Page:The castellated and domestic architecture of Scotland from the twelfth to the eighteenth century (1887) - Volume 1.djvu/521

 FALKLAND PALACE - 501 THIRD PERIOD It was fortified by Cromwell, and was occupied by Prince Charlie, and finally burned by Hawley's dragoons in 1746. Since that time the palace has been a complete ruin. It has fortu- nately escaped all the numerous proposals which have been made to restore it and convert it into barracks, County Courts, Register House, and what not, and is now happily under the careful guardianship of the Commissioners of Woods and Forests, so that there is every prospect of this most interesting of our Royal palaces being preserved from the destructive hands of both time and the restorer. FALKLAND PALACE, FIFESHIRE. The castle and lordship of Falkland belonged in the fourteenth century to the Earls of Fife, and in 1371 were in the hands of Robert Stewart, Earl of Fife and Menteith, son of Robert n. Under the title of Duke of Albany, that Earl was Regent of Scotland, and occupied the castle of Falkland as his residence for thirty-four years. It was then that the title of Palace was given to this residence ; but the palace which then existed has been entirely removed, and it is doubtful whether the existing building is even on the site of the old one. It was in the old palace that David, Duke of Rothesay, was imprisoned by his uncle Albany, and where he died, under suspicious circumstances, in 1402. When James i. returned from his captivity in 1424, Murdo, Duke of Albany, the son and successor of Duke Robert, was executed, and Falkland was annexed to the Crown. The domain is pleasantly situated in the valley of the Eden, in the centre of Fifeshire, at a convenient distance from Edinburgh and Stirling, and was surrounded with a forest which afforded ample scope for the practice of the chase. Hence it became a favourite retreat for the Scottish kings. The three first Jameses often resorted to it, and the town of Falkland was erected into a royal burgh by James n. in 1458. James in. and James iv. are both said to have carried on works at the palace, and one would say. from the style of the south front (Fig. 430), that it belongs to the latter half of the fifteenth century. The interior of the existing building fronting the courtyard was added by James v., who was particularly attached to this residence. It was from here he escaped out of the hands of Angus in 1528, and here he died, in 1542, broken-hearted at the rout of Solway Moss. After James's death Mary of Guise often lived at Falkland, and Queen Mary was fond of retiring to it as a hunting-seat. James vi. resided much here for his favourite pastime of the chase, and, to judge from the style of what remains, he seems to have added considerably to the size of the building.