Ancient Spanish Chestnut Tree Balmerino Abbey North Fife Scotland
Tour Scotland video of the Ancient Spanish Chestnut Tree in the grounds of Balmerino Abbey in North Fife. The Spanish Chestnut tree here is one of the oldest of its kind in the United Kingdom, being 500 year old
SPIRITVOX DUNDEE & OTHER REALM PARANORMAL AT BALMERINO ABBEY PART (1)
two teams united together as one big family
In 1229, Queen Ermengarde, the widow of William the Lion and mother of Alexander II, invited the Cistercians at Melrose Abbey to set up a daughter-house at Balmerino. She chose this location close to the North Fife coast because of its benign climate and perhaps because of its existing religious connections.
Night Stair
Night Stair
Chapter House Vaulting
Chapter House Vaulting
The Cellar of the Abbot's House
The Cellar of the Abbot's House
Waste Not, Want Not: Recycled Stonework
Waste Not, Want Not:
Recycled Stonework
At the time the settlement here was known as Balmerinach, or St Merinac's Place: named after one of the monks who accompanied St Regulus (or St Rule) when he brought the bones of St Andrew to Scotland many centuries earlier. It is tempting to suggest that Balmerino Abbey may have been founded on a site first chosen for a chapel as long as 800 years earlier by St Merinac.
Alexander II granted the abbey a founding charter in 1231, and on her death in 1233, Queen Ermingarde was buried in front of the high altar, suggesting that by then work had progressed reasonably well on the choir of the abbey church, usually the first part of any abbey to be built.
Building work was still under way in 1286 and the abbey was presumably completed at the end of the 1200s or early in the 1300s. In plan, Balmerino Abbey was unusual (like its mother house, Melrose Abbey) in having a cloister to the north of the abbey church. It was more usual in Scotland's northern latitudes to build the cloister on the south side, out of the shadow of the church.
Balmerino Abbey was attacked and burned by an English Army under the Earl of Hertford in 1547, but swiftly repaired. More serious damage was done by the Reformation's mobs in 1560 (see our Historical Timeline). The usual pattern of rapid decline followed, and in 1605 the estates were granted to Sir James Elphinstone, First Lord Balmerino.
Cross on Site of High Altar
Cross on Site of High Altar
Queen Ermengarde's Spanish Chestnut
Queen Ermengarde's Spanish Chestnut
Balmerino Abbey suffered more than most in the years following the Reformation and not much of it remains today. The main standing structures are the walls and vaulting of the sacristy, chapter house and parlour, together with parts of the lower walls of the north transept of the abbey church. The site of the altar and Queen Ermengarde's (later desecrated) grave are marked by a large wooden cross.
Parts of the north wall of the nave of the abbey church still stand to a few feet high, and on the far side of the site an ivy covered mound complete with gloomy opening leading into a vaulted cellar is all that is left of the abbot's house. Most of the abbey ruin is in a dangerous condition as shown by the wooden props holding up various parts of the structure, and the main part is fenced off for the safety of visitors. Work is under way to return the sacristy to a safe condition.
What became of the structure of the rest of the abbey? You don't have to look very far for clues. The window of a farm building overlooking the chapter house incorporates a mix-and-match of stonework from the abbey: see photo, right. None of it quite fits and the window is topped off with what looks like it was originally a piscina, the basin for washing communion vessels, probably originally located in a side wall of the choir near the altar.
Not far from the site of the abbot's house is a vast and extremely ancient Spanish Chestnut tree. This is traditionally believed to have been planted by Queen Ermengarde in 1229 to mark the foundation of the abbey. A nearby sign says that analysis by the National Trust for Scotland suggests that the tree is at most 500 years old. But why let the absence of a few tree rings get in the way of a wonderful story? And if nothing else, it's nice to think that this magnificent tree was very probably standing here when the abbey was a thriving concern and well before the English Army or the Reformation got to it.
Balmerino Abbey's Ancient Sweet Chestnut Tree
Possibly planted by Mary Queen of Scots at Balmerino Abbey in 1565 this Sweet or Spanish Chestnut is known to be around 450 years old. The species was probably introduced by the Romans. The site has a mild climate as it sits near the Forth of Tay in Fife.
Balmerino 4k
Flying along beach with DJI Phantom 4
Old Photographs Of Balmerino Fife Scotland
Tour Scotland wee video of old photographs of Balmerino, Scottish Gaelic: Baile Mearna, meaning settlement of St Mearnaig, a small farming village and former monastic centre by the estuary of the River Tay in Fife. It is the home of Balmerino Abbey and the former abbots of Balmerino who were great regional landlords. It became a secular lordship at the beginning of the 17th century and fell into ruin
Balmerino Churchyard Scotland
Balmerino Churchyard, Fife, Scotland, is located at Kirkton of Balmerino, by the River Tay. Some interesting gravestones, and many of the Wedderburn family are buried here.
Shipmaster Gravestone Kirkton Of Balmerino Fife Scotland
Tour Scotland video of the John Nicoll, Shipmaster Gravestone, in Kirkton of Balmerino Cemetery in North Fife. Late shipmaster in Dundee who departed this life on 19th July, 1819, aged 21 years. Also their daughter Margaret. This stone was erected by William Taylor and Catherine Nicoll, his spouse, in memory of their children
Fife Cycle loop - Start and End Tay Road Bridge
This is one of my regular cycle routes around Fife, taking in Newport on Tay, Wormit, Bottomcraig and Balmerino, Gauldry, Kilmany, Logie, Balmullo, Leuchars, Guardbridge, St. Andrews, back to Leuchars, Tentsmuir Forest and Tayport.
There are a few steep climbs (slow ones if you're on knobbly 2.3 tyres!), including one up a rutted, grassy track. You can shorten the loop by about 14 miles by heading straight into Gauldry from Wormit and cutting out St. Andrews, and you can easily add another 10 - 15 miles by exploring some of the trails in Tentsmuir.
I got caught out with a bit of chain suck just outside Balmerino, which you'll hear on the soundtrack, and I had a bit of a cold, so apologies for the occasional cough and the continual sniffing.
Broughty Ferry Castle (Dundee, Scotland) - DJI Phantom 3 Drone Flight
Broughty Castle is a historic castle on the banks of the river Tay in Broughty Ferry, Dundee, Scotland. It was completed around 1495, although the site was earlier fortified in 1454 when George Douglas, 4th Earl of Angus received permission to build on the site. His son Archibald Douglas, 5th Earl of Angus was coerced into ceding the castle to the crown. The main tower house forming the centre of the castle with four floors was built by Andrew, 2nd Lord Gray who was granted the castle in 1490.
The castle saw military action during the 16th-century War of the Rough Wooing. After the battle of Pinkie in September 1547 it was surrendered by purchase to the English by its owner, Lord Gray of Foulis. A messenger from the castle, Rinyon (Ninian) Cockburn, who spoke to the English supreme commander the Duke of Somerset before the castle was rendered was given a £4 reward. The Scottish keeper, Henry Durham, was rewarded with an English pension, income from the fishing, and an import/export licence. Durham later lent the English commander £138. William Patten, the English writer who accompanied Somerset, noted the castle's strategic importance.
The Earl of Argyll tried to capture the castle on 22 November 1547 and again in January 1548 with 150 men led by the soldier Duncan Dundas, without success. Thomas Wyndham brought two more ships in December 1547 and burnt Balmerino Abbey on Christmas Day. On 12 January 1548, one hundred matchlock guns were delivered from Berwick, with powder flasks, matches, touch-boxes, and bullet moulds.
Military and modern use
In 1846 the castle was bought by the Edinburgh and Northern Railway Company in order to build an adjacent harbour for their railway ferry. In 1855 the castle was acquired by the War Office with the intention of using it to defend the harbour from the Russians. In 1860 renewed fears of a French invasion led the War Office to rebuild and fortify the site. The site was rebuilt according to the designs of Robert Rowand Anderson. The walls of the main courtyard were rebuilt and new wing and courtyard were added to the tower. A caponier was added along the south-east side of the courtyard. Emplacements for nine large guns were also constructed. A small enclosure on the west side of the courtyard was also built.
From 1886 to 1887 a range was built to house submarine miners to the east of the castle. In an emergency these would lay mines in the Tay Estuary to damage enemy shipping. In 1889–1891 a magazine was built within the western enclosure which also led to a major remodeling of the gun emplacements. The castle remained in military use until 1932, and again between 1939 and 1949. The last defence-related alteration was made in the Second World War when a defence post was built within the top of the main tower.
In 1969 the castle opened as a museum operated by Dundee city council.
Hacknoob erwischt -- UFO on Street
Arthur Elphinstone, 6th Lord Balmerino
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Arthur Elphinstone, 6th Lord Balmerino was a Scottish nobleman and an officer in the Jacobite army.Elphinstone was the son of John Elphinstone, 4th Lord Balmerino and 3rd Lord Coupar, and of his second wife, Anne Ross.Following the accession of the House of Hanover to the throne of Great Britain in 1714, he resigned his commission to join the Jacobite cause in the uprising of 1715.Escaping after the Battle of Sheriffmuir, he joined the French army.
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About the author(s): Mrs. Thomson. Picture credits S. Freeman, sculptor.
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Dryburgh Abbey Borders Of Scotland
Tour Scotland Autumn video of Dryburgh Abbey on visit to Scottish Borders. Abbey was founded in 1152 by Premonstratensian monks, Augustinians, also known as White Canons, on a site made sacred by Saint Modan around 600. It was founded by monks from Alnwick on land owned by Hugh de Moreville, the father of one of the assassins of Saint Thomas Becket. The Abbey was burned by English troops in 1322, after which it was restored and used by Robert I of Scotland. It was again burned in 1385, but it flourished in the fifteenth century. It was finally destroyed in 1544, briefly to survive until the Reformation, when it was given to the Earl of Mar by James VI of Scotland. The Earl of Buchan bought the land in 1786; the property is now managed by Historic Scotland. Sir Walter Scott and Douglas Haig are buried in its grounds.
Scotland Travel: Dryburgh Abbey
Scotland Travel: Dryburgh Abbey.
Dryburgh Abbey, near Dryburgh on the banks of the River Tweed in the Scottish Borders, was nominally founded on 10 November (Martinmas) 1150 in an agreement between Hugh de Morville, Lord of Lauderdale and Constable of Scotland, and the Premonstratensian canons regular from Alnwick Abbey in Northumberland.[1] The arrival of the canons along with their first abbot, Roger, took place on 13 December 1152.[2]
It was burned by English troops in 1322, after which it was restored only to be again burned by Richard II in 1385, but it flourished in the fifteenth century. It was finally destroyed in 1544, briefly to survive until the Scottish Reformation, when it was given to the Earl of Mar by James VI of Scotland.
The 12th Earl of Buchan bought the land in 1786. Sir Walter Scott and Douglas Haig are buried in its grounds.
ghost on camara(NOT FAKE)
i left the amra running and it caught this (it is trimed to the ghost)
Lindores Abbey
Lindores Abbey was a Tironensian abbey on the outskirts of Newburgh in Fife, Scotland. Now a much reduced and overgrown ruin, it lies on the southern banks of the River Tay, about 1-mile (1.6 km) north of the village of Lindores.
The abbey was founded as a daughter house of Kelso Abbey about 1191 (some sources say 1178), by David, Earl of Huntingdon, brother of William the Lion. The first abbot was Guido, Prior of Kelso, under whom the buildings were mostly completed. The church, dedicated to the Blessed Virgin and St. Andrew, was 195 feet (59 m) long, with transepts 110 feet (34 m) long. Edward I of England, John Balliol, David II, and James III were among the monarchs who visited Lindores at different times.
The earliest record of scotch whisky cited by the exchequer roll for 1494 is a commission from King James IV to Friar John Cor of Lindores Abbey to make about ‘eight bols of malt’ or 580 kg of aquavitae.
The abbey was sacked by a mob from Dundee in 1543, and again by John Knox and his supporters in 1559. In the following years the Abbey buildings were quarried as a source of building stone for Newburgh, and a number of architectural fragments are visible built into later structures in the town.
The main upstanding remains of the Abbey are: one of the gateways leading into the monastic enclosure; the groin-vaulted slype, leading from the cloister garth to the exterior of the Abbey; and parts of the chancel walls and western tower of the church, although the ground plan of the whole structure can still be traced. Sections of the imposing precinct wall which once enclosed the abbey can also be seen in fields to the south.
Wooden panels of the early 16th century survive from the Abbey in the Laing Museum, Newburgh and, reset in a 19th-century cabinet, in St. Paul's Episcopal Cathedral, Dundee.
Calton Hill, Edinburgh, Scotland. (Northwestern view)
Calton Hill (/ˈkɔːltən/) is a hill in central Edinburgh, Scotland, situated beyond the east end of Princes Street and included in the city's UNESCO World Heritage Site. Views of, and from, the hill are often used in photographs and paintings of the city.
Calton Hill is the headquarters of the Scottish Government, which is based at St Andrew's House, on the steep southern slope of the hill. The Scottish Parliament Building and other notable buildings such as Holyrood Palace lie near the foot of the hill. Calton Hill is also the location of several iconic monuments and buildings: the National Monument, the Nelson Monument, the Dugald Stewart Monument, the old Royal High School, the Robert Burns Monument, the Political Martyrs' Monument and the City Observatory.
In 1456, James II granted land to Edinburgh by charter wherein Calton Hill is referred to as Cragingalt, the name by which it appears on the 1560 Petworth map of the Siege of Leith (rendered as Cragge Ingalt). The name may have derived from Old Welsh or Old English meaning the place of the groves.[5]
The records of South Leith Parish Church name Caldtoun as one of the quarters of the parish in 1591,[6] though the village and area are otherwise generally referred to as Craigend, signifying the main land form (crags) at the western end of the feudal barony of Restalrig, as opposed to the distinguishing feature at its eastern end, a loch, hence the name Lochend. The name Caldtoun (sometimes anglicised as Cold town) remained general until about 1700; the names Calton and Caltonhill first appearing when Wester Restalrig was sold to Edinburgh in 1725. The Armstrongs' map of the Three Lothians (1773) still uses the name Caldtoun and Ainslie's maps of Edinburgh record a change in spelling from Caltoun to Calton between 1780 and 1804.
There was possibly a prehistoric hillfort on Calton Hill and an area used for quarrying (the Quarry Holes at the eastern end). By his charter of 1456, James II granted the community of Edinburgh the valley and the low ground between Calton Hill and Greenside for performing tournaments, sports and other warlike deeds. This was part of his policy of military preparedness that saw the Act of 1457 banning golf and football and ordering archery practice every Sunday. This natural amphitheatre was also used for open-air theatre and saw performances of the early Scots play Ane Pleasant Satyre of the Thrie Estaitis by Sir David Lyndsay. In May 1518 the Carmelite Friars (also known as White Friars and locally based at South Queensferry), were granted lands by charter from the city at Greenside and built a small monastery there.
Monasteries were abandoned following the Scottish Reformation of 1560, and the Calton Hill monastery therefore stood empty before conversion in 1591 into a hospital for lepers, founded by John Robertson, a city merchant. So severe were the regulations that escape, or even the opening of the gate of the hospital between sunset and sunrise, would incur the penalty of death carried out on the gallows erected at the gate. The monastery would appear to have been located at the north-east end of Greenside Row and its site is shown there on the 1931 Ordnance Survey maps. Ten skeletons found in July 2009 during roadworks to create a new tramway in Leith Walk (later cancelled but currently undergoing public consultation) are believed to have been connected with the hospital.
Washerwomen on Calton Hill (1825)
The Calton area was owned by the Logan family of Restalrig but their lands were forfeited in 1609 following the posthumous sentence of treason on Robert Logan. The lands of Restalrig and Calton, otherwise known as Easter and Wester Restalrig, passed to the Elphinstone family. Sir James Elphinstone was made Lord Balmerino in 1604 and in 1673 the lands of Restalrig and Calton were erected into a single barony. In 1725, the western side of Calton Hill was disjoined and sold to the royal burgh of Edinburgh. The eastern end was owned by the charitable institution of Heriot's Trust. Calton remained a burgh of barony (although it was not administered as such) until it was formally incorporated into Edinburgh by the Municipality Extension Act of 1856.
In 1631, the then Lord Balmerino granted a charter to The Society of the Incorporated Trades of Calton forming a society or corporation. This also gave the Society the exclusive right to trade within Calton and the right to tax others who wished to do so. Normally the trades of burghs were separately incorporated, for example in the Canongate there were eight incorporations, but the Incorporated Trades of Calton allowed any tradesman to become a member providing they were healthy and their work was of an acceptable standard. This lack of restrictive practices allowed a thriving trade to develop.
BLUNSDON ABBEY RUINS
JUST A SHORT VIDEO .... I AM AWARE OF MICROPHONE ISSUES ...SORRY CANNOT SEEM TO GET AROUND THEM
Parts of a holy communion service at a Benedictine Abbey in 1999
Parts of a communion service at Pluscarden Abbey in 1999, filmed as background to 'The Day the World Took Off', and put up with permission of Windfall Films
For background please see alanmacfarlane.com
Peter Marshall's Roche Abbey
A much over-looked Abbey in South Yorkshire
ancient abbey ruins exploration
check out my explore at the abbey ruins