Standing Building Recording

Date January 2013 - February 2013

Event ID 993974

Category Recording

Type Standing Building Recording

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/993974

NO 25345 07454 A programme of building recording and analysis was carried out, January–February 2013, during work to rake out cement from the W facade prior to repointing with lime mortar, as part of an ongoing programme of conservation works. Work to the E range identified three distinct phases of activity, which have been dated to the mid-15th to 16th century.

Phase 1 has been assigned to the early history of the castle, which is believed to be of probable 14th-century date, and lies to the immediate N of the palace site.

Phase 2 has been allocated to the early development of the palace following confiscation of the castle by the Crown by the early 15th century. Although existing narratives have focused on the works of James IV and James V in the late 15th and early 16th century, evidence has been identified which suggests that significant work to the palace was undertaken by James II, and later by his queen, Marie of Gueldres, including elements of the E range. In particular, documents survive to suggest that a long gallery was in existence by 1461; fabric of the E range suggests that it would have been located on the first floor, and provided a link between the hall to the N and the royal apartments in the S range. In 1461 two rooms were built in the gallery, in addition to the creation of a new chamber for the queen with a door leading to a pleasure garden below.

Phase 3 saw some internal alteration to the E range, creating additional apartments within the formerly open part of the gallery. However, the main focus of James IV’s work at Falkland appears to have been the reconstruction of the S range, incorporating the original rectangular gatehouse, with the creation of a chapel, and alterations to the E range. The key alterations to the E range appear to have been undertaken at the S end of the gallery perhaps as far north as the cross house where an E–W wall divided the apartments off from the remaining section of the open gallery. Fireplaces in the W wall at the S end of the gallery appear to date from the early 16th century.

James V’s work at Falkland Palace appears to have fallen into three campaigns. The reworking of the E rang is likely to have been completed around 1536; the alterations and additions to the S range were probably completed around 1539 and, finally, alterations and heightening of the gatehouse undertaken by 1541. The main works to the E range consisted of the insertion of buttresses onto the W elevation, the re-cutting of window and door openings, and some new insertions, to create a more regular facade. A series of small rectangular openings on the second floor were blocked and replaced with larger dormer windows. The former long gallery was converted into apartments, and on the E side of the building the whole range was thickened by the addition of a replacement gallery to overlook the gardens below. The inscriptions provided on the W elevation buttresses suggest that the works were completed around 1536. Externally the S range was altered by the addition of a stone gallery along its N side and some reworking of the parapet on the S elevation.

The impact of the restoration work in the 1890s and those areas of the range which were not subject to such intensive work are now extremely important, as they are the only parts of the building retaining archaeological evidence. It is clear that the development of the E range has a longer and more complex history than previously recognised.

Archive: RCAHMS. Report: The National Trust for Scotland

Funder: The National Trust for Scotland

Jonathan Clark, FAS Heritage, 2013

(Source: DES)