Earl's Palace, Kirkwall (2)
The Earl's Palace in Kirkwall, Orkney, though long a roofless ruin, is accepted as being one of the finest examples of castellated Renaissance architecture in Scotland. Built at the start of the 17th century, it displays the strong French influence that followed Mary de Guise and her daughter Mary Queen of Scots to Scotland.
When Earl Patrick decided (around the year 1600) that he had exhausted the available options for improving the Bishop's Palace and that a new building was called for, a problem arose - he didn't own the land he wanted to build his new palace on and the owner must have decided he didn't want to sell. What to do?
The earl's solution to the problem perfectly demonstrates what a very nasty piece of work he was! He had the owner of the land framed for something he hadn't done and put on trail. By rights, a trail such as this should probably have been conducted in Edinburgh, but the trail was held here in Kirkwall, and as the feudal superior, it is highly likely that Earl Patrick would have presided over the trail himself. Whatever the offence was, parking on a double-yellow line or suchlike (I believe it was theft actually), the defendant was found guilty and executed! And what's more, his property was forfeit! While it should have been forfeit to the Crown, the earl decided that he, as the grandson of a king, was near enough, and he kept it himself. Problem solved!
Earl's Palace, Kirkwall (2)
The Earl's Palace in Kirkwall, Orkney, though long a roofless ruin, is accepted as being one of the finest examples of castellated Renaissance architecture in Scotland. Built at the start of the 17th century, it displays the strong French influence that followed Mary de Guise and her daughter Mary Queen of Scots to Scotland.
When Earl Patrick decided (around the year 1600) that he had exhausted the available options for improving the Bishop's Palace and that a new building was called for, a problem arose - he didn't own the land he wanted to build his new palace on and the owner must have decided he didn't want to sell. What to do?
The earl's solution to the problem perfectly demonstrates what a very nasty piece of work he was! He had the owner of the land framed for something he hadn't done and put on trail. By rights, a trail such as this should probably have been conducted in Edinburgh, but the trail was held here in Kirkwall, and as the feudal superior, it is highly likely that Earl Patrick would have presided over the trail himself. Whatever the offence was, parking on a double-yellow line or suchlike (I believe it was theft actually), the defendant was found guilty and executed! And what's more, his property was forfeit! While it should have been forfeit to the Crown, the earl decided that he, as the grandson of a king, was near enough, and he kept it himself. Problem solved!