Glamis is a small village in Angus, Scotland, located south of

Kirriemuir Kirriemuir, sometimes called Kirrie or the ''Wee Red Toon'' ( gd, An Ceathramh Mòr; IPA: nˈkʰʲɛɾəvmoːɾ, is a burgh in Angus, Scotland. It reaches back to earliest recorded times, when it is thought to have been a major ecclesiastical ...

and southwest of

Forfar Forfar ( sco, Farfar, gd, Baile Fharfair) is the county town of Angus, Scotland and the administrative centre for Angus Council, with a new multi-million pound office complex located on the outskirts of the town. As of 2021, the town has a pop ...

. It is the location of

Glamis Castle Glamis Castle is situated beside the village of Glamis (, ) in Angus, Scotland. It is the home of the Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne, and is open to the public. Glamis Castle has been the home of the Lyon family since the 14th century, thoug ...

, the childhood home of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother.

History

Glamis village and the distant Grampians

The vicinity of Glamis has prehistoric traces – within the village there stands an intricately carved

Pictish stone A Pictish stone is a type of monumental stele, generally carved or incised with symbols or designs. A few have ogham inscriptions. Located in Scotland, mostly north of the Clyde-Forth line and on the Eastern side of the country, these stones are ...

known as the

Glamis Manse Stone The Glamis Manse Stone, also known as Glamis 2, is a Class II Pictish stone at the village of Glamis, Angus, Scotland. Dating from the 9th century, it is located outside the Manse, close to the parish church. It is inscribed on one side with a ...

. There are various other Pictish stones nearby the village, such as the

Hunter's Hill Stone The Hunter's Hill Stone, otherwise known as the Glamis 1 Stone, is a Class II Pictish standing stone at Hunter's Hill to the south east of Glamis village, Angus, Scotland. Location The cross slab is located in woodland on the north slope of Hun ...

, and the

Eassie Stone The Eassie Stone is a Class II Pictish stone of about the mid 8th century AD in the village of Eassie, Angus, Scotland. The stone was found in Eassie burn in the late 18th century and now resides in a purpose-built perspex building in the ruined ...

, which stands in the nearby village of

Eassie Eassie is a village located along the A94 road in Angus, Scotland. The church in Eassie is dedicated to Saint Fergus, a monk who worked at nearby Glamis. Eassie is noted for the presence of the Eassie Stone, a carved Pictish stone. Other notab ...

. The last Alpínid king of Scotland,

Malcolm II Máel Coluim mac Cináeda ( gd, Maol Chaluim mac Choinnich, label=Modern Scottish Gaelic; anglicized Malcolm II; c. 954 – 25 November 1034) was King of Scots from 1005 until his death. He was a son of King Kenneth II; but the name of his mot ...

, died at Glamis in 1034. Some other small fragments of Pictish stones from Glamis are preserved in the Meffan Institute in

. On 20 October 1491 it was declared a

burgh of barony A burgh of barony was a type of Scottish town ( burgh). Burghs of barony were distinct from royal burghs, as the title was granted to a landowner who, as a tenant-in-chief, held his estates directly from the crown. (In some cases, they might also ...

James IV James IV (17 March 1473 – 9 September 1513) was King of Scotland from 11 June 1488 until his death at the Battle of Flodden in 1513. He inherited the throne at the age of fifteen on the death of his father, James III, at the Battle of Sauch ...

. This gave Glamis the right to hold a weekly market, and an annual fair which was held on 17 November, the feast day of

Saint Fergus In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Catholic, Eastern Ortho ...

. This legacy can be seen in the mercat cross which still stands in the village square. The humorous poet Agnes Lyon lived in the town. Glamis was the location of a flax spinning mill which in 1818 was leased by William Baxter, who later founded the major Dundee textile firm Baxter Brothers & Co Ltd.

Important buildings

Glamis is a well-preserved

conservation village Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

. Much of its historic core was built to house estate workers in the late 18th century. The Angus Folk Museum, run by the

National Trust for Scotland The National Trust for Scotland for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, commonly known as the National Trust for Scotland ( gd, Urras Nàiseanta na h-Alba), is a Scottish conservation organisation. It is the largest membership organi ...

, is located in the village. It is a museum of days past, recreating scenes of rural life such as a minister's

parlour A parlour (or parlor) is a reception room or public space. In medieval Christian Europe, the "outer parlour" was the room where the monks or nuns conducted business with those outside the monastery and the "inner parlour" was used for necessar ...

; a schoolroom; a laundry; and an agricultural area, along with displays of tools, everyday artifacts, and old crafts. It is housed in an adapted row of single storey stone cottages, originally built in 1793. The parish church of Glamis, dedicated to

, was founded in the early

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

period (probably 8th century AD). The present building is 18th-century with an interior recast in the 1930s, but retains a vaulted 15th-century aisle from the medieval church which preceded it. The aisle is the burial place
photo
of the

Bowes-Lyon family The Bowes-Lyon family descends from George Bowes of Gibside and Streatlam Castle ''(1701–1760)'', a County Durham landowner and politician, through John Bowes, 9th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne, chief of the Clan Lyon. Following the marriag ...

, owners of

. One of its park gates is situated near the parish church. The castle hosts various events throughout the year, notably the

Proms The BBC Proms or Proms, formally named the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts Presented by the BBC, is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hal ...

evening when thousands of people traditionally turn out with picnics ranging from the small to the elaborate.

In Shakespeare

In the tragedy of '' Macbeth'' by

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

, Macbeth is the Thane of Glamis. He later becomes the Thane of

Cawdor Cawdor ( gd, Caladair) is a village and parish in the Highland council area, Scotland. The village is south-southwest of Nairn and east of Inverness. The village is in the Historic County of Nairnshire. History The village is the location o ...

and the king of

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

, in fulfillment of the witches' prophecy. Even though Glamis is only a small village, several cities in Britain have streets named after it. This is due to the popularity of naming streets after Shakespearean characters and locations during the

Victorian Era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardia ...

References

{{Authority control Villages in Angus, Scotland

History

Important buildings

In Shakespeare

See also

References