Tuesday 28th September 1819
Tuesday Sept 28th We dined & took up our abode for the evening at Forfar 52 miles having passed through
the following small towns Stowhaven where Mr Forbes breakfasted with us Lawrenskirk Brechin when the horses were changing we walked to the church at the side of which is an old Pictish towr 103 feet high which is remarkable for being 3 feet out of the perpendicular thence to Forfar the country we passed over was generally flat cultivated & pretty.
OBSERVATIONS & COMMENTS:
Forfar dates back to Roman occupation and was subsequently held by the Picts and the Kingdom of Scotland. It was occupied by the English before being recaptured by the Scots and presented to Robert the Bruce during the Scottish Wars of Independence. Forfar has been both a traditional market town and a major manufacturing centre for linen and jute. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forfar Below, Forfar High Street and old parish church
2009: Forfar High Street with East and Old Parish Church Scotland by Russ Hamer, the copyright holder of this work, and published under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. CC BY-SA 3.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Forfar_East_and_Old_Parish_Church.JPG
For more on the rich history of Forfar read Ken Bruce’s “Spotlight on Forfar, Angus, Scotland” at http://www.monikie.org.uk/forfar-kenbruce.htm
Abode for the evening: It is possible that the family would have stayed at The Stag Inn, Forfar
2009: The Stag Pub, Forfar, Scotland by Russ Hamer, the copyright holder of this work, and published under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. CC BY-SA 3.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Stag_Forfar.JPG
The pub’s website does not acknowledge its age or past history, but a blog by local teacher Ken Bruce informs us that in 1728 the Earl of Strathmore was killed in Forfar outside the Stag Hotel, after a Jacobite argument. He tried to separate his kinsman Lyon of Brigton and Carnegie of Finavon, but was killed in the tussle. This event seems to have cooled the hotheads in Forfar, because very few went off to fight in the ’45. http://www.monikie.org.uk/forfar-kenbruce.htm
Another possibility is the Queens Hotel - see tomorrow’s blog
Stowhaven lies on Scotland's northeast coast.
2007: Stonehaven from the air. Taken from on board a KLM flight to Amsterdam by Taras and published under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. CC BY-SA 3.0 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stonehaven#/media/File:Stonehaven-aerial.jpg
After the demise of the town of Kincardine, which was gradually abandoned after the destruction of its royal castle in the Wars of Independence, the Scottish Parliament made Stonehaven the successor county town of Kincardineshire. Stonehaven had grown around an Iron Age fishing village, now the "Auld Toon" ("old town"), and expanded inland from the seaside. During the Wars of Independence the Scottish Crown Jewels were hidden in Dunnottar Castle. In 1296, King Edward I of England took the castle only for William Wallace to reclaim it in 1297, burning down the church in the process with the entire English garrison still in it. In 1650, Oliver Cromwell sacked the castle to find the Crown Jewels following an eight-month siege (having previously destroyed the English Crown Jewels). However, just before the castle fell, the Crown Jewels were smuggled out by some ladies who took them by boat to a small church just down the coast in the village of Kinneff, where they remained undetected for eleven years. Stonehaven was a Jacobite town and a safe base for the retreating Jacobite army to stay overnight on the night of 5–6 February 1716. In the Forty-Five Stonehaven, part of the Episcopalian north-east, was again ‘reliably Jacobite’ and it was one of the north-eastern ports where reinforcements, plus money and equipment were periodically landed from France. After 1709, when Dunnottar Parish Church was taken over by the Church of Scotland, Episcopalian services were held in the tolbooth until a meeting house was built in the High Street in 1738. Following the failure of the Forty-Five, the Duke of Cumberland ordered the building's demolition. Services were then held in a house in the High Street. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stonehaven
2006: Town Square, Stonehaven, by Taras, the copyright holder of this work, and published it under the under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. CC BY-SA 3.0 https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/58/Stonehaven-Square.jpg
Lawrenskirk is a small town in the historic county of Kincardineshire. Its old name was Conveth, an anglification of the Gaelic Coinmheadh, referring to an obligation to provide free food and board to passing troops. Laurencekirk is in the valley between the Hill of Garvock and the Cairn O' Mount. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laurencekirk
2005: Kinnear Square, Laurencekirk, Aberdeenshire, Great Britain. Showing "Witch's Hat" and original weavers' cottages. Ian Cleland. CC BY-SA 2.0 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laurencekirk#/media/File:Laurencekirk.jpg
Brechin is often described traditionally as a city because of its cathedral and its status as the seat of a pre-Reformation Roman Catholic diocese (which continues today as an episcopal seat of the Scottish Episcopal Church), but this designation is often incorrectly used. Along with the cathedral and round tower, part of the chapel of Brechin's Maison Dieu or hospital survives from the Middle Ages; the Maison Dieu was founded before 1267 by William de Brechin. The Maison Dieu chapel is in the care of Historic Environment Scotland.
circa 1707: Vue de la Ville de Brechin, an engraving from James Beverell's "Les Delices de la Grande Bretagne" published by Pieter van der Aa, Leiden. https://antique-prints-maps.com/acatalog/ref1.php?imagefile=../largeimages/SEBrechinVDA112.jpg
circa 1833: Brechin. A line engraving by G. Cumming after D. McKenzie. https://antique-prints-maps.com/acatalog/ref1.php?imagefile=../largeimages/SEBrechinCumming12.jpg
The town is well known for its cathedral, with eleventh century round tower -see below- (Historic Environment Scotland), one of only two of these Irish-style monuments surviving in Scotland (the other is at Abernethy, Perthshire). The tower was originally free-standing, but is now incorporated in the framework of the cathedral. The cathedral has been much altered, but still contains medieval work of the 13th and 14th centuries, notably a handsome western tower and processional door. In 1695, following the Glorious Revolution, the town's Episcopalians were driven out of Brechin Cathedral which remained under the control of the Church of Scotland. A meeting house was set up in the High Street with a chapel being built in 1743. Following the Jacobite rising of 1745, the chapel's seats and books were destroyed by government forces and the chapel was taken over by a qualified congregation. A new Episcopalian Church, St Andrews Church was built in 1809 and consecrated in June 1811. This was replaced by a new building in 1888. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brechin
Brechin Cathedral dates from the 13th century. Immediately adjoining the cathedral to the southwest stands the Round Tower, built about 1000 A.D. It is 86 ft.(26.21 m) high, has at the base a circumference of 50 ft.(15.3 m) and a diameter of 16 ft.(4.9 m), and is capped with a hexagonal spire of 18 ft.(5.5 m), added in the 14th century. Brechin Cathedral dates from the 13th century. As a congregation of the Church of Scotland, which is Presbyterian, the church is not technically a cathedral, in spite of its name. It is in the Pointed style, but suffered maltreatment in 1806 at the hands of restorers, whose work was subsequently removed during the restoration completed in 1902. The western gable with its flamboyant window, Gothic door and massive square tower, parts of the (much truncated) choir, and the nave pillars and clerestory are all that is left of the original edifice. The modern stained glass in the chancel is reckoned amongst the finest in Scotland. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brechin_Cathedral
1790: Brechin Church & Tower. An engraving by J.N. published by S. Hooper. https://antique-prints-maps.com/acatalog/ref1.php?imagefile=../largeimages/SEBrechinChurchTower.jpg
2006: Brechin Cathedral with Round Tower Behind by Dominic Dawn Harry and Jacob Paterson. This image was taken from the Geograph project collection. The copyright on this image is owned by Dominic Dawn Harry and Jacob Paterson and is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license. CC BY-SA 2.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Brechin_Cathedral_with_Round_Tower_Behind_-_geograph.org.uk_-_111247.jpg
circa 1774: Church & Round Tower at Brechin. An engraving by P. Mazell after Moses Griffiths. https://antique-prints-maps.com/acatalog/ref1.php?imagefile=../largeimages/SEChurchAndTowerBrechin19.jpg
1992: Cathedral and Celtic Round Tower, Brechin by Colin Smith. This image was taken from the Geograph project collection. The copyright on this image is owned by Colin Smith and is licensed for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license. (CC BY-SA 2.0) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Brechin,_Cathedral_and_Round_Tower.jpg
Pictic Tower: Though it’s attached to the cathedral today, the Round Tower predates the rest of the building. Brechin’s religious community probably dates back to at least the reign of Kenneth II (971-5), with the tower likely built a century or two later. The tower was free-standing until 1806, when it became connected to the south-west angle of the cathedral’s nave. Its ornamental carved doorway, 2m above ground level, was the original entrance and was accessed by ladder. The tower is built with massive blocks of irregular sandstone, and probably originally had six storeys with wooden floors. https://www.historicenvironment.scot/visit-a-place/places/brechin-cathedral-round-tower/history/
2006: Door to Brechin Round Tower by Dominic Dawn Harry and Jacob Paterson. This image was taken from the Geograph project collection. The copyright on this image is owned by Dominic Dawn Harry and Jacob Paterson and is licensed for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license. (CC BY-SA 2.0) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Door_to_Brechin_Round_Tower.jpg
The door is 6 feet above ground level, making it harder for attackers as the tower is where the towns folk went with all their valuables. The arch is carved from one stone. The figure at the top is Christ on the cross. The figures on either side are unknown Saints and the doorway is protected by a beast on either side at the bottom. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Door_to_Brechin_Round_Tower.jpg
The quality of the masonry is superior to all but a very few of the Irish examples. Two monuments preserved within the cathedral, the so-called 'Brechin hogback', and a cross-slab, 'St. Mary's Stone' are further rare and important examples of Scottish 11th century stone sculpture. The hogback combines Celtic and Scandinavian motifs, and is the most complex known stone sculpture in the Ringerike style in Scotland.
2009: Brechin Cathedral, Brechin, Angus, Scotland - Hogback by Otter, the copyright holder of this work, published under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported, (CC BY-SA 3.0) 2.5 Generic, (CC BY-SA 2.5) 2.0 Generic (CC BY-SA 2.0) and 1.0 Generic (CC BY-SA 1.0) licenses. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Brechin_Cathedral_20090616_hogback.jpg
The inscribed St Mary's Stone has a circular border round the central motif of the Virgin and Child which echoes that on the Round Tower. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brechin_Cathedral
Can you help us?
Old Regency Prints, Pictures an Coaching maps: Do you have access to any prints or pictures showing what town and country would have looked like when Lucy travelled through? Any illustrations of what she would have seen in 1819 will enliven our research.
New Pictures: Do you have any modern pictures of the streets, buildings, gardens and views that would enable us to see the changes that two centuries have wrought?