kinneff church

They were the Crown, the Sceptre and the Sword, all three were saved and are on display in Edinburgh today.

The Grangers shamefully were not rewarded after the Stuart Restoration and the Rev James died in 1663. Faced with destitution his widow petitioned the Scottish Parliament and was awarded 2000 merks (£1,300). Later that year she married Lord Abercrombie. She died in her 70s in 1691.   

The story of the Honours of Scotland did not end there.

No Scottish Monarchs were crowned King or Queen of Scots after 1651, the coronation in Westminster Abbey sufficed for both Kingdoms. Nevertheless the regalia was regularly produced at sessions of the Scottish Parliament to symbolise the authority of the Monarch.

However all this changed in 1707 with the abolition of the Scottish Parliament. It was decreed that the Honours would remain secure but redundant in Edinburgh Castle. So they were locked in an oak chest, in a locked room and to ensure complete security the door was bricked up. And there they lay, quite literally forgotten, for over a century.

110 years later in 1817 the Prince Regent George, Prince of Wales made enquiries about the location of the Scottish Crown Jewels only to be told that they were "lost" or at least no-one knew where they were. Therefore the Prince authorised Sir Walter Scott, the celebrated novelist, to search Edinburgh Castle for the regalia. After making exhaustive enquiries Scott was led to a bricked up doorway in February 1818 and told that the Crown Jewels were most likely behind the door.

The brickwork was removed to reveal a locked door, but there was no key, it had been lost many years ago. A locksmith was called in to unpick the lock and the room was entered for the first time in 111 years. Inside was a locked chest which again had to be opened by the locksmith and inside were found the Crown, Sceptre and Sword plus a wand which to this day the significance of which is unclear.

They were put on public display in the Castle and in 1822 when George, by then King George IV, visited Scotland presented to him. He authorised their retention in Scotland and have remained on public display ever since.    

Scotland couldn't afford such grand regalia as England, the attraction of the Scots' Crown Jewels are that they're older than the English which largely date from the 1660s. 

The Crown in its current form dates from 1540 when it was recast from the gold of an earlier Crown. The Sceptre was a gift from the Pope in 1494 and the Sword was also a Papal gift from 1507. The English Crown Jewels date from the 1660s, the earlier Mediaeval regalia had been melted down or destroyed by Oliver Cromwell. 

The Crown in its current form dates from 1540 when it was recast from the gold of an earlier Crown. The Sceptre was a gift from the Pope in 1494 and the Sword was also a Papal gift from 1507. The English Crown Jewels date from the 1660s, the earlier Mediaeval regalia had been melted down or destroyed by Oliver Cromwell. 

The Holy Father trying to keep you heathens in the fold with bribes. Of course the Catholic Church stole those gifts from someone else. 

All but the ones my relatives smuggled into Canada in their skirt hems. 

Along came a breeze and exposed the Andrew jewels.

And that same breeze caused all the ladies to swoon.

2022-08-18 02:06:04

A few days ago on the "This Day in History" page I posted something about King George IV's visit to Scotland in 1822, the first by a reigning Monarch since 1651.

This led me into the story of the Scottish Crown Jewels, known as the Honours of Scotland. There are two fascinating tales to tell about them, which I'll do over the next few days.

I'll begin with the story of their rescue from destruction by the Puritans in the 1650s. The full set of regalia was used in the Coronation of Charles II as King of Scots at Scone in 1651. However the English under Oliver Cromwell had invaded Scotland the previous year and were advancing on Scone, so it was decided that the precious items would be moved to the remote east coast castle of Dunnottar for safe keeping. 

By the end of the year Dunnottar itself was under siege, so the regalia had to be moved again, but how? The defenders devised a clever plan, the jewels were placed into sacks and on three occasions in February/March 1652 lowered on a rope over the castle walls to an old woman "collecting seaweed" on the beach below. The "old lady" was in fact Christian the 32 year old wife of the vicar of Kinneff, James Granger, together the two smuggled the regalia into the church where they were buried under the floorboards.

There they remained until the Restoration of the Monarchy in 1660 when they were recovered and restored to Edinburgh Castle.    

Dunnottar Castle

I can tell in the picture Mark that it is high tide so to the beach when the tide was out would be further. It would had to be one hell of a long rope to reach the beach, don't you think

Ropes were longer in those days.

Ropes were longer in those days.

Everything was longer in Scotland in those days.

You need a shorter leash, little Mr. Mynameisnotwhosagoodboy.

Like Readers Digest says, Humour is the best medicine.