South facade of castle, view of stair from South. Digital image of D 47013/cn

Description South facade of castle, view of stair from South. Digital image of D 47013/cn

Date 26/4/1999

Collection Records of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS), Edinbu

Catalogue Number SC 764721

Category On-line Digital Images

Copy of D 47013 CN

Scope and Content Stairs to the Garden, South Front, Drumlanrig Castle, Dumfries & Galloway This magnificent double stair was built to lead from the 1st Duke's suite of rooms on the first floor to the garden. At its head is a Roman Doric doorpiece with a semicircular open pediment bearing the Queensberry Arms. The stair has an elaborate 17th-century wrought-iron balustrade richly decorated with roses, thistles and tulips, and is probably by William Baine or William Gairdner, two smiths who were employed in 1684 during the construction of the house. The centrepiece, by James Horn of Kirkcaldy c.1680, incorporates the Douglas emblem of a winged heart and the coroneted monogram of the 1st Duke of Queensberry. The landing, which provides a fine viewing platform over the terrace and gardens below, is supported by Tuscan columns and forms a garden pavilion beneath. The Douglas emblem appears everywhere at Drumlanrig - in stone, lead, iron, wood, leather and carpeting. Its origins are founded in the story of Sir James Douglas, 'The Good' or 'Black' Douglas who was one of the foremost supporters of Robert Bruce, King of Scots in the early 14th century. When Bruce died in 1329 before going on crusade to the Holy Land, Sir James was entrusted to carry the king's heart to Jerusalem for burial. Douglas, unfortunately, was mortally wounded in Spain, but before he died is said to have hurled the royal heart, contained in a silver casket, before him with the epic cry 'Forward, brave heart!'. From that time the Douglas motto became 'Forward' and the family emblem, a winged heart surmounted by Bruce's crown. Drumlanrig Castle, one of the great Renaissance courtyard houses of Scottish domestic architecture, was built between 1679 and 1690 for William Douglas, 1st Duke of Queensberry, incorporating part of a mid-16th-century house and the remains of a late 14th-century Douglas stronghold which originally stood on the site. The architect was almost certainly James Smith who had worked on the construction of Holyrood Palace, Edinburgh, and the builder was William Lukup who is buried in Durisdeer churchyard nearby. Source: RCAHMS contribution to SCRAN.

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/collection/764721

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