Holding the Rock for Scotland – Dumbarton Castle

At the weekend Historic Scotland held a re-enactment of the defence of Dumbarton Castle during the Scottish Civil War. It was a cold, wet and windy day, but it was still very entertaining and the Castle was very busy.

 

Dumbarton Castle is situated on an extinct volcano and there are 540 steps to climb to get to the top of it. We did it twice. It is not too difficult for a reasonably fit person.

 

Dumbarton Castle

 

On March 26th,1639 the Covenanters seized Dumbarton Castle. Dumbarton Castle was located on the River Clyde and controlling it would prevent unauthorised access to Glasgow and the West of Scotland.

 

Who Were ‘The Covenanters’?

 

These were the Scottish Presbyterians who in 1638 signed the “National Covenant” to uphold the Presbyterian religion and the “Solemn League and Covenant” of 1643, which was a treaty with the English Parliamentarians.

Covenanters flag

The Covenanters made a stand for political and religious liberty that led to almost a century of persecution and their widespread migration to Ulster and the American colonies.

 

Covenanters used the base of  muskets to attack the enemy

The Covenanters sought to have the church organised as written in the  Scriptures. There was only one Head of the Kirk – Jesus Christ  and they refused to accept the King in that role. Charles I was a Stuart King who believed in the divine right of kings.

Firing muskets

Close-up of an officer refilling his musket with gunpowder

The muskets were filled with gunpowder and lit by a rope soaked in saltpeter. If it was wet, the muskets often misfired. The gunpower was kept in small wooden containers worn on a belt across the body.

 

The Covenanters were not taught swordfighting

The Covenanters were issued with a short sword but were not taught to swordfight. Only gentlemen were taught this. They preferred to use the end of their muskets or a small dagger to attack the enemy.

The officer on the right in the above photograph is a man of substance as he can afford boots. Ordinary soldiers wore shoes instead.

 

Clothing of the Covenanters

The Covenanters wore clothing which they could get a hold of and did not have an official uniform. They mostly wore grey. The gentleman in red is a man of substance as he can afford better quality cloth.

 

A seargent

A seargent could be identified by the long wooded pole he held with a curved dagger at the top. 

 

Blowing the doors of the castle open

Using a charge to open the doors

To open the doors of the castle, a tripod was used to hold a charge which caused a small explosion.

 

Making the lead pellets for the muskets

The Covenanters had a few watchwords including ‘Jesus and no quarter’ and ‘God is with us’.  On entering the Castle we had to say these words.

 

It was a very interesting day and we learned a lot about this important period in Scottish history.

 

Further Information

Grid reference: NS 398 744.

Historic Scotland:

http://www.historic-scotland.gov.uk/index/places/propertyresults/propertyplan.htm?PropID=PL_100&PropName=Dumbarton%20Castle#contact

Covenanters:

http://www.covenanter.org.uk/WhoWere/

Prestonpans Tapestry and Redcoats at New Lanark

The Prestonpans Tapestry is on display at New Lanark until the 9th April when it will be on display at other venues in Scotland. New Lanark is a World Heritage Site in South Lanarkshire in Scotland.

Today I went down to New Lanark to view the tapestry and also to see a group of British Army (Redcoat) re-enactors from the Edinburgh City Guard (http://www.edinburghcityguard.org.uk/).  

Prestonpans Tapestry

The tapestry depicts the journey made by Charles Edward Stuart or Bonnie Prince Charlie from France to the Scottish Highlands and victory at Prestonpans near Edinburgh. The tapestry is 104 metres wide and is made up of many embroidered panels created by volunteers.

Longest Tapestry in the World

The tapestry is the longest in the world, took 25,000 hours of work and has 10 million stitches and was created between 2006 and 2010.

There is currently a fund-raising campaign to raise the 2 million GBP needed to build a home for the tapestry in Prestonpans.

Prestonpans Tapestry

Charles Edward Stuart – Bonnie Prince Charlie

Charles Edward Stuart, called The Young Pretender, The Young Chevalier, and Bonnie Prince Charlie (1720-88), was a grandson of the last Stuart monarch, James Vll of Scotland and ll of England.  

Charles Edward Stuart “Bonnie Prince Charlie” or the Young Pretender, was the last Stuart claimant to the British throne. He led the Jacobite Rebellion of 1745, which ended at the Battle of Culloden. 

James Vll of Scotland or ll of England was the last Catholic monarch of the United Kingdom and was overthrown in the Glorious Revolution of 1688 and fled to France. This was the union of English Parliamentarians and the Dutch stadtholder William III of Orange-Nassau (William of Orange). 

(Since 1701 The Act of Settlement was passed to secure the Protestant succession to the British throne and to prevent Catholics from becoming monarch). 

William and Mary

William’s successful invasion of England with a Dutch fleet and army led to his ascending of the British throne as William III jointly with his wife Mary II. 

There were several attempts to restore the male Stuart line but none came so near to success as the campaign by Prince Charles Edward (Bonnie Prince Charlie or the Young Pretender) in 1745. 

Jacobites

The supporters of the deposed king and his descendants were called ‘Jacobites’, from the Latin for James, ‘Jacobus’. Although there was Jacobite support in other areas of Britain and in continental Europe, the main stronghold was the Highlands and Islands of Scotland.

The Stuarts had ambition to reclaim the throne. In 1745, Charles travelled to the Highlands to raise the Scottish clans in rebellion against the current British monarch (King George II, of the house of Hanover). His plan was to make his father, James Stuart, the ‘Old Pretender’, king.

Battle of Prestonpans

The Jacobite force was almost exclusively made up of Highlanders. Prince Charles landed on the small island of Eriskay and gathered the loyal clan Chiefs before advancing on Edinburgh which they took without much resistance. A government army was defeated at Prestonpans near Edinburgh.

Government army (Redcoats)

The Highlanders only wanted to take Scotland, but Prince Charles wanted the English throne as well and convinced the army to push on southwards. They advanced to Carlisle then Manchester, and eventually as far south as Derby. It was here with three armies lining up to fight them and with no back-up support in England, as promised by Prince Charles, they decided to return home.

Battle of Culloden

Eventually the weary Highlanders were cornered at Culloden and slaughtered as Charles Edward Stuart made his escape. After the battle legend has it he escaped with the help of Flora MacDonald. He wandered around Europe for a few years but was never able to further his cause.

Divine Right of Kings

The Jacobite struggle has been romanticised ever since but Jacobitism did not really stand for a noble cause as it sought to put the Stuarts back on the throne. They stood for the ‘divine right of kings’ which meant they believed the king was chosen by God and should have absolute authority.

The Stuarts also advocated the Catholic religion which many Scots were against as Scotland was a Protestant country and Presbyterianism was the official religion of Scotland. 

Redcoats at New Lanark

To celebrate the tapestries at New Lanark a group of re-enactors came from Edinburgh and gave an excellent display of the Government Army known as ‘Redcoats’. 

Some images from this event are shown below. The weather was nice and sunny, although a little cold, and the display was much appreciated by those who were watching it.

Redcoats

Minister’s wife and daughter

Minister getting ready to preach

Redcoats

Redcoats

Redcoats

Redcoats

Army officer

Army food

My visit to New Lanark was very enjoyable today and the re-enactors did make a very good job of bringing history to life.  

Further information:

New Lanark World Heritage Trust

Edinburgh City Guard

Alan Breck’s Prestonpans Volunteer Regiment

Prestonpans Tapestry

Edinburgh City Guard

Bonnie Prince Charlie

Photographs of Peregrine Nesting at New Lanark

View New Lanark in a larger map

The Peregrine have arrived back at New Lanark to breed for another year. The cold weather has set them back a little, but both the male and female were about for long periods today. Peregrine have been nesting at New Lanark since the 1990′s.

Peregrine are crow-sized falcon with a blue-grey back, barred white underparts, and a black head and “moustache”. Females are much larger than males. The Peregrine is renowned for its speed, reaching over 200mph during its high speed dive and is fastest member of the animal kingdom.

Peregrine Diet

The Peregrine diet consists almost exclusively of medium-sized birds, but it will occasionally hunt small mammals, small reptiles, or even insects. It reaches sexual maturity at one year and mates for life. The nest is normally on a scrape on cliff edges or on tall human-made structures.

Photographs of the Peregrine

I managed to get some photographs of these beautiful birds while at the hide in New Lanark.

Female Peregrine eating a Sparrow for lunch

Female Peregrine perched on a tree

Male Peregrine on the nest

Eggs Due Soon

It is hoped that they will lay some eggs in the next week or so. The viewing area is open everyday for visitors to observe the birds.The Scottish Wildlife Trust manage the area where the birds are nesting and the site is protected on a 24 hour basis.

Scottish Wildlife Trust Visitor Centre is open every day from 10am to 4pm. Non-members are asked to donate 3.00 GBP.

Further Information

The Visitor Centre is located in New Lanark, just 30 miles south-east of Glasgow and 35 miles south-west of Edinburgh.

Falls of Clyde
New Lanark  ML11 9DB     
Tel. 01555 665 262