Summer Vacation - Day 7

We set off to the city of Stirling today to visit Stirling Castle – the favorite residence of the kings of Scotland. The city had a distinctive medieval feel to it and I mentally marked it as a place to return to one day for further exploration. The castle was small but boasted an impressive Great Hall with a restored hammer beam ceiling. Unfortunately the building which contained the royal apartments was closed for renovations but the chapel where the infant James, (later to become King James I of England upon the death of Queen Elizabeth I), son of Mary Queen of Scots and Lord Darnley was formally invested as King James VI of Scotland when his mother was forced to abdicate by the Protestant barons who held the real power during her time attempting to rule as a Catholic monarch.
The most enjoyable part of our visit was the tour of Argylle House which was down at the bottom of the hill from the castle. Our tour guide was a jolly and very interesting man who surprisingly encouraged the tourists to touch and handle any and all of the artifacts within the house – even insisting that we take turns lying down on the very bed of the Earl of Argylle. This type of behavior would have been notably discouraged in the royal houses of Europe but it really enhanced the visit.

"Standing almost opposite Stirling Castle, Argyll’s Lodging dates from a period when living as close to the monarch as possible increased your social status.
Originally a two-storey, mid-16th‑century tower house, the building’s stately appearance today is the result of work by Sir William Alexander – Charles I’s secretary for Scotland – and Archibald Campbell, Earl of Argyll. Anticipating the King’s visit to Scotland for his coronation, Alexander expanded the house in 1630 and was made earl of Stirling for his efforts. It was bought by Argyll in the 1660s and enlarged again with many of the rooms and furnishings visible today dating from then.
The ground floor comprises a relatively spartan set of rooms, primarily used by servants and where visitors would have waited to ascend the magnificent staircase when visiting the Earl. Upstairs the high dining room is entered by a door with the initials AA above it (for Archibald and his second wife Anna) and still has some of the original painted columns on the walls, dating from 1675.
Beyond lies the drawing room, lady’s closet and the bedchamber, done out in sumptuous purple and where the Earl and his wife would have received special guests. The house remained a family home until around 1800 when it became a military hospital. Historic Scotland took over the building in 1996 and has since restored much of its splendour.
Don’t miss: The en-suite toilet with padded seat just off the bedchamber."
http://www.bbchistorymagazine.com/visit/argylls-lodging-stirling

On our return to Melrose, we detoured to visit the farm of Greenwells where our ancestor James Vair had worked as a gardener. Upon our arrival, my first instinct was to knock on the front door and offer explanation of our intent and obtain permission to wander around. Cousin Dale obviously saw no need for such a courtesy despite my protestations of trespass – my West Virginian father-in-law’s reluctance of trespass kept ringing in my head and thankfully the woman of Greenwells noted our presence and came out to discover our intent. Phew…what a relief as I was very uncomfortable trespassing!
While the stone residence of Greenwells was most likely not the building where our ancestors lived, we did locate a rather old building which Dale promptly assumed was where our gardener ancestors resided. I hated to burst his enthusiastic presumptions, but there was no evidence of a hearth or chimney in the structure. It was obviously quite old but it appeared to me to be a barn – not a house! I kept my observations to myself so as not to spoil Dale’s sense of discovery!