Scone Palace, Scotland (2015)

 

Scone Palace is written by the Scottish author Jamie Jauncey (born 1949) and published by Jarrold Publishing, a division of Hudson’s Media Ltd. It is a useful guidebook to an old and famous castle located beside the River Tay, just north of Perth, in Scotland. This review is based on the latest edition published in 2015.

[Please note: the name of the place is pronounced /sku:n/. It rhymes with “moon” and “soon.” It does not rhyme with “stone” and “bone.”]

The book is divided into three sections:

** Section one is about the history of Scone. The Palace and the family that has owned it for centuries are presented with text and illustrations.

** Section two is a tour the castle. Eleven rooms which are open to the public are presented with text and illustrations.

** Section three is about the grounds surrounding the palace. The major features of the grounds are presented with text and illustrations.

This slim volume is published in a large format (21 x 29.5 cm, i.e. the same as an A-4 page). It is well-written, well-organised, and well-illustrated. It is a quick read. It is also a good read, although there are a few minor flaws here and there, as I shall demonstrate below.

THE HISTORY OF THE PALACE

Scone plays an important role in the history of Scotland. It is the place where Scottish kings were crowned. In 1600 the family who owned the place was disgraced for an alleged conspiracy against James VI. As the author explains on page 5:

“Scone was taken from the Gowries and given to the king’s cup-bearer Sir David Murray of Gospetrie, as reward for his timely intervention in the affair. So Scone passed into the hands of the great family from which the Earls of Mansfield are descended.”

In the beginning of the nineteenth century, the third Earl of Mansfield decided to rebuild the medieval house as a gothic castle. During this long and expensive operation, Scone Palace was given the look it still has today.

Why visit Scone Palace? There are several reasons to come: # 1. Because of the art, architecture, and history that is connected with the place. # 2. Because of the people who lived here and the people who came to visit. # 3. Perhaps you want to take part in one of the many festivals that are celebrated here. # 4. Perhaps you simply want to relax and enjoy the beautiful surroundings.

William Murray, who later became the first Earl of Mansfield, was born here in 1705. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert visited in 1842. These are just two examples of important persons who are connected with this place.

MINOR FLAWS

As stated above, this is a useful guidebook to Scone Palace. Unfortunately, there are some minor flaws (I hope they will be corrected in the next edition of the book):

# 1. The third Earl of Mansfield decided to transform the medieval house into a gothic castle. For this project he hired the Scottish architect William Atkinson (1774/75-1839). When did the work begin and how long did it last? Three times we are told it began in 1803 (pp. 5, 9 and 15). On page 15 we are also told it took nine years and cost £ 60,000. But on page 11 the author says the work began in 1802. A website about Scottish architects confirms the time frame 1803-1812. The year 1802 that is mentioned on page 11 must be a misprint.

# 2. On page 10, Jauncey writes:

 

“The fifth Viscount Stormont … played host to the Old Pretender for three weeks at Scone in 1760, for which he was later fined and jailed along with his son David, the sixth Viscount.”

The year 1760 cannot be true, because the fifth Viscount died in 1731. The Old Pretender was in Scotland from 22 December 1715 until 5 February 1716 (in connection with the first Jacobite Rising). That is why I think the year 1760 must be a misprint for 1716.

# 3. The text about David continues on page 10:

 

“His younger brother James, meanwhile, had become one of the Young Pretender’s closest advisers in exile, being created Earl of Dunbar in 1721.”

James was indeed created Earl of Dunbar in 1721, but not by the Young Pretender, Charles Edward Stuart, who was born in 1720. The title was given by the Old Pretender, James Edward Stuart, who was born in 1688.

# 4. The Ambassador’s Room is presented on page 31. One of the items in this room is the famous painting of Lady Elizabeth and her cousin Dido Elizabeth Belle. According to the text and the caption, this painting is the work of Zoffany.

Previously, this painting was attributed to the German painter Johann Zoffany, but this idea has now been rejected. Perhaps it is the work of the Scottish painter David Martin who did a large painting of William Murray, the first Earl of Mansfield, around 1775 (a small version of this painting appears on page 29).

The painting of Elizabeth and Dido inspired an historical movie Belle which premiered at an international film festival in 2013; it was shown in theatres and released on DVD in 2014. This movie could and should have been mentioned in the latest version of the guidebook from 2015.

** The famous painting of Dido and Elizabeth.**

# 5. The Inner Hall is presented on page 32. One of the items in this room is an unusual clock which is described with the following words:

“One very unusual clock, made by Thomire of Paris, shows Father Time holding up a celestial globe on his right shoulder and a scythe in his left hand. The movement of Moinet is contained withing the globe.”

Two artists are mentioned here, but the author only provides their last names:

** Pierre-Philippe Thomire, 1751-1843

** Louis Moinet, 1768-1853

Thomire was a sculptor. Therefore it is unfortunate to say that the clock was “made” by him. It is more accurate to say that the item was designed by him. The clock within the globe was made by Moinet. In the last sentence, one word is missing. In addition, one word is misspelled. The last sentence should read:

“The movement of Moinet’s clock is contained within the globe.”

When I type the word “withing” on my computer, a red line appears under the word to tell me that something is wrong. Did Jauncey type his manuscript on a typewriter? Hardly. It seems the author and the book-editor ignored the warning about the misspelled word that the computer program must have given them.

# 6. The Douglas fir is named after David Douglas, who was born in the village of Scone and served as a gardener at Scone Palace for several years before crossing the Atlantic Ocean to explore North America and Hawaii where he died. On page 48 we are told he died in a terrible accident. The author says: “He was only 36 years old.” This cannot be true, since he was born in 1799 and died in 1834, as stated in the caption below his portrait. He was only 35 years old when he died. How can the author make a mistake like this? And how can the book-editor fail to see it and correct it?

# 7. The intriguing events surrounding the Stone of Scone are presented in the first section of the book. The stone is connected with the crowning of Scottish kings, but nobody knows how old it is or where it is from. It is probably more than one thousand years old. The author explains on page 6:

“In 1296 Edward I marched north and removed what he believed to be the Stone to Westminster… And there it remained for the next 700 years [except for] a brief but sensational disappearance in 1950, when a group of Scottish Nationalist students broke into Westminster Abbey on Christmas Day and spirited it back to Scotland. But after a couple of weeks it was returned to Westminster where it stayed until finally being brought to rest in Edinburgh Castle in 1996.”

On page 7 the author adds that the students left it “to be found by police at Arbroath Abbey in January 1951.”

Some of the dates mentioned in this report are true, but not all. The stone was found at Arbroath Abbey in April 1951 (not in January 1951) and was returned to Westminster Abbey in February 1952 (not a few weeks after the removal in December 1950).

The four young students are not named by Jauncey. Here are the names:

** Ian Hamilton (1925-2022)

** Gavin Vernon (1926-2004)

** Alan Stuart (1930-2019)

** Kay Matheson (1928-2013)

Ian Hamilton, who was the driving force behind the operation, wrote a book about the case. It was published in 1952 under the title No Stone Unturned. A second version appeared in 1992 under the title The Taking of the Stone of Destiny. A third version was published in 2008 with the title Stone of Destiny.

The third edition of the book was a tie-in with the movie about the case: Stone of Destiny (shown in theatres in 2008, released on DVD in 2009).

Neither Hamilton’s book nor the movie from 2008 is mentioned by Jauncey. I think it is a shame they are not mentioned.

# 8. Most of the text is written in the third person, but there are two notable exceptions: the introduction on page 1 - “Welcome to Scone Palace” - is written in the first person. It is nice to be welcomed by a personal message from the owner of the palace, but I think the message should be signed by the person who bids us welcome: the Earl of Mansfield. Why is there no signature at the end of the message?

The epilogue on the last page - “Our Valued Visitors” - is also written in the first person. Once again the name of the author is missing. When we have a personal message, I think it should end with the name of the person who wrote it.

All chapters between introduction and epilogue are written in the third person, as they should be, because the book is written by Jamie Jauncey. However, there is a slip-up on page 5 where the text says:

 

“HRH Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales visited in 2010 and we were honoured by Her Majesty the Queen accompanied by HRH the Duke of Edinburgh during her Diamond jubilee year in 2011.”

The word “we” does not belong in this context. The proper wording would be something like: “… the Murray family was honoured…”

CONCLUSION

Who is the target audience of this book? I can think of two or three groups. If you are planning a visit to Scone Palace, this book is a useful tool to prepare your visit. If you have already been there, this book will be a wonderful souvenir of your visit.

Perhaps you are an armchair traveller. If you are interested in the history of the modern world, in particular the history of art and architecture, I am sure you will enjoy this slim volume about Scone Palace in Scotland.

PS # 1. Lady Elizabeth and Dido were raised by Lord and Lady Mansfield at Kenwood House in Hampstead, just north of London. For information about this place, see the following item:

 

Kenwood: 

The Iveagh Bequest 

by Laura Houliston and Susan Jenkins 

(English Heritage, 2014)

PS # 2. For information about William Murray, the first Earl of Mansfield, see the following item:

 

Lord Mansfield: 

Justice in the Age of Reason 

by Norman Poser 

(2013) (2015)

 

PS # 3. For details about the Stone of Destiny, see the following item: 

 

Steven Brocklehurst, 

"The students who stole the Stone of Destiny," 

BBC News, 

6 October 2022

*****

Jamie Jauncey,

Scone Palace,

Jarrold Publishing, 2015, 56 pages

 

*****