Jacobite Artefacts
The following articles were taken from The Aberdeen Press and Journal newspaper by Laura Grant.
A chair once used by Bonnie Prince Charlie is expected to fetch £8,000 - £12,000 when it goes under the hammer in Edinburgh in November. The 18th century wooden chair originally sat in the principal bedroom of Culloden House, which the prince took by force and used for three days in the run-up to the bloody battle in 1746. At the time it was home to Duncan Forbes Lord President Forbes of the Court of Session, who did everything in his power to prevent Highland chieftains from joining the Jacobite uprising. In the days following the Jacobite defeat, 17 officers of the Highland army were imprisoned in a small chamber in the old part of the house and then shot on the orders of the Duke of Cumberland. The bedroom was kept intact by the Forbes family until the house and its contents were sold in July, 1897. Made from padouk wood in the period of George II, the chair was designed as a commode but later fitted with a needlework seat. It bears a small silver plate giving a brief description of its history. Patricia Hess from Phillips Auctioneers, said they were expecting a lot of interest from buyers. She said: "There is a great deal of interest in Jacobite objects and memorabilia. A few years ago we had a small fragment of the plaid worn by Bonnie Prince Charlie at Moy, which we expected to fetch between £200 to £300. It went for over £2,000 even though it was quite small and had been attacked by moths." Another of the chair's equally famous owners is former British Prime Minister, Ramsay Macdonald, who kept it in his Lossiemouth home at the turn of the 20th century. According to his descendants it was his favourite seat, and he is pictured sitting in it in a portrait painted by the celebrated Scottish artist John Lavery in 1932. The chair was up for auction on Thursday, November 22, at Phillips in Edinburgh. This article appeared after the sale, by Alan Gorham. A chair which was sold at auction for £7,600 in Edinburgh yesterday could be rushed to its new home in Lancaster today in time for a special celebration. Martin Higginson bought the padouk chair, taken from the bedroom in which Bonnie Prince Charlie slept before his defeat at the Battle of Culloden. Mobile phone games boss Mr Higginson runs his business from a house where Charles stayed on November 24, 1745, during his march south. Now he wants the chair delivered to the building, which he has restored to its 18th century glory, by tomorrow, the 256th anniversary of Charlie's brief visit, which Lacastrians still celebrate. Mr Higginson said: "The building my offices are in is where Prince Charlie stayed when he arrived in Lancaster in 1745, so to bring a piece of furniture here which is connected to him is wonderful". "We're opening our doors to the public on Saturday and I hope to be able to have the chair here in time for them to look at and enjoy - that was the purpose of buying it. "Our offices are not at all modern. There are no partitions or open plan offices, because I had the place renovated to its former glory." Mr Higginson added, "If we can't arrange something with the auctioneers to have the chair sent down, then I'll probably have someone go to Edinburgh to collect it. Otherwise, it'll be another year before the anniversary comes around again - I don't want to miss this one." The chair, made in the period of George III, bears a small silver plate which reads: "From the Presidents Room, Culloden House, Where Prince Charlie Slept for the Three Nights Previous to The Battle." Prince Charles Edward took Culloden Castle by force three days before the bloody battle and he slept alongside the chair in a four poster bed in the castle's principal bedroom. On April 16, 1746, the prince led his Jacobite forces to a nearby moor where they were heavily defeated by British forces under the command of the Duke of Cumberland. The Aberdeen Press and Journal
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The jacket supposedly belonging to Prince Charles Edward Stewart is on show at the Clan Cameron Museum in Scotland.
Photograph reproduced with the permission of Kees Slings. Link to the museum: www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/speanbridge/clancameronmuseum/ |