Scotland’s most important village? Falkland in Fife

In terms of Scotland’s past, surely no village has been the scene of more historic events than Falkland in Fife.

To me, Falkland is the very definition of a VIV – Very Important Village – and the fact that it was declared a historic conservation village more than 50 years ago is proof of my assertion.

There is no absolute definition of what comprises a village, but over the years I have used criteria taught to me by a geography teacher – that it should have a rural location, have a population of under 3000 – ie, be larger than a hamlet and smaller than a town – and be the site or past site of a centre of worship or some other form of meeting place.

All of the 15 villages I have chosen for this trilogy of articles, named last week, meet those criteria, and even though Falkland was once a royal burgh – some even claim it was a royal capital of Scotland – it has for some reason never grown to be a town and at the latest census had a population of just over 1000.

READ MORE: Small but mighty – the stories of Scotland's villages

To remind you, my criteria were: the villages need not be ancient – ie, pre-Reformation – but must have been extant for a couple of centuries at least; they should have some claim to fame in the context of Scotland’s history, and there must have been some historical research about them – as I always say, I am a writer about history who depends on proper historians to do the hard labour of digging out the facts.

They also have to be places I have visited, which rules out Orkney and Shetland. If you think your village qualifies, then email me at nationalhamish@gmail.com

Falkland’s history stretches back more than 1000 years, when it was first named Kilgour, thought to mean the “church (or cell) of Gabran”. Like so many of our ancient towns and villages, it benefited greatly from royal connections.

It was the site of a hunting lodge used by King David I in the early part of the 12th century. In 1160, David I’s successor Malcolm IV, known as the Maiden, granted the lodge and lands around it to Donnchad, known in English as Duncan, 1st Earl of Fife, one of the king’s strongest supporters.

READ MORE: Common Ridings are vital part of Scottish Borders traditions

Earl Duncan ensured that a castle was built on the site of the lodge and a settlement grew up around it, the village of Kilgour developing alongside Falkland Castle.

From then on, the fates of Kilgour and the castle were intertwined – the name Falkland does not derive from “falcon” as some think but may be from the Gaelic “fallach lann” meaning hidden enclosure.

I wrote about this fortification last year in my column on royal palaces, so I’ll try not to repeat myself.

Duncan and his successors built a substantial fortress on the site, and it may be that the workers who toiled on the castle put down roots in Kilgour.

In 1402, Robert Stewart, the Duke of Albany, imprisoned his nephew and rival to the Scottish throne, David Stewart, Duke of Rothesay, in the basement. Rothesay died, apparently of starvation, though an inquiry cleared Albany of murder.

As Regent for James I, captive in England for 18 years, Albany often ruled Scotland from Falkland. He never got the throne, however, and when James I returned from England he had Albany’s son Murdo executed and Falkland Castle was seized for the crown.

READ MORE: Life and works of misunderstood poet Robert Fergusson

The castle and its surrounding village became a favourite place of the Stewart royals, who loved to hunt there. James II approved Falkland as a royal burgh in 1458, a huge mark of esteem for such a small township. By that time the name of Kilgour had fallen out of use and Falkland it has been ever since.

In 1500, James IV decided to transform the castle into a royal palace and his son James V showed how much he loved Falkland by adding a court for real tennis in 1541 – it remains the oldest such court still in use in Britain.

Falkland is actually designated as an ancient capital of this country by VisitScotland and that status stems from that era of royal residence. James V’s only child, Mary, Queen of Scots, visited Falkland often and played real tennis as well as enjoying her other favourite pursuits of falconry and riding.

Last year I told how her son James VI was staying at Falkland in 1592 when rebel earls led by Francis Stewart, 5th Earl of Bothwell, launched a coup attempt.

Falkland Palace in the village of Falkland in the 17th century from the Works of William Shakespeare. Vintage etching circa mid 19th century (Image: Getty Images)

James had often used Falkland Palace (above) for diplomatic meetings and knew it inside out. He was able to evade Bothwell, but for a couple of days the future of James VI and his wife Anne hung in the balance until Bothwell was eventually “persuaded” to leave the palace. A year later, he went into exile.

It is no exaggeration to say that the history of Britain would have been entirely different had the king and queen not held out at Falkland Palace – the current monarch is their descendant. For spite, Bothwell’s followers stole the royal horses and sacked the village, but it was quickly rebuilt.

During the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, troops of Oliver Cromwell’s New Model Army occupied the palace. They were blamed for the horrendous fire which ruined the buildings in the 1650s.

It was not until more than two centuries later that the palace was restored to its previous glories. John Crichton-Stuart, 3rd Marquess of Bute, bought the ruin in 1882 and began a 20-year project that ensured its preservation.

Falkland village is also superbly preserved with more than 20 listed buildings in its environs. It is very much worth a visit.

Muir of Ord

Looking much further north, Muir of Ord is more than twice the size of Falkland in terms of population, and is considerably older. Like Falkland, the village has also changed its name, being known as Tarradale until 1862. It officially became Muir of Ord when the new local railway station was so named.

Meanwhile, situated at the western end of the Black Isle in Easter Ross in the Highland Council area, Muir of Ord really is ancient, as shown by the presence of standing stones near the modern village.

Archaeologists have shown that the area was settled in prehistoric times and there is a remarkable piece of evidence dating from the late Stone Age or Bronze Age. A henge or enclosure which has been in existence in the village for centuries, known as Castle Hill Henge, is still very much part of village life as it forms the 13th green at Muir of Ord Golf Club. Local archaeologist Tony Woodham has shown that the henge was not part of a fort but rather a gathering place.

He wrote: “Castle Hill Henge would have been a public monument, erected as a ceremonial meeting place for the community, and may have been used for ritual activity for many centuries thereafter.”

As Tarradale, the village gained its early importance as a junction of drove routes through Easter Ross. The settlement grew up around a church, Kilchrist, and it was there that the village gained an unwelcome notoriety during a feud between the clans MacKenzie and MacDonnell (or MacDonald) in the early years of the 17th century.

Highland Council states on its website about the Kilchrist burial ground: “The late medieval church was the scene of a terrible massacre. In 1603, whilst the Mackenzie congregation were inside the chapel, a party of MacDonalds locked them in and set the church ablaze. It is said that the MacDonald piper walked round the church playing to mask the screams of those inside.”

Tradition has it that the piper played Glengarry’s March, but again that is folklore.

Tarradale grew in the 19th century when the distillation of whisky was made legal in the area in 1835. By the time its name changed, the village was noted for its whisky production which continues to this day, with Diageo currently owning Glen Ord Distillery whose single malts I can personally testify to be marvellous.

Tarbert Loch Fyne

Moving south, Tarbert Loch Fyne (it is usually dual named to distinguish the village from others of a similar name) is one of those ancient villages that grew up around a castle – or in the case of Tarbert, three castles.

Two of them were lost to time but were known to exist when the village was a major centre of the ancient Kingdom of Dalriada.

The third castle was built on the site still occupied by Tarbert Castle, and it is probable that in the 720s, the castle was the location of a battle between two of the last kings of Dalriada, Dungal mac Selbaig and his successor – or usurper – Eochaid mac Echdach. Dungal won and promptly burned Tarbert.

Its strategic location was the making of Tarbert. It straddles the isthmus between an inlet of Loch Fyne known as East Loch Tarbert and the much bigger West Loch Tarbert which has access to the Hebrides.

Tarbert entered written history in 1098 when the King of Norway, Magnus III Olafsson – known as Magnus Barefoot or Barelegs – asserted his lordship of the Norse Hebridean islands and the west of modern Argyll by ordering the portage of his longship across the Tarbert isthmus. He claimed Kintyre as his own, and the Viking sagas duly recorded his feats.

Tarbert Castle was once one of the most important fortifications in the west of Scotland and though a ruin for centuries it is still a very impressive building, a designated national monument lovingly cared for by the local community whose excellent work – including a heritage park around it – is exemplary.

Due to the ongoing conflicts between Norway and Scotland, ownership of the castle and thus the village around it was much disputed in the 12th and 13th centuries but the signing of the Treaty of Perth in 1266 brought peace to Kintyre.

It was definitely seen as a Scottish royal castle by the year 1292 when King Edward I of England approved its transfer to the Scottish king he had appointed, John Balliol.

After his victory at Bannockburn, King Robert the Bruce still had to secure his kingdom and in the 1320s he realised the significance of Tarbert Castle, causing it to be rebuilt and strengthened. The accounts for masons and supplies were archived in the Exchequer Rolls, and survive to this day.

They show that the castle had a chapel, houses within its walls and a brewhouse, while outside the castle precinct was a mill, showing how the village developed around the castle, with its harbour also gaining prominence.

The Bruce seems to have made Tarbert a burgh because a seal that was made in 1328, the year before the King died, was used for the taxation of goods going in and out of the harbour.

Though the castle fell into disrepair, King James IV used it as a base for his campaign to subdue the rebellious clans of the Western Isles and in 1494 he summoned a Parliament at Tarbert which approved the King’s strategy that included building a tower, or keep, at the castle.

The village in time became an important fishing port, and it remains a major centre for yachting.