Linlithgow Palace
In the Words of Robert Burns It's a fine but melancholy ruin
What remains of Linlithgow Palace once one of Scotland's grandest royal residences lies in the small town of Linlithgow 15 miles west of Edinburgh.
In 1425 a great fire destroyed much of Linlithgow, its castle and church, leaving reigning monarch James I (1406-37) with a monumental task in order to rebuild it. Undaunted he set about the work with gusto allocating over £5000 to build a ‘Pleasure Palace’ which would leave his subjects, “Gazing open mouthed in admiration.”
The murder of James in Perth in 1437 brought building work to a halt, it was estimated he spent over £7000, a huge sum which represented around a tenth of his income.
James III (1460-88) continued his grandfather’s work but it was only during the reign of his son (James IV) that the pleasure palace envisaged by James I was almost completed.
The accounts produced by the Lord High Treasurer in 1503 showed that his work at the palace was largely finished; just in time for his marriage to Margaret, daughter of English Tudor king Henry VII. Sadly, the lasting memory of such an outstanding king will be his death at the slaughter of Flodden Field.
More re modeling in the continental style was done by James V (1513-42) born at Linlithgow and still an infant when his father was killed. The windows in the Great Hall were re glazed, a new wooden ceiling was fitted in the chapel and a grand new fountain built in the courtyard. His French wife, Queen Mary of Guise declared it a, “Very fair place as fine as any chateau in France.”
James’s lass was Mary Queen of Scots who spent the first seven months of her life in the royal nursery at Linlithgow before being sent to the relative safety of Stirling Castle. It was twenty years before she returned. If life and the politics of the time had been kinder to Mary perhaps she would have spent more time in a place that her mother loved.
Her son (James VI, 1566 –1625) would also spend little time at the palace particularly after the Union of the Crowns in 1603 when the Scottish royal court moved to London.
By 1583 parts of the building were in perilious state and prompted a report from King James’s master of works Robert Drummond that the west range of the palace was, “Altogidder lyk to fall down.” However it wasn’t until 1607 when the inevitable happened. The palace keeper reported that, “This sext of September, betwixt thre and four in the morning, the north quarter of your Majesties Palace of Linlythgw is fallen, rufe and all…”
Half a century later the palace was described as formely, “Werie magnificent but now for the most part ruinous.”
The English led by the Duke of Cumberland arrived in January of 1746 and around ten thousand redcoats camped in the town and parts of the palace’s north range, resting overnight before pursuing Bonnie Prince Charlie and his Jacobite army north to the Highlands.
However Cumberland’s soldiers were careless and a fire took hold in the north range and the building was soon engulfed in flames.
Since that day the palace has remained uninhabited.
Today as you explore within its ancient walls and walk through what remains of the Great Hall, bedchambers and royal reception rooms it’s not difficult to picture the kings and queens who once passed this way, a who’s who of the people that shaped Scotland’s history.
It’s perhaps fitting to leave the last word to Robert Burns who said when visiting in 1787, “It’s a fine but melancholy ruin.”
Other notable Scottish buildings: Glasgow Cathedral
