Westminster Abbey Archives - Scones, history and a dollop of politics

After our disastrous non-scone in our previous post from Patricia’s Coffee Bar in Glasgow we thought we should try and do something to redeem ourselves. So, what better way on a scone blog than to come to Scone itself. Now a word of warning to those unaware of the nuances of Scottish pronunciation. When you see ‘scone’ as in ‘scone blog’ it is pronounced ‘scone,’ as in ‘gone’. However when you see ‘Scone’ as in the village of ‘Scone’, it is pronounced ‘skoon’ as in ‘soon’. Murrayshall House is on the outskirts of the village.

No mean feat!

Just to the west is the village of Old Scone where all the Kings of Scotland used to be crowned. They would sit on the Stone of Scone, a large rectangular block of sandstone carved with a Celtic cross. It is perhaps better known as the Stone of Destiny. In 1296 Edward I stole it and placed it in Westminster Abbey as a throne for English Kings … how very dare they!! However, in 1950 a group of plucky Scottish students ‘repatriated’ it back to Scotland and created a right royal rumpus in the process. It weighs 152kg so no mean feat.

A year or so later the police found it in Arbroath and replaced in Westminster Abbey. However, there are doubts regarding its authenticity. Some think a copy had been made and deliberately left in Arbroath to be found. The real stone, of course, still being at large. If it isn’t authentic does that make any coronation created on it, null and void? Interesting!

Borrowers

The last monarch to use the real one was Elizabeth I of Scotland, sometimes known outside of Scotland as Elizabeth II. After much protest In Scotland, the UK government grudgingly agreed that the stone should be located back to where it belonged. There was a proviso, however, that they get it back for future coronations. It currently resides in Edinburgh Castle alongside the Scottish Crown Jewels. Next year it’s supposed to be moved again. This time to Perth … almost back in Scone.

Enough about stones, what about the scones at Murrayshall House. Hopefully they would not bear any resemblance to the Stone of Scone.

The house is certainly rather grand and has views over the Perthsire countryside to match .

27?

It was built in 1664 and was home to numerous Lords, Barons, Earls, Viscounts and other chinless wonders until the 1970s when it was turned into a hotel. The previous owners, poor dears, had to move to nearby Scone Palace. Nowadays, riffraff like us are allowed over the doorstep. The grounds at Murrayshall are lovely and extensive enough to easily accommodate a 27 hole golf course…is that not too many holes?

Our room came complete with a grand piano, though with everyone experiencing staff shortages due to Brexit, there was no one playing it. The young girl looking after us was very pleasant and soon had us sorted with a fandangled contraption bearing our afternoon tea. There was plenty of sandwiches, quiches and cakes alongside a separate plate bearing four scones. Often, in places like this you get a tea menu but not here. It was just plain ordinary tea, take it or leave it … and that’s just fine by us. Needless to say there was much more food than our tiny tummies could accommodate. We had to pace ourselves on the sandwiches in order to leave room for the scones.

They were really nice and came with little pots of Scottish jam … yegh! The clotted cream, however, was made by a Dutch company in England?? There were a few downsides to this afternoon tea but we eventually decided that the scones just scraped into the topscone category. Well done Murrayshall House.

The library at Murrayshall House — the library

Rwanda and Eurovision

The Commonwealth Games have started amidst great celebration in Birmingham. We were more than a little surprised, however, to learn that Rwanda is competing. Especially since that country has never had the pleasure of being part of the great British Empire. Seems on a par with Australia competing in the Eurovision Song Contest. Maybe Rwanda will be able to take part in that too? Since the cornerstone of Commonwealth membership is human rights, Rwanda’s inclusion is even more puzzling. Could it be linked in any way to Westminster’s decision to send refugees and asylum seekers to Rwanda just to get rid of them? Perish the thought!

Never mind all that, we just feel sorry for the poor sods who, on reaching the 18th hole here, find they still have another nine to go. And … talk about destiny, England have just won the football at the Women’s EURO 2022, so there’s something to talk about for the next fifty years. Well done England! You can have the Stone back for Charles’s coronation but only if you ask nicely!

PH2 7PH 01738 55 11 71 Murrayshall House Hotel

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It was obviously a Scottish neck and an English axe because it took three blows to part her head from the rest of her body. Breakfast time, on this very day, 8th Feb in 1587, Mary Queen of Scots had her head chopped off. We know this because, as they say “we seen it in the movies“. Kind of appropriate that we watched it at the Hippodrome Cinema in Bo’ness. Just a couple of miles from Linlithgow Palace where Mary was born.

Internal view of the Hiipodrome cinema Image — Inside the Hippodrome (picture courtesy of the Hippodrome)

Chop chop

In spite of them taking quite a few liberties with the actualities we enjoyed the film. It’s just the movies after all. However her life was so eventful it’s a little surprising they had to make things up. In case you are going to see it they didn’t actually show the chopping bit. That would’ve been too much. Everyone on the edge of their seats. Will it come off this time? This time? This time??

The problem, as always was religion. It’s odd to think what might have happened if things had turned out differently. What if her first husband Francois, who made her Queen of France, had not gone and died on her? In slightly different circumstances she might have kept her head? What if she had overcome English treachery and gained the British throne? Who knows? Instead of being snivelling members of the EU we might have been vibrant and enthusiastic participants. Okay, okay that’s taking things way too far! The take home message from the film was … back then, it was no fun being a Queen, or even just a queen. There was plenty of both in the film.

When the film finished a scone was called for however we thought we had been in every café in town. We had reviewed Brian’s Café, and 1884 as well as the Ivy Tearoom. However, just a short distance from the cinema we found yet another, Matty’s Café. Apparently Matthew Steele, who died in 1937, was the architect who designed the Hippodrome cinema as well as many other local buildings. Marvellous how things come together!

Jobsworth

When we arrived the staff, a girl who seemed to be on her own, was struggling to cope with an influx of customers. Like us, they were probably all from the cinema. To be honest, we are not even sure of the name of this place. It’s either Matty’s Cafe or the Bo’ness Bakery, take your pick. We chose the former but we think it’s run by the bakery that has a shop next door. Anyway we had to wait a while to be attended to so had time to look around. It’s one of these places which is kind of summed up by the clock above the coffee machine. No one has quite decided whose job it is to straighten it up. It’s probably been like that for years.

Eventually we were asked what we would like. For some reason I fancied a bacon roll. “All the rolls have gone, we only have burnt ones left”. I asked if that meant I couldn’t have a roll. “No, you can have one but it’ll be burnt“. Okay? Our order, of course, included a scone and before you could say ‘chop, chop, chop’ it was in front of us, lightening fast. My roll was indeed burnt … as black an executioner’s mind. It was also delicious. The fruit scone came with generous tubs of jam and whipped cream and was really quite good. However, in spite of what turned out to be really good cheery service it didn’t quite make the topscone grade. If you are looking for a no-frills kind of place in Bo’ness you could do a lot worse than Matty’s Café.

Irony

Mary’s body was taken and buried at Peterborough Cathedral. However, in an ironic final twist to the tale her son, James VI and I, who became the first king of England, Scotland and Ireland had her exhumed. She now lies in Westminster Abbey next to her cousin, Elizabeth I, who ordered her execution Can you hear the spinning?

Efficiency

Donald Tusk has said “I’ve been wondering what that special place in hell looks like, for those who promoted Brexit without even a sketch of a plan how to carry it out safely.” We’re with you Donald! As Theresa May goes to the EU yet again she must feel sooooo thankful that the guillotine has fallen into disuse. Mary Queen of Scots, on the other hand, may have wished for something as efficient.

EH51 9NF tel: 01506 825336 Bo’ness Bakery FB

Scones, history and a dollop of politics

Tag Archives: Westminster Abbey

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