stirling-1963-vol-1/05_221

Transcription

No. 192 -- CASTLES AND TOWER-HOUSES -- No. 192
licht making about the wallis", a "fyr speir" and a ball
of iron for the terrace gate, perhaps a door-stop; in the
King's old wardrobe-loft an old chair; in the chamber
beside the loft a long kitchen table of fir, with two long
forms, a short form, an empty coffer and a cupboard
for clothes, all of Baltic pine; in the King's Presence
Chamber five great pieces of tapestry with a canopy
of red damask fringed with gold, a "copbuird" and a
hanging chandelier of wood; in the King's Bed Chamber
seven pieces of tapestry, a canopy of cloth of gold, a bed
of red "cramesie" velvet embroidered and fringed with
gold and an embroidered bedcover, with "ane bouster,
malt and palzearis thairto" and curtains of crimson
damask and "pandis", all embroidered with gold, two
tables, with a parti-coloured Turkey carpet covering the
larger one, and a locked coffer with a spear for the King's
standard; in the King's Guard Hall a shelved stand and
an old hanging chandelier of wood. The inventory
concludes with a list of the munitions brought from
Edinburgh Castle to Stirling Castle in 1584, and another
list of the munitions at Stirling. The latter notes: "Item,
ane doubill falcoun of found [i.e. cast] with hir stok and
furnesing lyand in the leddie hoill, with hir quheillis
schod with irne; Item ane vthir dowbill falcoun of
found lyand in the close, mountit." This is the first
mention of the Lady's Hole, which is the name given on
Dury's plan of about 1708 to the existing rampart on the
W. side of the Palace (cf. Pl. 59).
In 1585 the "banished lords", Angus, Mar and the
Master of Glamis, were "licenced" by Queen Elizabeth
to return to Scotland; at Berwick they joined up with
the Hamiltons and their adherents and the combined
force marched by way of Kelso and Falkirk to besiege
the King in Stirling Castle. They occupied the town
very quickly, having climbed its walls, whereupon the
opposite faction, "Montrose, Crafurd, Glencarn, Aroll,
and Colonell Steward reteired to the Castell, whar the
King was; but our folks, persuing hatlie, cam all to the
Castell hill, and clos under foresnout of the blokhous
planted thair standdars and campe". ¹ An eye-witness of
"The Surprise of the Kinge at Sterlinge" tells much the
same story. "After the breakeinge into the towne, they
went straight and sett up their banners before the sparre
of the castell, that was cramde full in a manner of great
personages, with the King, some friendes, some
enemyes." ² Calderwood further relates that "The
provisioun was so skant in the castell, that they behoved
to come to the toun for the king's owne diett", ³ and the
Castle has consequently to be surrendered. On Slezer's
plan of about 1680 (Pl. 56) "The Spurre" is shown as a
forework about 60 yds. in advance of James IV's fore-
entry, covering the approach (cf. p. 188).
On 19th February 1594 the King's eldest son, Prince
Henry, was born in the castle. It was decided to solem-
nise his baptism at Stirling and Parliament is said to
have voted £100,000 Scots to build a new Chapel Royal
and to refurnish the Palace. ⁴ The existing chapel was
demolished and the new building was so sited as to
form the N. side of the Upper Square, as had been
suggested in 1583 (cf. infra, p. 185). It is said that all
the best workmen in the country were assembled for
the purpose, and were encouraged by the King himself
with "large and liberal payment" ⁵; but no building-
accounts survive. The chapel was sufficiently complete
for the ceremony to be held on 30th August 1594. On
that day the interior was richly hung with tapestries and
the King's Seat of Estate was placed at the NE. end of
the building. On his right were seats for the ambassadors
of France, England, Brunswick and the Low Countries,
and on his left those of Denmark and the Duchy of
Magdeburg. A new pulpit, richly hung with cloth of gold,
stood in the middle of the chapel.
A number of Masters of Works accounts remain to
give occasional glimpses of the progress of building
operations during the first half of the 17th century, but
these were of relatively minor importance as all the major
buildings within the Castle that survive today were in
existence by 1600. More than £13,000 Scots was spent
in 1617 in preparation for the Royal visit that was to be
made in the summer of that year; much of the account ⁶
is illegible, but repairs seem to have been carried out on
most of the larger buildings, under the superintendence
of William Rynd, master-mason, and improvements
were made to the kitchens and service quarters on the E.
side of the Great hall. ⁷ At the same time the "auld
entree", ⁸ which apparently stood between the outer and
the inner gates of the Castle, perhaps on the site of the
"second gate" of Slezer's plan (cf. Pl. 56), was dis-
mantled. ⁹ In 1625 instructions were given for repairs
to the roofs of the Great Hall, the Chapel Royal, the
gallery that runs along the E. side of the W. quarter of
the Palace, and of the "toofall", or lean-to building,
above the King's Cabinet on the W. side of the E.
quarter of the Palace. The W. quarter itself seems to
have been falling into decay, as repairs were to be made
both to the parapet and to "a grite pairt of the
fundatioun -- quhilk is shote over the craig". ¹⁰ The
account for this year is again incomplete, ¹¹ but it shows
that these recommendations were carried out at least
in so far as they applied to the Great Hall and the Chapel
Royal. ¹² Of the W. quarter it is recorded only that
timbers and slates from the roof were re-used on the
Hall and Chapel. ¹³ Presumably the W. quarter was
provided with a new roof and its foundations were

1 Diary of Mr. James Melvill, Bannatyne Club, 149.
2 Papers relating to Patrick, Master of Gray, Bannatyne Club,
60.
3 Historie of the Kirk of Scotland, Wodrow Soc. ed., iv,
390 f.
4 Nisbet, A System of Heraldry, 1816 ed, ii, 151 ff.
5 Ibid., 152.
6 M. of W. Accts., ii, 24 ff.
7 R.P.C., x (1613-6), 517 f.
8 Slezer's plan (Pl. 56) describes the postern in the Nether
Bailey as the "Old Entrie to the Castle", but this was not dis-
mantled until 1689 (cf. p. 188).
9 R.P.C., x (1613-6), 517.
10 R.P.C., xiii (1622-5), 705 f.
11 M. of W. Accts., ii, 161 ff,
12 Ibid., 182.
13 Ibid.

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