Accessibility

Font Size

100% 150% 200%

Background Colour

Default Contrast
Close Reset

Publication Account

Date 1987

Event ID 1016862

Category Descriptive Accounts

Type Publication Account

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/1016862

The present Palace of Falkland was erected by the Stuarts as a royal hunting seat and was the product of two main building programmes, the first extending from about 1500 to 1513 and the second from 1537 to 1541. The property had been forfeited to the Crown by the Earl of Atholl in 1437 and the existing quadrangle may have replaced an earlier steading. The former Castle of Falkland which stood to the north of the quadrangle was abandoned as the new buildings were completed. The date of its final destruction is not known but it had been erected between 1337, when the earlier castle was levelled by English invaders, and 1401, when the replacement was first mentioned. The excavated ruins of this building date from the 13th century. A 17th century house was erected on this site but has now entirely disappeared.

Only the south quarter of the quadrangle remains intact, but a substantial fragment also survives of the east quarter, which contained the royal lodgings. The courtyard facades, with their buttresses modelled as classical columns and incorporating medallion busts, are attributed to two French master masons, Nicholas Roy and Moses Martin. Their work contrasts sharply with the gatehouse, constructed under the direction of a mason who had previously worked at Holyroodhouse, Edinburgh.

The 'catchpole' or Royal Tennis Court adjoins the stable towards the north end of the palace grounds. The Falkland court is unique, being the only surviving 'jeu quarre' court in the world. It was built in 1539 for James V and is still in regular use. There were originally two types of court in France, where the game originated: the 'jeu quarre' and the 'jeu a dedans'.All the surviving courts, apart from Falkland, are Jeu a dedans' courts. The 'jeu quarre' court has penthouses on only two sides, rather than three, and four window like apertures in the wall at the service end. The game was originally played in monastery courtyards without rackets, and rackets had still to be invented when the Falkland court was built. It is one of the most difficult ball games and has been likened to chess in its subtleties and complexities. There is an active playing group still associated with the court.

There are many fine 17th and 18th century houses to be seen in the Burgh of Falkland, one of the most interesting being Moncrief House, opposite the Palace and dating from 1610. This two-and-a-halfstorey townhouse retains a thatched roof but has lost a row of wallhead dormer windows, the remains of which can be seen at the eaves.

The collection in the Falkland Palace museum includes two fragments of Pictish symbol stones (see chapter 8), both found when part of the steading at Westfleld Farm (NO 238073) was demolished in 1971. Each has been cut into a rectangular block in modem times, and the small square follows are also modem. One stone has a sharply incised double disc symbol and the so-called 'mirror-case' symbol, while the other shows part of a circular design and the symbol known as the 'notched rectangle'. There are also three prehistoric carved stones (see no. 90 and chapter 10).

Information from ‘Exploring Scotland’s Heritage: Fife and Tayside’, (1987).

People and Organisations

References