By Lauren Gilbert
The Palace of
Holyrood House is one of the most haunting places I have ever visited. It is inextricably linked to Mary Stuart,
Queen of Scotland, who lived there during much of her reign. However, its history extended back centuries,
and continued after her. It was built
next to Holyrood Abbey, where its history actually began.
The Abbey of
Holyrood was founded in Edinburgh, Scotland for the Canons Regular of St.
Augustine by King David I in 1128. There
is a legend that the foundation was laid as an act of thanksgiving by the king,
for a miraculous escape from a hunting accident on Holy Cross Day. A hart was deflected from goring the king by
the reflection of sunlight on a crucifix, according to the legend. An alternate version has a crucifix appearing
between the antlers, while the king was trying to save himself by grabbing the
antlers. Either way, the Abbey was
founded and named Holyrood (“rood” meaning cross) in honor of the king’s escape
on Holy Cross Day. A fragment of the
True Cross was housed in the Abbey church.
It had been brought to Scotland by King David’s mother, Margaret
(canonized as St. Margaret of Scotland) from Waltham Abbey, and became known as
the Black Rood of Scotland. The Abbey survived and continued through the
next few centuries.
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| Remains of Abbey of Holyrood |
The Abbey suffered
invasion by the English twice, once when it was burned by Richard II in 1305,
after which it was restored, and again in 1322 when it was sacked by Edward
II’s army. In 1346, at the Battle of
Neville’s Cross, the Black Rood of Scotland was captured by the English and
carried off to Durham Cathedral, from where it subsequently disappeared during
the Reformation.
Edinburgh became
the capital of Scotland in the 15th century, and the guest house of
the Abbey of Holyrood was used more and more frequently by the royal family,
apparently in preference to the fortress of Edinburgh Castle. James I of Scotland’s twin sons were born
within the Abbey in 1430, and his queen Mary of Gueldres was crowned there in
1449. The younger of the twins became James II and he was crowned in the abbey,
married there, and was finally buried there.
In July of 1469, James III
married Margaret of Denmark (who was only 13 years old) at least in part to
resolve the feud between Scotland and Denmark over the Hebrides.
During the period from
about 1500-1504, James IV built a palace for himself and his bride Margaret
Tudor (Henry VIII’s sister) next to the Abbey, of which little remains. His son
James V extensively rebuilt the palace, possibly for his bride Madeleine
(daughter of Francis I of France). His second wife, Mary of Guise, was crowned
in the Abbey of Holyrood. The north
tower, a large tower with round corner turrets built to be royal lodging
between 1528-1532, still stands, at the front of the palace. Between 1535-6, further rebuilding was done
on the other wings. During this time,
Edinburgh Castle was used more as a place to confine political prisoners. James V died of fever December 15, 1542,
after the Scots were defeated by the English at the Battle of Solway Moss,
leaving his only legitimate child, the infant Mary, to become queen. During the “rough wooing”, the Abbey was
burned and looted by the English in 1544; finally, in 1547, the English
destroyed the choir, lady chapel, transepts and monastic buildings of the
Abbey. Although some repairs were made,
it was never fully restored.
In 1548, Mary left
Scotland for France, and the French troops ended the English occupation. Her mother, Mary of Guise governed on her
behalf under her death in 1560. During
this period, the Reformation gained momentum, and Scotland became increasingly
Protestant. After the death of her
husband, Francis II of France, also in 1560, Mary returned to Scotland and made
the Palace of Holyrood House her residence.
This remained her primary residence through her tumultuous years as
queen. Ironically, what may be the only building in
Scotland directly attributed to her
still remains: the bath house near what was the north side of the palace
in her time.
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| The Queen's Bath House |
In July of 1566,
Mary married Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley (her cousin) in 1566 in the Abbey
church. The next year, Mary’s secretary,
David Rizzio, was murdered in her private apartments at the Palace, setting in
train a series of events that led to the murder of Darnley, her marriage to
James Hepburn, Earl of Bothwell, and ultimately the end of her reign. Religious differences accelerated and
exacerbated the tumult; also in 1567, the interior of the church was pillaged
by the followers of John Knox. The
bloodstains left by David Rizzio’s murder are still visible on the floor in the
palace.
Between the
Reformation and the Restoration, the palace and abbey were largely
neglected. However, in 1633, some
renovations were carried out to mark the coronation of Mary’s grandson, Charles
I. Unfortunately, during the Civil War,
Oliver Cromwell’s troops were quartered in the palace, which resulted in much
more damage caused by fire.
Charles II was crowned in Scotland in 1651
(before the restoration in 1660). In the
1670’s he ordered a massive rebuilding under Sir William Bruce, Scottish
architect, at which time the Abbey Church was made into the Chapel Royal. When James, Duke of York, succeeded him as
King James VII of Scotland/II of England, he restored the Catholic services at
Holyrood, and used it as the chapel for the ceremonies of the Order of the
Thistle. Unfortunately the
Abbey was plundered again in 1688 by the Edinburgh mob to show their outrage at
King James’ Catholic leanings.
Again there was a
long period of neglect. At one point, “grace
and favour” housing was provided there to poor and distressed aristocrats. For a brief period, things improved when
Bonnie Prince Charlie used Holyrood as his headquarters in 1745, during his unsuccessful
attempt to reclaim the throne. After
that brief moment of glory, the palace sank into neglect again. The
Abbey Church roof collapsed in 1768.
The site was left
as it was until the early 19th century. Money was voted to improve Holyrood because
of George IV’s state visit to Scotland in August of 1822. George
IV decreed that Mary’s apartments in Holyrood should be preserved. Subsequently, after Queen Victoria fell in
love with Scotland and purchased Balmoral, she reintroduced the custom of the
Royal Family staying at Holyrood, which inspired the Scots to renovate the
palace extensively. Renovations were
continued by King George V and Queen Mary, installing electricity, bathrooms,
and other 20th century conveniences.
Today, the palace is still in use by the Royal Family when in Scotland. When they are not in residence, the palace is
open for tourists. Mary Stuart’s
apartments, complete with David Rizzio’s bloodstains can be seen, just as George IV would have
wanted.
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| Courtyard and fountain at the Palace of Holyroodhouse |
Sources include:
Phillips, Charles. THE
ILLUSTRATED ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ROYAL BRITAIN. Petro Books: New York (no date
of publishing shown-sometime after 2005).
Steel, David and Judy. MARY
STUART’S SCOTLAND The landscapes, life and legends of Mary Queen of Scots. Crescent Books: New York, 1987.
Castles and Palaces of the World (on line).
“History of Palace of Holyroodhouse.” http://www.everycastle.com/Palace-of-Holyroodhouse.html
Catholic Encyclopedia: Holyrood Abbey. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07423a.htm
Mary Queen of Scots.com. “The Palace of Holyroodhouse & Holyrood
Abbey.” http://www.marie-stuart.co.uk/Castles/Holyroodhouse.htm
Website of the British Monarchy-The Royal
Residences. “The Palace of
Holyroodhouse.” http://www.royal.gov.uk/TheRoyal
Residences/ThePalaceofHolyroodhouse/History.aspx
SacredDestinations.com. “Holyrood Abbey – Edinburgh, Scotland.” http://www.sacred-destinations.com/scotland/edinburgh-holyrood-abbey-and-palace
Images from Wikimedia Commons.
Lauren Gilbert is the author of HEYERWOOD: A Novel. She lives in Florida with her husband, and is working on another novel which is coming out soon. You can visit her website HERE.
There is something very wonderful in Mary's little stone bathhouse surviving so much carnage and purposeful destruction. Perhaps its very smallness helped preserve it. And meant for such a personal use, too...I think it must have, even now, an aura about it. Thank you for an illuminating tour of some of the architectural relics of Mary's troubled reign.
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