The British Isles

THE

BRITISH ISLES

HISTORICAL BUILDINGS, CASTLES, AND RUINS OF SCOTLAND, IRELAND, ENGLAND, AND WALES

Table of Contents

Scotland • Dalkeith Palace • St. Anthony’s Chapel • Sheep Heid Inn • University of Glasgow • Kelvingrove Museum • Glasgow Cathedral • The People’s Palace + Winter Gardens • Ruthven Barracks

• Eilean Donan • Duntulm Castle • Wallace Monument • Craigmillar Castle • Edinburgh Castle • Melrose Abbey

Ireland

• Dublin Castle • O’ Brien’s Tower • Claddagh Village

England • Alnwick Castle

Wales

• Castell Dinas Brân

Scotland

Dalkeith Palace and Country Estate

Location: Dalkeith, Midloathian, Scotland

On the outskirts of Edinburgh, about five miles from the city center, lies the small town of Dalkeith. A popular recreational area within the town is that of the Dalkeith Country Estate, a 2,500 acre estate that includes a palace, adventure playground, nature trails, stables, and the beautiful ruins of an old orangerie. The palace has not been lived in by the Buccleuch family since 1914 and is not open to the public. However, it has been a European study center for the University of Wisconsin school system since 1986, accommodating about 80 students at a time.

Anne of Buccleuch, first duchess of Buccleuch, commissioned James Smith to build the house in its present form between 1701 and 1711. It was also used prior to World War I and during World War II as the Buchleuch Family Residence and was a billet for soldiers of the Polish Free Army.

St. Anthony’s Chapel

Location: Holyrood Park, Edinburgh, Scotland

As you make the hike up Arthur’s Seat in Edinburgh’s Holyrood Park, keep an eye out for the ruins of St. Anthony’s Chapel. Overlooking St. Margaret’s Loch, it also has a clear view of Leith and the Firth of Forth. Only the north wall of the chapel remains.

A 1426 donation by the pope for its repair indicates that the chapel was in existence well before the 15th century. The origins and purpose of the chapel is unclear but it is said that a lamp was lit in the chapel to welcome and guide seafarers safely on their journey. It may have been associated with the Precepatory of St. Anthony, a skin hospice. Some also speculate that because it is nearly as tall as it is long that its rectangular design was driven more by the need to provide visibility to those traveling the River Forth to neraby Holyrood Abbey. Unfortunately, the Advent of 1560 Scottish Reformation caused the chapel to fall into disuse.

Sheep Heid Inn

Location: Duddingston, Edinburgh, Scotland

In the village of Duddingston, at the rear of Arthur’s Seat, it is claimed that the Sheep Heid Inn is Edinburgh’s and possibly Scotland’s oldest pub. It may not have always been called the Sheep Heid Inn, but local historians claim that there was an inn licensed in that particular spot as early as 1360.

The Inn has been visited by Royals, and was a favorite of Mary Queen of Scots and her son, James VI, who would stop by for a game of “skittles” (bowling) en route to carrying out royal business.

This medieval pub also includes a beer garden and a skittle alley (possibly the last such alley of its kind) and is a must-see for anyone in the Scottish capital.

The Sheep Heid Inn also plays host to the Edinburgh Beer Festival - around 75 beers and ciders, live music in the evenings, and food from the pub.

University of Glasgow

Location: Glasgow, Scotland

Founded in 1451, the University of Glasgow is the fourth oldest university in the English-speaking world, and one of Scotland’s four ancient universities. It is a broad-based, research intensive insititution, with a community of 16,500 undergraduates studying from a complete range of professional studies such as: law, medicine, veterinary medicine, dentistry, and engineering alongside science, social science, ancient and modern languages, literature, theology, and history. It is the only tertiary educational establishment in Scotland to offer a complete range of studies like this. It is a great improvement from its four original areas (Arts, Divinity, Law, and Medicine).

1894 marks the year of the University’s first female graduates. The university was the first to have an electronic computer in 1957, and in 1958, a Glasgow professor provided the world’s first ultrasound images, The University of Glasgow also played host to a lecture by Albert Einstein.

Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum

Location: Glasgow, Scotland

With twenty-two themed, state of the art galleries, encompassing 8,000 displayed objects, Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum is one of Scotland’s most popular free attractions. Collections include: natural history, arms and armour, art from numerous art movements and periods of history, and much more originating back to 1854, when Archibald McLellen died and had granted his collections to the people of Glasgow. It has a fascinating history involving some of Glasgow’s most forward looking officials and residents. The building was erected to solve the overcrowded and fire hazard issue that issue that the McLellen Galleries posed; the preferred location being Kelvingrove Park. It also plays host to a marvelous organ that is played daily.

Kelvingrove welcomes families with children and many of the displays are designed with children in mind, with lots of interactives that appear to younger audiences. Visitors can also enjoy the building’s cafes, shops, study center, and library.

Glasgow Cathedral

Location: Glasgow, Scotland

This shining example of Gothic architecture is the first stone-built cathedral of Glasgow and was dedicated in the presence of King David I in 1136. The present building was consecreated in 1197 and since then has never been unroofed and the worship of God has been carried out within its walls for more than 800 years; it is th eonly mainland Scottish cathedral to have survived the Reformation.

Most of the current building dates from the 15th century and only the western towers have ever been destroyed. It has one of the finest post-war collections of stained glass windows to be found in Britain, including four stained glass panels on the east side of the building depicting the Apostles.

The most interesting aspect of the cathedral is the lower church. It is a “forest of pillars� that surround St. Mungo’s tomb - the saint who founded a monastic community in the area in the 5th century - and the tomb has been a focus of a medieval pilgrimages. Behind the Glasgow Cathedral is a necropolis that winds up a hill, with elaborate Victorian tombs of wealthy industrialists.

People’s Palace and Winter Gardens

Location: Glasgow Green, Glasgow, Scotland

In historic Glasgow Green, Glasgow’s oldest city park, lies the cultural center of the People’s Palace, built in 1898. The building is home to the social history of the city from 1750 to the end of the 20th century via artifacts, paintings, prints and photographs, film, and interactive computer displays showing how Glaswegians lived, worked, and played. Exhibits depict dancing, and holidaying, home life, trip to the “steamie” to get clothes washed, and poltiical history.

Adjacent to the People’s Palace is the Victorian-style Winter Gardens, full of exotic palms and plants, as well as a cafe to enjoy coffee or lunch. Temporary exhibitions and events are also displayed throughout the year in the gardens.

Outside the front of the palace is the restored Douton Fountain, the largest terracotta fountain in the world.

Ruthven Barracks

Location: Ruthven, Highland, Scotland

Built as part of a Hanoverian scheme to take control of the Highlands, these now ruined infantry barracks, erected in 1719 following the Jacobite Rising, are the smallest but best preserved of four barracks built at the time. The barracks were built on an old castle mound, perched on a river terrace, that is clearly visible from the main A9 road near Kingussie, Scotland. The barracks were designed to house 120 troops split between two barrack blocks and were loopholed for musketfiring.

The Prince Charles Edward Stuart’s Jacobite army captured and set fire to the barracks, and then dispersed after the Battle of Culloden in attempts to evade the government forces who were set on supressing them once and for all.

The remains today are pretty much how it was left by the departing Jacobites. Most of the exterior walls remain, but little of the interior structure, flooring, and roofing survives. Ruthven Barracks are beautifully floodlit at night.

Eilean Donan

Location: Dornie, Kyle of Lochalsh, Scotland

SItuated on an island at the point where three sea “lochs” meet, near the picturesque village of Dornie on the main tourist route to the Isle of Skye, Eilean Donan -“Island of Donan”- is one of the most iconic images of Scotland. This castle is one of the most visited and most important attractiions of the Scottish Highlands and is said to be the most beautiful castle in Scotland.

While it was first inhabited around the 6th century, the first fortified (defended) castle was built in the mid-13th century and stood guard over the land of Kintail. Since then, at least four different versions of the castle have been built and re-built as time passed through feudal Scotland. After the Jacobite Rising in 1719, the castle lay in ruins for the better part of 200 years until Colonel John MacRae-Gilstrap bought the island in 1911 and proceeded to restore the castle to its former glory according to surviving ground plans of previous versions. The castle was reopened in 1932, and officially opened to the public in 1955 by MacRae-Gilstrap’s grandson.

Today, you can explore nearly every part of the castle; it now has a visitor’s center and a gift shop.

Wallace Monument

Location: Abbey Craig, near Sterling, Scotland

In honor of Sir WIlliam Wallace- the patriot, martyr, and Guardian of Scotland- the Wallace Monument was constructed in the 1860s and lies just outside the city of Sterling, overlooking the the scene of Scotland’s victory at the Battle of Stirling Bridge. The world-famous monument has fascinated visitors for 140 years with its exhibits and displays telling the story of William Wallace and his campaign for Scotland’s freedom from England. The monument also commemorates other generations of Scottish heroes such as Robert the Bruce and Sir Walter Scott alongside Wallace in the Hall of Heroes.

Victorian craftsmen overcame all the challenges of their day to create their masterpiece, constructed of sandstone. The Wallace monument was controversial, having run well over budget and time.

Each level of the monument is accessed by a spiral staircase, with 246 steps to the top of the tower. The view from the top is one of the finest sights Scotland has to offer- from Ben Lomond (a mountain peak) and the Trossachs mountain range in the west, through the Forth Valley past Stirling, and the Ochil Hills to the Pentland Hills in the east.

Craigmillar Castle

Location: Edinburgh, Lothian, Scotland

Best known for its association with Mary Queen of Scots, Craigmillar Castle is one of Scotland’s most perfectly preserved medieval castles. It began as a simple towerhouse residence and gradually developed into a complex of structures and spaces as its subsequent owners attempted to improve comfort; there are many nooks and crannies because of this. It has a labyrinth of dark spaces, with dark and mysterious chambers. Craigmillar Castle has a great hall on the first floor and the so-called “Queen Mary’s Room” beside it, where Mary is said to have slept when staying there as a guest of the Prestons. After her second stay, when she was in poor health, the “Craigmillar Bond” was signed as a conspiracy to remove her husband should she die. The west range was rebuilt as the Gilmour Family’s residence after 1660, but the castle fell to ruin after the Gilmour’s left in the 18th century.

The surrounding gardens and parkland provide a reminder of the castle’s days as a rural retreat, with the remains of an unusual fishpond laid out in the shape of a “P,” for Preston. Views from the tower include the city of Edinburgh, including Holyrood Park and Edinburgh Castle.

Edinburgh Castle

Location: Castlehill, Edinburgh, Scotland

The instantly recognizable fortress of Edinburgh Castle, perched on an extinct volcano, has been a stronghold for over 3000 years. Archaeologists found evidence of human occupation of the Castle Rock reaching back to 900 BC, In the Middle Ages, it became Scotland’s chief royal castle - the Seat of Royalty, headquarters to the Sheriff of Edinburgh, a military garrison and storehouse of the royal gun train, and respository of the nation’s crown jewels and state records. The impressive buildings constructed within the walls include 12th century St. Margaret’s Chapel (the oldest building in Edinburgh), David’s Tower, and the monumental Great Hall of James VI. When the attempt on the stronghold by the Jacobites in 1745 failed, unable to be taken from the Haoverian King George II, it continued to serve as an active army base. In more modern times, it has found a new role as a major visitor attraction. Edinburgh Castle is the current home of the Scottish National War Memorial and two Scottish regiments, as well as host of the world famous Edinburgh Military Tattoo. It is the most important building in the Old and New Towns of Edinburgh and has become a powerful national symbol.

Melrose Abbey

Location: Melrose, The Scottish Borders, Scotland

The Great Abbey Church of St. Mary the Virgin at Melrose was founded in 1136 by David I and was the first Cistercian order established in Scotland. Powerful people had endowed it richly and hallowed few were privileged to be buried there, including King Alexander II and the heart of Robert the Bruce (whose body is buried elsewhere). Only a very small fragment survives of the first abbey church; the present rose-stoned building dates almost entirely to post-1385 rebuilding, after King Richard II’s attacks. Despite it not being the absolute original building, it is still regarded as one of the most magnificent examples of medieval church architecture anywhere in the British isles.

The ornate stone vaulting over the presbyery (including the high altar, monk’s choir and transcepts, and part of the nave) that is still remarkably intact, along with the elegant piers and window tracery hold visitor’s attention. The outside of the abbey is also decorated with the most entertaining sculptures on a medieval church exterior, including depictions of demons, hobgoblins, lute playing angels, cooks with ladies, and the famous bagpip playing pig. The grounds of the abbey also include the Commendator’s House Museum that houses a rich collection of items found in the abbey cloister.

IRELAND

Dublin Castle

Location: Dublin, Ireland

Located in the prestigious city center of Dublin, this castle has been the heart of Irish history for over 800 years. With continuous occupation since it’s establishment in 1204 AD, Dublin Castle stands on the high ridge, the highest ground at the junction of the River Liffey and its now underground tributary, Poodle; these waterways create natural boundaries on two sides of the castle. While it was fortunate that the castle survived the devatation of the 1916 Rebellion, the Civil War that followed, and the transition to Irish nationhood, it still suffered loss of stature and significance for a time, as it was neglected and fell into disrepair. However, all buildings have been restored and it is now been fully integrated into Irish Society.

Dublic Castle has become a major tourist attraction; citizens of all nations savour the variety of facilities and can experience the unique historic layers throughout the building from the Norman Towery to the Chester Beatty Library. The State Apartments are among the most prestigious state rooms in the country and are open for guided tours. Dublin Castle also has an on-going cultural program ranging from art exhibitions to on-site theater performances.

O’Brien’s Tower

Location: Cliffs of Moher, County Clare, Ireland

Standing proudly at the headland of the Cliffs of Moher, O’Brien’s Tower was built by Cornelius O’Brien in 1835 as an observation tower for the hundreds of tourists who visited there; even back then people would flock to the area. Cornelius believed that the development of tourism would benefit the local economy and bring people out of poverty, beliefs that were well ahead of his time. It was said that Cornelius built everything in the area except for the Cliffs themselves. Another version of the tale of O’Brien’s Tower was that it was built by Cornelius to impress the women he was courting .

From this, the highest point of at the Cliffs of Moher, you can see as far as Loop Head at the center tip of Clare and beyond to the mountains of Kerry. To the north, the Twelve Bens (or the Twelve Pins) in Connemara, beyond to Galway Bay are visible, and typically the Aran Islands to the west can are also seen. All of these visible on a clear day, of course.

O’Brien’s Tower and the Cliffs of Moher are located a short distance from the town of Doolin, famous for its traditional music, and the town of Liscannor, famous for slate flagstone used for fencing.

Claddagh Village

Location: Galway city, Ireland

The village of Claddagh contrives its name from the word “claddagh,” meaning “stony shore or beach.”

It is one of the oldest former fishing villages in Ireland, its existence having been recorded since the arrival of Christianity in the 5th century. It was a distinct community with it’s own king, the fishermen sailed a particular type of boat (called a Hooker), and their fish were sold at market in Galway beside the Spanish Arch. Presently, the ceremonial blessing of Galway Bay and it’s fishermen still take place. The village also contains a national school, community center, and a catholic church. The village attracted many visitors in the 19th century, including writers who spread its fame.

Nothing survives of the thatched cottages where the fishermen and their families lived, but it is still a clearly defined area around the Dominican Church of St. Mary on the Hill.

Claddagh village is most famous for the claddagh ring- the traditional design of two clasped hands holding a crowned heart, symbolizing love, friendship, and loyalty. This ring is popular amongst Irish heritage (though not solely in Ireland) as both a friendship and wedding ring.

England

Alnwick Castle

Location: Bailiffgate, Alnwick, Northunberland, England

Nicknamed “The Windsor of the North,” Alnwick Castle is the second largest inhabited castle in England, having been the home to the Duke of Northumberland’s family, the Percys, for over 700 years of drama, intrigue, tragedy, and romance. In the 1000 years that a castle has been recorded at this site, it has featured kingmakers, rebels, a gunpowder-plotter, and passionate collectors, as well as Harry Hotspur, the most famous of all Percys, amongst its history. Situated in Northumberland near the volatile border between England and Scotland, it was built by the Baron of Alnwick, Yves de Vescy, to defend the town against attacks from marauding Scots. The castle fell into decay until Elizabeth Seymour and her husband invested in an extensive restoration, leaving lavish interiors and a defensive exterior. It’s state rooms still contains the personal touches of a family home, and are packed with arts and furniture collected over the years, some of which are open to the public.

Along with areas equipped with medieval games for children, the castle has also been used since 1981

by St. Cloud State University as part of their international study program, as well as the location for films such as the first two Harry Potter films and six others since 1964.

WALES

Castell Dinas Bran

Location: near Llangollen, Denbighshire, Wales

Above Dee Valley and the town of Llangollen in Denbighshire, Wales, sits one of Britain’s most spectacular sites. In the Iron Ages, of which the castle is believed to have originated, the location was an ideal spot to erect a castle- it seemed completely impenetrable, commanded views for miles around, and offerred quick recognition of an approaching visitor. Castell Dinas Bran translates to numerous different names, but they all encompass the concept of “Castle of the City of the Crows.”

It was an intimidating fortress and a splendid mansion where the Princes of Powys Fadog lived, ruled, and entertained important guests, but they only occupied the castle for a short time. Castell Dinas Bran had a short working life that last scarcely two decades from the early 1260s until its burning and abandonment in 1277.

Today, the location is open to public exploration. A summit must be climbed, but this breathtaking challenge demonstrates the reality of medieval life, to help experience the struggle and exhiliration the medieval inhabitants must have felt. The castle can be approached via a path from Llangollen that gradually climbs upward, or from Otha’s Dyke Path, a shorter but steeper slope.

Photos Taken & Book Designed by

Rachel Policano