Alloa Tower in Alloa, Clackmannanshire, in central Scotland, is an early 14th-century tower house that served as the medieval residence of the Erskine clan family, later Earls of Mar.[ and is now owned by the National Trust for Scotland.]
History
The four-storey tower is high, excluding the attic. The building is made from coursed rubble and measures in size.[ The building has been extensively re-fenestrated during its history, but retains some internal medieval features.][
John Erskine, 6th Earl of Mar, built a very large mansion (Alloa House) in 1710 that incorporated the tower as its annexe. Mar wrote:]There is something in the Old Tower, especially if made to conform to the new design, which is venerable for its antiquity & makes not a bad appearance & would make one regret the being obliged to pull it down.[Charles Wemyss, Noble House of Scotland (Prestel Verlag, 2014), p. 228.]
Mar made plans to remodel the tower's interior, but it is unclear what changes were actually made. The house burned down in 1800[ and was rebuilt by George Angus in 1834–1838 for the 9th Earl. It was demolished sometime after 1868.]
Royal history at Alloa
In February 1497, the gardener of Alloa brought trees to plant in the garden at Stirling Castle.[Thomas Dickson, Accounts of the Treasurer, vol. 1 (Edinburgh, 1877), p. 377.] Margaret Tudor met the Chancellor James Beaton at Alloa on 11 July 1524, to discuss transferring power from Regent Albany to the young James V.[Ken Emond, The Minority of James V (Edinburgh, 2019), p. 174: State Papers Henry VIII, vol. 4 part 4 (London, 1836), pp. 83-4.] James V and Mary of Guise came to Alloa by boat on 7 April 1540.[Athol Murray, "Pursemaster's Accounts", Micellany of the Scottish History Society, 10 (Edinburgh, 1965), p. 41.]
Mary, Queen of Scots
Mary, Queen of Scots visited John, Lord Erskine and his wife Annabell Murray at Alloa on 16 June 1562, and again in May 1565. Mary returned to Alloa on 28 July 1566, soon after the birth of Prince James.[Steven J. Reid, The Early Life of James VI, A Long Apprenticeship (Edinburgh: John Donald, 2023), p. 26: Edward Furgol, 'Scottish Itinerary of Mary Queen of Scots, 1542-8 and 1561-8', PSAS, 117 (1987), microfiche, scanned] Some sources say the French ambassador Michel de Castelnau came with the John Lesley to Alloa to congratulate Mary on her safe delivery.[John Parker Lawson, History of Scotland by Robert Keith, 2 (Edinburgh, 1845), pp. 444–445.] They would later exchange dozens of letters in cipher code.[George Lasry, Norbert Biermann, Satoshi Tomokiyo, "Deciphering Mary Stuart’s lost letters from 1578-1584", Cryptologia, 47:2 (February 2023), pp. 101–202. ][Jade Scott, Captive Queen: The Decrypted History of Mary, Queen of Scots (London: Michael O'Mara Books, 2024), p. 29.]
Mary's visit to Alloa subsequently attracted the attention of her enemies, and the details are disputed.[John Guy, My Heart is My Own: Mary, Queen of Scots (London, 2004), 270: Gordon Donaldson, The first trial of Mary, Queen of Scots (New York: Stein and Day, 1969), 148–149.] A chronicle mentions that she left her servants at Newhaven, and took a small boat to Alloa, crewed by "simple men of seafare trade".[ Ane Cronickill of the Kingis of Scotland (Edinburgh: Maitland Club, 1830), p. 105.] According to George Buchanan and the "Book of Articles", the crew were "notorious pirates", associates of the Earl of Bothwell including William and Edmund Blackadder.[James Aikman, History of Scotland by George Buchanan, vol. 2 (Glasgow, 1827), pp. 485-6][John Hosack, Mary Queen of Scots and her accusers, 1 (Edinburgh: Blackwood, 1869), pp. 524–25.][Gordon Donaldson, The first trial of Mary, Queen of Scots (New York: Stein and Day, 1969), pp. 147–149.]
On 28 July at Alloa, Mary announced her plans to travel to Jedburgh to hold justice courts.[John Hill Burton, Register of the Privy Council of Scotland, vol. 1 (Edinburgh, 1877), pp. 475–476.] She on 31 July to Annabell Murray's brother-in-law, the Laird of Abercairney, on behalf of the evicted widow of one of his tenants.[ Historic Manuscripts Commission 3rd Report (London, 1871), p. 418.] Claude Nau wrote that Mary's only companions at Alloa were her ladies in waiting and the Earl of Mar, and Darnley only made a brief visit.[Joseph Stevenson, The History of Mary Stewart (Edinburgh, 1883), pp. 29, 238.] When Darnley came to Alloa by road, Mary told him to go away.[James Aikman, History of Scotland by George Buchanan, vol. 2 (Glasgow, 1827), p. 486: Ane Cronickill of the Kingis of Scotland (Edinburgh: Maitland Club, 1830), p. 106.] Mary enjoyed dancing at Alloa during this visit.[Thomas Finlay Henderson, Mary, Queen of Scots, her environment and tragedy, a biography (London, 1905), pp. 401-2] It is also said she went to Stirling in disguise dressed as an ordinary townswoman "in homely sort" and joined in a dance around the Market Cross.[R. H. Mahon, Mary, Queen of Scots, a study of the Lennox Narrative (Cambridge, 1924), pp. 122-3.]
James VI and a wedding masque
James VI of Scotland stayed at Alloa for four days in August 1579.[James Dennistoun, Memoirs of the Affairs of the Scotland by David Moysie (Edinburgh: Maitland Club, 1830), p. 24] In December 1592, the widower John Erskine, Earl of Mar, married Marie Stewart, a daughter of Esmé Stewart, 1st Duke of Lennox.[Claire M. Elder, "Stewart Stuart, Marie, countess of Mar", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, 8 August 2024. ] James VI and Anne of Denmark gave the bride clothes,[Jemma Field, 'Female dress', Erin Griffey, Early Modern Court Culture (Routledge, 2022), p. 402.] and wedding celebrations were held at Alloa following the marriage at Holyroodhouse.[Robert Chambers, Domestic Annals of Scotland, vol. 1 (Edinburgh, 1848), p. 244: HMC Salisbury Hatfield, vol. 4 (London, 1892), p. 252.] One version of the Memoir of David Moysie mentions that the King and Queen were "in Alloway the earle of Mars house at the bankett at Yuill and at Nursemes".[James Dennistoun, Memoirs of the Affairs of the Scotland by David Moysie (Edinburgh: Maitland Club, 1830), p. 161] Newersmes was a Scots Language word for New Year's Day.[ 'New-ȝere', Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue]
Festivities, customarily held at a bridegroom's family home known as the infare,[ 'infare', Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue] were mentioned by one of the invited guests, the courtier John Elphinstone.[HMC Salisbury Hatfield , vol. 4 (London, 1892), pp. 247, 252.] Costume was bought for a masque at Alloa in which Anne of Denmark performed, dancing in silk taffeta and "gold tock", a kind of tinsel fabric.[Michael Pearce, 'Anna of Denmark: Fashioning a Danish Court in Scotland', The Court Historian , 24:2 (2019) pp. 146, 148-9 : Hermann W. Haller, John Florio: A Worlde of Wordes (University of Toronto, 2013), p. 728, "toccadoro".][Michael Pearce, 'Maskerye Claythis 'Maskerye Claythis for James VI and Anna of Denmark', Medieval English Theatre 43 (Cambridge: D. S. Brewer, 2022), pp. 109, 121-122] The party was cut short when Sir John Carmichael and Sir George Home arrived from Edinburgh with news of the crisis caused by the discovery of the Spanish blanks.[Alexander Courtney, James VI, Britannic Prince: King of Scots and Elizabeth's Heir, 1566–1603 (Routledge, 2024), p. 137: Steven Veerapen, The Wisest Fool: The Lavish Life of James VI and I (Birlinn, 2023), p. 177: Thomas Thomson, The historie and life of King James the Sext (Edinburgh, 1825), p. 260.] In England, after the Union of the Crowns, Anne would further develop the masque form to articulate her queenship.[Sidia Fiorato, Anna of Denmark and the Performance of the Queen Consort's Sovereignty , Sidia Fiorato & John Drakakis, Performing the Renaissance Body: Essays on Drama, Law, and Representation'' (Walter de Gruyter, 2016), pp. 247–272. .]
Witch trials
John Erskine, the second earl of Mar, is known to have been involved in two trials. The first, in 1596, concerned Margaret Crawford. She had been accused of practicing mass in the Catholic way, and John Erskine was asked to raise a commission for a trial. The second trial, held from 1613–1614, concerned the Erskine of Dun siblings: Robert, Anna, Helen, and Isobel. They were found guilty of consorting with a witch, Janet Irvine, in order to poison their nephews so that they could claim their inheritance.
Between May and August 1658, many residents of Alloa were also involved in a witch-hunt. Margaret Duchell was arrested by the Alloa kirk session, and, after interrogation, confessed to making a pact with the devil, harming others, and attending witches sabbaths with six other witches. Four of these six; Margaret Taylor, Bessie Paton, Janet Black, and Katherine Rainie, were arrested between June and August. Duchell died in prison in May.
External links
