Scone Palace

Scone Palace/ˈskuːn/is a Category A-listedhistoric housenear the village ofSconeand the city ofPerth, Scotland. Ancestral seat of Earls of Mansfield, built in redsandstonewith a castellated roof, it is an example of theGothic Revival stylein Scotland.
Scone was originally the site of an early Christian church, and later anAugustinianpriory.Scone Abbey, in the grounds of the Palace, for centuries held theStone of Sconeupon which the earlyKings of Scotlandwere crowned.Robert the Brucewas crowned at Scone in 1306 and thelast coronationwas ofCharles II, when he accepted the Scottish crown in 1651.
Scone Abbey was severely damaged in 1559 during theScottish Reformationafter a mob whipped up by the famous reformer,John Knox, came to Scone from Dundee. Having survived the Reformation, the Abbey in 1600 became a secular Lordship (and home) within the parish ofScone, Scotland. The Palace has thus been home to theEarls of Mansfieldfor over 400 years. During the early 19th century the Palace was enlarged by the architectWilliam Atkinson. In 1802,David William Murray, 3rd Earl of Mansfield, commissioned Atkinson to extend the Palace, recasting the late 16th-centuryPalace of Scone. The 3rd Earl tasked Atkinson with updating the old Palace whilst maintaining characteristics of the medieval Gothic abbey buildings it was built upon, with the majority of work finished by 1807.
The Palace and its grounds, which include a collection of fir trees and a star-shaped maze, are open to the public.
Scotland was one of the last kingdoms to adopt and benefit from the written word and the legal system it upheld. Only at the end of the 11th century did Scotland see a growth of record keeping, with property rights logged via legalcharterand royal government practice noted in writing.It is likely that there were a few documents written before the 11th century, however, Scotland's particularly turbulent history is likely to have been witness to the loss or destruction of many documents. The first piece of hard evidence that relates to Scone is a charter dating to 906.
It is not known why exactly the area is called "Scone" (pronounced/ˈskuːn/). The search for a meaning to the word has not been helped by the fact that throughout the last 10 centuries, Scone has been written asScon,Scoon,Scoan,Scoine,Schone,Skoon,Skune,Skuyn,Skuyne,Sgoin,SgàinandSgoinde. It is difficult thus to know where to start in terms of the etymology of Scone. It is known that Scone was at the heart of the ancientPictishkingdom and thus one would think that the name would derive from thePictish language. The existence of a distinct Pictish language during the Early Middle Ages is attested clearly in BlessedBede's early 8th centuryHistoria ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum, which names Pictish as a language distinct from that spoken by theBritons, theIrish, and theEnglish.
It was thus believed that "Scone" derives from the P-Celtic word "Sken" meaning "cut" or "cutting". This has been gaelicized as "Sgàin" (pronounced "Skene"). And may be a fine example of the amalgamation of the Pictish and Gaelic cultures and languages. The Brittonic origin of the place-name "Scone" is of great importance regarding the history and status of the place, and may explain why the famousKenneth MacAlpin, firstKing of Scots, chose Scone as his capital.
The meaning "cutting" could relate to what is now known as "the Friars' Den".The Gaelic origin of the place name "Scone", if not entirely discredited, is rendered more unlikely by modern analysis ofplace namesin the east of Scotland where Scone is situated. Such analysis supports the above argument that anInsular Celtic languagerelated to the more southerlyP-CelticBrittonic languageswas formerly spoken in Pictavia (and thus not aQ-Celticlanguage).
Scone was from at least the 9th century the crowning-place of theKings of Scotsand home to theStone of Scone, more commonly referred to as the Stone of Destiny.Kenneth MacAlpin(traditionally known as the first King of Scots),Shakespeare'sMacbeth,Robert the Bruce, andCharles IInumber amongst the 42 kings of Scots inaugurated and crowned at Scone. It was believed that no king had a right to reign as king of Scots unless he had first been crowned at Scone upon theStone of Scone. In theMiddle Ages, the land was the site of a majorAugustinianabbey,Scone Abbey, nothing of which now remains above ground level except detached architectural fragments. Scone was also the site of the firstParliament of Scotland, or Council/Assembly. KingConstantine IIin 906 called for an assembly to meet at Scone. The assembly was recorded in theChronicle of the Kings of Alba;Albabeing the early name for the early medievalKingdom of Scotland. The Chronicle records that:
Scone was thus the centre of power in the ancientKingdom of Alba, doubling up as the site of both Scottish coronations andparliaments. Further to this in medieval times Scone acted as a royal residence and hunting ground.Robert IIwould have spent most of his life calling Scone home. He was eventually laid to rest inthe Abbeyitself, although his grave has never been located. A popular old saying suggests the significance of Scone's status in the Kingdom of Alba's, and later Scotland's, governance and rule:
This saying has often been re-quoted as "When the Bell of Scone tolls, the law of the land has been made". It is a statement of the great significance of the ceremonies held at Scone, and the judgments made from a top theMoot Hill. It is old sayings like this which frustrated historians, as the sayings clearly detail Scone's important role in Scottish history, and in the early formation of the Scottish nation. The primary source of much of Scone's early history and modern reputation is reliant upon Scottish folklore. An example of another piece of Scottish folklore which reminds us of Scone's position as the premier seat of power in the evolving early medieval Scottish nation is the Gaelic:
InGaelicpoetry Scone's association more specifically with kings and king-making gave it various poetic epithets, for instance,Scoine sciath-airde, meaning "Scone of the High Shields", andScoine sciath-bhinne, meaning "Scone of the Noisy Shields".The "Noisy Shields" here refer to a folkloric ceremony in which magnates would gather at Scone for a Council. As they entered theGreat Halleach magnate in turn would hang their shield displaying theircoats of armson the walls before beating their weapons against them.
Themons placitior SconeMoot Hillis the inauguration site of the Scottish Kings. It is also called 'Boot Hill', possibly from an ancient tradition whereby nobles swore fealty to their king whilst wearing the earth of their own lands in their foot-bindings or boots, or even by standing upon the earth that they had brought with them from their respective homelands (carrying the soil in their boots). The tradition being that the Moot Hill, or rather 'Boot Hill', came into being as a result of this tradition of nobles bring a piece of their own lands to Scone. The kings of Scots, themselves inaugurated upon the Moot Hill, were thus making during these ceremonies a hugely symbolic commitment to the people of Scotland, theScots. This commitment was made from atop a hill which, if one believes the tradition, represented all parts of the kingdom of Scots and thus allowed the King to make his oaths whilst standing symbolically upon all of Scotland.
Scone was an ancient gathering place of thePicts, and was probably the site of an earlyChristianchurch. The place of coronation was calledCaislean Credi, 'Hill of Credulity', which survives as the presentMoot Hill. In the Middle Ages the mound was marked with a stone cross, but this disappeared probably during theScottish Reformationin 1559, when the Abbey buildings were sacked by a mob fromDundeeand led byJohn Knox.
From 1114 to 1559, Scone was one ofScotland's major monasteries and later abbeys. The monastery's status was 'formalised' as a result of KingAlexander I's charter. A representation of the church on the Abbey's seal, and some surviving architectural fragments, show that it was built in theRomanesquestyle, 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 theParliament of Scotland.
Alexander IIand Alexander III, both crowned at Scone, ruled from 1214 to 1286. For centuries the greatest treasure at Scone was theStone of Sconeupon which the earlyKings of Scotlandwere crowned. WhenEdward I of Englandcarried off the Stone of Scone toWestminster Abbeyin 1296, theCoronation Chairthat still stands in the abbey was specially made to fit over it.Robert the Brucewas crowned at Scone in 1306 and thelast coronationwas ofCharles II, when he accepted the Scottish crown in 1651. The Stone of Scone is now inEdinburgh Castle(Historic Scotland) along with theScottish regalia.
Scone Abbey flourished for over four hundred years. In 1559, it fell victim to a mob from Dundee during the early days of the Reformation and was largely destroyed. In 1580 the abbey estates were granted toLord Ruthven, later theEarl of Gowrie, who held estates around what is now calledHuntingtower Castle. The Ruthvens rebuilt the Abbot's Palace of the old abbey as a grand residence. In 1600, James VI charged the family with treason and their estates at Scone were passed toSir David Murray of Gospetrie(later known as Lord Scone), one of James' most loyal followers.
In 1604, the Palace of Scone was the family seat of theMurrays of Sconeand the1st Lord Scone. These Murrays were a branch of the Murrays of Tullibardine (laterAtholl), whose original family seat wasBalvaird Castlein Fife. The branch includedWilliam Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield, Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench (8 November 1756 – 4 June 1788).
The modern palace, which was designed byWilliam Atkinsonin theGothic Revival stylefor the3rd Earl of Mansfieldand built in redsandstonewith a castellated roof, was completed in 1807.One of its best known features is the gallery.In 1808 the 3rd Earl noted "I am happy to say that much as this place has cost me (some £60,000) and much as it still will cost me, the place more than answers our expectation". The new house had the advantage of giving the family "a handsome and agreeable residence."
Landscaping work around the Palace was undertaken byJohn Claudius Loudon.Further work was undertaken in 1842 to make Scone Palace ready for the visit ofQueen VictoriaandPrince Albert.
On view in the State Rooms of Scone Palace are collections of furniture, ceramics, ivories, and clocks. Some of the prized contents of Scone Palace areRococochairs by Pierre Bara, further items byRobert AdamandChippendale,DresdenandSèvresporcelains,as well as a collection of Vernee Martin vases and aJean-Henri Riesenerwriting desk given toDavid Murray, 2nd Earl of Mansfield, byMarie-Antoinette. The collection at Scone Palace also includes a range of Scottish and British portraiture including works byReynolds,Ramsay, andde László. One of the best-known pieces isSir David Wilkie's painting, "The Village Politicians".
The Lennox Room, named after theDuke of Lennox, is rich in pieces with Royal connections including the bed-hanging made byMary Queen of Scots.
The collection of large European ivories came from Bavaria, Italy and France. They were carved in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries in elephant and walrus tusk, and collected mainly byWilliam David Murray, 4th Earl of Mansfield.
The grounds of Scone Palace include theMoot Hill, the crowning place of the kings of Scots.A replica of theStone of Sconesits upon the Moot Hill in front of a 17th-century chapel containing a fine monument dedicated to the1st Lord Sconeby the Flemish sculptorMaximilian Colt.The chapel also had a monument to the encapsulated heart of the first wife of the2nd Earl of Mansfield.
The Murray Star shapedmazecovers an area of 1600 square meters. It is planted in a mixture of copper and green beech, designed to resemble the Earl of Mansfield's family tartan, Ancient Murray of Tullibardine, and is in the shape of a five-pointed star which is part of the Mansfield family emblem.
There are fine woodlands in the grounds and policies of Scone Palace, some of the fir trees being at least 250 years old. The grounds of the Palace were the first place in Britain to whichDavid Douglasintroduced theDouglas firtree species.