Page:The castellated and domestic architecture of Scotland from the twelfth to the eighteenth century (1887) - Volume 1.djvu/507

 LINLITHGOW PALACE 487 THIRD PERIOD been built in this room, which serves as the foundation of the fire- place which was subsequently introduced into the room above. The adjoining room to the south, which has the rather unusual form of an elliptical barrel vault, also contains a large fireplace and oven. This was probably the original kitchen. The rooms at the south-east angle are said to have been stables, and have a direct access to the external courtyard. Next to these, in the south side of the quadrangle, is the bakery, with a peculiar oven, heated from the fireplace of the adjoining room. The south porch and passage (as above suggested) may have been added when the town gatehouse was built. There has evidently been a good deal of alteration at this part of the building, and the corridor along the interior of the courtyard (Fig. 418) was probably added at the same time. This may account for the fine fireplace still existing in the guard-room, which is now so dark that it cannot be seen. It was to this guard-room that the Regent Moray was brought after Hamilton of Bothwellhaugh had fired his fatal shot, and he here expired in a few hours. The rooms in the south-west angle are those which show the old wall faced with the new outer one above mentioned. These are said to have been prisons, but seem much more likely to have been beer and wine cellars. The stone ledge for setting the casks on is still visible in the cellar in the angle. The remains of the original angle stair which was used before the corridor was added and the new stair turret built can still be observed. A large wine-cellar runs along the west side, with a stone ledge for barrels. The only entrance to the so-called prisons was through this wine-cellar, a very unlikely arrangement. Northwards from this wine-cellar there is another large vaulted cellar, the floor of which is down some steps from the level of the court- yard, and beyond this, in the north-west angle, is another cellar, with groined vaulting, at a still lower level. The entrance to the first of these cellars is by an unusually wide door, and the entrance and stair leading to the second cellar are also of unusual width. This arrangement has no doubt been to admit large tuns, and these have probably been the cellars for the superior kinds of wine, while the more southern cellars were for common kinds, or beer. It will be observed that there is a small staircase from the floor above down to these cellars. This is the usual private stair from the dining-room to the wine-cellars. It gives access to the south cellar, while it commands the north cellars by a window, from which the pro- ceedings in these cellars could be superintended or watched. There is a similar window at Dirleton, overlooking from the lord's private room all the extensive range of cellars.