HISTORIC SCOTLAND
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SUMMER 2020
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SUMMER 2020 THE MAGAZINE FOR HISTORIC SCOTLAND MEMBERS
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The Radicals who rose up in 1820
EXCLUSIVE
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INTRIGUING IMAGES
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FROM OUR WATER EXHIBITION
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INSIDE Jedburgh Abbey Corgarff Castle Iona Abbey Stirling Castle Smailholm Tower
HISTORICENVIRONMENT.SCOT/MEMBER
Where the wild things are Puffins, otters, hedgehogs and more of Scotland’s most loved animal inhabitants
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GUESS WATT? Test your knowledge in our Big History Quiz
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Front cover and spine
Discover stunning places from your sofa
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Welcome VERSION
Welcome to
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I hope this message finds you all safe and well as we reflect on this challenging and unprecedented time. Following the regrettable but necessary step to close the doors to our historic sites up and down the country in light of government restrictions to tackle COVID-19, I would like to take this opportunity to extend a heartfelt thank you to all of our members. As Scotland’s lead heritage organisation, we are the guardians of a host of the nation’s most unique and irreplaceable historic places and collections, and it is through your contributions as members that our work to protect these treasures is made possible. Your continued support during this difficult period ensures we are able to maintain essential work to research, conserve and manage Scotland’s historic environment. While you may not currently be able to step inside our castles, cairns, churches or chapels, we are committed to bringing 5,000 years of Scotland’s history to life for you at home, through our website and digital channels. We look forward to welcoming you back to our sites in the not too distant future.
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TAKE TWO
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FIRST IN LINE
ALEX PATERSON CEO
HEAR FIRST ABOUT OUR RE-OPENING PLANS BY EMAIL
CONTRIBUTORS
Grey seal
SHUTTERSTOCK, CHRIS SCOTT
Bottlenose dolphin ROSEMARY GORING Liberty or death (page 18) Author and former literary editor of The Herald, Rosemary has written two historical novels
INDIRA MANN Making a great impression (page 36) Indira is a former archaeologist with a lifelong love of Scotland’s castles
JONATHAN MCINTOSH Animal instincts (page 30) Writer Jonathan is a former assistant editor of Historic Scotland magazine
Marine mammals
What better time for these spectacular creatures to shine than the Year of Coasts and Waters? Check them out in our Animal Instincts feature on page 30, along with some beautiful land-based species.
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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 Editorial Assistant Jennifer Constable Design Amanda Richardson, John Pender, Alistair McGown Sub-editors Sian Campbell, Andrew Littlefield
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Advertising Sales Jamie Dawson jamie.dawson@thinkpublishing.co.uk 0203 771 7201 Publisher 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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Liberty or death Remembering the Radicals who fought for equality in 1820
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.
30 It’s a bug’s life at Caerlaverock Castle 2 HISTORIC SCOTLAND
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36 Building a replica
Contents Stirling Castle: where Radicals were imprisoned before their execution
On the map
JARLSHOF P30
MAESHOWE CHAMBERED CAIRN P7
RING OF BRODGAR P33
St Andrews
FORT GEORGE P32
RUTHVEN BARRACKS P34
IONA ABBEY P36
DUNFERMLINE ABBEY P6
BONAWE HISTORIC IRON FURNACE P33
ST ANDREWS P56
STIRLING CASTLE P18
Access to properties
LOCHLEVEN CASTLE P25
LINLITHGOW PALACE P32 MELROSE ABBEY P6
Our sites closed in midMarch due to COVID-19. We will be in touch when they are reopening and look forward to seeing you soon. You can check the website for up-to-date information, historicenvironment.scot
CAERLAVEROCK CASTLE P34
REGULARS
THE SCRIPT News and updates from around the country 16 SPOTLIGHT 54 SHOP 56 TIME TRIP
SHUTTERSTOCK, SC 1553249: COURTESY OF HES (J. R. SCOTT COLLECTION), HULTON GETTY
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ALTERNATIVE FORMAT 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.
FEATURES
18 LIBERTY OR DEATH Baird, Hardie and the Radical War of 1820 24 FEEL THE POWER See Scotland’s waterpowered heritage 30 ANIMAL INSTINCTS What creatures live around HES properties?
36 A GREAT IMPRESSION How a 50-year-old replica St John’s Cross became an Iona icon 42 THE BIG HISTORY QUIZ Test your knowledge 48 WORKING FROM HOME How people in the past earned their living HISTORICENVIRONMENT.SCOT 3
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Big Picture
Towering over Scottish literature author Sir Walter Scott was sent to the Borders from Edinburgh as a child to recover from suspected polio. He stayed at his paternal grandfather’s home in nearby Sandyknowe, to benefit from the fresh air. In his old age, Scott acknowledged the lasting effect that the ‘Border
Ballads’ recounted by his grandmother during his stay and the image of Smailholm Tower ‘standing stark and upright’, both had on his imagination. Much of what Scott heard in the way of ballads found its way into his acclaimed anthology Minstrelsy of the Scottish Borders.
SMAILHOLM TOWER
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One of the most evocative sights in the Borders, Smailholm Tower was built by the Pringle family, probably in the early 15th century, after they acquired Smailholm Craig (craig meaning ‘rock’ in Scots). The tower has certainly made its mark on Scottish literature. In 1773, famed
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PEOPLE, PLACES, RESEARCH AND MOREÉ
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Couch surfing Six ways to soak up Scotland from your sofa
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Visit Melrose Abbey online
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SCOTLAND STARTS HERE TRANSPORT YOURSELF TO THE SCOTTISH BORDERS VIA YOUR MOBILE PHONE
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With interactive routes, maps and itineraries, the free Scotland Starts Here app, available on smartphones, lets you journey through the
Scottish Borders and Midlothian from your phone. Visit the region’s abbeys and other locations including Smailholm Tower and
Hermitage Castle. Audio guides tell stories through songs, myths and legends. Get the Scotland Starts Here app at scotlandstartshere.com
GOING DIGITAL IN DUNFERMLINE VIRTUALLY EXPLORE 1,000 YEARS OF HISTORY
SMAILHOLM TOWER
IONA ABBEY
DUNFERMLINE ABBEY
GLASGOW CATHEDRAL LINCLUDEN ABBEY
MELROSE ABBEY
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Free digital selfguided tours around Dunfermline have been made available online. The tours are best experienced live from the town, but you
can also enjoy them remotely! Right Royal Toun looks at the town’s royal connections, while Fantasy Safari can help you spot local wildlife. See dunfermline.tours
Dunfermline Abbey
EXPLORE THE COLLECTIONS DISCOVER A WEALTH OF OBJECTS
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Uncover an abundance of artefacts from castles, archaeological settlements, abbeys, historic houses and industrial sites in our care. With collections
spanning 5,000 years of history and including many of Scotland’s most culturally significant objects, such as the Honours of Scotland and the Orkney
A posset pot from Melrose Abbey
Window from Glasgow Cathedral
Venus, they are a spectacular resource for understanding the country’s history and heritage. See historic environment. scot/ collections/
Updated 3D app
SCRAN-TASTIC ARCHIVE GOES FREE DURING CORONAVIRUS CRISIS
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To support all sorts of learning from home during lockdown, access to Scran has been made free until the end of July. Scran hosts more than 400,000 amazing, fully-captioned images, sounds and film from over 300 museums, galleries and archives around Scotland and the UK, including the V&A, National Galleries of Scotland, Glasgow Museums and The Scotsman, to name a few.
Children at play in Clydebank, 1954
If you would like your own Scran account email archives@hes.scot You can also follow @Scranlife on Twitter or Facebook for the latest news and advice #LearningWithHES
GET SOCIAL FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA
6 MAESHOWE MAGIC BRING OUR NEOLITHIC PAST TO YOUR HOME
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Exciting updates have been made to the Maeshowe Tomb 3D app, Explore Maeshowe, which enables people to explore one of Europe’s finest chambered tombs. New photos and images will help users delve into the Neolithic landscape surrounding the cairn and the interior of the
monument, getting a close-up look at some of the runic inscriptions carved on the walls. With an updated user interface, the app is now accessible for everyone to use – search for Explore Maeshowe in your app store. It is available on iOS and Android smartphones and free to download.
Connect with us to enjoy fun, informative and topical content straight to your social media feed.
Learn more about properties, join in our polls and quizzes and uncover amazing stories
Share your snaps
from the past. Plus see some stunning photography from across Scotland. We’d love to see your snaps too! Follow @welovehistory on Twitter, @historicscotland on Instagram and @visithistoricscot land on Facebook
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A Polish couple who settled in Scotland, 1955
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Eyes on the prize
The once common tree sparrow has a mixed reputation
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On a visit to Tantallon Castle a few months ago, prior to the COVID-19 lockdown, I was lucky enough to see a tree sparrow. As I entered its presence in the ‘i-record’ app on my phone, I reflected on the decline of this once common bird. The tree sparrow is the country cousin of the house sparrow – the more commonly seen urban bird. Both are archetypal ‘little brown jobs’ or LBJs, a catchall term for small brown birds. There are a few subtle differences however, probably the most distinctive being the tree sparrow’s black cheek patch. The tree sparrow has suffered a 90% drop in numbers since the 70s, although this seems to be recovering a little in recent years. It is not known why numbers decreased so dramatically, but changes in agricultural practice probably contributed. Farmers used to wait until spring to plough, leaving the stubble and fallen grain as an abundant winter food source. The planting of winter wheat and barley has eliminated this. In China during the 50s – the era of Chairman Mao’s ‘Great Leap Forward’ – sparrows were persecuted on orders from the state.
FAST FACT The typical lifespan of a tree sparrow is three years, with a maximum recorded age of 13.1 years
Test your historical knowledge by spotting which of our sites the detail below comes from … and win a £50 gift card.
Tree sparrow, or Passer montanus
VIEW FROM OUTDOORS WITH
Bob Tevendale NATURAL HERITAGE ADVISOR
Millions of sparrows were killed in the mistaken belief that this would enhance grain harvests. This resulted in insect numbers, predominantly locust, catastrophically rising because they were not being eaten by sparrows. The resulting ‘Great Famine’ had a death toll of tens of millions of people. The sparrow is popular in folklore and literature. Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty, is often depicted with the LBJ. Their reputation is mixed, though, being described as “lecherous” by both Shakespeare and Chaucer. And in the Middle Ages a sparrow flying into a house was considered a harbinger of death. The Brothers Grimm wrote a gruesome fairy tale, ‘The Dog and the Sparrow’, about the vengeance of the sparrow, yet Beatrice Potter had “friendly sparrows” saving Peter Rabbit from getting trapped in a gooseberry net.
ANSWER THIS QUESTION Which Historic Scotland property is this detail taken from? A: Jedburgh Abbey B: Melrose Abbey C: Dunfermline Abbey UP FOR GRABS The winning entry will receive a £50 Amazon.com gift card. HOW TO ENTER For your chance to win, visit historicenvironment. scot/guesstheplace by 3 August 2020. Terms and conditions apply (available at the web address above). Open to UK residents only.
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Lovely or lecherous?
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English: Bald Gaelic: Maol (moo-al)
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English: Tree Gaelic: Craobh (crew-v) English: Water Gaelic: Uisge (oosh-ka)
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English: Fishing rod Gaelic: Slat-iasgaich (slat eeu-skeech)
REMEMBER When you see a ch in Gaelic, it is pronounced as in Loch
English: Monks Gaelic: Manachainn (man-a-chyn)
English: River Gaelic: Abhainn (aveen) ART
Have a gab in Gaelic
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Add to your Gaelic vocabulary using our image of two monks fishing on the River Tweed at Dryburgh Abbey
English: Fish Gaelic: Iasg (ee-usk)
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Learn at home
Introducing the Craft Knight
Create, colour, watch and more with HES Ever wanted to make your own shield? Or colour in Stirling Castle? Or brush up on your Gaelic? We have put together an online collection of fun and educational activities for learners of all ages. You can play your way through Scottish history with games inspired by the past, including Abbey Snakes and Ladders, and the free digital game Go Roman, which lets you explore a reconstructed Roman fort on the
Antonine Wall. Junior guides can take you around Doune Castle on a video tour, too. Make and create with the popular Craft Knight videos – learn how to make a lion headband or plan a fabulous feast with the aid of step-bystep tutorials. Immerse yourself at historicenvironment.scot/ learnathome Use the hashtag #LearningWithHES to share your learn at home activities with us on social media
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A hive of climate related activity at Stirling Castle
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Climate action Published plan outlines dedication to sustainability
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Historic Environment Scotland has laid out its ambitious Climate Action Plan for the next five years and beyond in a new publication. Launched at Tantallon Castle in February, the
plan outlines a transformational approach to the organisation’s operations, including the doubling of emissions reductions targets to achieve ‘net-zero’ by 2045. It also champions the contribution of traditional construction skills, methods and materials to a sustainable economy.
Cabinet Secretary Fiona Hyslop was invited to the launch and viewed a range of our climate related work linked to key actions in the plan. As the country’s largest operator of tourist attractions, looking after more than 5,000 years of Scotland’s history, we also aim to highlight the unique potential
of Scotland’s iconic historic sites to inspire climate action and drive positive and sustainable change through the new plan. Download the Climate Action Plan at historicenvironment.scot/ climate-action-plan
Food donated to local charities HES gives a helping hand to local charities during pandemic We have donated food products stocked across our sites to local community food banks and homeless charities. Following the closure of all our sites, all food stock with a short
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shelf life across our 77 retail shops was distributed to the local community. Natasha Troitino, head of retail and product licensing, said: “We have
sites across Scotland, many of which play an integral role as part of the wider community, and we wanted to take the opportunity to contribute where we can, as people may be facing more pressure and difficulties in Every little these donation helps unprecedented in the crisis times. “We have long-
standing networks and relationships with local charities and community groups and the team were keen to look at opportunities to support those communities. We hope the donations help to make a difference, in whatever small way.” For more information on how you can help your local food bank, visit trusselltrust.org
Plastic-free construction in Dunbar house project
NEWS BRIEF
HES joins local community group to rebuild historic property
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ur Technical Research team has supported the reconstruction of a derelict mid-18th century house close to the High Street in Dunbar. This project was conducted in partnership with The Ridge, a social enterprise that aims to create jobs and opportunities for people living in the greater Dunbar community. The work has involved a like-for-like rebuild, using salvaged and locally produced materials to create new office space for a local charity. Avoiding modern construction materials and plastic, the team were able to deliver a bright and warm space with a low carbon footprint.
CHANGING LEITH ●●With Scran we have been supporting pupils from Leith Primary School to investigate how their routes to school have changed over time. Archive content of Leith will be shared on Twitter @Scranlife in June.
Going back to the old house in Dunbar, East Lothian
The new timbers used came from a local sawmill, the clay mortar from close by and local sand and aggregates were also acquired for the build. The Ridge have been doing great work with
jobseekers, school leavers and others, some of whom have been involved in re-training in traditional trades such as joinery and stonemasonry. See the-ridge.org.uk for further information
Regional Rising Star Dedicated team member takes home prize at tourism awards
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onument manager at Dumbarton Castle, Joseph Sellors, was named Regional Rising Star at the Scottish Thistle Awards in November. The awards celebrate excellence in hospitality and tourism. Joseph joined the organisation in 2015 when he started working at Doune Castle and quickly made his mark. He switched
properties to Dumbarton Castle in 2017. As well as managing the property, Joseph delivers Exceeding Visitor Expectations training. He has worked to develop and improve the experience for visitors to Dumbarton Castle and put the property forward to take Joseph Sellors
part in Disabled Access Day, offering sensory tours. Stephen Duncan, director of commercial and tourism, said: “With a strong focus on improving the visitor experience and supporting as many colleagues and stakeholders as possible, Joseph is an asset and really is a rising star within the Scottish tourism industry.” Joseph collected his award at a ceremony at Oran Mor in Glasgow.
FIGHTING CRIME ●●We are part of the Scottish Heritage Crime Group which was established to tackle vandalism and theft at places around Scotland, including Historic Scotland properties. You can help by reporting any such crimes anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
X-ray of a sword hilt found in Orkney
VIKING PROJECT ●●Archaeologists are starting work on the conservation and analysis of remains from a possible Viking-age cemetery in Orkney. The recoveries include a boat burial, and a crouched individual buried with weapons. Initial results are tantalising. HISTORICENVIRONMENT.SCOT 13
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HES uses 3D printer to produce PPE masks for frontline workers in coronavirus battle
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istoric Environment Scotland was able to repurpose technology at its national conservation centre, the Engine Shed in Stirling, to produce personal protective equipment (PPE) visors for NHS staff battling COVID-19 across Scotland. Working with Scottish Enterprise and the Glasgow Chamber of Commerce, HES is using the facility’s state-of-the-art 3D printing technology to produce the specialist protective visors, with the first batch delivered to Glasgow’s Queen Elizabeth University Hospital for staff in its maxillofacial department at the end of April.
The Engine Shed is continuing to produce PPE masks for the NHS and various organisations to support frontline staff across the country. We are also working with the recently formed Emergency Conservators Network, which was set up to facilitate conservation involvement in addressing the UK’s PPE shortages. We are supporting our contractors in their efforts to combat COVID-19, including catering company Benugo whose baker at Edinburgh Castle, Red Walker, is making protective masks for the public, and cleaning contractor Mitie, whose
3D printed PPE
Edinburgh Castle staff are taking part in voluntary ward cleaning at Edinburgh’s Royal Hospital for Sick Children. Head of digital innovation and learning, Al Rawlinson, who has overseen the production of the protective
visors, said: “We typically use our 3D printers to create models of our sites and collections for conservation, learning and interpretation purposes. “It’s an absolute privilege to help NHS staff in this way.”
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A sign of appreciation More Great Scots celebrated in Commemorative Plaque Scheme
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hat do pioneering Arctic explorer and botanist Isobel Wylie Hutchison, famous detective Allan Pinkerton, Scotland’s first female solicitor Madge Easton Anderson, and composer Sir Arnold Bax, who spent time in the Highlands, all have in common? They are four of the 17 people honoured in the latest round of our Commemorative Plaque Scheme. As soon as it’s safe to do so, our distinctive bronze panels marking their achievements will
Out of action: Linlithgow Palace
COVID-19 closures Members will be prioritised on reopening
Allan Pinkerton
be installed and unveiled around the country on various buildings where they lived and worked. See historicenvironment. scot/commemorativeplaque-scheme for information on the scheme reopening
We closed our properties in mid-March due to the COVID-19 pandemic – and have been monitoring the situation closely since then, while working on plans to reopen as soon as it is safe to do so. Although we do not yet have a timescale for this, as a thank you for your
support our members will be given priority access. This will require advance booking, so that we can manage visitor numbers to enable social distancing on site. Sign up to our enewsletter to be first to hear about these plans: historicenvironment.scot/ members-email
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MacLellan’s Castle The remains of Sir Thomas MacLellan’s spacious tower house in Kirkcudbright, with the medieval Greyfriars Church next door
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Named after Sir Thomas MacLellan of Bombie, a prominent landowner in Kirkcudbright and influential figure in local politics, the castle is built on the site of the convent of Greyfriars. Sir Thomas acquired the land in the Reformation, started building in 1570 and by 1582 was able to move in. In keeping with the fashion of the time, the castle was more obviously about domestic comfort than defence. Its gunholes were
not designed to withstand a prolonged siege, and the spacious home’s principal function was to demonstrate the cosmopolitan good taste of its owner. However, the MacLellan family ran up huge debts and by the 1740s Thomas MacLellan’s descendant William MacLellan was working as a humble glover. Passing into ownership of the Maxwell family, the castle was stripped of its roof and contents in the mid-18th century.
DID YOU KNOW?
The armorial panel above the entrance once displayed striking, beautifully painted symbols. It was designed to proclaim the family’s importance.
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GREYFRIARS CHURCH Little of the medieval church survived the Reformation, but inside is a monument dedicated to Sir Thomas and Lady Grissel MacLellan
The castle exterior
Timeline 1200s
c1570
1582
1587
The MacLellan family is first recorded in documents, including the cartulary at Kelso Abbey
Post-Reformation, Sir Thomas MacLellan begins to build the castle on the site of the convent of Greyfriars
The castle is complete enough for Sir Thomas to move in and the date is inscribed above the entrance doorway
Sir Thomas and his second wife Grissel entertain King James VI (right) during his visit to Kirkcudbright
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Spotlight SOUTH-EAST TOWER The rooms in this tower were reached from the upper levels of the service stair from the kitchen. There would have been at least 15 rooms of domestic accommodation
GREAT HALL Would have been used for dining and entertaining, and featured a ‘laird’s lug’; a small hole in the back of the fireplace which allowed the laird to eavesdrop on his diners
LAIRD’S PRIVATE CHAMBER Was part of the laird’s main apartment consisting of a suite of rooms on the first and second floors of the main block. Above the chamber was the principal bedchamber
NORTH WING Held the kitchen and steward’s room, which would have been occupied by the laird’s right-hand man who was responsible for keeping the household in order
GARDENS Although these no longer exist, the gardens added by the MacLellans would have included a more formal front garden, with a private retreat and kitchen garden at the rear
GRAND FRONT ENTRANCE The main entrance to the castle had an armorial panel displaying the MacLellan coat of arms and the date 1582, marking when the build was completed
PARROT OF DOOM, GL ARCHIVE / ALAMY, SHUTTERSTOCK
MacLellan’s Castle
1597
C. 1742
1782
1912
1921
Sir Thomas dies and is buried in the chancel of the former Greyfriars Church, the family’s private burial aisle
With the MacLellans in financial ruin, their family home now belongs to the Maxwells of Orchardton, who remove the contents and strip off the roof
The remains of the castle are sold to Lord Selkirk, and the building stands neglected until the early 20th century
The ruin is taken into state care by Sir Charles Hope and the Office of Works undertakes major construction work on it
The burgh’s War Memorial, designed by GH Paulin, is erected immediately to the east of the castle
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Radicals John Baird and Andrew Hardie were incarcerated in Stirling Castle
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Liberty or death It is 200 years since the leaders of the Scottish rising were held at Stirling Castle before their execution. Rosemary Goring looks back at this key moment in working class history
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Liberty or death
and bruised from fighting, both men and several others awaited trial for high treason. Even an optimist would have been in little doubt as to their ultimate fate. Hardie was a 26-year-old ex-soldier, who lived with his parents in Townhead, Glasgow. Baird was a little older, at 30, and since leaving the army after the Battle of Waterloo had lodged with his brother and his wife in Condorrat, in what is today part of Cumbernauld. Both men were heavily involved in Radical societies and earlier that month had responded eagerly to the call for an armed insurrection which they hoped would transform Scotland.
A free Scotland
The aim of Radicals such as themselves was to improve the conditions of the labouring workforce, and usher in a new era of equality and fairness. Their motto was “Liberty or Death!” Radicals in Strathaven were more poetic, carrying a banner that declared “Scotland Free – or a Desart!” Since the American War of Independence, an infectious wave
SCRAN, SHUTTERSTOCK
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hen the weaver John Baird was imprisoned in Stirling Castle, his chains were so heavy he could barely walk. He “had about four or five stones of iron put on him”, recalled his fellow weaver Andrew Hardie who, on 5 April 1820, was incarcerated alongside him. Bloodied
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xxxxx Glasgow Green: setting for a peaceful protest
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There was unanimity in the demand for better wages, fairer taxes and decent working conditions
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of republicanism had swept Europe. The French Revolution of 1789, in which Scots played a part, helped spark British revolutionary fever, which the excesses of the loathed playboy Prince Regent, later to become George IV, exacerbated. Before the Napoleonic Wars, Britain was simmering with social discontent. In 1797 there was an unsuccessful Scottish rebellion against the government, resulting in new laws outlawing gatherings larger than 50. Long years fighting Napoleon inevitably put an end to all thought of political upheaval. The palace vaults at Stirling Castle
Yet the hardship that this brutal period brought – taxation to pay for the war, high taxes on daily essentials, from which landowners made a profit, and dreadful working conditions in factories and mills – stoked dissatisfaction to a dangerous pitch. The year before Hardie and Baird led their men towards Falkirk armed with pikes and guns, an enormous gathering of 60,000 in Manchester, demanding political reform, had been fired upon by the Army. Eighteen were killed and hundreds wounded in what came to be known as the Peterloo Massacre. Then, in February 1820, a plot to wipe out the entire government in London was discovered. By this time the authorities were alarmed and growing more so. In Scotland, they had good reason. As historian Sir Tom Devine has written, “The Radical challenge in 1820 was much more serious than anything government had to face in England”.
A hotbed of Radicals
Scotland, which was home of the seditious freethinker Thomas Muir – sentenced in 1793 to transportation to Botany Bay – was a hotbed of Radical societies. This was especially the case in the weaving community, whose heartlands were the south-west and 20 HISTORIC SCOTLAND
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Glasgow. The upper orders were perpetually uneasy, as became evident when, on the last day of 1819, Edinburgh was put on alert after a rumour spread that an army of 50,000 Glaswegian weavers was heading its way. The lawyer Henry Cockburn obeyed the magistrates’ call to arms and presented himself at the Assembly Rooms in George Street with a stick in hand: “I found 400 or 500 grown gentlemen ... with bludgeons, fowling pieces, dirks, cane-swords, or other implements.” It was a convivial evening, and at 10pm, when the all clear was given, everyone went home. But while this had
Liberty or death pt2 The Peterloo Massacre
SCRAN, SALLY ANDERSON / ALAMY, CLASSIC IMAGE / ALAMY, ZUMA PRESS, INC. / ALAMY
Memorial to Baird and Hardie in Stirling
been a case of crying wolf, it would not be long before serious trouble did erupt. Things came to a head in early April, 1820. The events of that month were cataclysmic for a handful of participants, and profoundly unsettling for those in power. Opinion varies about the extent to which government agents were behind the Radical War, and whether spies and plants manipulated proceedings in order to make scapegoats of the main offenders.
Many believe that it was all a stitch-up, not just because the Radicals wanted social change, but because for some at least their aims included regaining Scotland’s independence.
A better life
It is likely there were nationalists among the Radicals, but any appetite for independence played a minor part in the Radical War. There was, however, unanimity in the demand for better wages, fairer taxes and decent working conditions. In 1816, a peaceful crowd of 40,000 gathered in Glasgow in support of these aims. It was the biggest such rally Britain had ever seen.
The Battle of Bonnymuir, in which Baird and Hardie played a dramatic part, was the violent midpoint in a week-long series of revolts. According to historians Peter Berresford Ellis and Seamus Mac A’Ghobhainn, it was “surely an event unparalleled in Radical history”. On 1 April, a proclamation, signed by “the Committee of Organisation for forming a Provisional Government”, had been posted throughout the country, urging all working Scots to arm themselves and go on strike. The following Monday, 3 April, 1820, the labourers in the south-west downed tools. It was not just weavers who heeded the call. Almost every trade HISTORICENVIRONMENT.SCOT 21
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Hardie and Baird were interrogated at Edinburgh Castle
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The rising The weight of chains in which Baird was bound reveals the threat he posed. Hours earlier, on the morning of 5 April, Baird and Hardie had led a band of 35 men out of Glasgow heading to the Carron Ironworks, near Falkirk, which they intended to loot for cannons. They were intercepted by 22 HISTORIC SCOTLAND
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Only an unfortunate horse died at the Battle of Bonnymuir
For almost two centuries the Battle of Bonnymuir has gone largely ignored cavalry and yeomanry from Glasgow but, as former soldiers, Baird and Hardie were not easily frightened. Instead of surrendering, they prepared for attack. Later Hardie could not remember who fired first, but he thought that the Army had issued warning shots, not expecting their men to engage. What followed was less battle than skirmish. A few were badly injured, but nobody was killed. This brief but bloody encounter came to be known as the Battle of Bonnymuir. Despite its significance,
for almost two centuries it has gone largely ignored, even though in Glasgow, church bells pealed in thanksgiving at news of the insurgents’ defeat. In the preface to his 1990 play, Hardie and Baird: The Last Days, James Kelman writes: “Within our educational system this part of history, like so many others connected with the Radical movement, remains almost entirely neglected.” It did, nevertheless, inspire a play by Hector MacMillan, called The Rising (1973), and The Boys from Bonnymuir (1985), a novel by Tom Lannon.
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was involved, from tailors and bookbinders to blacksmiths and labourers. Only coal miners and farm workers were thin on the ground. The spread of disaffection signalled a huge appetite for change, yet the haphazard organisation of the Radicals did not augur well for its success. In the village of Strathaven, a gathering of nearly 100 quickly petered out, leaving its figurehead, the grandfatherly James Wilson, to face the consequences as its instigator. Radicals were sprung from jail in Greenock by a furious crowd, and there were sporadic outbursts of protest across the country, but nothing that could not be dealt with by government troops, whose commanders were enraged. One such was Alexander Boswell, son of the biographer James Boswell, who was the colonel in charge of the Ayrshire yeomanry. He was looking forward, he said, to “riding in Radical blood up to his bridle reins”.
When Hardie and Baird were locked up, Stirling Castle’s armourer and ordnance keeper took possession of the prisoners’ weapons. These included muskets, pistols, pikes and rounds of ball cartridge. As they were herded into a cell, Baird requested water and food for his men, and demanded leniency on their behalf: “I am their leader and have caused them being here. I hope that I alone may suffer.” This was never an option, given that all of them had broken the law – yet only Baird, Hardie and Wilson were given the death penalty. The 19 others who had been captured were transported to Australia where, in 1835, they received a full pardon.
Thomas Moore’s axe, black gown and hood
No hope of mercy Hardie and Baird were taken to Edinburgh Castle for interrogation, as were other Bonnymuir prisoners. According to Hardie, they were well treated. Most of the months between arrest and execution, however, were spent imprisoned in Stirling Castle. This was a forbidding, well-guarded military base that offered no hope of escape. Their trial was controversially conducted under the terms of English law, which required fewer witnesses, rather than Scots law. The result was a foregone conclusion, at the end of which the judge said: “In regard to you Andrew Hardie and John Baird, I can hold out little or no hope of mercy.” They were sentenced to be hanged, decapitated, and their bodies cut in pieces. In captivity, Hardie was a keen letter writer. While at Stirling he managed to
smuggle out letters to his fiancée, family and friends with the help of a woman called Granny Duncan, who brought porridge every day to the Radicals, and hid his letters in the empty bowls. Thus, we have his account of the battle and of the events that led to it. It is also clear how unrepentant, and resigned, he and Baird were. Both were devout Christians. On 8 September 1820, the day of execution, they dressed in black suits and were put into a cart to be taken
the short distance from the castle to Broad Street, where the scaffold stood. In the cart with them was the sinisterly dressed figure of a medical student, Thomas Moore, in black gown and hood. He was carrying an axe with which he would later cut off their heads. From the scaffold the men delivered their last words calmly and confidently. Hardie urged the large crowd to go home after their deaths and think of God. Baird’s bible slipped from his fingers as he expired. A week before, at Wilson’s execution, the medical student had managed to sever the old Radical’s neck with a single blow, but when it came to Hardie and Baird he bungled the job, repeatedly chopping as the crowd hissed their anger and contempt. Finally, he was able to hold up each head and declare, “This is the head of a traitor!”. Not long afterwards, he left for Ireland and a life of obscurity. The execution of Hardie, Baird and Wilson reflected an intense fear of revolt against a corrupt political system, rigged in favour of the wealthy. Yet while this short-lived insurrection never had the slightest chance, it was not an abject failure. The deaths of Hardie, Baird and Wilson were the seeds from which working-class politics would eventually grow. Their uncompromising belief in the dignity of workers, and their focus on the greater good for all, became the foundation of the democratic dream. In 1820 it looked as if their crusade had been crushed; in hindsight it was the first glimmer of a new and better age.
A long road to representation for the working class Rights did change in the years following the Radical War, though not immediately The Scottish electorate in 1820 consisted of only about 3,000 mainly wealthy voters. Without representation at the ballot box, how could the working classes make their voices heard? The 1832 Scottish Reform Act gave the vote to 65,000 Scots, but they were still only the country’s wealthier adult males, and with the Secret Ballot Act still another 40 years away,
many men were probably influenced by voting in public. Further reform acts would gradually bring the right to vote to all men and women over 21 years of age ... in 1928. (18-20 year olds wouldn’t get the vote until 1969.) A series of acts in the mid-19th century would begin to improve conditions and rights for workers in factories and mines, and in 1871 trade unions were legalised.
Fighting for voting rights: Scottish suffragettes
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Feel the T power Take a glimpse at Scotland’s waterpowered heritage with 10 images from the Harnessing the Power of Water exhibition 24 HISTORIC SCOTLAND
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he Historic Environment Scotland archives have an incredible number of spectacular images that show Scotland’s archaeology, architecture, industrial heritage and much more. In celebration of the Year of Coasts and Waters, we have prepared a themed exhibition online – Harnessing the Power of Water. It features images that reflect a wide range of human interactions with water, including hydroelectric dams, canals, fountains, swimming pools, mills, wells, leisure activities and water closets. Over the next few pages we give you a taster of some of the great material from the exhibition prepared by our archivists. There is loads more to see at historicenvironment.scot/powergallery
A COLD SNAP
LOCHLEVEN CASTLE ABOVE This aerial photograph from 1984 shows an important island landmark surrounded by ice.
The island in Loch Leven was once much smaller, with the castle and garden occupying almost all of it. However between 1826 and 1836 the water level was
lowered, increasing the area from about 0.7 hectares to 3.2 hectares. Trees were planted on much of the additional land, giving the island its current look.
A LOVELY LAVATORY FULL STEAM AHEAD
ABERDOUR HARBOUR ABOVE A paddle steamer of the Galloway Steam Packet Company at Aberdour Harbour, Fife. Aberdour was a popular destination for pleasure seekers from Edinburgh, travelling on a regular boat service from Leith. The popularity of steamers declined after the building of the Forth Bridge brought the railway to Aberdour in 1890.
COATS MEMORIAL CHURCH, PAISLEY LEFT This water closet, in Coats Memorial Church, Paisley, has a mosaic floor, decorative tiles on the walls and a transfer-printed flower-patterned pan made by Doulton and Co. Patented as ‘The Combination’ it was most likely produced in Paisley where the firm had a factory. As well as being highly decorative, the extensive use of ceramics allowed the room to be easily cleaned. HISTORICENVIRONMENT.SCOT 25
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EXHIBITION
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NEED FOR SPEED UNKNOWN LOCATION ABOVE
Steam cars were popular at the turn of the 20th century, despite the waiting time required for the boiler to heat up and create enough pressure for the engine. An American model set the land-speed record of 127mph for steam automobiles in 1906, around the same time that this photograph was taken. This record was held for more than 100 years, until the summer of 2009, by the British Steam Car, nicknamed “the fastest kettle in the world”.
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HOLD BACK THE RIVER
LAGGAN DAM LEFT Built in 1934 to designs by the engineering firm of CS Meik and Halcrow, Loch Laggan Dam stretches 213m across the River Spean in the Scottish Highlands. It is part of the Lochaber hydroelectric scheme, a major civil engineering project to generate power for the aluminium smelter at Fort William. It was upgraded from a Category B to Category A listing in 2011.
LET IT FLOW
CRANHILL WATER TOWER, GLASGOW LEFT Extensive housing estates were built in the 1950s for residents displaced by slum clearances in central Glasgow. These all benefited from a modern hygienic water supply and sanitation. Fed with water from Loch Katrine, 50km away, this water tower on Stepps Road, Cranhill, City of Glasgow, is one of several which dominate the local skyline. Colourful lights illuminate the landmark at night.
A FISHING TRADITION
CHALMERS MEMORIAL CHURCH, PORT SETON ABOVE
A detail of a carved newel post on the pulpit stair of Chalmers Memorial Church, Port Seton, East Lothian. Designed by the architects, Sydney Mitchell and Wilson, the church was built in 1904. The symbols of fish and fishing boats are prominent in the decoration of the church’s interior and reflect the coastal village’s fishing tradition. HISTORICENVIRONMENT.SCOT 27
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EXHIBITION
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TURNING AROUND
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FASQUE HOUSE, NEAR FETTERCAIRN RIGHT A water wheel in the steading at Fasque House. The ready availability of water ensured it remained a major source of mechanical power throughout the country until well into the 20th century. It was only displaced in rural areas by the advent of electricity and the expansion of the National Grid from the 1920s onwards.
SUBS ART PRODUCTION CLIENT DP 031859: CROWN COPYRIGHT: HES, DP 041648: COURTESY OF HES, DP 191480: CROWN COPYRIGHT: HES
IS THAT A WALRUS?
GRAND CENTRAL FOUNTAIN, PAISLEY ABOVE Decorated with statues of herons, dolphins and – yes – walruses, Paisley’s cast iron Grand Fountain stands some 8m high. Created by George Smith & Co of the Sun Foundry of Glasgow, it was gifted by the Coats family to Paisley in 1868. It was restored in 2014.
A GLIMPSE OF THE IRON AGE
SEE MORE
BEAULY FIRTH LEFT The Phopachy crannog is an artificial island that was built in the intertidal sandbanks of the Beauly Firth. Radiocarbon samples from timber found on this site suggest the structure is around 2,000 years old and was created in the Iron Age.
The Harnessing the Power of Water exhibition, due to take place at John Sinclair House in Edinburgh, is now available to view online at canmore. org.uk. We hope the exhibition will be able to open later in the year. HISTORICENVIRONMENT.SCOT 29
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Animal instincts
While we’re away these wild things are right at home around some of our favourite Historic Scotland properties
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rom formidable fortresses and arresting standing stones, to ancient castles and sites once booming with industry, Historic Scotland properties have witnessed the crucial battles, events 30 HISTORIC SCOTLAND
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and discoveries that have shaped modern Scotland. But not only do these monuments provide a window into the country’s fascinating past, they’re also home to some of Scotland’s most iconic wildlife.
Spanning red squirrels and grey seals, to creatures with more mythical connections, we place the spotlight on those Historic Scotland properties where some of the country’s wildest citizens have taken up residence.
Animal instincts
Atlantic puffins Jarlshof prehistoric settlement
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This extraordinary archaeological site offers a glimpse into human history dating back 4,000 years. And the nearby Sumburgh Head cliffs provide the perfect rest stop for Atlantic puffins. Thanks to their colourful beaks, markings and bright orange legs, puffins have been affectionately dubbed ‘clowns of the sea’.
These seabirds are romantic sorts. Once they’ve found the bird of their dreams, puffins partner for life – which can be up to 20 years or more. Puffins create burrows in rocky cliffs, either in the soil or between rocks, and line their nests with feathers, seaweed and grasses. They often return to the same nest year on year.
Jarlshof contains remains dating from 2500 BC up to the 17th century AD
JARLSHOF SETTLEMENT
RING OF BRODGAR
FORT GEORGE CORGARFF CASTLE BONAWE FURNACE
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RUTHVEN BARRACKS INCHCOLM LINLITHGOW ABBEY PALACE
The puffin club at Sumburgh Head on Shetland Mainland
CRAIGNETHAN CASTLE CAERLAVEROCK CASTLE
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Bottlenose dolphins in the waters beside Fort George
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Local currents allow bottlenose dolphins to come very close to shore of the 18th-century Fort George, built for King George II’s army in 1747-69, in the aftermath of the Battle of Culloden in 1746. Bottlenose dolphins are grey, with stubby beaks and large, sickle-shaped dorsal fins that are marked with notches and scratches. Their colour and markings help camouflage these mammals against predators, but can also be used to identify them – in the same way that a fingerprint can be matched to a person.
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Their tails have two horizontal paddles called flukes. These allow bottlenose dolphins to power through the water at maximum speeds of up to 20 miles per hour and dive for almost 20 minutes at depths of over 250 metres. To stay fuelled up, bottlenose dolphins feed on between 8 to 15kg of fish, crabs, squid, octopus and other small creatures per day. Bottlenose dolphins are famously sociable creatures and live in longterm social units called pods or schools of up to 15 dolphins, many of them close family members. They love splashing and somersaulting several metres out of the water, which they do to breathe and communicate with one another.
Daubenton’s bat Linlithgow Palace
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Named after the 18th-century French naturalist Louis-JeanMarie Daubenton, these winged wonders tend to roost near water –
The Daubenton’s bat feasts on mayflies and midges
including Linlithgow Palace, birthplace of Mary Queen of Scots. Able to reach speeds of 14 miles per hour, the Daubenton’s bat hunts by skimming over the water’s surface, using its feet and tail to grab food. Linlithgow Loch offers a feast of insects for these bats to hunt after sundown in the summer.
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Bottlenose dolphins Fort George
Red squirrels Bonawe Historic Iron Furnace
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Instantly recognisable thanks to their characteristic ear tufts, rust-coloured fur and bushy tails, Scotland’s native squirrel species often wander the grounds of the 18th-century Bonawe Historic Iron Furnace. They nest in the
nearby oak woods of Glen Nant National Nature Reserve, which once fuelled this site of industry. Red squirrels are welladjusted to their woodland habitats. They keep more than one nest (known as a drey) at a time
in case it gets stolen by another animal or damaged by bad weather. Thanks to their doublejointed ankles, red squirrels make light work of traversing
trees at speed. They’re clever little critters too, and can tell if a nut is rotten without even opening it. They do this by shaking their would-be snack in their mouths. If the nut rattles, they know it’s time to ditch it and hunt for their next meal of the day.
Red squirrels use their tails for balance, communication and to stay warm and cool
Eurasian otters have the thickest fur of all mammals
Otters Ring of Brodgar
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Eurasian otters often frequent the shores of the Loch of Harray and the Loch of Stennes, which are located between the Ring of Brodgar and the Standing Stones of Stennes. Eurasian otters have webbed feet and hold their breath for up to 40 seconds underwater. Special valves in their nostrils and ears close when diving to prevent water from entering.
Otters have huge appetites, but eating is second to their favourite hobby: playing. It’s not uncommon for them to muck about in the water for hours on end. HISTORICENVIRONMENT.SCOT 33
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WILDLIFE
WILDLIFE VERSION
Grey seals come ashore for mating, pupping and moulting
Grey seals Inchcolm Abbey
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Roe deer Ruthven Barracks
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Extremely agile and quick footed, roe deer wander the wet grassland and scrub of the Insh Marshes. This area lies at the north-eastern edge of Ruthven Barracks, built by George II’s government between 1719 and 1721 following the Jacobite rising of 1715. Roe deer – one of the UK’s native deer alongside red deer – are red-brown in summer and greyish in winter. They tend to be solitary but will feed in larger herds in the winter, enjoying a
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varied diet of buds and leaves from deciduous trees, and shrubs and grasses. Roe deer breeding season, known as the rut, takes place between mid-July and the end of August. During this time, male deer aggressively defend their territories. Often, this involves fighting and locking antlers with rival males, which can lead to injuries and one or both animals dying.
Azure damselfly Caerlaverock Castle
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This small blue damselfly is common around most bodies of water between May to September, including the wide moat of Caerlaverock Castle. Azure damselflies aren’t as strong fliers as dragonflies, which is why they lie in wait for their insect prey and catch them in mid-air with their
legs, before heading back to their perches to eat. On calm, sunny days blue damselflies split their time between flying above the water’s surface and resting on reeds.
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Grey seals regularly bob in the water or rest along the shore at the island home of Inchcolm Abbey, one of Scotland’s bestpreserved monastic buildings originally founded as a priory by David I, around 1140. Grey seals are the largest mammals in Britain. Adult males can grow up to 2 metres long and weigh in at a hefty 300kg. These mammals spend two-thirds of the year at sea. Grey seals feast on a diet of octopuses, squid, crustaceans, crabs, porpoises and seabirds. They can dive up to 300 metres and stay underwater for up to 20 minutes when hunting for prey. Pupping season takes place in Scotland in September. Pups weigh about 14kg at birth and have soft white fur. They feed on their mother’s milk until they have trebled in weight and moulted their white coat. After this it’s time for them to hunt for themselves.
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Brown hares nest in the fields surrounding the mid-16thcentury Corgarff Castle, which was once used as an army base for hunting Jacobite sympathisers and whisky smugglers. With golden brown fur, pale bellies and white tails, brown hares are larger than rabbits and have longer legs and floppier blacktipped ears. Brown hares don’t nest in burrows. Instead, they make small depressions in long grass, known as a form, where they lie very still to camouflage against foxes and other predators. If startled, their powerful hind legs help them escape at speeds of up to 45 miles per hour. As they’re nocturnal creatures, brown hares only come out at night to feed on grasses, herbs, young trees and bushes. Brown hares breed between February and September. Their young, known as leverets, bound around Corgarff Castle’s landscape during this period.
Brown hares are a common sight at Corgarff Castle
Hedgehogs Craignethan Castle
Hedgehogs sleep up to 18 hours a day
SHUTTERSTOCK
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Built by 1536 by Sir James Hamilton of Finnart – who supervised renovations and additions at Linlithgow Palace, Stirling Castle and Blackness Castle – Craignethan Castle boasts uninterrupted views over the ancient woodland of Nethan Gorge, which hedgehogs call home. These spiky creatures earned their name due to the pig-like grunts they make when hunting for food.
Due to their poor eyesight hedgehogs have to rely on their hearing and smell when scouting at night for insects, snails, frogs, mice, fruit and other snacks. Hedgehogs have huge appetites and can eat up to a third of their body weight in just one night. HISTORICENVIRONMENT.SCOT 35
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Brown hares Corgarff Castle
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Making a great impression
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How the replica of St John’s Cross on Iona became a monument in its own right
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St Martin’s Cross
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Iona cross
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ona Abbey, sometimes said to be the birthplace of Christianity in Scotland, was founded by St Columba in AD 563. Famous artworks were created here, including the Book of Kells and a peerless set of early medieval high crosses, which mark the pilgrims’ path to the saint’s resting place. The 8th-century St John’s Cross, or Crois Naoimh Eòin, stood in front of the shrine-chapel built over St Columba’s burial place. The intricately decorated masterpiece is thought to be the world’s first ringed high cross and a blueprint for those which later emulated its artistry. Sadly, the elements and gravity took
their toll and, after several attempts to keep the cross intact, it fell for the last time in 1957. As it proved impossible to re-erect the cross in situ, 10 years later a group of concerned individuals used their persuasion and skill to create an “authentic replica”, which acquired a value of its own. After years of conservation, in 1990 a technical solution was found to erect the original in the abbey’s museum. The tale is told in more detail in a new book by Dr Sally Foster, former principal inspector of ancient monuments at HES, and Professor Siân Jones, both based at the University of Stirling. My Life as a Replica is the result of detailed historical and ethnographic research, funded by HISTORICENVIRONMENT.SCOT 37
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St John’s Cross replica
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HES and The Royal Society of Edinburgh. Sally and Siân spoke to islanders and tourists, heritage practitioners, lifelong visitors to Iona, youngsters and older folks, and followed a thread back to the replica’s inception.
A replica is born
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The replica project was initiated by Major David F O Russell – who had strong family links to Iona and its abbey – as well as shipping owner Gilbert Innes and lawyer Harry Cant for the Iona Cathedral Trustees. Gilbert started an early form of “crowdfunding” to replicate the cross, and the Ancient Monuments Board and Ministry of Works gave their blessing to the project. Artist George Mancini created the master model. He took 16 plaster casts of the original and many photographs, working with the Ministry’s Norman Robertson. In looking at the cross so meticulously and excavating its base, the project helped transform the understanding of early medieval sculpture in Ireland and Scotland. The project involved several experts, but the key players were RCAHMS
The replica St John’s Cross and, left, John Lawrie supervises the lowering of the cross-head onto the replica’s shaft
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Iona cross pt2
H E R I TA G E O N I O N A
George Mancini in his workshop
Negotiating authenticity From the moment that Major Russell and his associates decided to recreate St John’s Cross, the replica began to touch people’s lives. For Sally, these human stories are key: “Replicas are an important part of our history. During the 19th century, for example, museums were often largely composed of replicas. “To understand the contemporary value and authenticity of the replica cross, we undertook interviews and a
From the artistry to the concrete mix, the project took on a complex challenge and made history
digital focus group where, with Dr Stuart Jeffrey of Glasgow School of Art, we created a 3D copy of the replica. “We observed what people did when they encountered the replica and had a workshop with schoolchildren looking at how attitudes changed after they learned a bit more. This gave us a deep and contextual understanding of the different communities and how they perceive the replica, the other Iona crosses, the abbey and the island itself. “For a tiny island, Iona has all these different people who have links to [the replica] and that’s what made such a fascinating study and made our results much more interesting.” Mairi MacArthur, a local historian with long-established family links to Iona, says: “The people of Iona have always lived very close to the sacred sites, including the crosses. These are central to the landscape where people have lived and worked since the 18th century and before. They pass these places every day and St John’s Cross, with its big sweeping arms, would have been like a beacon for islanders in the past. “The abbey church was also, at times, used for parish worship. Local people
ROLE PLAY The wider significance of replicas in heritage was an important facet of Sally Foster and Siân Jones’s research into the St John’s Cross replica. The final chapter of their book encourages new thinking about the authenticity, value and role of replicas and challenges the traditional view that authenticity can only flow from original historic objects. With Neil Curtis from the University of Aberdeen and others, they are now creating principles and guidance
The replica, brought to Iona with the islanders’ coal in June 1970
for individuals and groups who want to consider the role of a local replica. Neil sees the recent listing of the St John’s Cross replica as an important milestone:
“The Category A status will emphasise that replicas are objects in their own right that reflect their own time, just as neo-Gothic architecture is its own style rather than just a
pale shadow of the Middle Ages. It is an important public signal that replicas deserve attention and care. “The St John’s Cross replica is now so much part of the Iona assemblage that it would feel wrong to exclude it. Also, the story of its replication is fascinating and an important case study of heritage management. In its own right, it is an important piece of architecture and design, reflective of the period of its construction, rather than just being a replacement of the original cross.”
SC 1553249, SC 1553226, SC 1553243: COURTESY OF HES (J. R. SCOTT COLLECTION)
illustrator Ian Scott, artist John Lawrie, engineer John R Scott and the company Exposagg. They shared an admiration for concrete as a medium and an aptitude for using it. My Life as a Replica laments: “Today’s visitor to the replica has no sense of what a highly engineered monument it is, and if they recognise it as being concrete there is a tendency to diminish or dismiss its value.” And that is a pity because, from the model’s artistry to the type of concrete mix and the engineering that can withstand 120-mile-an-hour winds, the project took on a complex challenge and made history.
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The original cross can be seen in the Abbey Museum
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We need to evolve the way we look at our heritage as history never stops
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Recognising value
The concrete shaft alongside its gelatine mould and, above right, John R Scott’s design plans for the replica
Convinced of the replica’s heritage value to past, present and future generations, Sally put it forward for listed building status. The original St John’s Cross had piqued the interest of antiquarians since 1699. An academic study published by RCAHMS in 1982 made the case for it being the world’s first ringed high cross. But Sally and Siân’s research was the first interdisciplinary and biographical analysis of the original cross, the 1970 replica and other copies within the context of Iona and its communities. This aided the work of the designations team, who assessed the replica before granting it Category A status, applied to
“outstanding examples of a particular period, style or building type”. Elizabeth McCrone, head of designations at HES, explains: “We thought the St John’s Cross replica was a suitable candidate for listing and were lucky to have Sally and Siân’s research. “For me, listing a replica was really interesting philosophically. It shows how something created not that long ago has quickly become part of our cultural life. “It’s a cultural and philosophical mind shift to not think of a replica as having less value than the real article. We need to evolve the way we look at our heritage as history never stops.” A 20% discount is available for HES members on My Life as a Replica: St John’s Cross, Iona by Sally Foster and Siân Jones, which will be available from historicenvironment.scot/shop later this year
ASHLEY COOPER PICS / ALAMY, E13_10_3#3, SC 1553235: COURTESY OF HES (J. R. SCOTT COLLECTION)
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have been guides, caretakers, bell-ringers, those who look after the graveyard – a place central to the islanders as it’s where their families are buried.”
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QUIZ THE BIG HISTORIC SCOTLAND
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Are you a trivia champion? Test your mettle with our quiz
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Our quiz masters Andrew Burnet
Nicki Scott
Kit Reid
Bob Tevendale
Samuel Wilson
Steve Farrar
Interpretation manager
Senior cultural resources advisor
Senior interpretation manager
Natural heritage advisor
Digital content officer
Interpretation manager
42 HISTORIC SCOTLAND
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Quiz
QUIZ
That’s history
Test your knowledge of Scotland’s best known landmarks and figures. Answers on page 46
Whose body was kept in the bottle dungeon at St Andrews Castle after his assassination in 1546? A Cardinal David Beaton B Cardinal James Beaton C Cardinal Francis Beaton D Cardinal John Beaton
2
In a small workshop behind which property did Scots engineer James Watt develop his first steam engine in the 1700s? A Trinity House B Kinneil House C Stanley Mills D Glasgow Cathedral
3
What was found behind a panel in the Queen’s Bedchamber at Stirling Castle in 1981? A Ball B Doll C Mask D Shoe
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John Muir is known in the US as the ‘Father of the National Parks’. Where was he born? A Perth B Mull C Dunbar D Paisley
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How was King James III’s younger brother, the Duke of Albany, killed in 1485? A Jousting B Poisoned C Hanged D Attacked by a dog
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Where did Mary Queen of Scots shelter during her last hours in Scotland? A Craigmillar Castle B Dundrennan Abbey C Melrose Abbey D Linlithgow Palace
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What sport is Mary rumoured to have played in the fields surrounding Seton Palace? A Golf B Tennis C Croquet D Volleyball
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2020 marked the 700th anniversary of the Declaration of Arbroath. But who was the reigning Scottish king when the letter was sent? A Robert the Bruce B John Balliol C David II D Robert II
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At what property was Lady Dervorgilla laid to rest? A Jedburgh Abbey B Sweetheart Abbey C Dundrennan Abbey D Elgin Cathedral Bonus point: What was she buried with?
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At 467m above sea level, which is the highest property in our care? A Ruthven Barracks B Castle Campbell C Wanlockhead Beam Engine D Stirling Castle
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Forces of nature Is your animal and plant knowledge second to none?
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At which Historic Scotland property would you spot those silvery winged wonders the Northern Brown Argus (Aricia artaxerxes)? A Holyrood Park B Tantallon Castle C Rothesay Castle D Aberdour Castle & Gardens
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Many of our properties, such as Dunfermline Castle, are home to pipistrelle bats. On average, how long do these winged mammals live? A 2-3 years B 4-7 years C 10-13 years D 15-20 years
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During the summer months, osprey can be seen at sites including Threave Castle, Inchmahome Priory and Lochleven. But which winter retreat does this bird of prey travel from to reach Scotland in summer? A The Mediterranean B Africa C North America D Australia
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Black rats are found at only one island in our care. Is it? A Inchmahome Island B Lochleven Island
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C Inchcolm Island D Threave Island
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Do you speak emoji? 5
Can you decode these emojis to identify five Historic Scotland properties? Example:
= her + mitt + age + castle = Hermitage Castle
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2.
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3.
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What kind of tree is seen in picture 1 (right)? A Sycamore B Chestnut C Oak D Beech Bonus points: Name two Historic Scotland properties where these trees grow
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Health check As health is on our minds a lot in 2020 … What condition led to the death of Mary of Guise, Regent of Scotland, at Edinburgh Castle in 1560? A Dropsy B The flux C St Anthony’s fire D Ague
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A Neolithic skull found inside Cuween Hill Chambered Cairn had a hole cut into it, possibly a treatment for disease. What is this drastic surgical procedure called? A Trepanning B Tredanning C Trecanning D Treganning
GL ARCHIVE / ALAMY, SHUTTERSTOCK
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What did Mary Queen of Scots not want to see when she stayed at
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Linlithgow Palace in 1565, while suffering from morning sickness? A Ducks B Visitors C Sunlight D Lord Darnley Where did Mary Queen of Scots go to recover from severe illness following the birth of her son in 1565? A Edinburgh Zoo B Linlithgow Palace C Lochleven Castle D Craigmillar Castle
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What did Linlithgow Palace host in 1585 because King James VI wanted to avoid an outbreak of plague in Edinburgh? A Jousting tournament B His birthday party
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C Parliament D A fashion show Pilgrims travelled to St Triduana’s Chapel in Restalrig, Edinburgh, to seek cures for diseases that affected which body part? A The eye B The lungs C The stomach D The tongue
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What building at Edinburgh Castle was used as a military hospital until 1887? A The Half Moon Battery B The Great Hall C The Royal Palace D The Argyle Tower
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What was Huntly Castle known as when Robert the Bruce
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stayed there in 1307 while recovering from a serious illness? A Buchan Castle B Gordon Castle C Maxwell Castle D Strathbogie Castle What disease prompted King David II to stay at Lochleven Castle in 1361? A The Black Death B Typhoid Fever C Dysentery D Smallpox
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What did James Young Simpson, scholar of Kilmartin Glen’s rock art, pioneer in 1847? A The use of chloroform as an anaesthetic B Human blood transfusion C Anthrax vaccine D Botox injections
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1. C – Wanlockhead Beam Engine in Dumfries and Galloway. 2. A – Cardinal David Beaton. 3. B – Watt developed his prototype steam engine in a small workshop behind Kinneil House. 4. A – A leather ball, encasing an inflated
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Forces of nature 1. A – The sycamore tree is found growing prominently outside Craigmillar Castle, Castle Campbell, Bothwell Castle, Lochleven Castle and Linlithgow Palace. The sycamore isn’t native to Scotland and historically it would have been planted as an exotic tree to enhance the landscape. Its dense shade was also valued and would have been used to protect ladies’ complexions when walking outdoors. 2. A – Edinburgh’s Holyrood Park is home to a large number of butterfly species. The Northern Brown Argus colony of butterflies is centred around the south facing slopes above
5. 6.
7. 8.
pig’s bladder, was found behind a panel in what may have been Mary’s bedroom at Stirling Castle. Dated to the 1540s, this is the oldest known football in the world. C – Dunbar. A – The duke died jousting in 1485, from a splinter in the lance of his opponent, the Duke of Orléans. B – Dundrennan Abbey. A – Golf.
9. A – Robert the Bruce. Sent to the Pope, the letters were an attempt to reverse the excommunication of Bruce from the Catholic church, and to have King Edward II of England recognise Robert as the true king of Scotland. The document has slowly gained fame over the past 700 years due to the stirring language used within it.
Duddingston Loch. The thin volcanic soil and southerly aspect favours common rockrose, an important food source for the larvae of the Northern Brown Argus. 3. C – Inchcolm still has a population of black rats, probably the only one left in the British Isles! These creatures are native to Asia and were likely introduced from cargo ships in the Roman period. 4. C – Pipistrelle bats can live between 10 and 13 years. Other bat species live for much longer. Daubenton’s bats, for example, a large colony of which is resident in Linlithgow Palace, have a life expectancy of up to 20 years. 5. B – Most UK ospreys head to West Africa in the winter months. Unlike many other birds of prey, ospreys hunt for fish, which is why they’re not widely used for falconry.
10. B – Sweetheart Abbey. John Balliol’s widow, Lady Dervorgilla of Galloway, had his embalmed heart placed in an ivory casket after he died in 1268. Lady Dervorgilla founded Sweetheart Abbey in 1273 and was laid to rest in front of the abbey church’s high altar, clutching her husband’s heart to her bosom, in 1289.
Do you speak emoji? 1. Kisimul Castle. 2. Crichton Castle. 3. Maiden Stone.
Health check 1. A – Dropsy or edema. 2. A – Trepanning. 3. B – Visitors. 4. D – Craigmillar Castle.
4. Castle Campbell. 5. Mar’s Wark.
5. C – Parliament. 6. A – The eye. 7. B – The Great Hall. 8. D – Strathbogie Castle. 9. A – The Black Death. 10.A – The use of chloroform as an anaesthetic.
So... Are you a trivia champion?
Write your final score here:
........ /33
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Do you WFH? The trending acronym may be new, but these centuryspanning stories reveal that the practice is not a modern invention ART
WORDS: JOAN MCFADDEN
An algebra ace JEDBURGH ABBEY PRODUCTION CLIENT
The scientist and mathematician Mary Somerville – born in 1780 – grew up in her uncle’s manse at Jedburgh Abbey, and her study of Latin over breakfast will chime with many parents trying to home educate during lockdown. Whether or not their pupils will be as receptive as Mary is another matter, as she was so keen to educate herself that members of her own family criticised her for spending time on the unladylike occupation of reading. Mary was sent to a school in Burntisland where she was taught needlework, but working from home was much more to her taste, and her uncle actively encouraged her educational ambitions. Growing up at a time when the social life expected of a young lady was seen as the only appropriate interest, Mary managed to learn algebra, geometry and Greek through studying by herself at home, rather than just the needlework, piano playing and painting Mary Somerville expected of her.
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Rev Thomas Somerville welcomed his niece Mary to Jedburgh Abbey
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A saint in solitude IONA ABBEY Tòrr an Aba, a small rocky outcrop outside Iona Abbey, was long said to be the site of St Columba’s writing hut, and recent archaeological evidence supports this belief. Columba arrived on Iona from Ireland in 563 and is widely credited as one of the key figures who brought Christianity to Scotland. Originally of royal blood, he was a charismatic
and confident speaker, inspired by his faith to build a church and establish a monastic community which became known as a place of learning and Christian worship. Yet Columba lived and worked in a humble hut, and legend has it that he also welcomed heavenly visitors and visions here. The little rocky knoll in the abbey grounds was
undoubtedly a good place from which to view the abbey complex, allowing Columba to write in peace while keeping an eye on his monks. The stone socket of a later cross can still be seen on the summit of the mound, marking the special significance of this place and its extraordinary influence on Christianity across Europe.
St Columba
Iona Abbey, place of pilgrimage
A palace steward BISHOP’S AND EARL’S PALACES, KIRKWALL The steward’s room at the Patrick of Kirkwall’s business Earl’s Palace, Kirkwall, looks dealings were a complex, reasonably comfortable, with muddled web of loans an outlook over the palace’s and counter-loans with no extensive courtyard, although realistic plan for repayment. this particular His conspicuous steward probably spending drew him Earl’s Palace had very little into completely leisure time. His unmanageable room sat at the debt of well over centre of the £150,000. These palace, allowing debts, combined him to supervise with Earl Patrick’s the staircase, wayward courtyard and the behaviour, would approach to the probably have weighed main entrance. heavily on the steward’s The room’s large mind. They had certainly had cupboards would have been a drastic impact on the earl’s fitted with lockable doors. previous stewards and Placed next to the fireplace, deputies – one was they provided safe, dry murdered, another hanged, storage for documents. while others simply lost So far, so good, except Earl their reputations.
PAINTERS / ALAMY, SHUTTERSTOCK
Stewards were responsible for the smooth running of palace households
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Inchcolm Abbey made for a perfect writers’ retreat
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In medieval times, at least one shoemaker lived and worked at Caerlaverock Castle, near Dumfries. Dozens of shoes found paint a picture of the shoemaker’s enterprise, which provides a glimpse into the varied group of residents who worked within this stronghold. The shoemaker was regarded as a specialist craftsman, working with expensive leather which was not to be wasted. The apprentices and journeymen did the majority of the sewing, but cutting was reserved for the masters, using the traditional half-moon shaping knife for skilful cutting and shaping. A leather shoe from Caerlaverock
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Many women and children also worked in Caerlaverock Castle
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A writer finds tranquillity INCHCOLM ABBEY
The Scotichronicon is one of the most complete histories of Scotland, composed in the 15th century by Walter Bower, Abbot of Inchcolm, who built on an earlier history by John of Fordun. Written in medieval Latin, The Scotichronicon begins with the biblical creation story and ends with the death of James I in 1437 AD. The early chapters of The Scotichronicon are widely accepted to be a mythological re-imagining of Scotland’s past, which sits well with Inchcolm’s own early history. The abbey was founded in the 12th century and is situated on Inchcolm Island in the Firth of Forth. At times it had a very precarious existence, with its position guarding Edinburgh making it susceptible to raids. Despite that, the monks appeared to manage to live a
peaceful and industrious life, which provided Walter Bower with the perfect setting to complete his work. One particular room in the abbey has been identified as a likely site for Bower’s study, a quiet retreat where research and contemplation would have come easily to him.
Bannockburn as depicted in The Scotichronicon
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Shoe sole made from Caerlaverock leather
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A castlebound queen TUTBURY CASTLE, ENGLAND Mary Queen of Scots during the years of her would surely have imprisonment she empathised with those produced an astonishing feeling trapped at home. body of embroidery known Imprisoned by Elizabeth I collectively as the Marian of England for 19 years, Hangings. Apparently she she spent 14 found embroidery years of that time therapeutic, and the in Tutbury Castle resulting hanging of in Staffordshire. green velvet is Mary was embellished with 37 accomplished at embroidered panels needlework, and which depict scenes Mary Queen
from classical literature and contemporary folklore, chosen by Mary to express her most private thoughts at a time when all her written correspondence was being monitored. There are eight octagonal and 28 smaller, cross-shaped panels, 18 of which bear Mary’s monogram. Hand-stitched replicas of her
Detail from the Marian Hanging
embroideries hang in Edinburgh Castle. Please note that Tutbury Castle is not a Historic Scotland property. See tutburycastle.com
of Scots
The remains of Tutbury Castle
The residents of a castle toun
Red brick barracks at Fort George
THE NATIONAL TRUST PHOTOLIBRARY / ALAMY, NORTHSCAPE / ALAMY, SHUTTERSTOCK
URQUHART CASTLE The blacksmiths at Urquhart Castle on the shores of Loch Ness would most likely have lived in a cottage in the castle toun. This complex of workshops and homes was clustered close to the castle but outside of its walls, so that any work that was too dangerous, smelly or demanding of space was carried out here. The castle toun would have rung with pounding hammers and
Industrial noise once rang round Urquhart Castle
rasping bellows in an atmosphere thick with the stench of leather tanning and metal working. Archaeologists have found buried evidence of extensive light industry here, including a 20m-long wooden workshop and home. Inside, between the late 1200s and the 1500s, iron and bronze were smelted and worked on an anvil to make household objects such as nails.
Soldiers’ wives working in close quarters FORT GEORGE In the 18th century, a few soldiers were allowed to bring their wives to live in the barrack rooms at Fort George, near Inverness, despite there being no real married quarters. The reality was a barrack room intended for four couples, with no more privacy than a blanket hung around the marital bed. The soldiers’ wives who were permitted to
live in the barracks supplemented their husbands’ income by undertaking chores that included washing, sewing and cooking, yet they earned only half rations. There was no communal mess and the men and their wives drew their daily rations from the provision stores, then prepared meals over the fires in their rooms. HISTORICENVIRONMENT.SCOT 51
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A Neolithic neighbourhood SKARA BRAE
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Skara Brae, on the west coast of Orkney mainland, is Europe’s most complete Neolithic village. Archaeologists think there may have been 70-100 people living in the village at any one time. Known as Neolithic,
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because they made so many things out of ‘lithos’ (stone), these people were some of the first to produce distinctive flatbottomed pottery. The pottery varies in size, leading to speculation about its different uses.
The people in this village would have lived and worked together, farming, hunting or gathering their food. It’s interesting in that situation
– and that in a domestic settlement – time could be spent working on grooved ware pottery, as this is generally only associated with ceremonial sites elsewhere in Britain.
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Skara Brae is now one of the keystones of the UNESCO Heart of Neolithic Orkney World Heritage Site
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KINNEIL HOUSE In a tiny workshop in the shadow of Kinneil House, James Watt worked on the steam engine which eventually proved fundamental to the Industrial Revolution. Watt occupied the workshop from 1769 to 1773 and developed his prototype steam engine which incorporated the revolutionary separate 52
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condenser, first patented in 1769. There was a security element to him choosing the remote cottage next to Kinneil House to live and work in, as industrial espionage was afoot. Fortunately, none of the spies were successful and he went on to transform the world.
The modest cottage where James Watt made history
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An engineering mastermind keeps a low profile
Watt an inventor
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Our history continues to be preserved and protected because of you
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You help us manage over 300 visitor attractions that represent around 5,000 years of Scotland’s past 1
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You help us to keep conservation and traditional skills alive 2
You enable us to provide rich learning resources for all age groups
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You help us to play our part in mitigating global climate change 4
You enable us to look after incredible archive material and collections 5
Receive our latest member updates History may judge 2020 as a year of unwanted significance, a year that has conspired to keep over 5,000 years of Scotland’s history tantalisingly out of reach. But thanks to the incredible support of our members, our history continues to be preserved
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and protected. So when the time comes, your nation’s treasures will be waiting for you. Keep up to date with what is going on with your membership by signing up to our enewsletter. See historicenvironment.scot/ members-email
You support our research so we can better understand and care for Scotland’s historic environment 6
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Thanks members
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Flower of Scotland
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Every purchase helps us care for Scotland’s historic environment
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Scottish artist Lianne McGregor is the creator behind our new Thistle design. Inspired by Scotland’s national fleur, the new homeware and gift range includes chocolates, tea from Edinburgh based PekoeTea, an apron and a recycled leather notebook.
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DID YOU KNOW? The thistle first appeared as a royal symbol on silver coins issued by James III in 1470 7
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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
China mug £15 Tea towel twin pack £23 Bamboo tray £15 (pre-order) Water bottle £23 Leather notepad £12 Leather bookmark £4 Scottish breakfast tea £8.50 Scottish berries chocolate pack £6.50 (pre-order)
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Retail
R E TA I L
Read all about it Some great books available to purchase or pre-order 1
THE SECRET LIFE OF TARTAN BY VIXY RAE RIGHT Reviewed by Louise Ferguson, Publication Buyer for Historic Environment Scotland The Secret Life of Tartan is a beautiful and engaging work. Vixy Rae expertly weaves the reader through our deep-rooted history with tartan, and explains how it helped shape a nation. This book is full of fascinating and surprising information, all of it enhanced by some lovely pictures.
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AN ILLUSTRATED TREASURY OF SCOTTISH CASTLE LEGENDS BY THERESA BRESLIN AND KATE LEIPER LEFT Reviewed by Vikki Reilly for Publishing Scotland We love this series of books, so we were thrilled when this new volume was published this year. Just like the other treasuries, the stories are excellent for reading aloud and the illustrations are so beautiful, you’ll never want to turn the page!
A TASTE OF SCOTLAND’S ISLANDS BY SUE LAWRENCE RIGHT Reviewed by Vikki Reilly for Publishing Scotland This travelogue and cookbook is a treat for all the senses. Sue Lawrence shares both memories and recipes, becoming your best travel companion, and the photos of the food and the places will leave you wanting more.
1 The Secret Life of Tartan £20 (pre-order) 2 An Illustrated Treasury of Scottish Castle Legends £14.99
3 A Taste of Scotland’s Islands £20 (pre-order)
SPEND Members receive a 20% discount by using & SAVE the code MEMBER0919 at the checkout
SHOP Visit the online shop at historicenvironment.scot/shop HISTORICENVIRONMENT.SCOT 55
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Time trip
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Swimmers hitch a ride at St Andrews in 1935 and, below, the Step Rock open-air pool in 1933, 1955 and 1970
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TIME TRIP
Giddy up An open-air swimming pool was built by the cliffs at Step Rock in St Andrews in 1902 and was popular with bathers for decades – although until 1929 it remained strictly for men only. The pool had a diving board and a chute.
Step Rock pool was in use until 1978, and its surrounding walls are still visible today. The site now forms part of St Andrews Aquarium. See more images like this at scran.ac.uk
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WHAT IS IT? A horse named Miss gives a ride to swimmers at St Andrews in 1935. Horses were used to move bathing huts along the sand to the waterline as the tide came in and out. 56 HISTORIC SCOTLAND
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Edinburgh Stonemasons
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