Glenfinnan Monument

Last updated

Glenfinnan Monument
Glenfinnan Monument - geograph.org.uk - 966363.jpg
The monument in 2008, looking southwest
Glenfinnan Monument
56°52′09″N05°26′13″W / 56.86917°N 5.43694°W / 56.86917; -5.43694
Location Glenfinnan
Scotland
Designer James Gillespie Graham
Type Statue
MaterialRubble
Height69 ft (21 m)
Opening date1814;210 years ago (1814)

The Glenfinnan Monument is a Category A listed monument in Glenfinnan, Lochaber, erected in 1814 and dedicated to the Scottish Highlanders who fought in the Jacobite Army during the Jacobite rising of 1745. [1]

Contents

By 1814, Jacobitism was no longer a political threat to the House of Hanover. Alexander Macdonald, a member of Clan Macdonald of Clanranald, ordered the construction of the tower to commemorate the Highlanders who fought on the side of Charles Edward Stuart during the rebellion. The tower, which is 59 ft (18 m) in height, was designed by Scottish architect James Gillespie Graham. [2] The tower's construction was funded partially by the wealth accrued from slave plantations in Jamaica owned by Macdonald's father, also named Alexander. [3] A statue of an unknown Highlander designed by John Greenshields, referred to at the point of commission as Stewart himself, was added in 1835. [4]

The monument's location at Glenfinnan was made possible by a new road (now the A830), built by Thomas Telford and opened in 1812, between Fort William and Arisaig. Since 1938, the monument has been in the care of the National Trust for Scotland. The Trust has constructed a visitor centre, providing tickets, information, exhibitions, a shop, a café and toilets. In 2021, the Trust replaced a portrait of Stewart in the visitor centre with a display which detailed the links between the monument and slavery along with information on the ownership of slaves by Highland elites. [5]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Trust for Scotland</span> Conservation charity that protects and promotes Scotlands natural and cultural heritage

The National Trust for Scotland is a Scottish conservation organisation. It is the largest membership organisation in Scotland and describes itself as "the conservation charity that protects and promotes Scotland's natural and cultural heritage for present and future generations to enjoy".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flora MacDonald</span> Scottish Jacobite

Flora MacDonald 1722 to 5 March 1790, is best known for helping Charles Edward Stuart evade government troops after the Battle of Culloden in April 1746. Her family had generally backed the government during the 1745 Rising, and MacDonald later claimed to have assisted Charles out of sympathy for his situation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort George, Highland</span> Military fortress near Ardresier, Scotland

Fort George is a large 18th-century fortress near Ardersier, to the north-east of Inverness in the Highland council area of Scotland. It was built to control the Scottish Highlands in the aftermath of the Jacobite rising of 1745, replacing a Fort George in Inverness constructed after the 1715 Jacobite rising to control the area. The current fortress has never been attacked and has remained in continuous use as a garrison.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Prestonpans</span> Battle in Scotland during the Jacobite rising of 1745

The Battle of Prestonpans, also known as the Battle of Gladsmuir, was fought on 21 September 1745, near Prestonpans, in East Lothian, the first significant engagement of the Jacobite rising of 1745.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glenfinnan</span> Human settlement in Scotland

Glenfinnan is a hamlet in Lochaber area of the Highlands of Scotland. In 1745 the Jacobite rising began here when Prince Charles Edward Stuart raised his standard on the shores of Loch Shiel. Seventy years later, the 18 m (60 ft) Glenfinnan Monument, at the head of the loch, was erected to commemorate the historic event.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blair Castle</span> Country house in Blair Atholl, Perth and Kinross, Scotland, UK

Blair Castle stands in its grounds near the village of Blair Atholl in Perthshire in Scotland. It is the ancestral home of the Clan Murray, and was historically the seat of their chief, the Duke of Atholl, though the current (12th) Duke, Bruce Murray, lives in South Africa. The castle stands in Glen Garry, and commands a strategic position on the main route through the central Scottish Highlands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ewen Cameron of Lochiel</span> Scottish highland chief and soldier

Sir Ewen Cameron of Lochiel was a Scottish soldier and the 17th Chief of Clan Cameron. He fought as a Cavalier during the Civil War and was one the principal Jacobite leaders during the 1689 Rising. He is regarded as one of the most formidable Scottish clan chiefs of all time. Lord Macaulay praised him as the "Ulysses of the Highlands" and further wrote, "Sir Ewen Cameron of Lochiel was in personal qualities unrivalled among the Celtic Princes. He was a gracious master, a trusty ally, a terrible enemy." An incident demonstrating Lochiel's strength and ferocity in single combat, when he bit out the throat of an enemy, is used by Sir Walter Scott in Lady of the Lake.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clan Donald</span> Scottish clan

Clan Donald, also known as Clan MacDonald, is a Highland Scottish clan and one of the largest Scottish clans. The Lord Lyon King of Arms, the Scottish official with responsibility for regulating heraldry in that country, issuing new grants of coats of arms, and serving as the judge of the Court of the Lord Lyon, recognises under Scottish law the High Chief of Clan Donald. Historically the chiefs of the Clan Donald held the title of Lord of the Isles until 1493 and two of those chiefs also held the title of Earl of Ross until 1476. Queen Mary of Denmark is member of Clan Donald.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clan Mackenzie</span> Scottish clan

Clan Mackenzie is a Scottish clan, traditionally associated with Kintail and lands in Ross-shire in the Scottish Highlands. Traditional genealogies trace the ancestors of the Mackenzie chiefs to the 12th century. However, the earliest Mackenzie chief recorded by contemporary evidence is Alexander Mackenzie of Kintail who died some time after 1471. Traditionally, during the Wars of Scottish Independence, the Mackenzies supported Robert the Bruce, but feuded with the Earls of Ross in the latter part of the 14th century. During the 15th and 16th-centuries the Mackenzies feuded with the neighboring clans of Munro and MacDonald. In the 17th century the Mackenzie chief was made Earl of Seaforth in the peerage of Scotland. During the Scottish Civil War of the 17th century the Mackenzies largely supported the Royalists. During the Jacobite rising of 1715 the chief and clan of Mackenzie supported the Jacobite cause. However, during the Jacobite rising of 1745 the clan was divided with the chief, Kenneth Mackenzie, Lord Fortrose, supporting the British-Hanoverian Government and his relative, George Mackenzie, 3rd Earl of Cromartie, supporting the Jacobites.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glenfinnan Viaduct</span> Railway viaduct in Highland, Scotland, UK

The Glenfinnan Viaduct is a railway viaduct on the West Highland Line in Glenfinnan, Inverness-shire, Scotland, built from 1897 to 1901. Located at the top of Loch Shiel in the West Scottish Highlands, the viaduct overlooks the Glenfinnan Monument and the waters of Loch Shiel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Loch Shiel</span> Freshwater loch in Scotland

Loch Shiel is a freshwater loch situated 20 kilometres (12 mi) west of Fort William in the Highland council area of Scotland. At 28 kilometres long it is the 4th longest loch in Scotland, and is the longest to have retained a natural outflow without any regulation of its water level, being 120 m (393 ft) deep. Its nature changes considerably along its length, being deep and enclosed by mountains in the north east and shallow surrounded by bog and rough pasture in the south west, from which end the 4 km River Shiel drains to the sea in Loch Moidart near Castle Tioram.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clan MacDonell of Glengarry</span> Highland Scottish clan

Clan MacDonell of Glengarry, also known as Clan Ranald of Knoydart & Glengarry is a Scottish clan and is a branch of the larger Clan Donald. The clan takes its name from River Garry where the river Garry runs eastwards through Loch Garry to join the Great Glen about 16 miles (25 km) north of Fort William, Highland. The progenitor of the MacDonells of Glengarry is Reginald, 4th great-grandson of the warrior Somerled. The clan chief is traditionally designated as the "Son of Alexander's son".

Highlander may refer to:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clan Cameron</span> West Highland Scottish clan

Clan Cameron is a West Highland Scottish clan, with one main branch Lochiel, and numerous cadet branches. The Clan Cameron lands are in Lochaber and within their lands lies Ben Nevis which is the highest mountain in the British Isles. The Chief of the clan is customarily referred to as simply "Lochiel".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clan Menzies</span> Highland Scottish clan

Clan Menzies ; Scottish Gaelic: Clann Mèinnear; a member is a Mèinnearach) is a Highland Scottish clan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">42nd Regiment of Foot</span> Military unit

The 42nd Regiment of Foot was a Scottish infantry regiment in the British Army also known as the Black Watch. Originally titled Crawford's Highlanders or the Highland Regiment and numbered 43rd in the line, in 1748, on the disbanding of Oglethorpe's Regiment of Foot, they were renumbered 42nd, and in 1751 formally titled the 42nd (Highland) Regiment of Foot. The 42nd Regiment was one of the first three Highland Regiments to fight in North America. The unit was honoured with the name Royal Highland Regiment in 1758. Its informal name Black Watch became official in 1861. In 1881, the regiment was amalgamated with 73rd (Perthshire) Regiment of Foot under the Childers Reforms into The Royal Highland Regiment , being officially redesignated The Black Watch in 1931. In 2006, the Black Watch became part of the Royal Regiment of Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Donald Cameron of Lochiel</span> Scottish Jacobite and hereditary chief

Donald Cameron of Lochiel, popularly known as the Gentle Lochiel, was a Scottish Jacobite, soldier and hereditary chief of Clan Cameron, traditionally loyal to the exiled House of Stuart. His support for Charles Edward Stuart proved pivotal in the early stages of the 1745 Rising. Lochiel was among the Highlanders defeated at the Battle of Culloden, and thereafter went into hiding before eventually fleeing to France.

The Independent Highland Companies were irregular militia raised from the Scottish clans of the Scottish Highlands by order of the British government between 1603 and 1760 in order to help keep the peace and enforce the law in the Highlands and were recognized as such by the government. The officers of the Independent Highland Companies were commissioned as officers of the British Army but the Independent Companies were not recognized as official regiments of the line of the army. The Independent Highland Companies were the progenitors of the Highland Regiments of the British Army that began when ten Independent Highland Companies were embodied to form the Earl of Crawford's Highland Regiment that was numbered the 43rd Regiment of Foot in 1739.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Greenshields</span> Scottish sculptor (1795–1835)

John Greenshields was a talented but short-lived Scottish sculptor. His most notable works are probably the statue of Sir Walter Scott in Parliament House, Edinburgh, The Scott Monument in Glasgow and the statue of Bonnie Prince Charlie on the Glenfinnan Monument. He also created a series of works depicting scenes from the works of Robert Burns.

<i>Du Teillay</i> (1744 ship)

Du Teillay was a French privateer and slave ship commissioned in Nantes in 1744 by shipowner and slave trader Antoine Walsh. Prior to the Jacobite rising of 1745, it was involved in the Atlantic slave trade. Just prior the rebellion, the ship was used by Walsh to transport Charles Edward Stewart along with funds and supplies from France to the Sound of Arisaig in the Scottish Highlands, where Stewart proclaimed his intention to rebel and raised his royal standard. On 9 July 1745, Du Teillay was involved in a naval engagement with the Royal Navy before sailing to Amsterdam.

References

  1. Glenfinnan MonumentHistoric Environment Scotland
  2. Boundless magazine article, Sept/Oct 2020, page 25
  3. Carrell, Severin (7 January 2021). "Slave trade links of Scotland's Glenfinnan memorial revealed". The Guardian . Guardian Media Group . Retrieved 4 February 2024.
  4. "John Greenshields (1792-1835), sculptor, a biography".
  5. Carrell, Severin (7 January 2021). "Slave trade links of Scotland's Glenfinnan memorial revealed". The Guardian . Guardian Media Group . Retrieved 4 February 2024.