of Scotland’s coastal heritage will survive for future generations to visit and enjoy.

The Swan Trust, Shetland Funding worth £5,000 supported the sail replacement of the Swan, a fishing vessel built in Shetland in 1900.

A shared resource used by the local community to facilitate youth sailing opportunities for volunteer groups, schools and youth organisations, the Swan made its triumphant return to the water this summer.

The Whithorn Trust A £19,000 grant enabled the Whithorn Trust to examine the water-related archaeology of Galloway’s Machars peninsula. The two-part community project provided training in how to analyse and interpret LiDAR data – 3D models of the landscape created using aerial laser scan data. A subsequent travelling exhibition was created to increase audiences’ knowledge of their coastal and water-related heritage.

Kilcheran This Haddington-based social enterprise is using its £9,250 funding to support people from diverse backgrounds to engage with the art of traditional basket-weaving. The project also aims to rejuvenate coastal communities where fishing has declined and address the issue of plastic waste in our oceans.

GREAT GRANTS Learn more about the community projects that benefited from Coasts and Waters Heritage Fund grants at historicenvironment.scot/coasts-andwaters-heritage-fund-grants-awarded

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Water projects set sail

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St Columba celebrated

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Crimthann

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n 7th December 2020, we celebrated the 1500th birthday of St Columba. To mark this milestone, our poet in residence, Alex Aldred, created his poetry collection, Celebrating Columba.

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HOW DID YOU GET INVOLVED IN THIS PROJECT?

shadows my stretch of wild coast at night). Of course it’s one name among many.

Colmcille, Columba, a headful of olive branches: the dove of the church. That fits my myths snugly, and if you’ve no time for myths

St Columba, Patron Saint of Poets

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I’m studying for a PhD in Creative Writing at the University of Edinburgh.

My work tends to explore the stories that lie beneath the surface of our environments, so when I saw Historic Environment Scotland (HES) were looking to explore St Columba’s legacy from a new perspective, I knew I had to get involved.

WHAT WAS THE CREATIVE PROCESS BEHIND EACH OF YOUR POEMS?

Because of lockdown restrictions, I couldn’t visit all of the sites as originally planned, but I was lucky enough to be able to visit Dunadd Fort, which inspired the collection’s second poem, ‘Petroglyphic’.

I was taken aback by the site’s spirituality.

To understand the sites I wasn’t able to visit, HES provided lots of resources and I read English translations of Gaelic poetry contemporary to Columba to help shape my work.

WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE POEM FROM THE COLLECTION?

I’m proudest of the opening poem, ‘Crimthann’, which is set in Columba’s Cave. It’s written in Columba’s voice and I think it works really effectively. Columba’s Cave is located in the middle of nowhere with a few small carvings on the inside,

Meaning fox – named ten centuries too soon for Lowrence and his tricksome ilk (although something of their subtlety, of eyes quiet-bright, of padding steps on dry leaves and crumbling rock

Inspirational Dunadd Fort

I must question why you came here (where azaleas bloom unparalleled yellows, even out of season, where shorelines breathe majesty, where speckled isles huddle and lurch across the horizon).

suggesting it was inhabited at some point. Despite its tangential links to Columba’s story, I was really moved reading the accounts of pilgrimages there – demonstrating how much history and cultural and human experience can be drawn out of even the smallest aspects of the sites linked to Columba.

WHAT DO YOU WANT AUDIENCES TO GET FROM THIS COLLECTION?

Well – sit at what’s left of the altar. The basin with which I once cleansed the hearts of buccaneers lies stagnant as sin, but even so – hold a breath, remember tradition rots slower than vellum,

I learned a lot while creating Celebrating Columba and found that even the seemingly inconsequential aspects of history can have incredible stories behind them. I hope the collection makes this period of Scottish history feel more vivid and encourages people to think differently about the Patron Saint of Poets.

Read Celebrating Columba at historicenvironment.scot/ celebrating-columba and see more of Alex’s work at www.alexaldred.co.uk

and decide for yourself: is this sanctifed ground?

In this shallow cocoon, did I spin myself a bed from whole cloth?

(I won’t meddle with legend; those stories are yours to tell). Then leave me to transcribing canticles, to contemplating the route winding north to Dunadd and all that comes after; let fifteen hundred years unfurl and pass me by so I might rest awhile, keep the steady company of Muck and Eigg and Rùm and Canna and Skye.

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Glasgow Cathedral

This eye-catching place of worship has withstood both ‘acts of God’ and Reformation attack

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This magnificent cathedral was once the focal point of what is now Scotland’s largest city.

The relics of St Kentigern, the patron saint of Glasgow who is also known as St Mungo, are believed to have been laid to rest at the site.

When construction began in the 1100s, the builders sought to create an eye-catching structure that would dominate the landscape for miles around while providing a beautiful

interior space for the clergy.

It was also designed to be a fitting pilgrimage destination, with the crypt housing the tomb of St Mungo added in the mid-1200s.

Glasgow’s is the only mainland cathedral in Scotland to have survived the 16th-century Protestant Reformation virtually intact, and its vast scale and craftsmanship are testament to the wealth and influence of the church in the High Middle Ages.

NAVE The three-storey nave once held as many as 14 altars, which were removed during the Reformation in 1560

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CHOIR AND PRESBYTERY (GROUND FLOOR) Stunning windows allow light to flood in, illuminating the spacious choir and presbytery

Glasgow Cathedral as seen from the city’s Gothic necropolis to its east

Glasgow Cathedral

Timeline 1136

1242-58

1301

1406

Glasgow Cathedral is dedicated to St Kentigern, although at this point the structure is probably not complete

Bishop William de Bondington sponsors a major development of the cathedral which greatly expands its eastern section and adds the chapter houses

During his invasion of Scotland, Edward I makes a four-day pilgrimage to the cathedral

A lightning strike causes severe damage to the cathedral’s central tower, spire and upper chapter house.

Repairs are later undertaken on the orders of Bishop William Lauder

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Spotlight WEST PROCESSIONAL DOOR One of the cathedral’s four original entrances and the main one used to access the cathedral today

TOWER AND SPIRE In 1406 the cathedral was struck by lightning, causing significant damage. Following his appointment in 1408, Bishop William Lauder oversaw the building of a new central tower and spire

BLACADER AISLE Projecting from the south side of the cathedral, the aisle was added by Archbishop Blacader c.1500

CHAPTER HOUSES Added by Bishop William de Bondington in the mid-1300s, the chapter houses are among the locations in the cathedral known for their magnificent ceiling bosses

LEBRECHT MUSIC && ARTS / ALAMY, THE PICTURE ART COLLECTION / ALAMY

CHOIR AND CRYPT (LOWER FLOOR) Built in the mid-1200s as a setting for the tomb of St Kentigern, this area also houses the oldest part of the cathedral, dating from Bishop Jocelin’s tenure (1174-1199)

FUN FACT

The Glasgow Fair, which still takes place today, started in the late 12th century when King William I granted Bishop Jocelin the right to hold an annual fair in July to honour St Kentigern

C.1500

1579

1689

1846-8

Archbishop Robert Blacader orders the addition of a vaulted ceiling to the 13th-century projection on the cathedral’s south walls

Following the Reformation the cathedral is defended by members of the Trades House, allowing it to survive relatively unscathed

Archbishop John Paterson becomes the city’s last archbishop as episcopacy in Scotland is abolished

The west towers are demolished, with their planned replacements never being realised

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THE MOORISH LASSIES How two little-known figures from the 16th-century court of the king will be the focus of Rona Munro’s next play

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WORDS: ROSEMARY GORING ILLUSTRATIONS: JACQUELINE BRIGGS

n 1504, a Portuguese ship heading for England was boarded by the intrepid and thuggish Andrew Barton and his brother Robert. A merchant from Leith, Andrew Barton was an opportunistic rogue. He could be called a pirate, but to James IV, who gave him permission to intercept Portuguese ships and confiscate their goods, he was a useful asset.

Records suggest that among his so-called booty on this raid were two youthful Black women. Possibly on their way to the court of Henry VII, they disembarked instead at Leith. What they made of this dramatic change in plan nobody will ever know.

These women, who were named Ellen and Margaret, and became known as the Moorish Lassies, leave only a tantalisingly faint footprint across the pages of history. And yet their story, and that of other people of colour in Scotland, is an important aspect of medieval history which, until recent times, has been all but ignored.

Dramatist Rona Munro, who won international acclaim for her celebrated series of plays about James I, II and III, will soon change that. Next year the first of her sequels, James IV – Queen of the

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Fight, will be produced by Raw Material and Capital Theatres, in association with the National Theatre of Scotland.

The plot promises to be as eventful as those that came before. It revolves around two young Iberian women, Ellen and Anne – a fictional pair based loosely on the real-life ‘lassies’.

According to the plot outline, “Ellen will become a star in the greatest shows in Europe. She’ll be the queen of the fight, the tournaments, extravagant spectacles of jewellery, costume and fights with deadly weapons. But that fame will come at a price.”

Joining the court

The scant record of the Moorish Lassies shows that in November 1504, not long after arriving in Scotland, they rode to Fife to join the royal court, most probably at Falkland Palace. Later, they and James IV’s young illegitimate daughter Margaret travelled as part of the royal progress through the Borders. Thereafter, they returned to Edinburgh Castle, where they became attendants to the Lady Margaret, a position of great responsibility and trust. There is also a note of one of these young women being baptised and christened after her arrival.

Moorish lassies 18-19 The Moorish Lassies became attendants to James IV’s daughter, the Lady Margaret

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In 1504, James IV’s court was a thriving, outward-looking centre of Renaissance culture and political ambition. The king was newly married to Margaret Tudor, sister of the future Henry VIII, and had a string of illegitimate children by various lovers.

Lady Margaret’s mother, Margaret Drummond, is alleged by a 17th-century account to have been poisoned, and she died in 1502.

The motherless child became head of her own household within Edinburgh

Castle. This distinction suggests that there might have been some truth to the rumour that James and her mother had been secretly betrothed before her untimely death.

Although there is evidence of Black citizens living throughout Europe and Britain from the Roman Empire, in this era Black courtiers were common in Spain, Portugal and Italy. They were deemed a marker of wealth and status. As one historian has written, the presence of the

Moorish Lassies “identified the Stewart court as a bold northern outpost of Renaissance aesthetics”.

That James IV employed Africans, or people of African descent, as his daughter’s companions signals her standing. It also illuminates the young Black attendants. It seems probable that they came from the upper classes.

Even though they might have had no say over where they were sent, they were not slaves in the traditionally understood sense.

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The Moorish Lassies at Stirling Castle at around the time the great hall was built

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joust for the hand of favourite musician, the Black Lady. the drummer Peter If this prestigious the Moor. The role was filled by Ellen Treasurer’s Accounts then it alludes to her of 1504-5 show a beauty as well as her payment of 28 shillings position. She is almost for him to have his certainly the woman drum painted; on lampooned in William another occasion the Dunbar’s offensive king bought him a poem recording one of horse, so he could these tournaments. accompany him Rona Munro “Of Ane Blak-Moir” when touring.

Her TV credits include or “My ladye of the The lavishness of the episodes of Dr Who and mekle lippis” is way Lady Margaret Casualty but it is her repugnant to modern dressed gives a glimpse James plays trilogy, first sensibilities. It is a into the splendour and performed in 2014, that shocking insight style of the court. made Munro’s name. into attitudes in the Her wardrobe included Her fresh take on an often Stewart era. furs, velvet gowns, neglected era won over It was also the golden beads and audiences and critics alike. spur for Munro’s new an abundance of play. Dunbar’s vile decorative shoes. descriptions sparked her interest as Her companions wore rich russetwell as anger: “It was striking to me coloured dresses over red kirtles, and that one of the very first records of had fashionable but practical doublepeople of colour arriving in Scotland soled shoes. was followed so swiftly by a piece Scant records of popular poetry that derided and On Lady Margaret’s marriage, in 1510, ‘othered’ them. I found that both Ellen seems to have become an chilling and shocking in what it attendant of the queen. Margaret might said about Scottish culture.” be the “Black Margaret” mentioned in Historical and fictional 1513, whose surname – Prestoun – Munro’s Moorish Lassies are suggests she married a Scot. Both at the same time historical and Moorish Lassies fade from the records fictional: “I have amalgamated after 1513, the year of the Battle of several partial stories to create the Flodden, at which James IV died. characters called Anne and Ellen However, the accounts of 1527 note: “to in the play. And I’ve focused in Helenor, the blak moir - 60 shillings”. particular on the woman who became It has been generally assumed that the star of royal tournaments and the the Moorish Lassies would have been subject of that nasty poem. of a similar age to the Lady Margaret, “I also feature the character of ‘Peter’ who was about 10 when they arrived. quite heavily. … It’s clear this Moorish However, since Ellen appears to have man was in Scotland before the arrival been involved in some of the court’s of the women and the others on the most prestigious spectacles, she was Portuguese ship captured by the possibly older.

Bartons. It’s perfectly possible there The grand tournaments of 1507 and were other people of colour in Scotland 1508 were held beyond the walls of before this date too but we know Peter, Edinburgh Castle, from where they at least, was here, and was a close could be watched. The Wild or Savage companion of the king.”

Knight – played by the king – would

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A pious, adulterous, tormented but above all sophisticated man, James IV encouraged music, dance, literature and debate. Around the time of the Moorish Lassies’ residence, he undertook a major plan of renovation, notably at Stirling Castle and the palaces of Linlithgow, Falkland and Holyrood. The Moorish Lassies were likely to have visited all of these.

They were not the only Black members of court. James’s manservant of many years was Black, as was a

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A-LISTED BUILDINGS

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Three great Scottish music and arts venues

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Peter the Moor was a drummer in James IV’s court and features in Rona Munro’s play

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Britannia Music Hall Glasgow, Trongate The world’s oldest surviving music hall, this was where Stan Laurel made his debut at 16.

PRODUCTION QUILLPEN ROYALTY FREE STOCK / ALAMY, MARK SUNDERLAND PHOTOGRAPHY / ALAMY

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During the extensive research undertaken by the creative team, Munro came to a startling realisation. She learned that the people captured by the Bartons were probably from Muslimruled Iberia, where there had been a Black African community for centuries.

“Originally I’d imagined my characters came direct from what is now Ghana, through the ports that transported so many kidnapped and trafficked Africans in later centuries. Once I found better history books and, in particular, once Dr Onyeka Nubia from the University of Nottingham agreed to offer our creative team some guidance, I realised how wrong this assumption was.

“The biggest light-bulb moment for me,” Munro continues, “was the realisation that these men and women were European people of colour – they had been part of European society for many generations. The people on that ship were probably skilled and already employed as royal servants and entertainers in Europe. It is likely they were headed for the court of Henry VII of England before they were diverted.

People of colour had been part of European society for many generations “Some of the details that create the impression that these women were new arrivals from a far further place – for instance records of baptism – have probably been misinterpreted. Baptism, I’m told, could be a ceremony of naturalisation, adopting a new church and country, and it’s very likely these people were already Christian.”

When news of James IV - Queen of the Fight was first announced, Munro said her hope was to “make those invisible in history visible again and provide a representation of the most potent and telling truth of history”. Removing the cloak of invisibility was once a magician’s job. Now, it falls to the theatre.

Raw Material and Capital Theatres present James IV – Queen of the Fight in association with National Theatre of Scotland, coming autumn 2022. www.capitaltheatres.com

Tivoli Theatre

Aberdeen The Electric Wizard performed here in the Cage of Death, which sent 30,000 volts through him.

Tolbooth, Jail Wynd Stirling The 18th and 19th-century Tolbooth housed a court and prison. It became an arts venue in 2002.

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Winter adventures with your dog Wrap up warm with your canine companion for a walk at one of these five properties WORDS: JENNIFER CONSTABLE

FEATURED PROPERTIES

DRYBURGH ABBEY

CRAIGMILLAR CASTLE

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RUTHVEN BARRACKS

DUNSTAFFNAGE CASTLE

BROCH OF GURNESS

Dogs 24-25 Paws on patrol: check the website for guidance on dog-friendly properties

DRYBURGH ABBEY

Pooch perfect ruins Dryburgh was relatively peaceful, despite enduring at least three savage attacks during its lifetime.

Much of the spiritual and domestic home of the brethren is still intact, with the church an impressive relic of Gothic architecture.

While the abbey remains closed, you can still walk around the beautiful transepts and grounds, or take a longer stroll along the banks of the Tweed.

ALLAN WRIGHT / ALAMY, SHUTTERSTOCK, DENNIS HARDLEY / ALAMY

Take your dog to this wellpreserved medieval ruin by the River Tweed to get a feel for monastic life, and enjoy the views of the magnificent veteran trees nearby, home to three types of bat.

The abbey was founded for Premonstratensian canons in 1150, and became the premier house in Scotland of the French order, established by Norbert of Xanten in 1120 in Prémontré.

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Head to the outskirts of Edinburgh for a walk around ‘Edinburgh’s second castle’. Standing a mile outside the city walls, Craigmillar Castle was originally a simple tower house residence built in the late 1300s, but its architecture grew more complex with each successive owner.

The castle played host to Mary Queen of Scots in 1566 while she recuperated from illness, when it was owned by Sir Simon Preston, at the time her loyal supporter.

The castle is surrounded by natural history, with many impressive veteran trees in the grounds, and a grand old sycamore to the south of the castle that

Ruthven Barracks is close to Kingussie and can be seen from the A9

has spread around a drystone dyke.

Many of the plants growing by the castle were likely to have been part of the original castle garden, including Good-KingHenry, a popular vegetable of the time.

The surrounding Craigmillar Castle Park is a spacious natural heritage park, which boasts grasslands and impressive woodland areas, including more than 40,000 trees such as alder, birch, oak, ash and hawthorn.

You can stroll along the surviving part of the famous Lady Susan’s Walk – named after Lady Susan Gilmour, who lived in Craigmillar in the late 1800s – which takes you around the grounds.

RUTHVEN BARRACKS

High and mighty Climb up to the impressive ruins of Ruthven Barracks with your canine companion to get a feel for life at a Jacobite-era stronghold.

Built in the early 1700s by King George II’s government following the failed Jacobite Rising of 1715, Hanoverian troops were stationed there to maintain law and order and to enforce the Disarming Act of 1716.

Built where the medieval castle of the Gordons once stood, and the Comyns’

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A capital idea

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See alternative views of Edinburgh from Craigmillar Castle

DUNSTAFFNAGE CASTLE

Age-old beauty in Argyll One of Scotland’s oldest stone castles, Dunstaffnage was built before 1240 by Duncan MacDougall during a tumultuous time for Argyll, which oversaw a struggle for power between the kingdoms of Scotland and Norway for control of the Hebrides.

The castle’s imposing fortifications guarded the seaward approach from the Firth of Lorn to the Pass of Brander, effectively protecting the heart of Scotland.

castle before that, the barracks was strategically placed – visible for miles and dominating the head of the Spey Valley.

In 1745, a 300-strong Jacobite attack failed to capture the barracks, but a better-equipped armed attack the following year forced its surrender. The Jacobites met at Ruthven after their defeat at Culloden before conceding.

From here, you can cross a heather moorland, walk through Glen Tromie and visit a popular RSPB reserve.

Dogs should be kept under close control or on a short lead at the reserve.

Dunstaffnage Castle saw plenty of conflict during the Scottish Wars of Independence and was famously besieged

by Robert the Bruce around 1308.

In 1746, Dunstaffnage Castle played host to one of its most famous guests, Flora MacDonald, who was taken to the castle after she was arrested for helping Bonnie Prince Charlie to escape by dressing him up as her serving girl.

After seeking out the 13th-century chapel tucked away in the trees, you’ll be able to soak up the sea breeze with your pup on the Ganavan Bay walk, which takes you right up to the ruined castle.

As well as the stunning coastal scenery of the west Highlands and a secluded beach to enjoy, this gentle walk gives you beautiful views from the clifftop path. On a clear day you’ll be able to see the Island of Kerrera and the Isle of Mull.

Not only dog-friendly the surrounding woodland is home to pipistrelle bats

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Keep your dog and nature safe when out and about by following our dog rules and guidance, to keep our sites clean and to be respectful to our staff and other visitors.

Before your visit, you can check online to see which sites allow dogs.

1. Dogs must be kept on

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See historicenvironment. scot/dog-policy

BROCH OF GURNESS

Sniff out an Iron Age powerhouse Step far back in time with your dog and visit one of the most impressive brochs to be found in Orkney. The Broch of Gurness paints a vivid picture of what life would have been like in the Iron Age. This is one of few broch sites that have been investigated in detail. It contains a subterranean chamber or well, and three stairways, though these

probably all belong to different periods of the site’s 1,000 years of use.

After AD 100, the broch was abandoned and the ditches were filled in.

The site then became a single farmstead until the 8th century.

The grave of a Viking woman has also been found at Gurness, and other human bones and Viking objects suggest that others had been buried here too.

From the Broch of Gurness, you can walk a part of Orkney’s St Magnus Way to Birsay with your dog.

This route boasts incredible coastal scenery, with beautiful views over to Eynhallow, Rousay, Westray and the Brough of Birsay.

You will also pass by the sites of the Mansie Stones, which marked where St Magnus’s remains rested as they were transported to Birsay.

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a lead at all times during your visit to our sites and should not be left unattended.

2. A no fouling rule applies at all properties and owners must clean up after their dog.

Poop scoops are provided at all dogfriendly properties and are available from the site steward.

3. Dogs are not allowed in any roofed building – including visitor centres.

4. Dogs are not permitted in areas where food is prepared.

5. Assistance dogs are permitted in all our properties and parts of sites, including visitor centres and food areas.

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Senior conservator Gretel Evans and post-excavation project officer Andrew Morrison at work in the conservation area

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Grave expectations

Archaeologists are currently examining artefacts from a Viking burial site in Orkney – but what do they hope to find out?

Warning: This article contains images of human skeletons.

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ucked away on an industrial estate near Edinburgh, work is under way which will shed light on the lives of Scotland’s first Vikings.

AOC Archaeology, who we commissioned to carry out the work, are currently examining the contents of two graves discovered on

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the north-east coast of Papa Westray, Orkney, several years ago, in a bid to uncover the routines, culture and beliefs of these people. The project is due to last several years and will take advantage of rapid advances in DNA technology.

Some fascinating details have been revealed by the team members’ early investigations, which we heard about during a recent visit to the laboratory.

Who were they?

AOC Archaeology have established that the two burial chambers each held one set of human remains dating back to the 10th century, one a female, the other a male, and they are confident their analysis will be confirmed in specialised tests.

It’s believed that both of the deceased were in their thirties and were laid

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VIKINGS

© HES. REPRODUCED COURTESY OF JOHN R HUME

Excavation under way

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Mayback, Papa Westray

to rest with objects known as ‘grave gifts’ in line with Viking custom.

Such new information is already remarkable. But over the course of the project the team are confident of finding out much more.

They should, for example, discover if the man and woman were born on Orkney or moved there from elsewhere.

They should also be able to tell what they looked like, what they ate, what diseases they suffered from, how they died and even what rituals marked their passing.

How were they found?

The two Vikings’ modern day story dates back to six years ago, when one of the 90 or so residents of Papa Westray came across the graves while digging on his small farmstead to prepare for some building work.

The local authority archaeologist Julie Gibson was called out and within hours a team from AOC Archaeology was dispatched to the site - a possible Viking Age cemetery with burial evidence dating back to the Iron Age, which ended in Britain around 500BC.

“Archaeologists are always mobilised quickly to any finds which include human remains in order to deal with the remains respectfully and sensitively,” says Dr Ciara Clarke, deputy managing director of AOC Archaeology.

“The first burial that was exposed was from the Iron Age and then later the two Viking Age burials. Being considerably older, the Iron Age burial was lower down in the sandy dunes.”

The first Viking grave contained the woman’s remains and is believed to be a rare ‘boat burial’, while the second was richly furnished with weapons A shield boss and including spear recovered from the site a sword.

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Myth busting

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Contrary to popular belief most deceased Vikings were not placed on their boats, which were then set alight and sent out to sea. Instead archaeologists and historians believe they were sometimes buried in boats – either ones they had used during their lives or vessels especially built for their funerals – among other inhumation methods.

The Viking boat burial excavated on Papa Westray is one of only around 10 found so far in Scotland.

It will be up to Dr Clarke and her team - which includes senior conservator Gretel Evans and postexcavation project officer Andrew Morrison - to try to find out, for instance, what the deceased woman’s status or standing within the community may have been.

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Genetic ancestry

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Bone analysis and radiocarbon dating were used to establish the age of the remains and how old the two people were when they died. But AOC Archaeology will work with the Ancient Genome Project at the Francis Crick Institute in London (see sidebar) to undertake DNA analysis to determine their genetic ancestry and confirm their sex, as well as to gain knowledge of their diet and mobility, what illnesses they suffered from and their cause of death.

Some of the grave gifts were laid out on laboratory tables during our visit and these will provide deeper understanding about the two Vikings’ lives.

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Boat burial showing human remains

Inhumation showing grave goods in situ

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VRI K A II N L GS A DV E N T U R E S

OLD BONES, NEW CLUES

Examination of part of a tool used for textile work

Cleaning up The important artefacts, as well as some of the hundreds of nails and bolts unearthed in the boat burial, go through lengthy cleaning and conservation processes in the laboratory.

Evans explains that several processes can be applied to a single object, including cleaning by hand tools and air abrasion. Before undergoing airbrasion, the object – which to the naked eye might look like a lump of corroded metal – is X-rayed to identify features hidden by corrosion.

Air abrasion uses compressed air to fire aluminium oxide powder at high pressure down a stylus. This is gently manipulated by hand to remove select areas of corrosion, revealing hidden features while using an X-radiograph of the object as a guide.

Further investigative cleaning will also be carried out on some objects as requested by artefact specialists.

This will involve removal of iron corrosion products via mechanical cleaning using hand tools under magnification, as well as air abrasion.

Many more conservation techniques will be carried out on the objects as the project progresses, including both investigative and remedial processes, though Evans explained that not all can be defined at this stage. However, conservators routinely use chemicals to stabilise metals, and adhesives and consolidants to repair and strengthen objects.

The boat burial on Papa Westray is one of only 10 found in Scotland Dug out Inside the Viking woman’s boat burial grave, archaeologists found a shield boss – the metal centre of the shield. The team say it is similar to those discovered in Scandinavia and it is believed to date from around AD 850-950.

Other objects include a possible needle and a fragment of heckle. This small tool would have consisted of a wooden board with rows of iron teeth used for the preparation of wool or flax for textile production. And there is also a latch lifter, which was used for opening simple locks that could have been on gates or doors.

The object has the remains of mineralised textiles stuck to it, with Morrison theorising that it would have lain up against some fabric in the burial, perhaps in a pocket or pouch.

This may confirm that Vikings were dressed prior to burial, with more analysis to be undertaken on how the textiles were produced. Fragments of two U-shaped hinges were also unearthed; they may have been associated with a small box.

Considerably more objects were found and excavated from the furnished burial.

A sword, which photographs appear to show situated on top of the deceased, was one of the most significant finds.

With a highly decorative hilt, the weapon

Archaeologists in Scotland investigating the Orkney Viking burials will collaborate with the Skoglund Ancient Genomics Laboratory, based at the Francis Crick Institute in London.

Funded by the Wellcome Trust, researchers there use highly sensitive techniques to extract and analyse DNA from ancient skeletal material and carry out a process known as DNA sequencing.

Researchers on the project aim to sequence at least 1,000 ancient genomes, including the genomes of the Viking man and woman found in Orkney. A genome is a complete and unique set of genetic information in an individual which is stored in long molecules of DNA, called chromosomes.

Doing this will help researchers better understand people of the past.

The laboratory is led

by Dr Pontus Skoglund (pictured below), who specialises in evolutionary genetics.

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was found still within its scabbard.

Morrison believes it dates from the early Viking Age, around the 9th century. An iron buckle was also excavated which may have been used as a suspension sling for the sword’s scabbard.

Gretel Evans examines an X-ray of a sword

Were they hunters?

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The Orkney project makes clear that rituals played an important role in Viking culture What mysteries remain

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“The fact that the Viking woman had a shield with her does not mean that she was a warrior,” says Dr Clarke.

“There is an academic debate about whether these were given to people [in the graves] to help them get to the other world or to reflect the wealth and status of the families.”

Morrison agrees: “It’s the same with the second burial. Although it does have a sword and a spear and

arrows, it doesn’t necessarily mean he was a warrior either.”

It is perhaps inevitable that some mysteries will remain about our two Vikings’ burials. What is certain is that many details about them are in the process of being uncovered by the team of Edinburgh archaeologists.

As a result, we will all have a much greater understanding of Viking lives ... and deaths.

WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM ANCIENT GENOMES? An ancient genome can reveal the sex of an individual and provide clues to their appearance.

For example, DNA extracted in 2018 from a tiny fragment of bone from Cheddar Man – a 10,000-yearold skeleton found in the Cheddar Gorge in Somerset, England – revealed that he was likely to have had dark

Cheddar Man

skin, green or blue eyes, dark curly or wavy hair and was

lactose intolerant, which was common at the time.

The study was carried out by the National History

Museum in London where the remains, originally excavated in 1903, are now stored.

Recent analyses of individuals from Neolithic tombs in the UK and Ireland have revealed a daughter buried in the same tomb as her father, two brothers buried together, and a man whose parents were either siblings or parent and child.

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Other fascinating finds from the furnished grave include two knives, possibly contained within a pouch, a quiver of arrows - most likely used for hunting rather than warfare – and a spear. Morrison explains that the spear shaft may have been broken deliberately before being placed in the grave and that the research will seek to find out whether it was snapped simply to fit in, or whether it was done as part of a burial ritual.

What has become clear from the Orkney project so far is that rituals played an important role in Viking culture. For instance, did the latch lifter, the needle and the heckle, and the spear and knives, have symbolic value to the Vikings?

Were they placed in the graves to signify wealth and status?

Both Clarke and Morrison believe that the fact that both people had objects buried with them suggests they belonged to a relatively wealthy group who could afford to pass gifts on to the deceased. This does not rule out that the objects had a significance in terms of the funeral ritual and the Viking system of beliefs, including in an afterlife.

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I’VE NEVER BEEN TO…

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BLACKNESS CASTLE Joan McFadden visits the landmark on the Forth for the first time and takes in its stunning views

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Blackness 36-37 Due to its design and location, Blackness Castle is known as the ship that never sailed

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he last turn of the road into the village of Blackness reveals the perfect snapshot of Blackness Castle, silhouetted against the sky on a point of land jutting into the Firth of Forth.

The road to the castle runs along the south bank of the Forth, reaching an outer courtyard and attractive lawn, and presenting a peaceful introduction to a very rugged monument.

This remarkably complete medieval castle originated in the 15th century, with major work added in the 16th century to make it one of the most formidably defensive royal strongholds in the country. These alterations included heightening the walls and almost quadrupling their thickness, making the castle resemble an imposing stone boat, and it became known as the ‘ship that never sailed’. This is particularly obvious when the castle is viewed from the pier, presenting a grim and unassailable face which undoubtedly repelled many potential boarders over the years.

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FEELS LIKE HOME

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The castle was built as a residence for the powerful Crichton family, but despite the imposing great hall which would have been the obvious setting for all socialising, the strongest impression here is of a garrison fortress. The three towers of the castle continue the ship theme, with the stem jutting into the sea and housing the original prison and pit, the main mast being the free-standing tower house within the enclosure, later used to house state prisoners, and the stern at the landward end which contains the great hall.

South of the courtyard the ground rises steeply to overlook the castle, which was the perfect point for an assault by Cromwell’s forces in 1651.

There are also the ruins of St Ninian’s Chapel, from the 1300s, and a dovecot dating from the 1500s, while ancient burials have also been found on the hill.

The castle served as a military garrison and state prison through the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. In 1870 it became the central ammunition depot

for Scotland, and remained in use until shortly after World War I, supplying munitions to Rosyth Naval Dockyard and the fortified islands in the Firth of Forth. The officers’ quarters and soldiers’ barracks on the landward side of the castle and the pier on the seaward side date from this period. Following the castle’s transfer into the care of the Office of Works, major programmes of masonry repair and restoration were carried out in an attempt to return the castle to its 16th-century form.

MAKING WAVES Now from the history background to the reality of a meander through the centuries, starting with the pier. We were there at low tide and the mudflats were teeming with life, including a very dignified heron prowling through the shallows. It was a beautiful sunny day, but the overriding impression looking towards Blackness Castle was that it would have taken a very intrepid foe to attempt to breach its dark defences.

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xxxxxx xxxxxxx A stair tower that xxxxxxxxxxxxxx dates from 1667

The great hall, setting of many a banquet

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The castle staff were all wonderfully enthusiastic, ready for questions and full of knowledge. I can imagine that this is probably honed through years of being interrogated by school parties eager for every detail, and some of the information was delivered with real relish. I particularly enjoyed the description of the defences to the Joan learns more of the castle’s secrets

Blackness 38-39 Blackness puts on a daunting display, but couldn’t keep out Cromwell’s forces

The keeper would be expected to maintain the castle in a constant state of readiness for a royal visit entrance, where unsuspecting enemies could be shot in the back – all’s fair in love and war.

higher rank and were treated accordingly, allowed to go up to three miles away and only kept under lock and key at night.

COMMANDING COURTYARD

LOOKING UP

The castle is built on coastal rock, so today the courtyard is uneven and rocky in areas, and care should be taken while making your way around the castle. Take similar care on the ancient steps in the towers, although the wall walk is fairly easy.

The tower house was the original residential area of the castle, with a basement and three floors. Another storey was added in the 1530s. Arched windows, fireplaces, sleeping chambers and latrines feature throughout, along with breathtaking views across the water. These would have been of small comfort to occupants from the 16th century, however, when the castle became a prison, before being turned into a garrison in the 18th century. The prisoners in this tower tended to be of

The stern tower has also been added to and altered over the centuries, and was originally built to complement the tower house, with its kitchen, great hall, service accommodation and storage. When the tower house became a prison it’s likely that the keeper and his family would have lived here, and it would have hosted all banquets and other social events. The keeper would be expected to maintain the castle in a constant state of readiness for a royal visit, although apparently these were few and far between.

A minstrels’ gallery and food serving hatch in the great hall would have made any entertaining easier, and the large windows and a high ceiling added to the sense of grandeur and airiness. Like all the rooms, it also feels chilly, and the huge fireplace – I could practically stand in it, although admittedly I’m not tall –

A tower built for right-handed visitors

HOW TO GET THERE ● The car park has limited spaces and will be monitored. It is only available for those who have booked tickets to visit the castle and its grounds. ● At peak times please also be aware that Blackness village has limited parking and alternative means of travel are encouraged. ● There are good footpaths and cycling routes to the castle.

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The prisoners’ only sanitation was sea water inundation, which happened at high tide

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Blackness Castle has been used as a location for Outlander, Outlaw King and Mary Queen of Scots, so many of its visitors come not just to explore and enjoy the history, but to see where favourite scenes have been filmed.

We’ve enjoyed Outlaw King a few times and visiting the castle made us even keener to watch it all again.

Blackness Castle makes a great day out, with visitors able to enjoy the lovely lawns and stunning views across the Forth, as well as exploring the castle and nearby beaches. The current one-way viewing system put in place because

of Covid-19 works really well and we felt able to explore at our leisure, to poke our noses into just about every nook and cranny, and enjoy the centuries of history wrapped up in those ancient walls.

UNBEATABLE VIEWS

The views from every tower are extraordinary, showcasing how important its situation has been for so many years. I was fascinated by trying to imagine the realities of life all those years ago – maintaining the garrison, keeping different prisoners locked up, coping with bitter Scottish winters and even keeping warm, fed and hopefully clean.

The fact that the castle has remained intact for such a long period of time is part of its appeal – it plunges you into history with very little imagination required, and being able to access so much of it safely is absolutely fascinating. I’m not sure why I never reached Blackness Castle before, but I’ll definitely be back.

Please visit historyawaits.scot for the most up-to-date opening times

5 MILES

Linlithgow Palace and Peel The former royal residence is closed, but the beautiful surroundings are well worth a stop

6 MILES

Kinneil Wood In a cottage here, beside Kinneil House, James Watt worked on his first steam engine and more

Blackness is an awe-inspiring sight, whether approached by land or sea 12 MILES

Eagle Rock, Cramond See the probably-Roman carving on the shore and, depending on timing, pop out to Cramond Island

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would have been very welcome.

Prisoners in the stem tower were of considerably lower status, with miserable, cold and dark conditions – and the only sanitation being seawater inundation, which happened twice a day at high tide. There would be little chance of surviving there for any length of time and in 1924 a horrible discovery revealed the macabre remains of an iron manacle, still attached to the wrist bones of a longsince-perished prisoner.

WINTER WALKS NEARBY

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A stairway in Buchanan Street underground station, 1965

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THROUGH HISTORY

Looking back at the Glasgow District Subway 125 years after it first shoogled into service

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Glasgow Subway 42-43 Left A sign at St Enoch underground station, circa 1981 Right The platform at Partick Cross station (now Kelvinhall) in 1930

A NEWSQUEST (HERALD & TIMES)., HES (ROKEBY COLLECTION)., SCOTTISH MOTOR MUSEUM TRUST

s the third oldest underground metro system in the world – after London and Budapest – it must have been a pretty big moment for the people of Glasgow in December 1896 when the Glasgow District Subway opened. It wasn’t a smooth start – a collision on opening day injured four people, closing the subway until mid-January.

The line may have changed its name a few times (from subway to underground and back again) and been given a few nicknames over the years (most famously The Clockwork Orange, after the book and film of the same name) but the service has been strikingly consistent.

Serving the city

With 15 stations in one loop, the Glasgow Subway connects the city centre to the West End and areas

south of the river. It’s a simple route, but together with Glasgow’s low-level trains and overground transportation options, it plays a key role in moving the population in and around the city.

In fact, 12.6 million passenger journeys were made on the Glasgow

Subway on average each year from 2009 to 2019.

Only one original station no longer exists – Merkland Street – which was replaced

by Partick in 1980. Fans of abandoned places may have heard of unused underground stations in the city, in particular one in the Glasgow Botanic Gardens,

The line may have changed its name a few times but the service has been strikingly consistent

Left The old entrance to St Enoch station – now a Caffè Nero! Right The flywheel of the engine in Glasgow Subway’s power station, 1956 HISTORICENVIRONMENT.SCOT 43

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but this was part of a different rail network. From the gardens you can peer down onto the old platform.

Alight at Hillhead if you wish to take a look.

Interestingly enough the subway’s tunnels are not the oldest underground railway in Glasgow, as some of the low-level railway lines pre-date it. A three-mile stretch between High Street and Charing Cross (on which there is still a very regular service today) dates back to 1863.

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Hillhead underground station circa 1971, prior to renovations that added a second platform

Full steam ahead

PRODUCTION CLIENT SCOTTISH LIFE ARCHIVE., NEWSQUEST (HERALD & TIMES)., HES. REPRODUCED COURTESY OF J R HUME

Escalators being installed at Kelvinbridge station in 1978

The interior of a new subway train in 1978. The Glasgow Subway trains are known for their petite size

The Subway Bar stood beside Cowcaddens station entrance until its demolition in the 1970s (photo

by John R. Hume in 1971). The station looks very different today, with a surface-level ticket hall

The clutch-and-cable system that ran the original trains in 1896 was driven by steam power at a plant located between West Street and Shields Road in the south of the city. In 1935, the subway went electric, and existing carriages were adapted to fit.

A huge renovation in the 1970s saw the trains replaced and stations overhauled. Queen Elizabeth II reopened the subway on 1 November 1979.

One of the original cabledrawn carriages can be seen at the Riverside Museum, which is a ten-minute walk from Partick station.

In 2010, a refurbishment programme was announced and since then significant changes have been made to stations. These include the striking new glass entranceways at the Buchanan Street and St Enoch stations and a magnificent mural by Alasdair Gray at Hillhead station, which is a thoroughfare for students of the University of Glasgow.

See archive images of the Glasgow Subway and much more at scran.ac.uk and canmore.org.uk

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STATION TO STATION

Interesting facts about seven stops on the Glasgow Subway REPRO OP SUBS SHUTTERSTOCK, NEWSQUEST (HERALD & TIMES), CROWN COPYRIGHT (HES), HES. REPRODUCED COURTESY OF J R HUME., FLICKR.COM/JOHN LORD, HES (ROKEBY COLLECTION)., STUART NEVILLE

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More than five million passengers passed through this station in the year prior to the Covid pandemic.

With two entrances on the busy shopping thoroughfare that shares its name, and a third way in across from Queen Street railway station, it’s little surprise that this is the subway’s busiest station.

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BUCHANAN STREET

PARTICK A key travel hub in Glasgow, especially on a rainy day, Partick station connects the subway with the suburban rail network – and has a major bus hub right outside. While the Glasgow Subway remains underground throughout its route, Glasgow’s ‘lowlevel’ trains are above ground and above street level at this stop.

IBROX Named Copland Road until 1977, Ibrox station is unsurprisingly close to Rangers FC’s stadium of the same name and is a very busy stop on match days.

GOVAN

KELVINHALL

A regular Glasgow Subway announcement advises of the occasional train terminating at Govan.

That’s because this station, formerly called Govan Cross, is the closest to the subway system’s main depot and test track.

MERKLAND STREET (NOW CLOSED) During World War II a German bomb was dropped near to this West End station. The explosion damaged the underground tunnels, resulting in a four month part-closure of the route.

The station on Dumbarton Road sits close to the corner of Byres Road and is subtly nestled between shops. It was called Partick Cross until 1977, and is your handiest stop for Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum.

HILLHEAD (RIGHT) The magnificent mural by Alasdair Gray that you’ll pass on your way down to platforms here shows a beautiful map of the West End, along with panels depicting dinosaurs, dragons, mermaids, unicorns, foxes and more.

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Make memories you’ll treasure at the Castle of Light

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Sparkle and shine See our nighttime sensation Castle of Light and much more For further information visit historicenvironment.scot/events

Castle of Light: Hidden Treasures EDINBURGH CASTLE

Various dates from Fri 19 NovSun 9 Jan 2022 Adults £20, concessions £16, children £12 Family tickets and members discount available castleoflight.scot Expect wonder, enchantment and a spectacle of colour this festive season as Edinburgh Castle transforms into a magical wonderland and becomes the ‘Castle of Light’ once again. Look forward to stunning visuals, state of the art lighting installations and Rex, the famous red lion, back with some new friends to help you explore the hidden treasures of the castle. Watch as the untold history of this landmark illuminates the very walls that saw it unfold.

Seasonal sensations Christmas Lunches

EDINBURGH CASTLE

Thu 9-Sat 11 and Thu 16-Sat 18 Dec; sittings at 12pm, 12.30pm and 1pm Adults £45 (members £40), children £25 (members £22.50) 0131 210 0338 edinburghcastle. scot/festive

Fri 3-Wed 8, Sun 12-Wed 15 and Sun 19-Wed 22 Dec; sittings at 1pm, 1.30pm and 2pm £29, £34.50 with prosecco or gin; (members £22.50, £28 with prosecco or gin) 0131 210 0338 edinburghcastle. scot/festive

Christmas Afternoon Teas

Fri 3-Sun 5 and Fri 10-Sun 12 Dec;

EDINBURGH CASTLE

STIRLING CASTLE

sitting at 1.30pm £29, £34.50 with prosecco; (members £22.50, £28 with prosecco) 01786 469491 stirlingcastle.scot/ festive Make this Christmas go down in history as you join us to celebrate at Stirling and Edinburgh castles. The perfect way to kick-start the season. Advance booking is essential.

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Events 50

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DECEMBER

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Christmas Shopping Fayre STIRLING CASTLE

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Can traditional skills unlock a greener future?

Tue 7 Dec; 6-9pm, £6 per person Book online stirlingcastle.scot/ festive Stock up for the festive season in the Great Hall, with stalls of local crafts, fine food and drink.

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COP26 events

A Christmas Carol

The Circular Economy and the Historic Environment Exhibition

Fri 17-Sun 19 Dec; 7-9.30pm (doors open 6.15pm) Adults £17,

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Until Sun 14 Nov; 10am-4pm £6 per person Book online cultureatcop.com/ events/the-circulareconomy-and-thehistoricenvironmentexhibition-2021 Moving towards a circular economy is a key part of the solution to the climate emergency.

Find out more about the skills and materials required to keep our historic environment in good repair and how this can create green jobs. Discover how traditional materials can support low carbon construction today. And discover the design secrets of

building to last, and ensuring our existing built environment is energy efficient and valued way into the future.

Historic Environment Scotland at SpACE GLASGOW CATHEDRAL

Thu 11-Fri 12 Nov; 11am-4pm Book online cultureatcop.com/ events/historicenvironmentscotland-atspace-2021 HES demonstrates and showcases the potential of heritage to transition and achieve net zero in our cities, buildings and communities.

The two days will explore and share experiences around how heritage is a key part of the circular economy.

STIRLING CASTLE

concessions £15, children £13 Family tickets and member discount available stirlingcastle.scot/ festive Join the critically acclaimed Chapterhouse Theatre Company for this family treat at the castle. Watch as mean old Ebenezer Scrooge’s frozen heart begins to melt and he finally learns to embrace the festive spirit.

The performance on Saturday 18 December will be BSL interpreted.

Toilets

Gift shop

Restaurant/café

DUFF HOUSE

Fri 17 Dec-Sun 27 Feb 2022; 10-11am £4.50 non-members, free for members Book online 01261 818 181 historicenvironment. scot/events An exhibition of the work of Moraybased abstract artist Toni Harrower, which showcases painting as a response to poetry and shows how we can communicate in different forms.

Join us online The Built Heritage of Robert Burns in Alloway

Q&A on Rock Art | We Love History Live

ONLINE

ONLINE

Wed 17 Nov; 2pm Booking required archives@hes.scot Chris Waddell, learning manager at the Robert Burns Birthplace Museum, explores life in Alloway during the poet’s life and what we can still see today. This free event will take place over Zoom.

Thu 9 Dec; 1-2pm Join us as we investigate mysterious carved symbols found across the Scottish landscape with two experts from Scotland’s Rock Art Project. This free event will be available via livestream on the Historic Environment Scotland Facebook page and YouTube.

Drumtroddan Rock Art

See more at cultureatcop.com

Parking

May Your Thoughts Write The Rest

Reasonable wheelchair access

Picnic area

Dogs not permitted (except assistance dogs)

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A Coorie Christmas

A cornucopia of treats for the festive season, sourced from Scottish suppliers

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We can’t think of a better way to spend the dark winter nights than cooried under a blanket, in front of a fire with a mug of mulled wine.

4 5

And from the comfort of your own home, make a start on the Christmas shopping with our selection of gift ideas. From candles, books, textiles, hampers and online exclusives, there is something for everyone.

1 Tartan teddy £8 2 Rhubarb and bramble candle £11.50

3 The Coorie Home £14.99 4 The Art of Coorie £14.99 5 Nutcracker decorations £12 each

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2

10

Yuletide gift guide

11

Presents from around Scotland 1

10 Tartan mug £4 11 Tartan bowl £5

Treat your loved one to something from our bespoke Edinburgh Castle range (items 1-9) or from our extended Scottish gift selection.

Why not add our Edinburgh Castle Gin to your festive cocktail?

12

1 Edinburgh Castle Gin, 2 3 4 5

13

from £4.50 Tartan hipflask £35 Tartan china mug £22 Lambswool tartan scarf £26 Tartan gloves £15

14

12 Hand wash £9.50 13 Hand lotion £12 14 Cashmere scarf £78 3

2

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Whisky toddy mixture £4 Tartan cufflinks £16 Chocolate bar £5 Shortbread box £7

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15 Ancestry prints 2 for £35

16 Oak thistle serving board £36 17 Oak thistle coasters £26

17

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DON’T FORGET TO DECK THE HALLS...

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Whether you are a 1 December decorator or 12 days before traditionalist, check out our festive decorations!

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Exclusive to Edinburgh Castle and our online shop, our white bone china bauble with gold ink Edinburgh skyline and velvet ribbon will certainly sparkle on the tree!

And why not add something extra to your gift wrapping with a decoration instead of a ribbon or a bow.

1 Tartan piper £10.50 2 Tartan crown £12 3 Tartan stag £7.50 4 Edinburgh bauble £25 5 Honours decoration pack £26 6 Tartan star baubles £3 7 Gold stag £2.50

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SPEND Members receive a 20% discount by using & SAVE the code MEMBER21 at the checkout

SHOP Visit the online shop at historicenvironment.scot/shop

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Membership

Christmas wrapped up

Reasons to buy a Historic Scotland membership

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Free entry to Historic Scotland properties including Fort George, Edinburgh Castle and more 1

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Enjoy discounts on products in store and online 2

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Support heritage outreach and education projects in Scotland 4

A great magazine delivered four times a year 3

Save on gift membership this Christmas

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The quickest and easiest way to purchase your Christmas gift is to go online. To get your 20% discount check you are registered and logged into the members’ website at historicenvironment.scot/member.

For more information visit hsitoricenvironment.scot/member or call 0131 668 8999. Terms and conditions apply.

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History is calling this Christmas!

Surprise loved ones with adventures and great days out with a Historic Scotland membership. Our gift membership pack will be sent directly to the recipient and you can make their gift extra special by adding in a personal message. If that wasn’t enough, as a member you will receive 20% discount when purchasing your gift membership.

Half-price entry to other UK heritage attractions including English Heritage properties 6

Keep Scotland’s buildings standing by supporting our conservation work 5

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Time trip

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The ‘Scamp’ electric car and, below, Madelvic’s electric vehicle, their factory in Granton and engraved logo depicting the ‘fifth wheel’

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TIME TRIP

The early days of the electric car BRIGHT SPARKS The ‘Scamp’ electric car was made by Scottish Aviation Ltd at Prestwick Airport in Ayrshire between 1964 and 1966.

A two-seater commuting car, the Scamp could be recharged overnight at home. Thirteen prototypes were built, but due to problems found in testing by

the Motor Industry Research Association in 1967, it never went into full production.

Electric cars go further back than this, though. One of the world’s earliest factories making electric cars was based in Granton, Edinburgh. The Madelvic Motor Carriage Company was founded in 1898

and produced an electric vehicle propelled by a small fifth central wheel. The company also built electric vans for the Post Office.

However, its electric vehicles were not popular and the company closed in 1900.

GRANTON

See scran.ac.uk for more archive photography

PRESTWICK

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