The first place we went to look at was St Margaret's Chapel which was built in 1130 and is the oldest building in Edinburgh. Margaret was born around 1045 into the Royal family of England. After the Norman invasion of 1066 she fled to the court of Malcolm III of Scotland where they soon fell in love and were married. In 1093 Malcolm and his eldest son Edward were killed in an ambush. Margaret on hearing the news took to her bed in Edinburgh castle and died of a broken heart...how sad! Her youngest son King David I built the chapel and in 1250 Margaret was canonised as St Margaret of Scotland for her many acts of piety and charity in her adopted country. The chapel is very small and it had some lovely stained glass windows, one of which was St Ninian...my Grandad's name. Because my Uncle Rick was in the Royal Scots Guards he and aunty Marti could have got married in this chapel...they didn't though because it is so small.
Just outside the chapel is Mons Meg, one of the worlds's oldest cannons. It is one of two giant siege guns given to James II of Scotland in 1457. It was built at Mons in Belgium and weighs 6000kg and fired 150kg stone cannonballs!
Then we went to look in the Scottish National War Memorial which is a memorial for the Scots who died in both World Wars and later campaigns. It is on the site of St Mary's church which was built in medeival times. It was converted to a munitions house in 1540 and later demolished in 1755 to make way for a new barracks, which is the shell of the building today. Inside the building are vivid stained-glass windows and bronze friezes which show scenes from the war.
By this time it was ten to one and almost time for the one o'clock gun. The One o'clock gun has been fired almost everyday since 1861 when it was a time signal for the ships in the Firth of Forth and the port of Leith. The gun was originally a 64-pounder cannon mounted on the Half-Moon Battery. It is now a 105mm field gun, fired manually by the District Gunner from the Mills Mount Battery. Although I was ready for it I still jumped out of my skin when it went off! I did manage to capture the puff of smoke on camera though which I was happy about.
We then went back to see the Great Hall which was commissioned by James IV and completed in 1511. The greatest state occasion held here was a banquet in honour of Charles I, the night before his coronation as King of Scots in June 1633. Oliver Cromwell turned the Great Hall into a barracks in 1650 because he was determined to wipe out any trace of royalty. It was restored in the 1880's during the reign of Queen Victoria. There are amazing displays of armour in the Great Hall and some very large swords that I can only imagine would be very heavy to weild!
Then it was off to see a wonderful display of the Crown Jewels of Scotland. These precious symbols of the ancient kingdom are displayed in the Crown Room of the castle's Royal Palace. Before you see the crown, septre and sword you get to see models and displays which show the history of the line of Kings and Queens of Scotland. The sceptre was presented to James IV in 1494, they think by Pope Alexander VI and the Sword in 1508 by Pope Julius II. The crown was made in Edinburgh in 1540 when the gold from the old crown was melted down and more Scottish gold and precious gemstones were added. The crown was worn for the first time by James V at the coronation of his second queen, Marie de Guise. The crown, sceptre and sword were first used together at the coronation of Mary Queen of Scots in Stirling Castle on 9 September 1543...she was 9 months old at the time and cried throughout the ceremony. The honours have been buried three times to protect them, twice in the 1650's to hide them from Oliver Cromwell and then during the Second World War in case of a Nazi invasion.
We then saw the part of the Royal Palace where Scotland's kings and queens lived although it was not very comfortable and the royal family actually preferred Holyrood Abbey at the other end of the Royal Mile. Mary Queen of Scots gave birth to her only child, James, in June 1566 here. He was born in a cramped closet next to Mary's bedchamber. James later became King James VI of Scotland and King James I of England in 1603. We then went to the shop...and I found a Mary Queen of Scots Christmas decoration...and a thistle...and a highland dancer!
Next we went to see the Prisoner of War exhibit and it was excellent. Over the centuries Edinburgh Castle was used to hold state prisoners but in medieval times it did also hold common criminals who were thrown into dungeons beneath the castle. These criminals included enemy soldiers, sailors, pirates, traitors and women accused of witchcraft. During the 16th century Public executions - hanging, beheading, burning- of many of these people were carried out on Castle Hill. We also saw where foreign prisoners of war were kept at the Castle during the Seven Years War (1756-63), the Napoleonic Wars (1803-15) and the American War of Independence (1775-83). Some of these prisoners were very creative and the exhibition displayed some of their work which included a scale model of a warship, forged banknotes and some amazing jewel boxes made of woven straw. We also saw some very old wooden doors where many prisoners had carved their names and pictures...something like the carvings in the Tower of London. We then went and got coffee, tea and cake in one of the Cafes.
Revitalised, we then went and looked through the National War Museum which explores more than 400 years of Scottish military history. There is a great displays of weapons and regalia as well as many personal possessions and letters sent home by Scottish soldiers serving overseas. I was able to learn a little more about The Royal Scots too...my Uncles regiment...the oldest Infantry Regiment of the Line which was formed in 1633 when Sir John Hepburn under a Royal Warrant given by King Charles I raised a body of men in Scotland for service in France.
Time seemed to fly by today and before we knew it it was getting dark, so we headed for the bus and home. Tonight I also managed to get some Christmas cards written! Another great day in beautiful Edinburgh!
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