The Memory of Stones by Barbara Henderson

Give me a stone castle and I’m happy!

When I moved to Scotland in 1991, I was smitten with stone. It stirred something in me – the hulking, heavy-hewn rocks of Edinburgh Castle, the smooth-stepped cobbles of the Royal Mile, the rugged volcanic rock of Arthur's Seat. If you narrow your eyes in these places and let your vision blur, tourists and townsfolk simply fall away. You can imagine how the city may have looked a hundred, two hundred, three hundred years ago and beyond. It doesn’t take much more than that to get my imagination going. I began to visit other places – stone circles, old dykes, castles and courtyards, ruins and rambling walls. The fascination is the same.

I couldn't put my finger on it. In the end, it was a quote from Scottish writer Neil Gunn which articulated what, I think, has drawn me to such places for as long as I can remember. He talks of ‘the memory of stones’. That expression nails it, doesn’t it – what have these stones seen? If they could talk, what could they tell us? A few weeks ago, I was fortunate enough to visit Spynie Palace (also called Spynie Castle) near the Moray town of Elgin, roughly halfway between Inverness and Aberdeen. Not only is the palace the largest surviving medieval bishop’s house in Scotland and residence of the bishops of Moray for 500 years, but kings and queens stayed under its roof throughout the centuries. According to Historic Environment Scotland, ‘the bishops of Moray may have established their residence at Spynie in the late 1100s. Around 1207, Bishop Brice chose the church of Spynie as his cathedral. His successor, Bishop Andrew, built a new cathedral in Elgin, but the bishops still lived at Spynie.’

The palace's mighty David’s Tower is the largest tower house by volume to survive in Scotland. First and foremost, it is a strong-house, designed for defence. After all, bishops used to be wealthy noblemen with lands and property to lose. The scale of it is very impressive, and it took little imagination to picture the fighting and feasting which may have gone on here. I took some photographs of the coats of arms of all three bishops who contributed to building the tower house: Bishop David Stewart (1462–76), Bishop William Tulloch (1477–82) and Bishop Patrick Hepburn (1538–73). Presumably they were carved in order to protect their memory for generations to come, and I am writing about them now, so it clearly worked. Bishop Patrick Hepburn was related to Bothwell, second husband to Mary, Queen of Scots, who visited often while young. Famous visitors included kings and queens: in 1362, David II fled here from Edinburgh to escape the Black Death, the plague which was tearing through the country at the time. In 1390, the notorious villain known as the 'Wolf of Badenoch' burnt most of Elgin, including its cathedral, but was warned by the king to leave the palace untouched. Destroying such a fortress was often unwise as they were expensive to rebuild. Much better if those inside were besieged until they surrendered (as happened in the Siege of Caerlaverock Castle) – then the winning side could simply move in and use the castle for themselves. Both James I and James II of Scotland took advantage of the bishops' hopitality here, too. In the latter's case, he feasted on salted Spey salmon over the Christmas period 1456-7. Perhaps most famously, Mary, Queen of Scots spent two nights here during an eventful royal progress which saw the downfall of the rebellious 4th Earl of Huntly in 1562. Even her son, James VI of Scotland, called in twice at Spynie during hunting trips.

Writing Challenge: Back to the memory of stones. Is there a stone monument or ruin near you, or one that you know well? Do you know anything of its history? Even if you don’t, you can rely on your imagination instead! Write from the perspective of the castle or monument – who has touched you, leaned against your walls, shed a quiet tear in your tower? Have you been bombarded by missiles from trebuchets? Have you seen flaming arrows rain from above? Have soldiers tried to ram your gate? Have you spotted enemies in the distance while those within your walls remained oblivious until it was too late? What creatures nest amid your cracks? What storms have battered your ramparts?

Barbara at Holyrood Palace where Mary Queen of Scots lived I am sure you won't be short of ideas. Happy writing, be it poetry or prose!