The Historic Houses Of Scotland

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31167, 17 September 1966, Page 13

The Historic Houses Of Scotland

{Specially written for “The Press” by GARDNER MILLER* QGOTLAND is an old land. We have no knowledge of the earliest inhabitants, but it is a geological fact that in the bonnie town of Oban, where the highlands begin to swell in all their mountain grandeur and rock-bound coasts, there were caves that became the homes of settlers about whom we have some knowledge.

It is believed these cave-dwellers came from Europe, probably from the Baltic shores. It is a staggering thought that they arrived in Scotland at least 3000 years before the birth of Christ.

In this ancient land there 1 are still remains of homes and castles erected and lived! in many centuries ago. The erosion of time has buried many historic places and there came a time when even the oldest inhabitant 1 had to call a halt to his

reminiscences. But history is made of places as well as people: indeed it is largely owing to places where people dwelt that we can gather the data of the human story.

Hebrides Huts One of the earliest dwellings I have seen was one of several on the lonely island of St. Kilda, swept by the Atlantic waves, beyond the outer Hebrides. It is so windswept it is impossible to whisper, no trees grow, but the sky is hidden by thousands of wings as the birds rise from the cliffs. No-one lives there now: it is used as a radar station. On the foreshore—there is no harbour at St. Kilda — there were the remains of the little round turf homes, like beehives. The door was a hole near the ground—no window to let in the sunlight, and the only opening was a hole in the roof to let out

the smoke of the smouldering peat. 1 met an old crone who lived in one of them and I fancied I saw traces of the Spanish in her face, for there is good evidence that some of the shipwrecked sailors from the ill-fated Spanish Armada were cast up on the lonely island.

Culzean Castle Some of the old castles and manor houses are still to be seen. Away south on the lovely Ayrshire coast, on a ciiff facing the Firth of Clyde, is Culzean Castle. It goes back at least to the fourteenth century and was re-designed

by Robert Adam, of the family of famous architects. Culzean is a remarkable place. There is an oval staircase and a round dining room for which Adam designed curved furniture and a circular carpet. The castle came finally

into the possession of the Marquess of Ailsa who presented it in 1945 to the National Trust. He asked that the top flat of the castle should be used as a national guest flat, and the apartments were reserved for General Eisenhower during! (his lifetime. He has not yet; I been able to occupy his beautiful Scottish home. I. doubt if he ever will. Where Mary Lived Further south is Traquair House, an ancient manor with an interesting story. It is situated on the banks of the Tweed among the hills of Peebles-shire and some historians claim that it is the oldest inhabited building in Scotland. Its history certainly goes back to the early twelfth century. Among those who lived in i or merely visited Traquair (House were Mary, Queen of I Scots, and her husband, Henry j Darniey. That was in the ! sixteenth century. There are

still some of her effects in the old house, among them her rosary and a crucifix. Rizzio" s Murder In 1745 that over-romanti-cised young man, so-called “Bonnie Prince Charlie” visited Traquair. After his visit the gates leading to the old mansion house were shut, never to open again, according to tradition; until a Stuart comes once more to the throne —a hope not likely to be realised.

The Palace of Holyroodhouse, built in the fifteenth century, is still used as a Royal residence. It was here that Darnley, with others, murdered David Rizzio, an Italian musician in the presence of the queen. When I was a boy I gazed with awe at the bloodstained floor where Rizzio was murdered. I hope the hoax is not still perpetuated. It is astonishing how many castles the hapless queen visited during her unfortun-

ate reign; Falkland Palace in Fife, Linlithgow Castle in West Lothian, Holyrood and others. Poor lassie she hadn’t much repose in her life-time.

Abbotsford House, the home of Sir Walter Scott, cannot be called ancient, but it is surely one of the finest buildings of its kind in Scotland and is visited by tourists from all over the world. House In Glasgow

There are many relics in this magnificent building situated on the south bank of the river Tweed, among them the sword of Rob Roy and the hunting knives of the Young Pretender. What I envy in this great house is the study of Sir Walter. It had a staircase leading directly to his bedroom. How handy for the bookworm who hates to be disturbed. In this study is the desk at which many of the Waverley novels were written.

In Glasgow there Is a house, the oldest building in the city, except the cathedral, called Provands Lordship. At one time it was the greatest house in Glasgow'. It is more than 400 years old — part of it was built in 1471. It was the house that Mary, Queen of Scots, visited damley when he lay ill with smallpox.

It was here, it is alleged, that Mary wrote the letter, one of the famous, or infamous, Casket Letters which associated her in the plot to murder the sick man. The Casket Letters are still the historian’s puzzle. There is no evidence she wrote any of them.

There are many other ancient homes and castles in Scotland deserving honourable mention. One old house in Old Edinburgh must not be left out. It is the house where the redoubtable John Knox lived.

Thousands of families have visited it and there is a story told of one American tourist who hired a cabby to show him the sights. When the old horse stopped at the house of John Knox, the cabby pointed to it with his whip. “That’s the house where John Knox lived.” “And who was John Knox?” the American asked. Indignantly, yet sorrowfully, the cabby replied, “Man, hae ye no read your Bible.”