~ Buildings of Scotland (cont.) ~

Castles and Keeps were the usual examples of the Buildings of Power, and Scotland had it's fair share of these; the Country was at war with itself, and England, for many hundreds of years, and the land is dotted throughout with examples of all shapes and sizes. Here are a couple just for a wee taste...

  ...Blackness Castle sits beside the Firth of Forth at the seaport which, in medieval times, served the Royal Burgh of Linlithgow.

Built in the early 15th Century by the Crichton family, Blackness became a Royal Castle in 1453. Used mainly as a garrison fortress and state prison, it was adapted and strengthened between 1537 and 1543, to become one of the most formidable artillery fortifications in Scotland. It was in use by the military for various roles right up to the end of WW1, when certain modern additions were removed, and the Castle returned to its medieval grandeur.

Because of its configuration, from the wide southern tower - the Stern Tower- to the narrow, pointed, north tower - the Stem Tower - the Castle resembles a boat in shape. Blackness was often referred to as "the ship that never sailed".

 ________________________

  Our next example combines the Power, and a place for living. Ruthven Barracks, as the plaque shows, was purpose-built to police the Highlands after the " '15 " (the Jacobite rising in 1715). The Barracks are situated about a mile south-east of Kingussie, on a high knoll, dominating the valley around and beneath.

The complex housed two barracks buildings, each built on three floors, with six rooms to house ten men in each. They slept in double beds, and cooked for themselves in fireplaces in each room. Their stores and equipment were kept in the lofts and basements. The senior officers had separate rooms in the upper floors of the projecting towers. In 1734, a stables block was added, to take 28 horses for dragoons patrrolling the nearby military roads.

  Now, though this was of solid, sound construction, it was designed for outward policing duties; no emplacements or provision for heavy artillery were ever built; the defence was by muskets, fired through the ground-floor gunloops or over the parapets. This was fine against skirmishing or lighly-gunned troops, but made it easy for the main army of Bonny Prince Charlie when they deployed their big cannon. Ruthven Barracks were taken, and burnt.

***** 

Finally, some Pomp; and who better, in these far-off days, than The Church. Wullie and his boss (Mrs Wullie) visited the wee Perthshire town of Dunkeld recently, and discovered that it had the ruins of a fine Cathedral - of the which they had not had the knowing. So they walked the short distance from a convenient car park in its general direction, with no idea of what to expect - a mouldering ruin? a heap of old stones? a few walls? or what?...

...It's quite a lot more than that. Firstly, it's in a really lovely setting, with the "silvery Tay" river running alongside its grounds, and some enormous conifers overlooking the building from the river side. Then, the outer walls of the Cathedral are still in place; though the building was sacked in an orgy of destruction, following an order in 1560 of the Privy Council of Scotland to remove all "monuments of idolatry"... but protect woodwork, windows, glass and ironwork; (these latter instructions were ignored). Also, the eastern end of the building - which was the Choir - was re-roofed in 1600 and has been the parish church since then. In the 1920's, the Choir and Chapter House were given to the Church of Scotland, and the Tower and Nave to the State. The Church, and Cathedral ruins, are open free to the public.

It's believed that there has been a Christian settlement as far back as the 6th century; the monastic Church became a Cathedral in 1127, under a new system of church government in line with that of the Church of Rome established by King David I, and the Cathedral was completed to its full splendour by Bishop Thomas Lauder (1452-1475).

***** 

<< Previous    1  [2]  3    Next >>