Glamis Castle
Encyclopedia
Glamis Castle is situated beside the village of Glamis
(icon) in Angus
, Scotland
. It is the home of the Earl and Countess of Strathmore and Kinghorne
, and is open to the public.
Glamis Castle has been the home of the Lyon family since the 14th century, though the present building dates largely from the 17th century. Glamis was the childhood home of Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
, who married King George VI
, and was later known as Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. Her second daughter, Princess Margaret
, was born there.
The castle is protected as a category A listed building, and the grounds are included on the Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland
, the national listing of significant gardens.
, near Forfar
, county town
of Angus, which lies between the Sidlaw Hills
to the south and the Grampian Mountains to the north, approximately 20 kilometres (12.4 mi) inland from the North Sea
. The estate surrounding the castle covers more than 57 square kilometres (14,085 acre) and, in addition to parks and gardens, produces several cash crops including lumber and beef. There are two streams running through the estate, one of them the Glamis Burn. An arboretum
overlooking Glamis Burn features trees from all over the world, many of them rare and several hundred years old. Birds and other small wildlife are common throughout the grounds.
The vicinity of Glamis Castle has prehistoric traces; for example, a noted intricately carved Pictish stone known as the Eassie Stone
was found in a creek-bed at the nearby village of Eassie
.
In 1034 AD King Malcolm II
was murdered at Glamis, where there was a Royal Hunting Lodge. In William Shakespeare
's play Macbeth
(1603–06), the eponymous character resides at Glamis Castle, although the historical King Macbeth
(d. 1057) had no connection to the castle.
By 1376 a castle had been built at Glamis, since in that year it was granted by King Robert II
to Sir John Lyon, Thane of Glamis
, husband of the king's daughter. Glamis has remained in the Lyon (later Bowes-Lyon) family since this time. The castle was rebuilt as an L-plan tower house in the early 15th century.
The title Lord Glamis was created in 1445 for Sir Patrick Lyon
(1402–1459), grandson of Sir John. A legend tells of the 15th-century "Earl Beardie", who has been identified with both Alexander Lyon, 2nd Lord Glamis (died 1486), and with Alexander Lindsay, 4th Earl of Crawford
(died 1453). Several versions exist, but they all involve "Earl Beardie" playing cards. However, it was the sabbath, and either his hosts refused to play, or a servant advised him to stop. Lord Beardie became so furious that he claimed that he would play until doomsday
, or with the Devil
himself, depending on the version. A stranger then appears at the castle and joins Lord Beardie in a game of cards. The stranger is identified with the Devil, who takes Earl Beardie's soul and, in some versions, condemns the Earl to play cards until doomsday.
John Lyon, 6th Lord Glamis, married Janet Douglas, daughter of the Master of Angus
, at a time when King James V
was feuding with the Douglases. In December 1528 Janet was accused of treason for bringing supporters of the Earl of Angus to Edinburgh. She was then charged with poisoning her husband, Lord Glamis, who had died on 17 September 1528. Eventually, she was accused of witchcraft, and was burned at the stake at Edinburgh on 17 July 1537. James V subsequently seized Glamis, living there for some time.
In 1543 Glamis was returned to John Lyon, 7th Lord Glamis. In 1606, Patrick Lyon, 9th Lord Glamis, was created Earl of Kinghorne. He began major works on the castle, commemorated by the inscription "Built by Patrick, Lord Glamis, and D[ame] Anna Murray" on the central tower. The English architect Inigo Jones
has traditionally been linked to the redesign of the castle, though Historic Scotland
consider the King's Master Mason William Schaw
a more likely candidate, due to the tradtitional Scottish style of the architecture.
During the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland
, soldiers were garrisoned at Glamis. In 1670
Patrick Lyon, 3rd Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne
, returned to the castle and found it uninhabitable. Restorations took place until 1689, including the creation of a major Baroque
garden. John Lyon, 9th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne
, succeeded in 1753, and in 1767 he married Mary Eleanor Bowes
, heiress to a coal-mining fortune. He set about improving the grounds of the castle in the picturesque style in the 1770s. The south-west wing was rebuilt after a fire in the early 19th century. Several interiors, including the Dining Room, also date from the 19th century.
In 1900, Lady Elizabeth Bowes Lyon was born, youngest daughter of Claude Bowes-Lyon, 14th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne
and his countess, Cecilia. She spent much of her childhood at Glamis, which was used during the First World War, as a military hospital. She was particularly instrumental in organising the rescue of the castle's contents during a serious fire on 16 September 1916. On 26 April 1923 she married
Prince Albert, Duke of York, second son of King George V
, at Westminster Abbey. Their second daughter, Princess Margaret, was born at Glamis Castle in 1930.
Since 1987 an illustration of the castle has featured on the reverse side of ten pound notes issued by the Royal Bank of Scotland
. Glamis is currently the home of Michael Bowes-Lyon, 18th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne
, a former army officer, who succeeded to the earldom in 1987.
. According to the guides, the chapel is still used regularly for family functions, but regardless, no one is allowed to sit in that seat.
The towers in front of the castle each measure 7 metres (23 ft) in diameter and are about 4 metres (13.1 ft) high, each having a modern parapet. The walls are 1 metres (3.3 ft) thick.
Glamis
Glamis is a small village in Angus, Scotland, located four miles south of Kirriemuir and five miles southwest of Forfar. It is the location of Glamis Castle, the childhood home of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother.-History:...
(icon) in Angus
Angus
Angus is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland, a registration county and a lieutenancy area. The council area borders Aberdeenshire, Perth and Kinross and Dundee City...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. It is the home of the Earl and Countess of Strathmore and Kinghorne
Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne
The title Earl of Kinghorne was created in the Peerage of Scotland in 1606 for Patrick Lyon. In 1677, the designation of the earldom changed to "Strathmore and Kinghorne". A second Earldom was bestowed on the fourteenth Earl in the Peerage of the United Kingdom in 1937, the title being Strathmore...
, and is open to the public.
Glamis Castle has been the home of the Lyon family since the 14th century, though the present building dates largely from the 17th century. Glamis was the childhood home of Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon was the queen consort of King George VI from 1936 until her husband's death in 1952, after which she was known as Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, to avoid confusion with her daughter, Queen Elizabeth II...
, who married King George VI
George VI of the United Kingdom
George VI was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death...
, and was later known as Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. Her second daughter, Princess Margaret
Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon
Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon was the younger sister of Queen Elizabeth II and the younger daughter of King George VI....
, was born there.
The castle is protected as a category A listed building, and the grounds are included on the Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland
Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland
The Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland is a listing of gardens and designed landscapes of national artistic and/or historical significance, in Scotland. The Inventory was originally compiled in 1987, although it is a continually evolving list...
, the national listing of significant gardens.
Setting
Glamis is set in the broad and fertile lowland valley of StrathmoreStrathmore
Strathmore, from the Scottish Gaelic for large valley , can refer to a number of people, places in Scotland, or places named by Scottish emigrants:-Buildings:...
, near Forfar
Forfar
Forfar is a parish, town and former royal burgh of approximately 13,500 people in Angus, located in the East Central Lowlands of Scotland. Forfar is the county town of Angus, which was officially known as Forfarshire from the 18th century until 1929, when the ancient name was reinstated, and...
, county town
County town
A county town is a county's administrative centre in the United Kingdom or Ireland. County towns are usually the location of administrative or judicial functions, or established over time as the de facto main town of a county. The concept of a county town eventually became detached from its...
of Angus, which lies between the Sidlaw Hills
Sidlaw Hills
The Sidlaws are a range of hills of volcanic origin in the counties of Perthshire and Angus in Scotland that extend for 30 miles from Kinnoull Hill, near Perth, northeast to Forfar. Law is a Lowland Scots word of Old English origin meaning a hill which rises sharply from the surrounding land...
to the south and the Grampian Mountains to the north, approximately 20 kilometres (12.4 mi) inland from the North Sea
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
. The estate surrounding the castle covers more than 57 square kilometres (14,085 acre) and, in addition to parks and gardens, produces several cash crops including lumber and beef. There are two streams running through the estate, one of them the Glamis Burn. An arboretum
Arboretum
An arboretum in a narrow sense is a collection of trees only. Related collections include a fruticetum , and a viticetum, a collection of vines. More commonly, today, an arboretum is a botanical garden containing living collections of woody plants intended at least partly for scientific study...
overlooking Glamis Burn features trees from all over the world, many of them rare and several hundred years old. Birds and other small wildlife are common throughout the grounds.
History
Eassie Stone
The Eassie Stone is a Class II Pictish stone at the village of Eassie, Angus, Scotland. The stone was found in Eassie burn in the late 18th century and now resides in a purpose-built perspex building in the ruined Eassie church.-Location:...
was found in a creek-bed at the nearby village of Eassie
Eassie
Eassie is a village located along the A94 road in Angus, Scotland. The church in Eassie is dedicated to Saint Fergus, a monk who worked at nearby Glamis...
.
In 1034 AD King Malcolm II
Malcolm II of Scotland
Máel Coluim mac Cináeda , was King of the Scots from 1005 until his death...
was murdered at Glamis, where there was a Royal Hunting Lodge. In William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
's play Macbeth
Macbeth
The Tragedy of Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607...
(1603–06), the eponymous character resides at Glamis Castle, although the historical King Macbeth
Macbeth of Scotland
Mac Bethad mac Findlaích was King of the Scots from 1040 until his death...
(d. 1057) had no connection to the castle.
By 1376 a castle had been built at Glamis, since in that year it was granted by King Robert II
Robert II of Scotland
Robert II became King of Scots in 1371 as the first monarch of the House of Stewart. He was the son of Walter Stewart, hereditary High Steward of Scotland and of Marjorie Bruce, daughter of Robert I and of his first wife Isabella of Mar...
to Sir John Lyon, Thane of Glamis
Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne
The title Earl of Kinghorne was created in the Peerage of Scotland in 1606 for Patrick Lyon. In 1677, the designation of the earldom changed to "Strathmore and Kinghorne". A second Earldom was bestowed on the fourteenth Earl in the Peerage of the United Kingdom in 1937, the title being Strathmore...
, husband of the king's daughter. Glamis has remained in the Lyon (later Bowes-Lyon) family since this time. The castle was rebuilt as an L-plan tower house in the early 15th century.
Patrick Lyon, 1st Lord Glamis
Patrick Lyon, 1st Lord Glamis P.C., a Scottish nobleman, created Lord Glamis on 28 June 1445. He was son of John Lyon, 1st Master of Glamis, and Elizabeth Graham, daughter of Sir Patrick Graham of Dundaff and Kincardine, and of Euphemia Stewart, Countess of Strathearn.He was hostage in England for...
(1402–1459), grandson of Sir John. A legend tells of the 15th-century "Earl Beardie", who has been identified with both Alexander Lyon, 2nd Lord Glamis (died 1486), and with Alexander Lindsay, 4th Earl of Crawford
Alexander Lindsay, 4th Earl of Crawford
Alexander Lindsay, 4th Earl of Crawford acceded 1446, died September 1453.Father: David Lindsay, 3rd Earl of Crawford Mother: Marjory OgilvieMarried Margaret Dunbar and had 3 children, Elizabeth, David 5th Earl born 1440 and Alexander the 7th Earl....
(died 1453). Several versions exist, but they all involve "Earl Beardie" playing cards. However, it was the sabbath, and either his hosts refused to play, or a servant advised him to stop. Lord Beardie became so furious that he claimed that he would play until doomsday
Doomsday
Doomsday may refer to:* End times, a prophesied time of tribulation that would precede the Second Coming of the Messiah in Abrahamic religions-Fiction:* Doomsday , a 1927 novel by Warwick Deeping* Doomsday , a DC comic book character...
, or with the Devil
Devil
The Devil is believed in many religions and cultures to be a powerful, supernatural entity that is the personification of evil and the enemy of God and humankind. The nature of the role varies greatly...
himself, depending on the version. A stranger then appears at the castle and joins Lord Beardie in a game of cards. The stranger is identified with the Devil, who takes Earl Beardie's soul and, in some versions, condemns the Earl to play cards until doomsday.
John Lyon, 6th Lord Glamis, married Janet Douglas, daughter of the Master of Angus
George Douglas, Master of Angus
George Douglas, Master of Angus was a Scottish Nobleman. The son of Archibald Douglas, 5th Earl of Angus and Elizabeth Boyd, daughter of Robert Boyd, 1st Lord Boyd, he was born at Tantallon Castle and died at the Battle of Flodden....
, at a time when King James V
James V of Scotland
James V was King of Scots from 9 September 1513 until his death, which followed the Scottish defeat at the Battle of Solway Moss...
was feuding with the Douglases. In December 1528 Janet was accused of treason for bringing supporters of the Earl of Angus to Edinburgh. She was then charged with poisoning her husband, Lord Glamis, who had died on 17 September 1528. Eventually, she was accused of witchcraft, and was burned at the stake at Edinburgh on 17 July 1537. James V subsequently seized Glamis, living there for some time.
In 1543 Glamis was returned to John Lyon, 7th Lord Glamis. In 1606, Patrick Lyon, 9th Lord Glamis, was created Earl of Kinghorne. He began major works on the castle, commemorated by the inscription "Built by Patrick, Lord Glamis, and D[ame] Anna Murray" on the central tower. The English architect Inigo Jones
Inigo Jones
Inigo Jones is the first significant British architect of the modern period, and the first to bring Italianate Renaissance architecture to England...
has traditionally been linked to the redesign of the castle, though Historic Scotland
Historic Scotland
Historic Scotland is an executive agency of the Scottish Government, responsible for historic monuments in Scotland.-Role:As its website states:...
consider the King's Master Mason William Schaw
William Schaw
William Schaw was Master of Works to James VI of Scotland, and is claimed to have been an important figure in the development of freemasonry.-Biography:...
a more likely candidate, due to the tradtitional Scottish style of the architecture.
During the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland
Commonwealth of England
The Commonwealth of England was the republic which ruled first England, and then Ireland and Scotland from 1649 to 1660. Between 1653–1659 it was known as the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland...
, soldiers were garrisoned at Glamis. In 1670
Patrick Lyon, 3rd Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne
Patrick Lyon, 3rd Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne
Patrick Lyon, 3rd Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne was a Scottish peer and the son of John Lyon, 2nd Earl of Kinghorne....
, returned to the castle and found it uninhabitable. Restorations took place until 1689, including the creation of a major Baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
garden. John Lyon, 9th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne
John Bowes, 9th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne
John Bowes , born John Lyon, was the 9th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne and one of the ancestors of the Queen Mother. His father was Thomas Lyon, 8th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne and his mother was the former Jean Nicholsen.In 1767 he married Mary Eleanor Bowes, and upon the request of the...
, succeeded in 1753, and in 1767 he married Mary Eleanor Bowes
Mary Eleanor Bowes
Mary Eleanor Bowes, Countess of Strathmore and Kinghorne , known as "The Unhappy Countess", was the daughter and heiress of George Bowes...
, heiress to a coal-mining fortune. He set about improving the grounds of the castle in the picturesque style in the 1770s. The south-west wing was rebuilt after a fire in the early 19th century. Several interiors, including the Dining Room, also date from the 19th century.
In 1900, Lady Elizabeth Bowes Lyon was born, youngest daughter of Claude Bowes-Lyon, 14th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne
Claude Bowes-Lyon, 14th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne
Claude George Bowes-Lyon, 14th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne, KG, KT, GCVO, TD, was a landowner and the maternal grandfather of Queen Elizabeth II....
and his countess, Cecilia. She spent much of her childhood at Glamis, which was used during the First World War, as a military hospital. She was particularly instrumental in organising the rescue of the castle's contents during a serious fire on 16 September 1916. On 26 April 1923 she married
Wedding of Prince Albert, Duke of York, and Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
The wedding of Prince Albert, Duke of York , and Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon took place on 26 April 1923 at Westminster Abbey.-Courtship and proposals:...
Prince Albert, Duke of York, second son of King George V
George V of the United Kingdom
George V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War until his death in 1936....
, at Westminster Abbey. Their second daughter, Princess Margaret, was born at Glamis Castle in 1930.
Since 1987 an illustration of the castle has featured on the reverse side of ten pound notes issued by the Royal Bank of Scotland
Royal Bank of Scotland
The Royal Bank of Scotland Group is a British banking and insurance holding company in which the UK Government holds an 84% stake. This stake is held and managed through UK Financial Investments Limited, whose voting rights are limited to 75% in order for the bank to retain its listing on the...
. Glamis is currently the home of Michael Bowes-Lyon, 18th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne
Michael Bowes-Lyon, 18th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne
Michael Fergus Bowes-Lyon, 18th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne, DL , is a former politician in the House of Lords and former British Army officer.-Family and Background:...
, a former army officer, who succeeded to the earldom in 1987.
Description
There is a small chapel within the castle with seating for 46 people. The story given to visitors by castle tour guides states that one seat in the chapel is always reserved for the "Grey Lady" (supposedly a ghost which inhabits the castle), thought to be Janet Douglas, Lady GlamisJanet, Lady Glamis
Janet Douglas, Lady Glamis was the daughter of George Douglas, Master of Angus and Elizabeth Drummond, daughter of John Drummond, 1st Lord Drummond...
. According to the guides, the chapel is still used regularly for family functions, but regardless, no one is allowed to sit in that seat.
The towers in front of the castle each measure 7 metres (23 ft) in diameter and are about 4 metres (13.1 ft) high, each having a modern parapet. The walls are 1 metres (3.3 ft) thick.
External links
- Glamis Castle web site
- Ghosts and Hauntings in Glamis Castle, Mysterious Britain
- The Monster of Glamis, Charles Fort Institute