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CASTLES
TOWNS
ABBEYS
VILLAGES
INVASIONS
CATHEDRALS
PALACES
BATTLES
WHISKY
CITIES
CHURCHES
REBELLIONS
GOLF
CLUBS
STATELY HOMES |
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With more than 900 entries in alphabetical order,
The Historical Handbook To Scotland provides a factual overview of the country's
historical landscape from the Roman occupation to the present
day. Integrated among its largest cities and smallest
villages, that number more than 260
locations, are some 500
historical buildings. These range from the most
strategically defended castles to the more venerable ruined
abbeys that stand as testaments to the struggles and strife of
the nation, during which many of the structures were designed
and doctrines upheld. Between these are the 90 battles and periods of
conflict. The comparatively modern history of more than
100 distilleries and golf
clubs serves to reflect the industrialisation and
urbanisation of 19th and 20th century Scotland, and like most
of the other entries, start with the subject name, region,
location and earliest history, eventually ending with a modern day summary that the reader
can experience first-hand. |
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northern court with adjoining
towers that was inspected by James IV in 1505. The estate passed
to Lord Ruthven in 1506, who added a mansion, and whose descendent
became the Earl of Gowrie. In 1600 the castle and lands were used
by the 3rd Earl to bribe Logan of Restalrig into assassinating the
King, who subsequently forfeited the Earl and granted the estate
to Thomas Erskine, created Lord Dirleton in 1603 after saving the
King from the Gowrie conspirators. In 1631 the property was held
by Sir James Maxwell. Dirleton last saw conflict when in 1650 its
Moss troopers surrendered to Cromwell's 1600-man force under Major
General Lambert and Colonel Monck, who destroyed much of the structure
leaving it like the ruin we see today. A mansion was later built
nearby but it is also ruinous.
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SCOTTISH BORDERS
About 5 miles SE of
Melrose are the substantial ruins of the Abbey founded by Hugh de
Morville in 1150. Possibly built on the site of St. Modan's 6th
century church, which may have been a Druidical Temple, as some
sources claim the name is from the Celtic 'durach-bruach' meaning
'bank of the grove of oaks'. It was dedicated to St. Mary and developed
in a Norman Gothic style for Premonstratensians from Alnwick, with
generous grants from later monarchs also making it a rich prize
for invading armies who despoiled its once proud church. In 1322
it was burnt by Edward II's retreating army but its subsequent restoration
by Robert the Bruce fell short of its former standing. This was
consistent with the disobedience of its monks, who were censured
by Pope Gregory for frequent lapses in discipline during the 14th
century. Future attacks by Richard II, 1385, Sir Brian Latoun, 1544,
and by the Earl of Hertford in 1545 left the Abbey in a ruinous
state and in 1587 the lands were annexed by James VI, who erected
them into the Lordship of Cardross, 1604, for John Erskine Earl
of Mar. In 1700 the ruin was purchased by Thomas Haliburton, Walter
Scott's grandfather, later becoming a favourite haunt for the young
novelist, whose burial here in 1832 evoked the rhyme:
So there in solemn solitude,
In that sequestered spot
Lies mingling with its kindred clay.
The dust of Walter Scott!
An where is now the flashing eye
That kindled up at Flodden field,
That saw in fancy onsets fierce,
And clashing spear and shield.
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Though its once proud church
still retains some of the nave transepts and choir with north and
south aisles of two bays, the ruins of the cloister buildings to the
south east take pride of place. While the south range is one of the
best of its type, the east side includes its library on the site of
St Modan's Chapel and the well preserved Chapter House with its
stone barrel-vaulted roof. Next to this was the warming room which
was linked to the day rooms, above which were the dormitories. Of
the additions that were made up to the 16th century most are 12th
and 13th century.
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EAST LOTHIAN
Coastal town situated 26 miles SE of Edinburgh. Name
derived from the Gaelic 'dun-bar' meaning either 'fort on the
height' or 'fort on the point'. The fort around which the town grew
was burnt by Kenneth I in 856, and became the seat of the
Northumbrian Prince Gospatrick in 1072, and castle of the Earls
Dunbar in the 12th century. A strategic prize for defensive and
offensive campaigns down through the centuries, as in 1296 when
Edward I defeated the Scots here. After the Countess of Dunbar
(Black Agnes) successfully repelled an assault by the Earl of
Salisbury in 1338, apart from its occupation by French troops
between 1516 and 1537, the castle remained in Scottish hands up
until its destruction by an Act of Parliament in 1567 (now a
fragmentary ruin). Its important position both geographically and
historically moved Sir Walter Scott to describe the construction and
strength of its storm battered seaward side in
'Marmion':
That the wild clamour
and affray of those dead artisans of hell,
Who laboured under
Hugo's spell,
Sounded as loud as the ocean's war,
Among the
caverns of Dunbar
The town was created a Burgh of
Barony by David II (1379-71), who granted it with a Free Port at
Belhaven, to the Earl of March in 1370. Despite its elevation to a
Royal Burgh by James II (1445), and its subsequent rise in
importance, frequent attacks from England hampered the burgh's
growth, which did not get under way until the 18th century. Burnt by
the Earl of Hertford in 1544 and by German mercenaries under the
Earl of Shrewsbury in 1548, the town also suffered at the hands of
Cromwell (1650), who, after defeating the Scots here, stole its
ships and damaged its harbour, crippling its trade. Other than as
the point of arrival of General Sir John Cope before
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