Falkland Palace

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Falkland Palace , view from the north

Falkland Palace is a former hunting lodge of the Scottish kings in the Scottish town of Falkland at the foot of the Lomond Hills in the center of County Fife .

The castle dates back to a medieval tower house of the MacDuffs and came to the Scottish crown in the 15th century. King James II began to expand the medieval structure. His successors continued the work and built a Renaissance- style castle that became one of the most popular hunting seats of the Scottish royal court. But after James VI. In 1603 the Scottish and English crowns united, he moved his residence to London , which is why Falkland Palacewas no longer used regularly and gradually fell into disrepair for almost 300 years. In 1887 the situation changed when John Crichton-Stuart, 3rd Marquess of Bute , as administrator of the system ( English hereditary keeper ) with a comprehensive restoration of the buildings surviving began.

Since 1952, acting National Trust for Scotland as deputy administrator of the palace, which on 1 February 1972 as Listed Building category A under monument protection was provided. The property still belongs to the British Crown. It can be visited for a fee from April to October, which around 60,000 visitors make use of each year. Every Sunday morning there is a Catholic mass in the castle chapel.

story

Previous buildings

It is possible that there was a fortification at the current location as early as the 12th century , but this is not certain. A tower house of the MacDuffs, Earls of Fife , can only be verified there from the 13th century . Their castle was destroyed by English troops in 1337, but was subsequently rebuilt. In 1371 the castle and Earldom belonged to Isabella, Duncan MacDuff's heir and wife of Walter Stewart, the second-born son of the Scottish King Robert II. She ceded the property that year to her brother-in-law Robert Stewart, 1st Duke of Albany . He left his nephew David Stewart, 1st Duke of Rothesay , the eldest son of King Robert III. and his heir to the throne, in the castle, where he died in 1402 under unexplained circumstances. Legend has it that the heir to the throne died of starvation in dungeon . When Robert Stewart died in 1420, his son Murdoch inherited the property and succeeded his father as regent for King James I, who had been imprisoned in England . But when Jacob was released from captivity in 1424 and returned to Scotland, he had Murdoch arrested in March 1425 for high treason and confiscated all his titles and property, including Falkland Castle . Since then, the property has belonged to the Scottish Crown. The Stuart kings often and gladly used the castle as a hunting seat, because the large forests nearby were ideal for hunting deer and bears. The surrounding lands also offered sufficient prey for pickling .

James II of Scotland converted the complex into a comfortable country residence in 1451 and gave it to his wife Maria von Geldern in 1459 . Under him, the so-called Great Hall was built south of the residential tower , thus greatly expanding the existing castle. In 1455 the property was no longer referred to as castle , but as palace . At the same time, the supply settlement around the plant developed into a village that was awarded the status of a royal borough in 1458 . After the death of her husband, Maria von Geldern, who was responsible for her underage son James III. acted as regent, in the years 1461 and 1462 make further changes to the buildings. It was also she who temporarily gave shelter to Queen Margaret of Anjou during the Wars of the Roses after the lost Battle of Towton .

Conversion and expansion to a renaissance castle

Falkland Palace on an engraving by John Slezer, 1693

From 1501, King James IV had the country house converted and expanded into a royal palace . So he expanded the Great Hall and had a long, south-facing wing built on its eastern end. The supervision of the construction work was initially with Andrew Cavers, the Abbot of Lindores . He had previously performed this job on the construction sites of Linlithgow Palace and Stirling Castle . In 1503 John Ramsay, Vicar of Creich, took over this function. The new buildings were also accompanied by the creation of a new palace garden , which was laid out to the east of the old tower house . Peacocks were also kept in this Renaissance garden . When the king died in 1513, the construction work was not yet completed, so it was left to his son James V to continue his father's work. James V spent some time at the French court in order to marry Madeleine of France , a daughter of the French king Francis I , there in January 1537 . On his return to Scotland, he brought French craftsmen with him, who rebuilt and expanded Falkland Palace in the French Renaissance style by 1542. A south wing with an adjoining gatehouse was added to the two existing building wings in the north and east , so that the now three-wing complex surrounded an inner courtyard. The fourth, western side was closed off by a high wall. James V had the courtyard facade of the east wing reworked in the Renaissance style and thus aligned with the south wing. A palace chapel was set up on the first floor of the southern wing around 1540 . The supervision of all work was carried out by John Scrymgeour. In the castle garden in 1539 was ball court ( English Royal or Real tennis court ), on the Jeu de Paume could be played. After his crushing defeat at the Battle of Solway Moss , James V died in the castle in 1542. His daughter and successor, Maria Stuart , enjoyed staying in Falklands during her short time as Queen of Scotland because the castle reminded her of her childhood in France.

Gradual decline

The palace complex on a painting by Alexander Keirincx , 17th century

Despite the extensive renovation and expansion, the castle never served as a permanent residence, but only for short stays for the Scottish kings. After James VI. In 1603, when James I had also become King of England, the entire royal court moved to London, and Falkland Palace was no longer used regularly. Charles I and Charles II each visited the palace only once and very briefly. Since the reign of James V, people close to the Scottish royal family had been entrusted with the administration of the facility for the time when the facility was empty. This administrative office, called hereditary keeper , was hereditary and alienable. The first administrator was Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus , second husband of Margaret Tudor , the sister of Henry VIII. In the 16th century the office had come to the Bethunes of Creich. It came from them by marriage to David Murray, 1st Viscount of Stormont , and from his family to the Earls and later Dukes of Atholl during the Commonwealth . They had to watch how the north and east wings of the palace burned down in 1654 during the billeting of Cromwell's troops. In 1715, Rob Roy MacGregor took up residence in the semi-ruin and plundered the area from there for a while , but finally moved on. In 1746 the Skenes of Halyard became administrators of the palace, and in 1787 their relatives, the Skenes of Pitlour, took over the office. From them it came through marriage to the family of the Moncrieffs of the Myres . In 1820 General George Moncrieff sold the post of castle administrator to John Bruce, whose niece brought him to her husband O Tyndall Bruce. Around 1840 he had repairs and restoration measures carried out on the preserved south wing and the gatehouse, during which the buildings were partially changed.

Restoration and current use

The castle in the 1850s

In 1887 the Bruces sold the administrator's office to John Crichton-Stuart, 3rd Marquess of Bute, who began a comprehensive restoration of the complex with the help of the architect John Kinross . During the work, the changes made around 1840 were dismantled and the still-preserved fire ruins of the east wing were secured. The marquess , who was interested in archeology , had the remains of the tower house in the garden of the property excavated around 1890, which was abandoned and abandoned in the 16th century . After his death in 1900, his second son, Ninian Crichton-Stuart , continued his father's work. Under him, for example, the palace chapel was restored and refurbished by Robert Weir Schultz . In 1915 Michael Crichton-Stuart inherited the office of castle administrator, who together with his wife Barbara made the palace his residence after the end of the Second World War . He had the palace garden, used as a potato field in the Second World War, rebuilt from 1947 to 1952 based on models from the 16th century. With the consent of the Queen , he appointed in 1952 the National Trust for Scotland as deputy manager ( English deputy keeper ) of Falkland Palace . Since then, the organization has been taking care of the maintenance, restoration and management of the facility. For example, between 1955 and 1980 she had the so-called Cross House , a tower of the burned down east wing, rebuilt and set up two splendidly furnished rooms in it. Today's son Michael Crichton-Stuart, Ninian, is nominally hereditary keeper of the property. Like his father, he has his residence in the castle.

description

architecture

After its construction, Falkland Palace has undergone the least changes compared to other royal residences in Scotland. The existing structure was hardly transformed or changed historically afterwards . Falkland used to be a three-wing complex, the wings of which enclosed a rectangular inner courtyard. Access to this was granted by a massive gatehouse, which adjoined the south wing of the palace on its west side. The north wing, known as the Great Hall , from the mid-15th century was similar to the Great Hall of Stirling Castle, but is no longer preserved today, with the exception of its foundations. However, it can still be seen from them that the interior of this wing was once 30.2 × 7.9 meters. In its place there is now a flower garden. The area of ​​the former inner courtyard is now taken up by lawn.

The three-storey gatehouse in the south-west corner of the palace area still grants access to the palace. It was built around the same time as the south wing, but was not fully completed until 1629. The building makes a defensive impression, but has neither military guards nor machicolations . Its nine- foot (approx. 2.75 meters) wide archway is flanked on both sides by round towers. To the west of them there was a dungeon in the basement. Above the gateway and on the two flanking towers there are coats of arms, including the coat of arms of the Stuarts of Bute. Overall, the gatehouse of Falkland Palace is very similar to the undamaged gateway of Stirling Castle. The rooms for the guards and the living quarters of the castle caretaker have always been in its interior.

The fully preserved south wing of the palace connects to the east. Its two storeys rise above a vaulted cellar . While the south-facing facade by her slightly protruding walkway with battlements makes a defensive impression that the courtyard side façade shows strong influences of continental Renaissance. Pillars structure the front of the courtyard in a vertical direction. Their counterparts on the outer facade have niches for statues, two of which are still equipped. The initials of Jacob V and his wife Marie de Guise "IR 5 D G" (for Jacobus Rex V Dei Gratia ) and "MRIA D G" (for Maria Dei Gratia ) are found on the pillar bases . Head medallions hang next to the large windows on the first floor , possibly depicting former members of the Scottish royal court. The consoles of the roof are similar to those at the banquet hall of Edinburgh Castle can be found.

From the eastern wing of the castle, only parts of the facade facing the courtyard are preserved today. Their design is similar to the south facade. The east wing was built around 1500 to 1512 and was 57 meters long. Two storeys rose above a vaulted cellar, the rooms of which were accessed through two galleries on the east side of the garden. The rooms included the royal guards' room, an audience room and a private dining room, but the exact location of the individual rooms is not known. It is possible that the king's apartments were on the first floor, while the queen's apartments were on the floor above. A tower, which is set before the middle of the garden facade of the east wing is Crosshouse (also Crosshouse called written). It owes its complete appearance to the National Trust for Scotland, which rebuilt it from the first floor.

  • Gatehouse

  • Exterior facade of the south wing

  • Ruins of the east wing, view from the courtyard

  • East Wing and Cross House

Interior decoration

The interior of all rooms in the gatehouse is from the end of the 19th century. Wall and ceiling paintings were created by the painter Andrew Lyons between 1894 and 1896, including the trompe l'œil ceiling of the Old Library . This room was used as a study by Michael Crichton-Stuart after World War II. Today memorabilia pertaining to the Crichton-Stuart family are displayed there. The Keeper's suite on the second floor of the gateway consists of a bedroom with a four-poster bed from the 18th century, which may have been designed by James VI. and an adjoining dressing room and bathroom. The living room ( English drawing room ) on the first floor has an oak ceiling . It shows the coats of arms of the Stuart kings and the various administrators of the castle.

Castle chapel

The south wing of the palace probably used to provide rooms for courtiers and high-ranking court officials on the ground floor. In the basement there were utility rooms such as a bakery and a brewery cellar . Other living rooms were on the first floor. The most important room on this floor is the 80 × 24.6 foot (about 24.4 × 7.5 meters) castle chapel , known as the Chapel Royal . Despite changes in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it is considered one of the finest examples of Scottish chapel architecture from the post- Reformation period . Because its predecessor in the old MacDuff castle was dedicated to Thomas of Canterbury , it is believed that the new chapel was also dedicated to this saint . From 1513 to 1539 the room was used as a wood store and ballroom before James V returned it to its original purpose. The coffered ceiling of the room dates from that time and was painted as it is today on the occasion of Charles I's visit in 1633. The chapel windows date from the 1890s and show heraldic signs and emblems of the Scottish kings and queens associated with Falklands. The room was restored from 1896 and then set up for Catholic masses. The altar , retable and pedestal are made to designs by Robert Weir Schultz and were installed in 1905 on the occasion of the new consecration in May of that year. The royal stalls, on the other hand, are older. It came in the reign of James VI. to the chapel and was a gift from the Danish people on the occasion of the wedding of the monarch to Anna of Denmark . The most valuable piece of art-historically valuable equipment is a wooden screen from the 16th century, which separates the chapel from an anteroom. The neighboring sacristy has ceiling paintings by Thomas Bonnar . He created them from 1895 to 1896 based on models by David Scott . In February 1906, Lord Ninian Crichton Stuart acquired four 17th century tapestries from a house in Maarssen . They initially hung in the castle chapel, but can now be seen in the gallery on the first floor. This gallery has a coffered oak ceiling and used to connect the royal apartments in the east wing with the chapel and the guards' rooms in the gatehouse.

The reconstructions of two royal bedrooms ( english King's room and Queen's room ) can be found today in Crosshouse . The two reconstructed rooms were designed by W. Schomberg Scott and David McClure and are intended to convey an authentic picture of luxurious furnishings from the 16th century. The rooms were completed in 1987 on the occasion of the 400th anniversary of Maria Stuart's execution.

Castle garden

The complex includes a nine- hectare palace garden, which was recreated after the Second World War by the landscape architect Percy Cane based on old models. In addition to an orchard and a meadow of wild flowers, there is also a Renaissance-era herb garden with plants, all of which are listed in John Gerard's book Herball, or General Historie of Plantes . In the northeast corner of the garden area is the ( English Royal or Real tennis court ). The ball court, renovated in 1955, is the oldest of its kind in the United Kingdom as it was established in 1539, making it older than the one at Hampton Court Palace . Since a corresponding club was founded in 1965, the square has been regularly used again. Between it and the castle building lies the re-bricked foundation of a mighty round tower roughly in the middle. Dating from the 13th century, it is the oldest structure in the entire complex and a remnant of the MacDuff's Tower houses .

  • Real tennis court , exterior view

  • Real tennis court , interior view

  • Part of the palace garden

  • Orchard

literature

  • Martin Coventry: The castles of Scotland. A comprehensive reference and gazetteer to more than 2000 castles. 2nd Edition. Edinburgh, Goblinshead 1997, ISBN 1-899874-10-0 , p. 175.
  • John G. Dunbar: Scottish royal palaces. The architecture of the royal residences during the late Medieval and early Renaissance periods. Tuckwell, East Linton 1999, ISBN 1-86232-042-X , pp. 21-38 ( digitized ).
  • Sheila Forman: Scottish Country Houses & Castles. 2nd Edition. Collins, Glasgow, London 1971, pp. 131-133.
  • Cristina Gambaro, Giulia Gaida: Scotland - Castles and Palaces. Culture and landscape. Karl Müller, Cologne 2003, ISBN 3-89893-075-0 , pp. 30-33.
  • Marc Girouard: Falkland Palace. The home of Major and Mrs Michael Crichton Stuart. Part 1. In: Country Life . Volume 126, No. 3260, August 27, 1959, ISSN  0045-8856 , pp. 118-121.
  • Marc Girouard: Falkland Palace. The home of Major and Mrs Michael Crichton Stuart. Part 2. In: Country Life. Volume 126, No. 3261, September 3, 1959, ISSN  0045-8856 , pp. 178-181.
  • Hilary Horrocks: Falkland Palace and garden. National Trust for Scotland, Edinburgh [2009], ISBN 9781906431143 .
  • Iain Moncreiffe of that Ilk: The royal palace of Falkland. 5th edition. National Trust for Scotland, Edinburgh 1970.
  • Thomas Puttfarken, Christopher Hartley, Eric Robson: Falkland Palace and Royal Burgh. National Trust for Scotland, Edinburgh 1989, ISBN

Web links

Commons : Falkland Palace  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Description of Falkland Palace on the National Trust for Scotland website, accessed on August 19, 2021
  2. ↑ a b c d e f Listed Building - Entry . In: Historic Scotland .
  3. ↑ a b c d e f g Information about the castle chapel on the website of the parish ( Memento from May 18, 2015 in the Internet Archive )
  4. ^ A b Sheila Forman: Scottish Country Houses & Castles. 1971, p. 131.
  5. ^ A b c Richard Dargie: Scottish Castles & Fortifications. GW Publishing, Berks 2009, ISBN 978-0-9561211-0-3 , p. 75.
  6. ^ A b c Charles Douglas: A private palace. In: Scotland Magazine. No. 31, February 2007, ISSN  1475-5505 , p. 14 ( online ).
  7. ^ A b Martin Coventry: The castles of Scotland. A comprehensive reference and gazetteer to more than 2000 castles. 1997, p. 175.
  8. ↑ Falklands. In: Encyclopædia Britannica . Online version , accessed January 18, 2020.
  9. ^ A b John G. Dunbar: Scottish royal palaces. 1999, p. 23.
  10. ^ Marc Alexander: A Companion to the Royal Heritage of Britain. The History Press, Stroud 2013, ISBN 978-0-7524-9503-3 , o. P.
  11. ↑ Falkland Palace on CastleXplorer ( Memento from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive )
  12. ^ A b c John G. Dunbar: Scottish royal palaces. 1999, p. 25.
  13. ↑ John G. Dunbar: Scottish royal palaces. 1999, p. 29.
  14. ↑ a b c Information on the Castle Chapel on the Scotland’s Churches Trust website , accessed January 18, 2020.
  15. ↑ John G. Dunbar: Scottish royal palaces. 1999, p. 33.
  16. ↑ Brief history of the system on the website of the National Trust for Scotland ( Memento from November 1, 2016 in the Internet Archive )
  17. ↑ Information about Falkland Palace on Melanie Clegg's website , accessed on January 18, 2020.
  18. ↑ a b c d Sheila Forman: Scottish Country Houses & Castles. 1971, p. 133.
  19. ^ LW: Falkland Palace, Fife. The Property of Lord Ninian Crichton Stuart, MP In: Country Life. Volume 31, No. 786, London January 27, 1912, ISSN  0045-8856 , p. 131.
  20. ↑ John G. Dunbar: Scottish royal palaces. 1999, p. 21.
  21. ↑ a b Cristina Gambaro, Giulia Gaida: Scotland - castles and palaces. 2003, p. 32.
  22. ↑ a b c Garden and Designed Landscape - entry . In: Historic Scotland .
  23. ↑ Entry on Falkland Palace  in Canmore, the database of Historic Environment Scotland (English), accessed on January 18, 2020.
  24. ^ LW: Falkland Palace, Fife. The Property of Lord Ninian Crichton Stuart, MP In: Country Life. Volume 31, No. 786, London January 27, 1912, ISSN  0045-8856 , p. 132.
  25. ^ David MacGibbon, Thomas Ross: The castellated and domestic architecture of Scotland. Volume 1. David Douglas, Edinburgh 1887, p. 503 ( digitized ).
  26. ↑ John G. Dunbar: Scottish royal palaces. 1999, p. 26.
  27. ^ John G. Dunbar: Some Aspects of the Planning of Scottish Royal Palaces in the Sixteenth Century. In: Architectural History . Volume 27. 1984, ISSN  0066-622X , p. 22 ( digitized version at JSTOR (subject to a charge) ).
  28. ^ LW: Falkland Palace, Fife. The Property of Lord Ninian Crichton Stuart, MP In: Country Life. Volume 31, No. 786, London January 27, 1912, ISSN  0045-8856 , p. 134.
  29. ↑ John G. Dunbar: Scottish royal palaces. 1999, p. 30.
  30. ^ David MacGibbon, Thomas Ross: The castellated and domestic architecture of Scotland. Volume 1. David Douglas, Edinburgh 1887, p. 504 ( digitized ).
  31. ↑ Information on the castle complex on the website of the National Trust for Scotland ( Memento from November 2, 2016 in the Internet Archive )
  32. ↑ Elaine Henderson: Castles of Scotland. 2nd Edition. HarperCollins, Glasgow 1996, ISBN 0-00-470499-1 , p. 153.

Coordinates: 56 ° 15 ′ 14 "  N , 3 ° 12 ′ 23"  W.