Showing posts with label Stirling. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Stirling. Show all posts

Tuesday 5 July 2022

Skulferatu #75 - Cambuskenneth Abbey, Cambuskenneth, Stirling


While out and about in Stirling I decided to take a walk from the city centre out to Cambuskenneth.  This peaceful village is situated on land almost encircled by the River Forth and is dominated by the tower of the abbey that stands there.  The tower being pretty much all that is left of the abbey, the rest having long ago fallen down with the stone being taken for housing and other buildings nearby and in Stirling.

 

A photo of an old stone tower, Cambuskenneth Abbey Bell Tower, standing in an area of grass with a stone archway and trees on the right hand side.  Photograph by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
Cambuskenneth Abbey Bell Tower

 

A photo of an old stone archway and a fenced off area which encloses the burial ground for Cambuskenneth Abbey.  Photograph by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
Archway into the burial ground

 

A view over green fields to a low, tree covered hill with a tower, the Wallace Monument, standing on it.  Photograph by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
View from the abbey grounds to the Wallace Monument

 

A view from the abbey grounds over a wooden fence and gate to a green field and hills in the background.   Photograph by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
View from the abbey grounds

 

A photo of the two remaining walls of an old stone building that was the Cambuskenneth Abbey dovecot.   Photograph by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
Remains of the abbey dovecot

 

A photo of two pigeons nesting in a hole in the old stone wall that was part of the Cambuskenneth Abbey dovecot.  Photograph by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
Pigeons nesting in the dovecot

 

The abbey was founded in 1147 by King David I for the monks of the Order of St Augustine, who came from Arras, in the province of Artois in France.  Under the King’s protection the abbey became very rich with donations from those seeking his favour.  The King also decreed that ‘half the skins and tallow of all the beasts slain for the King’s use at Stirling’ be donated to the abbey.

 

The abbey soon became an economic powerhouse with properties across Scotland.  It was granted the fishing rights for the River Forth and also controlled the salt making industry along the river.  This enabled it to trade in a much desired staple of the day, dried and salted fish.  Much of this was sold in the locality while some made its way to foreign markets.  This was a nice little earner for the abbey and boosted their finances somewhat.

 

A view through the trees of the bell tower of Cambuskenneth Abbey.  Photograph by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
View of the Bell Tower

 

A view through the trees of the bell tower of Cambuskenneth Abbey.  Photograph by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
View of the Bell Tower

 

Between 1303 and 1304, the armies of King Edward I of England invaded Scotland and the abbey at Cambuskenneth was one of many to be pillaged.  The lead was taken from its roof, the ornaments and the precious manuscripts were stolen, and the abbey buildings set on fire.  However, its fortunes soon recovered and in 1314, after his victory at the Battle of Bannockburn, Robert the Bruce held the first of many parliaments at the abbey.  During the 14th Century parliaments were held so often at the abbey that one of the buildings became known as Parliament Hall.

 

In 1385 the abbey was again pillaged and vandalised, this time by the armies of King Richard II in a series of revenge attacks for Scottish border raids.  However, as previously the abbey quickly overcame its misfortune making quite a bit of cash from burying the wealthy and privileged within its grounds.  Those buried there being assured of a holy resting place for their mortal remains and that prayers would be said for the salvation of their souls. 

 

In 1487, King James III of Scotland paid a small fortune to have his wife, Margaret of Denmark, buried there.  For those of you worried that this may have been a misogynistic act to rid himself of an unwanted spouse let me reassure you that she was dead at the time of her burial, having succumbed to illness a few days before.  A short time later, in June 1488, the King himself was buried there, murdered after fleeing from defeat by a rebel army at the Battle of Sauchieburn.  Excavations in 1864 uncovered the royal tomb and the skeletal remains of two bodies, believed to be those of Margaret and James, were found in coffins beneath a slab of stone.  Queen Victoria then paid for a new tomb, positioned where the high altar once stood. 

 

A photo of a stone, coffin like structure which is the tomb of King James III & Margaret of Denmark.  Photograph by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
The tomb of King James III & Margaret of Denmark

 

A view of the tomb of King James III & Margaret of Denmark.  Photograph by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
The tomb of King James III & Margaret of Denmark

 

A drawing of Cambuskenneth Abbey and Tomb of King James III from Shearer’s Guide to Stirling.
Cambuskenneth Abbey and Tomb of King James III from Shearer’s Guide to Stirling, etc.

 

After the Reformation the abbey fell into disuse and a large portion of the lands and the abbey itself were given to John Erskine, the Earl of Mar.  He had much of the abbey pulled down and the stones from it used to construct a nice, new house for himself and his family, this being Mar's Wark, the ruins of which can be found on St John Street in Stirling.

 

A view of the old stone bell tower of Cambuskenneth Abbey.   Photograph by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
View of the Bell Tower

 

A view of the old stone bell tower of Cambuskenneth Abbey.  Photograph by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
View of the Bell Tower

 

A photo of two carved faces or grotesques on the wall of Cambuskenneth Bell Tower.  Photograph by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
Bell Tower grotesques

 

A photo of two carved faces or grotesques on the wall of Cambuskenneth Bell Tower.  Photograph by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
Bell Tower grotesques

 

A photo of a carved figure or grotesque on the wall of Cambuskenneth Bell Tower.  Photograph by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
Bell Tower grotesque

 

After wandering around the abbey ruins and enjoying the peace and tranquillity of the site I was caught in a sudden downpour and took shelter in the tower.  Then a few minutes later when a bright, hot sun was once again beating down I went back out and left a Skulferatu in a gap in the crumbling cement and stone of the abbey’s foundations. 

 

A photo of a small, ceramic skull (Skulferatu 75) being held up with Cambuskenneth Abbey Bell Tower in the background.  Photograph by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
Skulferatu #75

 

A photo of a small, ceramic skull (Skulferatu 75) lying amongst the stone and crumbling cement of the foundations of one of the abbey buildings.  Photograph by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
Skulferatu #75 in abbey foundations

 

A photo of a small, ceramic skull (Skulferatu 75) lying amongst the stone and crumbling cement of the foundations of one of the abbey buildings.  Photograph by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
Skulferatu #75 in abbey foundations

 

Google Map showing location of Skulferatu #75
Map showing location of Skulferatu #75

 

The coordinates for the location of the Skulferatu are –

 

Latitude 56.123423

Longitude -3.917658

 

I used the following sources for information on Cambuskenneth Abbey –

 

Information Boards at the Site

 

Bell the Cat; or Who Destroyed the Scottish Abbeys

By John Jamieson

1902

 

Shearer's guide to Stirling, Dunblane, Callander, the Trossachs and Loch Lomond, Killin, Loch Tay, Loch Awe, Crianlarich, and Oban

R S Shearer & Son

1895

 

The Illustrated London News – Oct 6, 1866

 

Undiscovered Scotland – Cambuskenneth Abbey

Cambuskenneth Abbey

 


Tuesday 28 June 2022

Skulferatu #74 - The Beheading Stone, Mote Hill, Stirling

 

On a hill, not far from Stirling Castle there is a strange little monument.  It looks like an iron cage sitting on a stone pedestal with a lump of rock locked in under the bars.  This is the Beheading Stone.

 

A photo of the Beheading Stone in Stirling. It is a large grey stone that is sitting on a round stone plinth and it is enclosed in an iron cage.  There is a plaque on the front that reads - Protected by the public at the instance of the Stirling Natural History and Archaeological Society 1887.  Photograph by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
The Beheading Stone

 

The Beheading Stone was the traditional execution block in Medieval Stirling.  It sat, as it does now, on Mote Hill which was the place ‘of assembly, of judgement, and of execution in days of yore.’  It is thought that the stone was used to support a wooden block, and that the condemned man would place his chest on the stone and his head on the block.  The executioner would then use his axe to lop of the doomed man’s head.

 

A view on the top of Mote Hill with two old style black cannons in the foreground and the Beheading Stone in the background.  Photograph by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
A couple of cannons and the Beheading Stone on Mote Hill

 

In 1425 Murdoch Stewart, the Duke of Albany was executed here along with two of his sons and his father in law.  Stewart had served as Governor of Scotland while the future King James I was held captive in England.  After a rather large ransom had been paid for his release, James returned to Scotland.  Shortly after being crowned, James decided to consolidate his power and get rid of all those who may be a threat to him.  At the top of this list of potential threats was Murdoch Stewart.  On the King’s command he was arrested for treason along with several members of his family and a host of other members of the Scottish nobility.  A trial then took place against Murdoch Stewart, his two sons and his father in law, over which the King sat as the Judge.  Not surprisingly all were found guilty of treason.  They were then quickly marched down to Mote Hill and beheaded.  All their lands and properties were then forfeited to the Crown, so as well as getting rid of any potential threats to his rule, this was a nice little earner for James.

 

All of this made James quite an unpopular King and soon a group of scheming nobles decided it was time for him to go and for Walter Stewart, the Earl of Atholl to take the throne. Amongst this group of conspirators was one of the many nobles who had at one time been imprisoned by James, Sir Robert Graham.

 

On the night of 20 February 1437, King James and his Queen were staying in Blackfriars Monastery in Perth.  A group of around thirty men, with Sir Robert Graham at their head were let into the monastery by one of the King’s servants.  They made their way to his chambers where they stabbed him to death, with Graham administering the fatal blow.  The Queen, who had been wounded trying to protect her husband managed to escape.  She quickly took on the role of Regent for her young son James and then ordered the execution of all those involved in the killing of her husband.  It wasn’t long before many of those who had been involved in the assassination were captured, and in April of that year Graham was apprehended and taken to Stirling.  There he was tortured horribly over a period of three days before finally being beheaded on Mote Hill, with the old Beheading Stone playing its part in his execution.

 

The Beheading Stone was mounted on a plinth and enclosed in a cage of iron bars in 1887.  The money for this being raised by the Stirling Natural History and Archaeological Society through public subscription.

 

A view of the beheading Stone looking out over to the Wallace Monument.  Photograph by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
The Beheading Stone and view over Stirling to Wallace Monument

 

An old sepia photograph showing the view from Mote Hill in 1897 with the Beheading Stone in the foreground looking out over to the Wallace Monument - taken from the Merchants Guide to Stirling and District
View from Mote Hill in 1897 - from the Merchants Guide to Stirling and District

 

A view of the Wallace Monument, a large, square sided tower with a steep sloped roof, on a hill in Stirling with a mountain in the background.  Photograph by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
View of the Wallace Monument from Mote Hill

 

Mote Hill is now quite a sedate place and near to the Beheading Stone are some benches to sit on, take in the view over Stirling, and quietly contemplate life, the universe and anything else worth pondering on.

 

I left the Skulferatu that accompanied me on my walk today in a hollow in the Beheading Stone.

 

A photo of a small, ceramic skull (Skulferatu 74) being held up with the Beheading Stone in the background.  Photograph by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
Skulferatu #74

 

A photo of a small, ceramic skull (Skulferatu 74) lying in a hollow in the Beheading Stone on Mote Hill in Stirling.  In the background are the iron bars of the cage in which the stone is kept in.  Photograph by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
Skulferatu #74 on hollow in the Beheading Stone

 

A photo of a small, ceramic skull (Skulferatu 74) lying in a hollow in the Beheading Stone on Mote Hill in Stirling. Photograph by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
Skulferatu #74 on hollow in the Beheading Stone

 

Google Map showing the location of Skulferatu #74
Google Map showing the location of Skulferatu #74

 

The coordinates for the location of the Skulferatu are –

 

Latitude 56.127709

Longitude -3.942775


I used the following sources for information on the Beheading Stone –

 

The Merchant’s Guide to Stirling and District

1897

 

The Illustrated London News, September 22, 1906

 

Information Notices at the site

 

Wikipedia

Wikipedia - Sir Robert Graham

 

Corpus of Middle English Prose and Verse

The dethe of James Kynge of Scotis