Glamis Castle is situated beside the village of Glamis (, ) in Angus, Scotland. It is the home of the Earl 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 Castle was the childhood home of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. Her second daughter, Princess Margaret was born there on 21 August 1930.

The castle is protected as a category A listed building,

Setting

Glamis is set in the broad and fertile lowland valley of Strathmore, in Forfar, county town of Angus, which lies between the Sidlaw Hills to the south and the Grampian Mountains to the north, approximately inland from the North Sea. The estate surrounding the castle covers more than 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.

History

thumb|A lithograph of Glamis Castle, created between 1847 and 1854

thumb|Glamis Castle in the snow, circa 1880

thumb|Portal. Royal Coat of Arms

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.

thumb|Lion sculptures of The Great Sundial on the front lawn

thumb|Rosa 'Glamis Castle', a rose was named after Glamis Castle by the English rosegrower [[David C.H. Austin|David Austin ]]

thumb|Sitting room or family room at Glamis.

In 1034, Malcolm II was murdered at Glamis, where there was a Royal Hunting Lodge.

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 traditional Scottish style of the architecture. Several interiors, including the Dining Room, also date from the 18th and 19th centuries. On 26 April 1923 she married Prince Albert, Duke of York, second son of George V, at Westminster Abbey. Their second daughter, Princess Margaret, was born at Glamis Castle in 1930. Glamis is currently the home of Simon Bowes-Lyon, 19th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne, who succeeded to the earldom in 2016.

Statuary

thumb|Statue of King Charles I, Glamis

In the 17th century four "brazen" statues were placed on the approach avenue: Charles I in boots; James VI in a stole; Charles II in Roman dress; and James VII as in his Whitehall portrait. The first two were sculpted by Arnold Quellin.

Legends and tales

The Monster of Glamis

The most famous legend connected with the castle is that of the Monster of Glamis, a hideously deformed child born to the family. Some accounts came from singer and composer Virginia Gabriel, who stayed at the castle in 1870. In the story, the monster was kept in the castle all his life and his suite of rooms bricked up after his death. Another monster is supposed to have dwelt in Loch Calder near the castle.

An alternative version of the legend is that to every generation of the family a vampire child is born and is walled up in that room.

The 1728 Finhaven Trial

A prominent full-length portrait of Charles Lyon, 6th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne, hangs in the drawing room of Glamis Castle. The portrait serves as a visual link to a landmark moment in Scottish legal history. On 9 May 1728, following a funeral in Forfar, the 6th Earl was accidentally killed by James Carnegie of Finhaven while attempting to intervene in a physical altercation. Earlier that evening, John Lyon of Brigton had behaved rudely and physically pinched the arm of the Earls aunt, who was also in fact, Finhaven's sister, Lady Margaret Auchterhouse, at her home.

After leaving the house, Brigton—who had verbally harassed Finhaven throughout the day—physically shoved him into a two-foot-deep kennel (an open sewer) on Castle Street. Enraged and humiliated, Finhaven drew his sword to retaliate against Brigton, but accidentally ran through the 6th Earl, who had stepped between the two men to pacify the situation. Defended by Robert Dundas of Arniston, the Elder, the subsequent trial resulted in a "Not Guilty" verdict. This precedent-setting case fundamentally transformed Scots law by firmly establishing the right of Scottish juries to judge the entire case—including intent—rather than just the physical facts of an incident. 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.

Other traditions

According to the official website for Glamis Castle, in 1034, Malcolm II was mortally wounded in a nearby battle and taken to a Royal Hunting Lodge, which sat at the site of the present castle, where he died.

Description

The towers in front of the castle each measure in diameter and are about high, each having a modern parapet. The walls are thick.

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 "White Lady" (supposedly a ghost which inhabits the castle), thought to be Janet Douglas, Lady Glamis. According to the guides, the chapel is still used regularly for family functions, but no one is allowed to sit in that seat.

Archives

The clock tower houses the castle's archives which include a wide range of historical material relating to the castle and the Bowes and Lyon families. These include a papal bull and the memoirs of Mary Eleanor Bowes. The Glamis archives have a close connection with the archives at the University of Dundee, and researchers who wish to consult material held in the Glamis Castle Archive do so in the search room at the university.

In the British children's television series Thomas & Friends, Lord Callan's castle is based on Glamis Castle.

The cover design and story of the 1982 Yoko Tsuno album La Proie et l'ombre, by Roger Leloup, prominently features the fictional "Loch Castle", which is drawn as being near-identical to Glamis Castle.

In Star Trek The Next Generation, season 7 episode 14, "Sub Rosa", Glamis Castle is mentioned by the planet's Governor.

See also

  • List of places in Angus

References

  • Ghosts and Hauntings in Glamis Castle, Mysterious Britain
  • The Monster of Glamis , article by Mike Dash