This cathedral was probably finished by 1300 as a fairly simple structure some 185ft. long and 25ft wide. The 1400's saw additions made in the form of a south aisle and chapel, plus a tower.
And in the 1650's the stone from the now roofless and decaying nave choir was removed to help construct Cromwell's Citadel at Inverness.
More incredible ceilings
Fortrose Cathedral today stands serenely in its tree lined square as two fragments of it's former glory - on right below the Chapter House and Sacristy, on left below the Cathedral from north west.
It is possible from ground level paving and landscaping to gain an impression of the size of the original cathedral, but it has to be said that Cromwell's men did a remarkably thorough job, and none of the pier bases or vestigial walls remain here. I have read that Oliver Cromwell eventually abandoned his Citadel in Inverness!!
One of the attractive houses surrounding Cathedral Square.
Just round the corner - the Anderson Pub, it was our intention to eat here, but the feed was too good back at the Cottage!!!
The flags fly between the Anderson Pub and Cathedral Square
We boarded Kevin'and Margaret's VW Tiguan, (so great to be driven and guided) and headed for the Battlefields
The "Culloden Battlefields" just outside Inverness
The Visitors Centre here is outstanding
So many Exhibitions and Galleries describing "before, during, and post" this bloody battle in April 1746.
Kevin sizes up the hand to hand combat equipment used at Culloden - he looks a bit like a scary Scot really with that unusal scowl and all!!
I think I would want a bit more protection than this to 'war" with, and we were certainly not dressed for the occasion - see below (an incident in the rebellion of 1746 by David Morier).
Bonnie Prince Charlie's Jacobites (left) against the Loyalists (right) who represented the Hanovarian rulers in England led by King George II's son William Augustus (Duke of Cumberland).
The scene had been set during the previous century when King James II of England (and VII of Scotland) fled the country to be replaced by William of Orange and his wife Mary at the invitation of the English and Scottish Parliaments. Thus the role of the House of Stuart was replaced by the House of Hanover - the country favoured a balance of power between King and Parliament as opposed to the absolute power of the Monarchy favoured by the Stuarts.
The Jacobite forces, under Charles Stuart were trying to overthrow the House of Hanover and restore the House of Stuart to the British throne. King James's son - (Prince Charles Edward Stuart) exiled to France - saw an opportunity when the British lost a key battle against the French. He arrived in the Highlands of Scotland with a handful of men, but parlayed his way to gain more support from local Chiefs to raise the Jacobite flag at Glenfinnan. The Jacobite forces won a decisive victory at Prestopans and began to march south to Derby, but they had overextended themselves - as promised French support did not materialize, and retreated to Scotland - defeating Government forces again at Falkirk in January 1746.
The Jacobite army consisted largely of Scottish Highlanders, as well as a number of Lowland Scots and a small detachment of Englishmen from the Manchester Regiment - however many Jacobites were volunteers, and there were few trained officers. The Jacobites were supported and supplied by the Kingdom of France and French and Irish units loyal to France were part of the Jacobite Army.
The Loyalists (Government force), under William Augustus was mostly English, along with a significant number of Scottish Lowlanders and Highlanders, a battalion of Ulster men from Ireland, and a number of Hessians from Germany and Austria.
So this ferocious European conflict had come to Scotland - dividing families and setting Clan against Clan.
At this stage we were still trying to cope with the incredible amount of information we needed to consume about this battle!!.
We started walking Culloden Moor where this short and atrocious battle took place.
Old "Leanach Cottage" the original farmhouse, survived the battle of Culloden, though she has been restored since. Her roof is heather hatched - a traditional highland craft.
There was much lead up to this battle, in fact other battles, Prestopans, Falkirk won by the Jacobites - the Highland Clans of the Jacobites had perfected the Highland charge in their previous battles, rushing the enemy lines and scattering them in disarray by firing their muskets at close range.- However on the night prior to the Battle of Culloden when the Duke of Cumberland was celebrating his 25th birthday at Nairn, the Jacobites were tired and in disarray, some had got lost and probably at this stage Prince Charles could've withdrawn his tired and disorganised army back to Inverness, retreating ahead of the Duke of Cumberland's Redcoats.
However, he did not do this!
Anyway on a rainy 16th April, 1746 the well rested Loyalist Goverment Army left camp at 5am and set off towards the moorland around Culloden and Drummossie. Jacobite pickets first sighted the Government advance guard at about 8am, when the advancing army came within 4 miles of Drummossie. The Government informers alerted William Augustus that the Jacobite army was forming up about 1 mile from Culloden House - upon Culloden Moor. At about 11 am the two armies were within sight of one another with about 2 miles of open moorland between them. At 1pm the Jacobites opened fire on the line of Government forces opposing them and as the Government forces steadily advance across the moor, the driving rain and sleet blew from the north-east into the faces of the exhausted Jacobite army.
This battle on Culloden Moor was so bloody and quick - taking place within an hour. Following the Jacobite's unsuccessful Highland charge against the Government lines, (as by now Cumberland's forces were trained for this attack and stood their ground, having learned to tackle the Highland charge with a combination of gunfire, grapeshot and bayonets.) Within an hour, the Jacobites were routed and driven from the field. The Jacobites with an army of approx. 6 to 7000, lost 1500 - 2000 soldiers and 154 Jacobites and 222 Frenchmen were captured. The Government redcoats with approx 8,000 soldiers lost 50, plus another 259 were wounded.
The Memorial Cairn above - 20 feet high, and the headstones below were erected in 1881 by Duncan Forbes to mark the mass graves of the fallen Jacobite soldiers.
Many Highland clans were involved within the Jacobites, and a number of Scots served for the Loyalists.
Field of the English - no exact site of Government graves or trenches has ever been recorded. The Government forces included three Scottish infantry regiments so the term "English" is used loosley - this headstone lies to the west of the Old Leanach cottage.
This Loyalist Government victory decisively halted the Jacobite intent to overthrow the House of Hanover - and Charles Stuart (known as Bonnie Prince Charlie - and also "the Pretender") never mounted any further attempts to challenge Hanoverian power in Britain.
After this battle, Augustus Cumberland - the son of King George II, who headed the Loyalists Government Army, earned the title "Butcher" for his ruthless pursuance of the Jacobite rebellion, destroying Highland society and punishing anyone suspected of having been on the other side. Cumberland was also a strict disciplinarian with his own Loyalist Army.
Culloden Moor that April was a damp marshy place, a dreadful site for the retreating Jacobites.
The Battle of Culloden was the last hand to hand Battle fought on British soil,
and apparently changed Highland life dramatically.
Last century, I do remember in my teenage years, playing the part of Flora McDonald, and my partner in this performance was Bonnie Prince Charlie. They say Flora assisted Prince Charlie to row to the Isle of Skye to escape from the Redcoats. In Australia in Highland dancing there is a Flora McDonald costume - white mid length satin dress with Tartan sash worn with highland pumps, I was dressed like this and of course Michael had his kilt with plaid on along with a white "Bonnie Prince Charlie" wig!!
What a superb morning at Culloden - just so interesting - thanks guys for taking us there.
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Following Culloden we headed north east to Fort George which sits on a peninsular opposite Fortrose and Chanonry Point.
I have pinched the aerial photo above, just to show the size and scope of this 18th Century Fortress covering 42 acres. This fortification is based on a Star design and sits behind its massive grass-topped artillery defences on an isolated spit of land jutting west into the Moray Firth at Ardersier, 11 miles north east of Inverness, and controls the sea approach to Inverness. This fortress was conceived to pacify the Scottish Highlands in the aftermath of the Jacobite rising of 1745, and the nearby Battle of Culloden in 1746. Fort George was intended to be a once and for all solution to the threat posed by the Highlands, and the Jacobites in particular.
Work began in 1748 and she was fully completed in 1769. With it's own harbour below the walls, the fort could be supplied by sea in event of a seige. Colonel Skinner was in charge of this construction along with the Adams brothers overseeing around 1,000 soldiers who provided labour and defended the site against attack. The original budget was 92,673 UK pounds, but the final cost was more that 200,000 UK pounds, a vast figure at the time. There would be no more Jacobite rebellions for the fort to control and it became a base for the Highland regiments recruited from the clans in the same way as the Black Watch, and since completion has been in continuous use as a garrison.
The main entrance is reached via a raised walkway with drawbridge
across a wide ditch set between heavily defended bastions.
The main walls are many yards wide and grassed over.
Within them are set casemates, effectively underground bunkers designed to protect the entire garrison from artillery fire.
Just inside the main entry - the majority of the stone is sandstone.
Every wall face is covered by fire from guns sited on top of other walls.
This Fort was designed to provide all the facilities of a small town
It comprised a comprehensive range of buildings to accommodate the Governor and other Officers.
the artillery detachment and a large infantry garrison.
There was a bakehouse, brew house, a provisions store, powder magazine and ordinance store, of course stables and carriage houses..
They say the most remarkable aspect of Fort George today is just how little it has changed since it's completion in 1769.
What remains today is with little alteration from what Colonel Skinner planned in 1747.
Given this, perhaps the most impressive aspect of the Fort is just how modern it seems as you walk around it.
Originally this was the depot of the Seaforth Highlanders and later the Queen's Own Highlanders (Seaforth and Camerons), it was more recently home to the Royal Irish Regiment
and as of 2007, the new garrison of the Black Watch, 3rd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland.
I found a gentleman dressed in "Black Watch"
Loved their telephone and postal centre - maybe this is a bit out of date!
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The Garrison's Chapel was started in 1765 (Kevin's shot)
Absolutely charming inside - it features many regimental colours and memorials.
Just loved these Highland drums
and what about this angel playing the bagpipes?
After visiting the Chapel
we wandered around taking in the incredible views
from the Fort's one mile long walk around walls
Overlooking the Lighthouse
At Chanonry Point
and Rosemarkie one of the Black Isle's charming villages.
Daisies were blooming
Kevin caught me in the act, trying to catch a shot of the Oyster Catcher.
Canon guarding the drawbridge
The Garrison's drawbridge
Another view out over the Firth
A sandy beach on the edge of the high walls
This Fortress is magnificent - they say it is the mightiest in Britain - it has to be.
Visitors are welcomed every day, and I have to say it was an incredible few hours - absolutely not to be missed,
Below - Looking back to the Fort from outside, you just can't see what is happening inside those incredible walls from here.
Next back to Fortrose to pick up a few goodies at the Spar (which was a okay)
Opposite the Fortrose Spar was this wonderful garden in spring flower, had a chat to the owner about his lovely subtle choice of colour - just delightful.
Well after a magnificent fish dinner on our first night courtesy of chefs Margaret and Kevin, we decided to pick up ham, rolls and the like for a casual dinner, of course there were about 20 jars of different chutney and pickles, numerous cheeses and dips they had bought with them to the Cottage - this was after checking out those Dolphins at Chanonry of course.
How great it was to be able to sit at the Cottage's dining table overlooking this Fort in different lights, and enjoy our food - yet again.
What a day - it just all tied in - so much history, really loved it, and am thoroughly enjoying recounting it.
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