Alloa Tower teacher information

Transcript

Three speakers: male narrator; Jamie Erskine, 14th Earl of Mar and Kellie; Andy Millar, Clackmannanshire Heritage Trust

Narrator
For more than 300 years, Alloa Tower was the stronghold of one of the most powerful and influential families in Scottish history.
For centuries the Erskines of Alloa played a major role in the power struggles and intrigues that surrounded the medieval rulers of Scotland.
Today, it's difficult to appreciate just how strategically important Alloa, or Alloway, Tower once was.
At a time when travel over land was difficult and dangerous, the Firth of Forth was the most important access route into Scotland from England and Europe.
The tower was one of four built along the north shore of the River Forth. Between Stirling and Kincardine, the river narrows and meanders, so there are several easy crossing points. The towers were built to defend these vulnerable river crossings, as they offered easy access to this important region of Central Scotland.
This was the crucible of Scotland, where the independent nation was forged after Robert the Bruce's victory at Bannockburn.
It was Robert the Bruce's son King David II who gave the Erskines this land at Alloa, in appreciation of their loyal support in the Wars of Independence.
Their stronghold at Alloa was within striking distance of the Royal Court at Stirling, and so it was important that the family who lived here were loyal to the Crown.

Jamie
It seems that the Erskine family came to prominence after supporting King David II in that Civil War. They were sent by him to Alloa.
They were people who were undoubtedly continuously interested in the governance of Scotland.

Narrator
When David II died without a direct heir, the crown passed from the Bruce family to the Stuarts.
Despite opposition from many of the Scottish nobles, the Erskines supported the Stuart claim to the throne.
This forged the link with the Stuart family that was to last for generations.
From James I in 1424 through 12 generations to the last Stuart monarch Queen Anne, an unbroken line of Stuart kings and queens relied on the unfailing support of this remarkable family.
Over the years, the Erskines' loyalty to the Crown was rewarded.
For centuries they held some of the most powerful positions of high office in Scotland, but perhaps the most telling honour of all was that the Erskines became guardians of successive generations of royal Stuart children.

Jamie
The problem for the Stuart children was that they came to the throne very young, as children, because of the violent deaths of their own young parents.
And therefore, they were extremely vulnerable, and the task of looking after them was more than just providing their education.
It was about safeguarding them and ensuring that they could actually reach the age of say 18 or 19, where they could start taking on their own responsibilities as rulers.

Narrator
Mary, Queen of Scots spent part of her early childhood here at Alloa and at Stirling.
It was an Erskine who accompanied Mary to France for her tragically brief marriage to the Dauphin Francis, the heir to the French throne.
After his death, she returned to Scotland as a young woman but she found a land torn by conflict.
Mary was grateful to her protectors, the Erskines.
In 1565 she restored them to the earldom of Mar, and John Erskine became the 1st Earl of Mar.
A year later, shortly after the birth of her son James, Mary had to flee the capital to escape from her husband Lord Darnley.
He had been involved in the brutal murder of Mary's Italian secretary Rizzio.
Fearing for her life, Mary sailed up the River Forth to place her newborn son in the safekeeping of the Earl of Mar.
When Lord Darnley discovered Mary had left Edinburgh with his son, he hurried to Alloa to attempt a reconciliation. After a gruelling ride, he finally reached Alloa by nightfall.
Despite his efforts, he was denied access to the tower.
The couple were never together again.

Mary's son James was the heir to the Scottish and English thrones.
When he was just 13 months old, the young prince was crowned King of Scotland.
The young king grew up with the Earl of Mar's son John; the two became lifelong friends.
In 1601 John Erskine, who is the 2nd Earl of Mar, went to London to negotiate the English crown for James.
Later, when James VI of Scotland also became James I of England and moved to London, the 2nd Earl of Mar went with him.

In the 17th century the Erskines were great improvers.
The 6th Earl set about transforming the tower and gardens at Alloa into a grand house with magnificent gardens.
They were based on the gardens at Hampton Court and the Palace of Versailles.
Looking at the 20th-century housing and development that surrounds the tower today, it's difficult to appreciate just how extensive these gardens once were.
A head gardener and 12 under-gardeners were needed to tend the formal hedges and avenues of trees that stretched for over 40 acres.

In 1715 the 6th Earl's attention was again focused on the national stage.
When the Protestant George I of Hanover was crowned king, the Earl of Mar tried to restore the Stuarts to the throne.
He led the ill-fated 1715 Jacobite rebellion that ended after the Battle of Sheriffmuir, just a few miles from here.
After the battle, the Earl was forced into exile on the continent.
In exile the 6th Earl continued to draw up plans for improvements to the house and grounds, most of which were never carried out.

Jamie
I have not been to see these plans before, though I have seen copies of them and I've obviously heard plenty about them.
But it really is a very special moment when you get to see this handiwork from 1720, which is not far off 300 years ago, particularly describing places that I know quite well, or think I do!
The 6th Earl was a surprising person.
He was somebody who was very interested in change.
It's not often that one gets opportunity and initiative all in one person.

Narrator
The 6th Earl's departure was a sad blow for the people in the town of Alloa.
He was a great visionary who had worked tirelessly to improve the estate and the lot of his workers.
The 6th Earl had provided a basic infrastructure that allowed industry to flourish, a ready supply of coal to power the furnaces of industry, and the presence of a deep-water port shaped the industrial revolution of the town.

The 6th Earl's daughter Frances brought Bohemian glass makers to Alloa and established the famous glassworks that still employs many of the town's people today.
The ripples of success spread as the port created a demand for shipbuilding and related services, as well as the creation of a brewery.
It's difficult to believe now but at its heyday, the port of Alloa employed over 500 men and handled many thousands of tons of shipping every year.

The family moved out of the tower in 1800 after a fire destroyed the adjoining mansion house.
By the 1980s the tower was in a very poor state.
Then, the present Earl's father gifted the tower to the Alloa Tower Building Preservation Trust.
Members of the Tower Preservation Trust worked tirelessly to put together a rescue plan.

Andy
The roof had huge holes in it, and shafts of sunlight would come into this Solar.
The roof trusses at the bottom, because they had been lying in saturated pigeon droppings, the oak, which is normally hard, was soft, and you could literally wring the water out of it.
In another couple of years, the whole roof would have collapsed and we would have lost one of the few surviving medieval roofs on a castle in Scotland.

Jamie
It is a good place to rehabilitate some members of my family and position them back into Scottish history, and it's also a good place to celebrate the very industrious town of Alloa.

Andy
One other thing I think is fantastic is that I've got to know many people who've lived here all their own lives, who now contribute as friends, etc.
We're hoping that, through proper maintenance, there's no reason why this building shouldn't be here in another 600 years' time.

Narrator
The tower is now owned by the National Trust for Scotland.
The success of the project means that this ancient tower that has helped shape the past and the future of Alloa has been saved for generations to come.

With special thanks to:

• Jamie Erskine, 14th Earl of Mar and Kellie
• Andy Millar, Clackmannanshire Heritage Trust
• The Friends of Alloa Tower
• The National Archives of Scotland
• The National Galleries of Scotland
• The House of the Binns (NTS)