Dunfermline Palace
The imposing south wall and gatehouse of Dunfermline Palace
Dunfermline Palace seen from the Lyne burn, in an engraving by
William Miller
Plaque commemorating King Charles I who was born at Dunfermline Palace in 1600
Dunfermline Palace is a former Scottish royal palace in Dunfermline, Fife. It is currently a ruin under the care of Historic Scotland and an important tourist attraction in Dunfermline.
Dunfermline was a favourite residence of many Scottish monarchs. Documented history of royal residence there begins in the 11th century with Malcolm III who made it his capital. His seat was the nearby Malcolm's Tower, a few hundred yards to the west of the later palace. In the medieval period David II and James I of Scotland were both born at Dunfermline.
Dunfermline Palace is attached to the historic Dunfermline Abbey, occupying a site between the abbey and deep gorge to the south. It is connected to the former monastic residential quarters of the abbey via a gatehouse above a pend (or yett), one of Dunfermline's medieval gates. The building therefore occupies what was originally the guest house of the abbey. However, its remains largely reflect the form in which the building was developed by James IV in a refabrication around 1500. Throughout the sixteenth century, Scotland's monarchs and royal family members were frequently in residence.
In 1589 the palace was given as a wedding present by the king, James VI, to Anne of Denmark after their marriage. She gave birth to three of their children there; Elizabeth (1596), Charles (1600) and Robert (1602).
After the Union of Crowns in 1603, the removal of the Scottish court to London meant that the building came to be rarely visited by a monarch.[1] Ten tapestries from the royal tapestry collection were still there in 1616, left from the time the infant Prince Charles resided at the Palace.[2] When Charles I returned in 1633 for his Scottish coronation he only made a brief visit to his place of birth. The last monarch to occupy the palace was Charles II who stayed at Dunfermline in 1650 just before the Battle of Pitreavie. Soon afterwards, during the Cromwellian occupation of Scotland, the building was abandoned and by 1708 it had been unroofed.
All that remains of the palace today is the kitchen, its cellars, and the impressive south wall with a commanding prospect over the Firth of Forth to the south.
References
- ↑ Dennison, E. Patricia; Stronach, Simon (2007). Historic Dunfermline : archaeology and development. Dunfermline: Dunfermline Burgh Survey. pp. 31–32. ISBN 978-0-9557244-0-4.
- ↑ Register of the Privy Council of Scotland, vol. 10, 521.
External links
Coordinates: 56°04′10″N 3°27′50″W / 56.0694°N 3.4638°W / 56.0694; -3.4638
|
---|
Occupied | | |
---|
Historical principal royal residences |
- St James's Palace
- Hampton Court Palace
- Tower of London
- Windsor Castle
|
---|
Historical |
- Abergeldie Castle
- Albany (London)
- Allerton Castle
- Audley End House
- Palace of Beaulieu
- Barnwell Manor
- Beaumont Palace
- Fort Belvedere, Windsor
- Bentley Priory
- Berkhamsted Castle
- Birch Hall, Surrey
- Brantridge Park
- Bridewell Palace
- Brill Palace
- Bushy House
- Cadzow Castle
- Caernarfon Castle
- Cambridge Cottage, Kew
- Cambridge House
- Carisbrooke Castle
- Carlton House
- Castle Hill Lodge, Ealing
- Castlewood House, Surrey
- Chelsea Manor
- Chesterfield House, Greenwich
- Chevening
- Chideock Manor
- Chiswick House
- Christ Church, Oxford
- Claremont
- Clarendon Palace
- Cliveden
- Coombe Abbey
- Coppins
- Crocker End House
- Crosby Hall, London
- Cumberland Cottage
- Cumberland House
- Cumberland Lodge
- Dolphin Square
- Doune Castle
- Dover House
- Dublin Castle
- Dunfermline Palace
- Eastwell Park
- Edinburgh Castle
- Eltham Palace
- Falkland Palace
- Frogmore House
- Gloucester House
- Gloucester House, London
- Gloucester Lodge
- Gunnersbury Park
- Hampton Court Palace
- Hanworth Manor
- Hatfield House
- Havering Palace
- Ingestre House
- Kent House (Isle of Wight)
- Kew House (Isle of Wight)
- Kew Palace
- Kingsbourne House
- King's House, Winchester
- Kings Langley Palace
- Lancaster House
- Leeds Castle
- Leicester Square
- Les Jolies Eaux
- Linlithgow Palace
- Tower of London
- Marlborough House
- Castle of Mey
- Nether Lypiatt Manor
- Nonsuch Palace
- Norfolk House
- Oak Grove House
- Oatlands Palace
- Oatlands Park
- Osborne Cottage
- Osborne House
- Palace of Placentia
- Queen Charlotte's Cottage, Kew
- Queen's House
- Ranger's House
- Ribsden Holt
- Richmond Palace & White Lodge
- Romenda Lodge
- Royal City of Dublin Hospital
- Royal Pavilion, Aldershot
- Royal Pavilion, Brighton
- Sagana Lodge
- Savile House
- Savoy Palace
- Schomberg House
- Somerset House
- Stirling Castle
- Sunninghill Park
- Sussex House
- The More
- Theobalds Palace
- Walmer Castle
- Palace of Westminster
- Palace of Whitehall & the Banqueting House
- Windlesham Moor
- Witley Court
- Woodstock Palace
- York Cottage, Sandringham
- York House, St James's Palace
|
---|