Spynie Palace
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Spynie Palace, also known as Spynie Castle, was the fortified seat of the
Bishops of Moray A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of dioceses. The role ...
for about 500 years in
Spynie Spynie was a seaport, burgh and ancient parish in Moray, Scotland, that survives as a small hamlet and Civil parishes in Scotland, civil parish. It is the location of the ruins of Spynie Palace, which was the principal residence of the Bishop of Mo ...
,
Moray Moray ( ; or ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It lies in the north-east of the country, with a coastline on the Moray Firth, and borders the council areas of Aberdeenshire and Highland. Its council is based in Elgin, the area' ...
,
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
. The founding of the palace dates back to the late 12th century. It is situated about 500 m from the location of the first officially settled Cathedral Church of the Diocese of Moray,
Holy Trinity Church Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...
in present-day Spynie Churchyard. For most of its occupied history, the castle was not described as a ''palace'' — this term first appeared in the Registry of Moray in a writ of 1524.


Background

The beginnings of the Bishopric of Moray are unclear. The first mention of a bishop was Gregoir whose name appeared on several royal charters in the 1120s. The early bishops of
Moray Moray ( ; or ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It lies in the north-east of the country, with a coastline on the Moray Firth, and borders the council areas of Aberdeenshire and Highland. Its council is based in Elgin, the area' ...
had no fixed abode but moved between houses at Birnie,
Kinneddar Kinneddar is a small settlement on the outskirts of Lossiemouth in Moray, Scotland, near the main entrance to RAF Lossiemouth. Long predating the modern town of Lossiemouth, Kinneddar was a major monastic centre for the Pictish kingdom of Fortriu ...
and Spynie. In 1172, King William I, the Lion, made grants to the church of the Holy Trinity of the Bishopric of Moray and Bishop
Simon de Tosny Simon de Tosny (Toni, Tonei, Toeni, Toeny, Toney) was a 12th-century Cistercian monk and prelate. Simon was a monk of Melrose Abbey, and served there until he moved to become Abbot of Coggeshall Abbey in Essex. He resigned this abbey in 1168, and ...
. Formal permission for the permanent move to Spynie was given by
Pope Innocent III Pope Innocent III (; born Lotario dei Conti di Segni; 22 February 1161 – 16 July 1216) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1198 until his death on 16 July 1216. Pope Innocent was one of the most power ...
to Bishop
Bricius de Douglas Bricius (sometimes anglicized as Brice, died 1222) was prior of Lesmahagow and afterward bishop of Moray (Gaelic ''epscop Muireb''; Latin ''episcopus Moraviensis''). In this period, the name ''Bricius'' is more often a Latinization of the Ga ...
in April 1206 and the transfer was probably made by 1208. Bishop Bricius attended the
Fourth Lateran Council The Fourth Council of the Lateran or Lateran IV was convoked by Pope Innocent III in April 1213 and opened at the Lateran Palace in Rome on 11 November 1215. Due to the great length of time between the council's convocation and its meeting, m ...
in 1215 and may have appealed to Innocent to transfer the See of Moray to Elgin. However, he certainly wrote to him requesting the move before July 1216. The cathedral church of Spynie was considered vulnerable to attack and too far from the market. Elgin with its royal castle would have been seen as a better option. Bricius did not live to see the changes made, dying in 1222, but his successor, Bishop Andrew of Moray carried them out. Although the See of Moray was transferred to the Church of the Holy Trinity in Elgin on 19 July 1224, the Bishop of Moray's episcopal palace remained at Spynie.Lewis, Pringle: Spynie Palace and the Bishops of Moray, Edinburgh, 2002, p. 2


The fortified residence


12th and 13th centuries

The first castle was a wooden structure built in the late 12th century and was revealed in excavations carried out between 1986 and 1994. The excavated evidence suggests that the buildings were surrounded by a rectangular ring work and ditch which seem to have enclosed an area of roughly the same as the 14th-century curtain wall, i.e., an enclosure of 45 – 65 m and is large even by medieval ring works found elsewhere in Britain. The buildings would likely have consisted of the bishop's house with a hall, a bed chamber and a chapel and also holding a brewhouse and a bakehouse. The stone buildings first appeared in the 13th century with the establishment of what was thought to have been a chapel and which had coloured glass windows. The first recorded mention of the castle is in a document held in the British Museum. This manuscript dates from the early 14th century but appears to have been compiled between 1292 and 1296 and was apparently for the use of English administrators during King Edward I of England's occupation of Scotland. The first writ issued at Spynie Castle was in 1343 and is recorded in the Register of Moray


14th and early 15th centuries

The remaining wooden buildings were gradually replaced with stone, and this continued through into the 14th century when the first main castle building was erected. This was a near-square structure built within a 7-metre-high curtain wall. The main entrance in the wall faced to the south and a tower that projected from the south-east corner had narrow openings for archers. In this period
Alexander Stewart, Earl of Buchan Alexander Stewart, Earl of Buchan, called the Wolf of Badenoch (1343 – July 1394), was a Scottish royal prince, the third son of King Robert II of Scotland by his first wife Elizabeth Mure. He was Justiciar of Scotia and held large territories ...
, otherwise known as the Wolf of Badenoch, attacked and burned
Elgin Cathedral Elgin Cathedral, a historic ruin in Elgin, Moray, northeast Scotland, was dedicated to the Holy Trinity. It was established in 1224 on land granted by King Alexander II of Scotland, Alexander II and stood outside the burgh of Elgin, close to ...
in June 1390. It also appears that he took Spynie Castle as King Robert III (Buchan's brother) issued an instruction to Buchan in August 1390 forbidding him to 'intromit' the Castle of Spynie for any reason.Simpson, W: The Palace of the Bishops of Moray at Spynie, Elgin, 1927, p. 5 Following Bishop Alexander Bur's death in 1397, the King, in conformity with feudal established practice during the period of the vacant seat, took possession of the castle and perversely appointed the now reformed Wolf of Badenoch to be warden of the castle. After the election of the new bishop, the King issued a writ on 3 May 1398 to Buchan to hand over the castle and contents to Bishop William without claiming expenses.


Later 15th and 16th centuries

It is thought that Bishop John de Winchester (1435–60) was responsible for moving the main gate to the east wall which contained a strong portcullis. The architectural detail of the upper section of the gate remains and shows the gatekeeper's room complete with a small fireplace. John, as well as being the Bishop of Moray, was also the king's Master of Works and had been responsible for alterations to the castles at Inverness and Urquhart as well as the palace at Linlithgow. The fine stonework and styling of the gate may have been carried out by the master masons working on the restoration work at Elgin Cathedral following its destruction in 1390. The most significant buildings were established in the later 15th century through into the 16th century when David's Tower (also known as Davey's Tower) was built along with other substantial accommodation areas. The tower is the largest by volume of all medieval Scottish towers measuring 19 m by 13.5 m and 22 m in height and was started by Bishop David Stewart (1462–76) and completed by Bishop William Tulloch (1477–82). It has 6 storeys above ground and had a garret on the top. Below ground is a vaulted basement which is approximately 1.5 m below the level of the courtyard; it contains a circular dungeon, 5.3 m in diameter, lit only by a narrow loop looking to the west and has a slightly domed vaulted roof.Simpson, W D: The Palace of the Bishops of Moray at Spynie, Elgin, 1927, p. 8 The ground floor contained the hall which is 12.8 m by 6.7 m and lit by large windows with built-in stone seats. At the NE corner was a spiral staircase which led to the upper floors. Each of these floors was similar in design with a single large room and smaller chambers leading off it. The tower is plain and practically lacking in architectural features; the external walls were originally rendered while the internal walls were plastered. Stewart was also responsible for converting the old hall in the west range to kitchens to service the tower. It was said that the building of the tower was a reaction to intimidation from the Earl of Huntly whom Stewart had excommunicated for failing to pay his taxes. During the mid-16th century, a walled garden to the south of the castle precinct was established mainly to house an orchard. A deed was signed in the garden in 1556 indicating that it would have been a pleasant place to relax in. The household diet was further supplemented when a rabbit warren and a doocot were added in 1569. Bishop Patrick Hepburn (1538–73), the last
Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
bishop at Spynie, installed wide-mouth gun loops to boost the castle defences and enlarged some windows. He continued to live at Spynie for a period after the
Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...
. English prisoners were held at Spynie during the war known as the
Rough Wooing The Rough Wooing (; December 1543 – March 1551), also known as the Eight Years' War, was part of the Anglo-Scottish Wars of the 16th century. Following the English Reformation, the break with the Catholic Church, England attacked Scotland ...
, including
Edward Sutton, 4th Baron Dudley Edward Sutton, 4th Baron Dudley (circa 1515 – 12 July 1586). The oldest son and heir of John Sutton, 3rd Baron Dudley. He was an English nobleman and soldier. Contemporary sources also refer to him as ''Sir Edward Dudley''. Early life Sir Edw ...
who was taken at
Hume Castle Hume Castle is the heavily modified remnants of a late 12th- or early 13th-century castle of enceinte held by the powerful Hume or Home family, Wardens of the Eastern March who became successively the Lords Home and the Earls of Home. The vi ...
in December 1548.
Christopher Rokeby Christopher Rokeby, Rokesby, Rooksby, or Rooksbie (died 1584) was an English soldier and secret agent. Family background Rokeby's family home was Mortham Tower at Rokeby in County Durham. He was a son of Thomas Rokeby (died 1567) and his wife ...
, an agent provocateur of
Elizabeth I of England Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudor. Her eventful reign, and its effect on history ...
, who had tried to lead
Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was List of Scottish monarchs, Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legit ...
, into a plot with English Roman Catholics, was imprisoned in Spynie Castle in 1566 for eighteen months during Bishop Patrick Hepburn's tenure. Hepburn fell foul of the Privy Council for sheltering his relative
Bothwell Bothwell () is a Protected area, conservation village in the South Lanarkshire council area of Scotland and part of the Greater Glasgow area. It lies on the north bank of the River Clyde, adjacent to Uddingston and Hamilton, Scotland, Hamilton, ...
at Spynie in 1567 who had fled from the
battle of Carberry Hill The Battle of Carberry Hill took place on 15 June 1567, near Musselburgh, East Lothian, a few miles east of Edinburgh, Scotland. A number of Scottish lords objected to the rule of Mary, Queen of Scots, after she had married the Earl of Bothwel ...
first to
Huntly Castle Huntly Castle is a ruined castle north of Huntly, Scotland, Huntly in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, where the rivers River Deveron, Deveron and River Bogie, Bogie meet. It was the ancestral home of the chief of Clan Gordon, Earl of Huntly. There hav ...
. Bothwell sailed to Orkney and Shetland, and finally to Denmark. As part of the pacification following the abdication of Queen Mary, Regent Morton, in a meeting of the Privy Council at Perth on 23 February 1573, ordered that the castle be made available to the Crown, if needed:
the hous of Spyne salbe randerit and deliverit to oure Soverane Lord and his Regent foirsaid quhen it salbe requirite on XV dayis warning, without prejudice of ony partiis rycht.
On 29 July 1587,
King James VI James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until ...
gave the castle and estate to
Alexander Lindsay, 1st Lord Spynie Alexander Lindsay, 1st Lord Spynie (died 5 June 1607) was a Scottish nobleman. His death is the subject of the ballad ''Lord Spynie''. Early life Lindsay was the fourth son of David Lindsay, 10th Earl of Crawford, by his wife Margaret Beaton, d ...
; and they remained in his hands until he surrendered them back to the Crown in December 1605. During this period in 1595, Spynie was one of the castles that had additional fortifications installed as protection against a perceived threat from the Spaniards.


17th century

In 1606, King James restored to the bishopric of Moray the endowments that remained. Bishop John Guthrie, who was a well-known royalist, ceased to be the bishop in 1638 when all bishops were deposed by the general assembly – he and his family continued to live at Spynie however. Guthrie refused to subscribe to the Covenant and prepared the castle for a siege which duly arrived in 1640 in the form of
Covenanter Covenanters were members of a 17th-century Scottish religious and political movement, who supported a Presbyterian Church of Scotland and the primacy of its leaders in religious affairs. It originated in disputes with James VI and his son C ...
Col. Sir Robert Monro and his 800 men.Buchanan, George: The History of Scotland, Vol III, 1856 p 551 Guthrie surrendered the castle immediately on 16 July and the castle was disarmed, however he was allowed, together with his wife and servants, to stay within the castle. Although under house arrest, Guthrie was forced to pay for the upkeep of the garrison of twenty-four men. In September 1640, Guthrie was imprisoned in Aberdeen on rather dubious accusations. The castle was then granted to the Earl of Moray by King Charles I. Elgin and surrounding areas were staunchly anti-Royalist and after his victory against the Covenanters at Auldearn on 9 May 1645,
James Graham, Marquis of Montrose James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose (1612 – 21 May 1650) was a Scottish nobleman, poet, soldier and later viceroy and captain general of Scotland. Montrose initially joined the Covenanters in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, but subseq ...
turned his attention towards Elgin. The Laird of Innes and Grant of Ballindalloch and some burgesses from Elgin prepared the castle for a siege. Montrose occupied Elgin and burned the homes of leading Covenanter supporters in the town and the farmyard buildings belonging to Spynie but did not attempt to take the castle. Spynie had become the centre for the Covenanters in the area and this fact had not gone unnoticed by the Royalists. The Marquis of Huntly laid siege to the castle in late 1645 leaving Lord Lewis Gordon in charge but the castle's defences held until it was relieved by John Middleton, the future Earl of Middleton. Following the restoration of Episcopacy to the Scottish Church in 1662 ownership of the castle passed back to the church, but it was starting to fall into decay. Parliament granted Bishop Murdo MacKenzie £1000 for repairs and this sustained the building up to 1689 when the last occupant, Bishop William Hay was expelled after refusing to take an oath of allegiance to King
William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...
and Queen
Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a female given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religion * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also called the Blesse ...
. The palace passed into the hands of the Crown and the fine ironwork and wood carvings removed. Local people plundered the walls for stonework for building works until the early 19th century when it passed into the ownership of James Dunbar-Brander of Pitgaveny. It was leased to the Department of the Works in 1974. The tower by that time had a pronounced bulge in the east wall - the structure being undermined by attempts by Covenanters to blow it up. Major work to stabilise the structure was undertaken during the late 1970s using a large scaffold. Ultimately a curtain wall was reinstated disguising a large concrete plinth that prevents the tower from collapsing. The Palace was finally opened by Historic Scotland in 1994.Lewis, Pringle: Spynie Palace and the Bishops of Moray, Edinburgh, 2002, p.10


Notes


Main references

*Buchanan, George: The History of Scotland, Vol III, 1856 *Donaldson, G: The Foundation of Elgin Cathedral, in Maclean, A 1974 (ed): Elgin Cathedral and Diocese of Moray, Inverness, p. 2 *Fawcett, R: Elgin Cathedral, Edinburgh, 1991 *Lewis, Pringle: Spynie Palace and the Bishops of Moray, Edinburgh, 2002 *MacGibbon; Ross: Castellated and Domestic Architecture of Scotland, Edinburgh, 1887 *Simpson, W D: The Palace of the Bishops of Moray at Spynie, Elgin, 1927


External links

*
Mysterious Britain & Ireland: Spynie Palace
Images: Bishop's Palace Ruin

*Bishop's Churc

{{Authority control Episcopal palaces in Scotland Castles in Moray Scheduled monuments in Moray Historic Environment Scotland properties in Moray Culdees Ruins in Moray Buildings and structures in Elgin, Moray 1150 establishments in Scotland