The TimesNovember 14, 2006
Scots believe the twinning arrangement will draw thousands more tourists to Glamis Castle, supposedly one of Britain's most haunted buildings. The castle was the childhood home of the Queen's mother - who was Scottish - and the Queen's sister was born there (Nigel French / Headline)
Off the wall, a twin deal by China and a Scottish castle
By Alan Hamilton
MOST Britons, even those who live in the neighbourhood of Dundee, will have heard of the Great Wall of China. But mention Glamis Castle on the street corners of Beijing and the oriental inscrutability will border on the universal.
Two historic buildings with no conceivable common thread have struck a deal to publicise each other and to exchange conservation expertise. One is the Scottish childhood home of the late Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, still owned by her family and in good repair.
The other is about 4,500 miles (7,200km) long and is largely falling to bits.
The improbable twinning is the result of a visit to China by Jack McConnell, the First Minister of Scotland, to improve trade links between the two countries.
What China gets is a promise that 200 Scottish school pupils will receive language lessons in Mandarin, an invitation to take up jobs in Scotland and promotional literature about the Great Wall available at Glamis.
What Scotland gets is the hope of a burgeoning tide of increasingly affluent Chinese tourists making for one of the oldest continuously inhabited stately homes in the country, encouraged by publicity handouts to all who visit the Great Wall.
If all that Glamis wanted was a deal with a big wall, they need only have talked to Hadrian’s people to the south. But that World Heritage Site lies within England, whose citizens are already well acquainted with their northern neighbour.
A spokesman for Hadrian’s Wall brushed off the snub. “We have had a long standing relationship with our Chinese wall colleagues for many years. We are also in partnership with other European organisations which conserve the northern frontier of the Roman Empire.
Unlike Glamis, we already have a seat at the table of Unesco World Heritage Sites.”
David Adams, general manager of Glamis Castle, set in the rolling hills of Angus behind Dundee, said yesterday that Mr McConnell’s visit to China had been backed up by several bilateral visits between Angus council officials and their Chinese counterparts. He added: “This is a remarkable achievement for a comparatively small Scottish tourist destination to be connected to the largest visitor attraction on Earth.
“Within 20 years the World Tourist Organisation predicts that China will be the fourth-most-important market in terms of outbound tourist visitors, estimated at 100 million. One of the key reasons for this agreement is the way we at Glamis manage to balance the demands of the modern tourism market with the conservation of the fabric of one of the oldest continuously inhabited castles in Scotland.”
WORLDS APART
Glamis was presented to the Lyon family, ancestors of the Queen Mother, by Robert the Bruce in 1372. It has been run as a private residence ever since
It was the birthplace of the late Princess Margaret (the Queen's sister) in 1930 and is traditionally assumed to be the setting for the murder of King Duncan in Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Ghosts are said to appear there
Glamis had been a working castle for 300 years when a series of earthworks across northern China dating from the 2nd century BC were rebuilt in stone and linked to form a continuous fortification against a possible invasion by Huns and Mongols
Glamis and the Great Wall do have one thing in common. Despite an enduring myth, neither can be seen from space with the naked eye
thetimesonline.co.uk
*****************************************************
GLAMIS CASTLE - ITS GHOSTS AND ITS MYSTERIES
The most famous legend connected with the castle is that of the Monster of Glamis, a hideously deformed child born to the family. In the story, the monster was kept in the castle all his life and his suite of rooms bricked up after his death. Another monster is said to have dwelt in Loch Calder near the castle.
There is an old story that guests staying at Glamis once hung towels from the windows of every room in a bid to find the bricked-up suite of the monster. When they looked at it from outside, several windows were apparently towel-less.
The legend of the monster may have been inspired by the true story of the Ogilvies.
Somewhere in the sixteen-foot thick walls is the famous room of skulls, where the Ogilvie family, who sought protection from their enemies the Lindsays, were walled up to die of starvation.
King Malcolm II of Scotland was murdered in the castle.
A "Grey Lady" is said to appear in the chapel.
The late Sir David Bowes-Lyon is said to have seen a young woman while taking a late stroll on the lawn after dinner.
Reportedly, he saw a girl gripping the bars of a window of the castle, staring distractedly out into the night. He was about to speak to her when she disappeared abruptly as if someone had torn her away from the window.
Earl Beardie was a guest in Glamis Castle. One night he was drunk and demanded to play cards. It was the sabbath, and his hosts refused. Lord Beardie was so furious that he claimed that he would play with the Devil himself. A stranger turned up at the castle and enquired if Lord Beardie wanted a partner to play cards with. They began to play in one of the rooms. Later, the servants heard yelling and curses coming from the room. One peeped through the keyhole, and it is said that a blast of light through that keyhold blinded him. The stranger disappeared.
Many have claimed to hear shouting and the sound of dice rolling. It is claimed that the Earl is still playing cards with the Devil.
wikipedia.org
Scots believe the twinning arrangement will draw thousands more tourists to Glamis Castle, supposedly one of Britain's most haunted buildings. The castle was the childhood home of the Queen's mother - who was Scottish - and the Queen's sister was born there (Nigel French / Headline)
Off the wall, a twin deal by China and a Scottish castle
By Alan Hamilton
MOST Britons, even those who live in the neighbourhood of Dundee, will have heard of the Great Wall of China. But mention Glamis Castle on the street corners of Beijing and the oriental inscrutability will border on the universal.
Two historic buildings with no conceivable common thread have struck a deal to publicise each other and to exchange conservation expertise. One is the Scottish childhood home of the late Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, still owned by her family and in good repair.
The other is about 4,500 miles (7,200km) long and is largely falling to bits.
The improbable twinning is the result of a visit to China by Jack McConnell, the First Minister of Scotland, to improve trade links between the two countries.
What China gets is a promise that 200 Scottish school pupils will receive language lessons in Mandarin, an invitation to take up jobs in Scotland and promotional literature about the Great Wall available at Glamis.
What Scotland gets is the hope of a burgeoning tide of increasingly affluent Chinese tourists making for one of the oldest continuously inhabited stately homes in the country, encouraged by publicity handouts to all who visit the Great Wall.
If all that Glamis wanted was a deal with a big wall, they need only have talked to Hadrian’s people to the south. But that World Heritage Site lies within England, whose citizens are already well acquainted with their northern neighbour.
A spokesman for Hadrian’s Wall brushed off the snub. “We have had a long standing relationship with our Chinese wall colleagues for many years. We are also in partnership with other European organisations which conserve the northern frontier of the Roman Empire.
Unlike Glamis, we already have a seat at the table of Unesco World Heritage Sites.”
David Adams, general manager of Glamis Castle, set in the rolling hills of Angus behind Dundee, said yesterday that Mr McConnell’s visit to China had been backed up by several bilateral visits between Angus council officials and their Chinese counterparts. He added: “This is a remarkable achievement for a comparatively small Scottish tourist destination to be connected to the largest visitor attraction on Earth.
“Within 20 years the World Tourist Organisation predicts that China will be the fourth-most-important market in terms of outbound tourist visitors, estimated at 100 million. One of the key reasons for this agreement is the way we at Glamis manage to balance the demands of the modern tourism market with the conservation of the fabric of one of the oldest continuously inhabited castles in Scotland.”
WORLDS APART
Glamis was presented to the Lyon family, ancestors of the Queen Mother, by Robert the Bruce in 1372. It has been run as a private residence ever since
It was the birthplace of the late Princess Margaret (the Queen's sister) in 1930 and is traditionally assumed to be the setting for the murder of King Duncan in Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Ghosts are said to appear there
Glamis had been a working castle for 300 years when a series of earthworks across northern China dating from the 2nd century BC were rebuilt in stone and linked to form a continuous fortification against a possible invasion by Huns and Mongols
Glamis and the Great Wall do have one thing in common. Despite an enduring myth, neither can be seen from space with the naked eye
thetimesonline.co.uk
*****************************************************
GLAMIS CASTLE - ITS GHOSTS AND ITS MYSTERIES
The most famous legend connected with the castle is that of the Monster of Glamis, a hideously deformed child born to the family. In the story, the monster was kept in the castle all his life and his suite of rooms bricked up after his death. Another monster is said to have dwelt in Loch Calder near the castle.
There is an old story that guests staying at Glamis once hung towels from the windows of every room in a bid to find the bricked-up suite of the monster. When they looked at it from outside, several windows were apparently towel-less.
The legend of the monster may have been inspired by the true story of the Ogilvies.
Somewhere in the sixteen-foot thick walls is the famous room of skulls, where the Ogilvie family, who sought protection from their enemies the Lindsays, were walled up to die of starvation.
King Malcolm II of Scotland was murdered in the castle.
A "Grey Lady" is said to appear in the chapel.
The late Sir David Bowes-Lyon is said to have seen a young woman while taking a late stroll on the lawn after dinner.
Reportedly, he saw a girl gripping the bars of a window of the castle, staring distractedly out into the night. He was about to speak to her when she disappeared abruptly as if someone had torn her away from the window.
Earl Beardie was a guest in Glamis Castle. One night he was drunk and demanded to play cards. It was the sabbath, and his hosts refused. Lord Beardie was so furious that he claimed that he would play with the Devil himself. A stranger turned up at the castle and enquired if Lord Beardie wanted a partner to play cards with. They began to play in one of the rooms. Later, the servants heard yelling and curses coming from the room. One peeped through the keyhole, and it is said that a blast of light through that keyhold blinded him. The stranger disappeared.
Many have claimed to hear shouting and the sound of dice rolling. It is claimed that the Earl is still playing cards with the Devil.
wikipedia.org
Last edited: