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Glamis Castle
Glamis has stood for continuity throughout the long years of its existence. It is the centre of the community life of the village and the wider estate, providing employment and homes for many. As the home of the Bowes Lyon family, it provides a consistent link to the past and a solid foundation for future hope and aspirations. Glamis is a living, breathing monument to Scottish hospitality; a place of enjoyment, contemplation, laughter and wonder for all. Glamis embraces all who visit and leaves most with the sense of history continuing and the future unfolding. This is the Spirit of Glamis.
96 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2008
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
April 10, 2025
Delightful and the most sumptuous guide book, bound in material, that I have ever seen!
Glamis Castle is perhaps best known as the childhood home of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and a little lesser so for being the birthplace of HRH Princess Margaret. Be that as it may, the castle has been a Royal residence since 1372 when Sir John Lyon was granted the thaneage of Glamis by King Robert II, who was the first of the Stewart Kings. It was built on the site of a Royal hunting lodge and has evolved and matured since then; the pink sandstone L-shaped tower block was remodelled in the 17th century and the building today is very much the same as after that development.
The main features to be seen within are the dining room, the crypt, the drawing room, the chapel, the billiard room and King Malcolm's room and they all contain artefacts of note. The dining room was developed in the 1850s by a group of northern England craftsmen and a superb plaster ceiling decorated with thistles of Scotland, roses of England and lions of the Lyon family was created. Finest English oak panels the walls and the story of the family is told through the stained glass windows. And there are other super pieces scattered around the room.
The crypt was, rather bizarrely, where in former times the family received their visitors and it is now lined with hunting trophies. And above the crypt was built the Great Hall, which is now an impressive drawing room with its impressive array of paintings. There is also a magnificent fireplace that was built after the 1603 Union of the Crowns.
The chapel has my favourite painting of them all in the castle. It is by Dutch artist Jacob de Wet and it depicts Christ and Mary Magdalene in the garden of the sepulchre. Mary did not at first recognise him for he was wearing a hat (that surely proves that he was indeed real). Apparently it is one of only five paintings in the world that depicts him in a hat! There is also an interpretation of The Last Supper, also by de Wet.
The billiard room has five beautiful 1860s tapestries by Thomas Poyntz in the Mortlake style and portraits of Sir George Bowes and his daughter Mary Eleanor, who was one of the richest heiresses in Europe, who in 1767 married the 9th Earl of Strathmore, the title being given in 1578 to Lord Glamis. And King Malcolm's room houses the embroideries which Lady Helen, wife of the third Earl, and her daughters completed in 1683 and which took 14 years to make.
Then in 1923 the Countess converted part of the castle into Royal apartments for her daughter, the later Queen Mother, and her son-in-law, later George VI and the couple used them on their many visits to Glamis. And later there was also a King's Room that George VI used as a study and dressing room on his visits and contains one of the oldest and most valuable pieces of furniture in the castle, the Kinghorne bed, which was made in circa 1660 for the third Earl.
The many artefacts are extremely impressive and outside the gardens, with evidence of five centuries of planting still evident, are equally impressive, especially the mile-long avenue to the castle and the Dutch Garden. There is also an Italian Garden, a nature trail a pinetum and a walled garden that take the eye.
As well as plenty of history surrounding the castle, there is also a fairly extensive history of Glamis the Village and the Estate which is intermingled with an extended history of the family. It is a superb read with the illustrations greatly enhancing the text.
Glamis Castle is perhaps best known as the childhood home of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and a little lesser so for being the birthplace of HRH Princess Margaret. Be that as it may, the castle has been a Royal residence since 1372 when Sir John Lyon was granted the thaneage of Glamis by King Robert II, who was the first of the Stewart Kings. It was built on the site of a Royal hunting lodge and has evolved and matured since then; the pink sandstone L-shaped tower block was remodelled in the 17th century and the building today is very much the same as after that development.
The main features to be seen within are the dining room, the crypt, the drawing room, the chapel, the billiard room and King Malcolm's room and they all contain artefacts of note. The dining room was developed in the 1850s by a group of northern England craftsmen and a superb plaster ceiling decorated with thistles of Scotland, roses of England and lions of the Lyon family was created. Finest English oak panels the walls and the story of the family is told through the stained glass windows. And there are other super pieces scattered around the room.
The crypt was, rather bizarrely, where in former times the family received their visitors and it is now lined with hunting trophies. And above the crypt was built the Great Hall, which is now an impressive drawing room with its impressive array of paintings. There is also a magnificent fireplace that was built after the 1603 Union of the Crowns.
The chapel has my favourite painting of them all in the castle. It is by Dutch artist Jacob de Wet and it depicts Christ and Mary Magdalene in the garden of the sepulchre. Mary did not at first recognise him for he was wearing a hat (that surely proves that he was indeed real). Apparently it is one of only five paintings in the world that depicts him in a hat! There is also an interpretation of The Last Supper, also by de Wet.
The billiard room has five beautiful 1860s tapestries by Thomas Poyntz in the Mortlake style and portraits of Sir George Bowes and his daughter Mary Eleanor, who was one of the richest heiresses in Europe, who in 1767 married the 9th Earl of Strathmore, the title being given in 1578 to Lord Glamis. And King Malcolm's room houses the embroideries which Lady Helen, wife of the third Earl, and her daughters completed in 1683 and which took 14 years to make.
Then in 1923 the Countess converted part of the castle into Royal apartments for her daughter, the later Queen Mother, and her son-in-law, later George VI and the couple used them on their many visits to Glamis. And later there was also a King's Room that George VI used as a study and dressing room on his visits and contains one of the oldest and most valuable pieces of furniture in the castle, the Kinghorne bed, which was made in circa 1660 for the third Earl.
The many artefacts are extremely impressive and outside the gardens, with evidence of five centuries of planting still evident, are equally impressive, especially the mile-long avenue to the castle and the Dutch Garden. There is also an Italian Garden, a nature trail a pinetum and a walled garden that take the eye.
As well as plenty of history surrounding the castle, there is also a fairly extensive history of Glamis the Village and the Estate which is intermingled with an extended history of the family. It is a superb read with the illustrations greatly enhancing the text.
February 11, 2023
Guidebook to Glamis Castle, home of former Queen Mum’s family. Visited in fall 2019
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews