Scone Palace
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Scone Palace (pronounced skoon) is a Listed Historical Building near Perth, but, more importantly, a place of coronation for Pictish and Scottish kings. The present palace was built in 1808 for the Earls of Mansfield by William Atkinson. Built of red sandstone with a castellated roof, it is a classic example of the late Georgian Gothic style. In the Middle Ages it was the site of a major Augustinian abbey, and the crowning-place for Kings of Scots (on the Stone of Destiny) down to Alexander III.
Scone was as an ancient gathering place of the Picts, and was probably the site of an early Christian church. The place of coronation was called Caislean Credi, 'Hill of Credulity', which survives as the present Moot Hill. In the Middle Ages the mound was marked with a stone cross, but this disappeared probably at the Reformation in 1559, when the Abbey buildings were sacked by a mob from Dundee.
From 1114 to 1559 Scone was one of Scotland's major abbeys. It was founded by King Alexander I. A representation of the church on the Abbey's seal, and some surviving architectural fragments, show that it was built in the Romanesque style, with a central tower crowned with a spire. Between 1284 and 1402 Scone Abbey (sometimes referred to as the Palace of the Abbots) often served to house the Parliament of Scotland. Alexander II and Alexander III, both crowned at Scone, ruled collectively from 1214 to 1286. For centuries the greatest treasure at Scone was the Stone of Scone upon which the early Kings of Scotland were crowned. When Edward I of England carried off the Stone of Scone to Westminster Abbey in 1296, the Coronation Chair that still stands in the abbey was specially made to fit over it. Robert the Bruce was crowned at Scone in 1306 and the last coronation was of Charles II, when he accepted the Scottish crown in 1651. The Stone of Scone is now in Edinburgh Castle (Historic Scotland) along with the Scottish regalia. In 1604 Scone was the family seat of the Lords of Scone, a branch of the Murrays of Tullibardine, whose original family seat was Balvaird Castle.
Presently on view in the state rooms of Scone Palace are fine collections of furniture, ceramics, ivories, and clocks. Some of the prized contents of Scone Palace are Rococo chairs by Pierre Bara, and Dresden and Sèvres porcelains. The gardens and grounds are also open to the public. The gardens of Scone feature Moot Hill, the mound was said to have been created by pilgrims each carrying a bootful of soil to the site in a gesture of fealty to the king. A replica of the Stone of Scone sits on Moot Hill, where coronations occurred. Elsewhere in the garden, there is a modern day maze created of hedges.
The grounds of the Palace are the best-known breeding locality in Scotland for Hawfinch. There are fine woodlands on the grounds and policies of Scone Palace, some of the fir trees being at least 250 years old.
A number of peacocks roam the grounds, including several albino males.
[edit] References
- Adam, Frank and Thomas Innes (2004). The Clans Septs and Regiments of the Scottish Highlands 1934. Kessinger Publishing.
- Christie, Christopher, The British Country House of the Eighteenth Century, Manchester University Press, Oxford (2000) ISBN 0-7190-4724-2
- Montgomery-Massingberd Houses of Scotland
- Treasures of Britain: the Architectural, Cultural, Historical and Natural History of Britain, W.W. Norton Publishing (2002) ISBN 0-393-05740-2
