A Rebels’ Bomb Factory at Fitzpatrick Castle Fitzpatrick Castle, once known as Killiney Castle, is a bucolic country retreat from Dublin. But in the late 1930s, it overflowed with dismembered alarm clocks and explosives stowed away in flour bags. Teenage […]
Ostrich Feathers, Diamonds, and White: Debutantes Arrive at Buckingham Palace The Rubens at the Palace overlooks Buckingham Palace Road, where in centuries past, shivering debutantes in short-sleeved white dresses once sat for hours in carriages waiting for their presentation at […]
From Slave Ships to Regattas: A Self-Made Man Presides over Storrs Hall John Bolton, the teenage son of a rural druggist, arrived in the West Indies with no money to his name and only a sailor’s shirt on his back. […]
Fenton Tower, a Castle Built for Anarchy Patrick Whitelaw and his wife, Margaret Hamilton, built Fenton Tower to defend themselves from the anarchic violence of the Borders. For nearly four centuries, men called “reivers” dominated the swathe of the ungovernable […]
A Family Divided: Dalmunzie Castle and the Jacobite Uprisings The MacKintosh Clan stood divided when the Jacobites rose up against the British crown in the 1700s. The Stuarts, a Scottish dynasty that ruled over all of Britain, had been toppled […]
An Irish Dynasty at Dunskey Castle Robert Fitzgerald landed on the shores of Scotland without family, friends, or money. He was the banished son of a powerful, Norman family in Ireland, but he broke the sacred laws of chivalric hierarchy […]
Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham, was born with his father’s reputation for treason hanging over him; when the Tudors came to power, his family regained favor with the monarchy, though Buckingham was seen as dangerous due to his partial royal blood. Buckingham was known to be wealthy, and hosted extravagant parties; he was granted a license to fortify his manor at Thornbury Castle, and began building there in 1511. The castle was designed with crossbow loopholes and gun ports, in the style of a Medieval fortress, and he had planned to include four towers, but he was not able to complete it due to his untimely death. Buckingham and his wife lived in luxurious apartments overlooking an ornamental garden.
5 Reasons to Stay in a Castle Hotel Have you ever wanted to stay in a castle hotel? From magnificent buildings with intricate detail to opulent rooms showcasing period features, staying in a castle hotel can make you feel like […]
Sir Archibold Gordon Kinloch was the son of a Scottish baronet and joined the military at age 20. He served the British empire with distinction, but was sent to the West Indies where he contracted a fatal fever, later named St. Lucia Fever. After recovering, Gordon returned to Scotland and was not the same as before. He had become sullen, irascible and jealous and his intelligence had declined. Dr. William Farquharson attended to him to help his recovery.
John Murray, Scottish landowner and Member of Parliament, commissioned Joshua Reynolds to paint his portrait in a fashionable style. To build his home, Cally House, Murray worked with an architect who he met on a Grand Tour of Italy and designed it in the classical style with granite pillars to evoke the Parthenon.
Storied Collection
