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A TOUR OF OLD
SCOTLAND, IT’S
ANCIENT KIRKS
AND THE ORIGIN OF OUR FLAG -
THE SALTIRE,
CASTLES AND HILL FORTS –
A THREE DAY TOUR
DAY ONE: tour starts at Edinburgh, where we
meet up with you and transfer you along the north
coast towards North Berwick and Dunbar. We stay at a
beautiful hotel opposite Dirleton castle. With a
refreshment break we then set out on a half day of
discovery. Our tour this afternoon takes us to the
quaint St Abbs. In the late 630s a Northumbrian
Princess called Ebba was shipwrecked on the headland
now known as St Abbs. She was taken in as a nun in
the joint nunnery and priory in Coldingham and later
became Abbess, and still later a Saint, St Ebba. St
Abbs is simply the name by which St Ebba is
remembered. Free time here to walk this Scottish
east coast village. We head back to the hotel and
the remaining hours are yours to do with what you
wish!
DAY TWO: a day of castles…
including Hailes, Tntallon and Dirleton (see links).
Step back in time and into (sometimes violent)
ancient Scottish castles, imagine what you might
have done if there at the time, as we walk around
these castles you begin to understand what life was
like in the Scottish 11th – 17th centuries. A hard
life if you were not a rich and powerful family,
even so you may have been the target for your enemy,
so who was safe? All day exploring these three
castles with plenty of time to explore on your own
at each. Lunch break will be local. Return to hotel
and the evening is again yours!
DAY THREE: Scottish churches
(see link) our flag of the people explained, the
ancient Iron Age hillfort – 2000 years old, takes us
most of today, a worthwhile step back in time and a
view of some of Scotland’s oldest kirks. We end
today and the tour, back at Edinburgh. For those on
a longer tour or staying on, your next trip into
Scottish history begins here.
The full details with photographs,
of this tour are shown below ...
A HISTORIC church in East Lothian
has been hailed as one of the top attractions in the
region. A short walk from
Haddington's Market Street is
Scotland's largest parish church,
St Mary's. In a
beautiful setting on the banks of the River Tyne, St
Mary's is a tranquil oasis with a turbulent history.
In 1380 work began on the building of St Mary's, a
short distance away from the site of the friary
church. St Mary's was completed in 1486 but was to
last just 62 years until the attentions of another
occupying English army left almost everything but
the nave derelict in 1548. Over the centuries St
Mary's has often been called The Lamp of Lothian
usually because of confusion between these two
nearby churches sacked by two different English
armies two hundred years apart. St Mary's is 62.8m
long, or 0.7m longer than St Giles' Cathedral in
Edinburgh. For most of St Mary's life the parish
worshipped in the nave of the church. This was all
that remained in a usable state after Haddington was
used as the headquarters of an occupying English
army in 1548. After the English had departed the
nave was restored and in 1561 a wall was built to
close off its east end. The tower, transepts and
choir were left roofless and exposed to the elements
for over 400 years: a historic ruin attached to, but
cut off from, the active church in the nave. The
restoration of St Mary's has been described as one
of the most significant church restorations
undertaken in the 20th Century. Perhaps most
remarkable is the difficulty in "seeing the joins".
Externally there is nothing to suggest the church
hasn't always been as you see it today.
Internally, the clues offered by weathering of areas
of stonework are subtle, and it takes the more
modern furnishings of the choir to give it a
distinctive atmosphere. Less obvious is the ceiling
of the choir, apparently constructed in the same way
as that of the nave, but actually made of fibreglass
using 1970s boat-building technology. An especially
nice example of the approach taken during the
restoration can be seen in the beautiful South
Transept window that started life in St Michael's,
Torquay, before being stored in crates in the
Victoria and Albert Museum from the 1930s. Someone
realised that this would be a perfect fit for the
gap in St Mary's, and as can be seen from the image
on the right, we all benefit as a result. The choir
is striking for its beautiful hand-made clear glass
windows. These tie St Mary's to a strand of history
dating back over 750 years to 1242. That was the
year in which the Grey Friars completed their friary
church in Haddington. This church became known as
The Lamp of Lothian because of the "elegance and
clearness of light" in its choir. The Lamp of
Lothian (and much else besides) was extinguished in
February 1356 by Edward III of England during a
brief military campaign so fierce it became known as
"the Burnt Candlemas."
Haddington
is a burgh (town) in East Lothian, Scotland,
approximately 20 miles east of Edinburgh. Now the
main administrative centre for East Lothian Council,
it was one of the first royal burghs, created
sometime in the reign of David I of Scotland
(1124-1153), and the centre of the mid 18th-century
Scottish Agricultural Revolution. It is located
predominately on the left bank of the River Tyne.
Lying on the direct route of English invaders from
the south, the town was burned by forces from across
the border in 1216, 1244 and 1355. The great siege
of Haddington, the longest town siege in British
history, lasted for 18 months (1547-49) when an
occupying English force sent by Henry VIII was
besieged by the Scots and their French allies.
Although now a small town with a population of less
than 9,000, at one time Haddington was the fourth
largest city in Scotland, after Aberdeen, Dundee and
Edinburgh.
the other St Mary’s
… The tiny village of
Whitekirk in East Lothian is dominated,
paradoxically, by an impressive red stone church.
Welcome to St Mary's, the parish church of the
Parish of Tyninghame and Whitekirk. St Mary's is one
of very few rural parish churches still in active
use in Scotland that can trade their origins back to
medieval times and beyond. St Mary's origins date
back to the 1100s, when it served as a parish church
under the authority of the Holyrood Abbey in
Edinburgh. This original church seems to have been
coated with white limewash, which explains the name
of the village. From the 1300s miracles began to be
reported by people drinking at a nearby well and
Whitekirk quickly became a major centre for
pilgrimage. In 1413 someone took the trouble to
count 15,563 pilgrims visiting the holy well, to the
considerable benefit of the church (offerings for
the year totalled 1422 Merks) and the local economy.
In 1430 King James I oversaw the building of
pilgrims hostels in the village to cater for the
throng. In 1435 the future Pope Pius II walked
barefoot through snow from Dunbar to Whitekirk to
give thanks for his survival from a shipwreck in the
Firth of Forth. The rheumatism from which he
suffered for the rest of his life would serve as a
reminder of his visit. uch of the St Mary's you see
today dates back to a major reconstruction starting
in 1439, when Adam Hepburn of Hailes built the
vaulted stone choir. It isn't clear whether the
whitewashed exterior disappeared during this
reconstruction or some time later. The main layout
and structure of the church has survived largely
intact since the 1400s: despite everything but the
stone walls and vaulting being burned down by
Suffragettes in 1914. Restoration of the church
began under the direction of Sir Robert Lorimer in
1917. Today's interior and much of the furnishing
dates back to this restoration.
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Athelstaneford
lies about four miles north east of
Haddington looking toNorth Berwick, The
Firth of Forth, and Fife beyond.
Athelstaneford has become synonymous
with the establishment of the Saltire as
the flag of Scotland, for it was near
here that an omen of a white diagonally
crossed cloud formation against a blue
sky was seen prior to battle. it was
Pictish King Unust who was visited by St
Andrew in a dream, and who saw the cloud
formation, prior to a battle with
Northumbrians here in 761. This gets
over the main problem with most of these
Saltire stories, in which King Athelstan
was on the losing side in a battle which
took place in the first half of the
800s: the problem is that he wasn't born
until 895. Our preferred version leaves
unanswered the question of how
Athelstaneford got its name. The best
bet seems to be that Athelstan did fight
a battle here, probably in 934, in which
he was defeated. |
He won
a much more significant victory at the Battle of
Brunanburh, in 937, but by then his name was
associated with the site now occupied by
Athelstaneford. Alternatively and much less
romantically, the name may simply come from the
Gaelic ath-ail-stane which means "stone ford":
though this would make the full name "stone ford
ford". Today's Athelstaneford seems to have
changed remarkably little from the village of 1792.
For visitors, the main focus of interest is towards
the west end: the Flag Heritage Centre and church.
Athelstane Parish Kirk, as you see it today, was
built in 1780, on the site of one or more earlier
churches going back as far as one built here in
1176, by Ada, the mother of William I. In front of
the church is a memorial to the battle which gave
birth to the Saltire, together with a flagpole on
which the flag flies. A footpath opposite the
kirkyard leads to the ridge the the south of the
village and along to the remains of Barnes Castle.
And so to DIRLETON CASTLE,
A castle comprising several circular towers and a
complete curtain wall was built on the natural rocky
outcrop at Dirleton by John De Vaux in the late
1200s. This original castle at Dirleton stuck
closely to the outcrop, but with more extensive
surrounding ditches than you see today. Ownership of
Dirleton Castle passed back and forth between the
Scots and the English during the wars of
independence of the 1200s and 1300s, and it was
finally slighted by Robert the Bruce after the
Battle of Bannockburn in 1314 to prevent its future
use by the English. The remains of the castle passed
from the De Vaux family to the Halyburton family by
marriage in the mid 1300s. They spent a good part of
the following hundred years rebuilding and
redeveloping Dirleton Castle. Much of its east side
can be traced back to this period, including the
great hall and the huge vaults below it. Dirleton
Castle's end came with Oliver Cromwell. It was used
as a base by moss-troopers attacking his supply
routes during his invasion of Scotland. Retribution,
armed with cannon, arrived in 1651. In 1663 the
ruins of the castle were acquired by the Nisbet
family, who built a modern mansion house at
Archerfield, nearer the coast to the north west of
the castle. During the 1700s and 1800s Dirleton
Castle featured largely as a very grand garden
ornament, passing into state care in 1923. It is now
looked after by Historic Scotland.
TANTALLON CASTLE
A visit by Oliver Cromwell's army in 1651 has
ensured that Tantallon Castle is but a shadow of its
former self. But what remains is impressive,
offering considerable.In its heyday Tantallon
Castle's main structure comprised a 12ft thick
curtain wall built right across the headland,
protected by a deep ditch cut through the rock in
front and by the natural cliffs on the remaining
three sides. At the north-west end of the wall was
the large circular Douglas Tower, offering 6 storeys
of accommodation for the Douglas family who held
sway here through most of the castle's life. Very
little of it was left standing by Cromwell's
artillery. At the south-east end of the curtain wall
was the East Tower, originally five storeys high but
again largely destroyed in 1651. Not quite centrally
placed was the Mid Tower. Tantallon's origins date
back to the ennoblement of William, the First Earl
of Douglas in 1358. A later split within the family
of the Douglas Earls of Angus left Tantallon under
the control of the "Red Douglases", sporadically in
conflict with the "Black Douglas" side of the
family. And when their ambition grew too rampant or
their relations with England too close, they also
found themselves repeatedly in conflict with the
Scottish Crown. In 1491 Tantallon castle was
besieged by James IV in reprisal for an agreement by
the Fifth Earl of Angus to betray him to Henry VII
of England. Little damage was done and relations
were later repaired. In 1528 the castle was besieged
again, this time by James V, but again the royal
forces were outmatched by the castle's defences. The
following year James V acquired the castle by
negotiation and set to work on improving its
defences still further to withstand the artillery of
the day.
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The Douglas
family regained the castle in 1543, and
again sought to betray Scotland to England,
allowing it to be used as a base by Henry
VIII's ambassador during his "Rough Wooing"
of Mary Queen of Scots. In 1650 Cromwell's
forces were busily conquering Scotland when
Tantallon Castle was occupied by a small
group of moss-troopers: bandits or
guerrillas, hero’s. They set to work
attacking Cromwell's lines of communication
across south east Scotland and were said to
be more effective than all the regular
troops opposing Cromwell. Retaliation
followed in 1651 and a force of 3000,
including much of Cromwell's artillery in
Scotland, was eventually needed to root out
a garrison of fewer than 100 holding the
castle. Tantallon was left in much the
condition you find it in today. Tantallon
Castle passed into the care of the State in
1924, and is now looked after by Historic
Scotland. |
And yet more history … Chesters Hill Fort
- not to be confused with the rather better
known Chesters Roman Fort on Hadrian's Wall - is an
Iron Age fortified village dating back approximately
2000 years. Chesters, or "The Chesters" lies some
three miles north of Haddington, and five miles
south west of North Berwick. No one has ever
systematically investigated Chesters, but it is
believed to have comprised a village of roundhouses
occupying the fairly extensive upper area of the
hill on which it lies. Around these were dug
monumental ramparts, presumably for defence. Those
at the west end are especially impressive, even
after two thousands years of attention from rabbits
and gorse roots. But there is an obvious mystery
about Chesters. Look north from the site and the
views extend to the Forth and beyond it to Fife. A
magnificent spot for a hillfort, you might think.
Well, no, not really. Look to the south from the
hillfort and beyond a grassy valley the land rises
above gorse covered slopes to a ridge rather higher
than the hillfort itself. Anyone occupying that
ridge could easily have rained stones and arrows
down on the occupants of the Chesters, who would
have been ill placed to respond. So: why build a
hillfort in such a poor defensive position? No-one
knows. Some have suggested that the fort was
designed more for show than for real defence. Some
suggest it was a base of the Votadini tribe, allies
of the Romans, during the period of Roman incursion
into Southern Scotland.
HAILES CASTLE (above),
is thought to contain some of the oldest standing
stonework in Scotland. This is found in what is left
of the original castle, built here in the late
1200s. The seriously ruined tower in the centre of
the north range of the castle was at the heart of
this: it is most easily distinguished today by its
conversion in later centuries to a doocot or
dovecote. Together with the rooms to its east, this
formed the fortified mansion of Hugo de Gourlay and
his family. The de Gourlay family supported the
English during the Wars of Independence, and lost
their lands after the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314.
The castle and lordship of Hailes was then granted
by Robert the Bruce to Sir Adam de Hepburn. The
Hepburns dramatically expanded the castle during the
1300s and 1400s. The existing building became the
centre of a long north range, extending to a low
tower at the east end, still visible in the form of
a finger of stone pointing skyward. And at the other
end they built the huge four storey West Tower. The
castle saw its share of action. It was attacked and
taken by by the pro-English Archibald Dunbar in
1446. In 1547, Patrick Hepburn, the 3rd Earl of
Bothwell, opposed the Regent acting for the young
Mary Queen of Scots, and was forced to surrender the
castle. And a year later Hailes Castle was captured
by English forces, only to be quickly recaptured by
the Scots, who then removed the gates to prevent
further use by the English. The end of the Hepburns'
tenure came two decades later. The last of them to
hold Hailes Castle was James Hepburn, the 4th Earl
of Bothwell. He was involved in the murder of Mary
Queen of Scots' second husband, Lord Darnley, in
February 1567. And on 27 April 1567 he kidnapped
Mary en route to Edinburgh from seeing her son in
Stirling. He took her to Dunbar Castle, where,
depending on which version of history you believe,
he forced her to agree to marry him: or they
finalised a course of action already agreed between
them. On 5 May Mary Queen of Scots and James Hepburn
left Dunbar for Edinburgh, where they married 10
days later. Their marriage led swiftly and directly
to Mary's forced abdication, to Bothwell's flight
into exile, and to the forfeiture of all of his
lands including Hailes Castle. The castle went into
a period of decline before being largely dismantled
by Cromwell's forces in 1650.
The name of
St Abbs
is much older then the village that bears
it. In the late 630s a Northumbrian Princess
called Ebba was shipwrecked on the headland
now known as St Abbs. She was taken in as a
nun in the joint nunnery and priory in
Coldingham and later became Abbess, and
still later a Saint, St Ebba. St Abbs is
simply the name by which St Ebba is
remembered. A photograph of St Abbs is
shown right. |
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