It is my get pleasure to introduce you to my summer home, The Dalkeith Palace.
But first, as always, a little history. The Dalkeith Palace was built upon the remains of the 12th Century Dalkeith Castle. The Dalkeith Castle has a very rich history in Scotland. The castle was at an important military stronghold, sitting above the bend of the North Esk River outside of Edinburgh. The castle imprisoned Cardinal Beaton during the tumultuous Reformation period (which I told you all about after my trip to St. Andrews, remember?) .
The castle was owned at different times in history King James VI of Scotland (later known as James I, King of England), the son of Mary Queen of Scots, King Charles I, who used the estate as a personal hunting grounds, and General Monk and Cromwell, who planned the Restoration of the Monarchy and King Charles II to the throne in the castle between 1650 – 1654.
The castle was brought to ruin sometime in the late 17th Century. The Duke of Buccleuch’s wife Anne then ordered the palace to be built, in the same fashion of William of Orange’s palace in the Netherlands. The Buccleuchs, the largest landowners in the UK, used the palace as their seat until the mid-1910s. During their occupation, the palace was visited by Bonnie Prince Charlie, on his fateful march south to London during the Jacobite Rebellion, George IV during his visit to Edinburgh in 1822, and Queen Victoria in 1842.
During World War II, the palace housed the Polish Free Army. Several decades later, it was converted into a modern facility and in the 1980s, leased to the Wisconsin consortium, which has operated the Wisconsin in Scotland program, where I am interning this summer, ever since in the palace.
The Dalkeith Palace has remained relatively true to its original look and feel since it was built in 1702. The palace sits on a beautiful, landscaped estate of 850 acres full of farmland, bike trails, stables, and river bends.
The house is currently undergoing rennovations to its roof for the first time since it was constructed in 1702. Even with the scaffolding covering its exterior, I think it’s the most beautiful house in the world.
A statue of the Duke of Wellington, stands proudly in the Marble Hall. The staircase in the Marble Hall took a team of 10 marble-cutters 64 weeks to complete! The duchess had quite the affinity for marble, as evidenced by the number of marble fireplaces and bas-reliefs around the house.
On the first floor is the ballroom and gallery, home to a number of Buccleuch owned artworks. Traditionally, a ballroom would be found on the ground floor of a country manor or palace such as this and the living quarters of the family on the first floor. This is because, presumably, a palace would sometimes serve as a public place for ceilidhs, balls and so forth, and why would a lord or lady want the public near their private living quarters? Therefore, the flats would be upstairs where the public were not invited. However, Anne, the wife of the duke, instructed her quarters to be on the ground floor and the ballroom upstairs.
Original wallpaper from the 1700s.
Above is The Cavern, one of the recreational rooms in the basement of the house for students. There is also a ping-pong room, pool room, exercise room and movie room in the palace.
Above are two graffiti stetches left by the Polish Army soldiers, who were housed on the third floor of the Dalkeith Palace during WWII. The third is a photo of presumably a soldier’s loved one taped to the wall. The third floor is in complete shambles (see below), but I am pretty sure a restoration is on the horizon.
As you can see, it is a very beautiful home, and I feel very privileged that I got to live, work and learn here for nearly four months. It’s been good to me and there has not been a day I did not wake up and feel in awe to be waking up in a palace.
I also feel really lucky because when I was here, the Duke of Buccleuch and his family came by to tour of the house! I got to meet the family and accompany them on their tour of the palace. It was very foreign, indeed, to call someone “Your Grace” but they were very affable and friendly.
So, have you met any ghosts yet? Sure seems a place with a history like that would be crawling with them! Brittany, it’s just so incredibly awesome you’re doing this at this point in your life. These are memories you’ll cherish forever!
this is my first look at the britt in britian blog. first off, i love the picture of kevin on the third. fantastic.
Hey, I was just recently at Dalkeith Palace this past summer. I agree that it’s an amazing place and fun just to say I stayed there. I was also there when the Duke and his family arrived. It was so cool just to be able to see them. I never got to see the polish graffiti so I’m glad you have pictures. Thanks again.
Thank you for your posting! This brings back so many happy memories for me. I can’t believe it has been 20 years since a group of about 30 of us from UW-LaCrosse were the first summer school students there in summer 1988. We were all graduate students, or about to graduate in August or December when we returned home. We were not really there for the credits, but just for the experience. They said they would never have another summer program again after that! Ha ha–how times have changed, and for the better! You know how your parents had to walk uphill barefoot in the snow to school? I kind of feel like that–it’s funny! We only had beds in our room, and just Army blankets. There was no furniture in the marble hall, and nothing on the walls. The “great staircase” had a hideous blue carpet, and we were forbidden to use it. The ballroom held only a ping pong table. We held classes in the library and in the room next door, which is now the “computer lab.” There were no personal computers back then in the dark ages, and the internet did not exist for us. I can’t imagine how we lived without it!!! We had to clean the bathrooms ourselves, and for anyone who came to stay at the palace. That became a bone of contention… We were forbidden to see most rooms of the palace. Now I don’t want it to sound like I’m complaining, it’s actually quite the opposite. I’m so happy to see how the program has grown! I think it’s fabulous that work is being done on the place, and that upgrades are being done, knowing how tight budgets are for public education. The host family idea is wonderful too! And even though things were a bit spartan when we were there, we still made some of the best memories of our lives. In fact, I’m researching some pictures and info to share with my workmates for a cultural diversity luncheon. Even though it was 20 years ago, it honestly feels like it was just yesterday, and I still dream about it all the time. Thank you again for sharing your experience with me!
I absolutely love these pictures. I studied at Dalkeith Palace in the spring of 98 – can’t believe 10 years have passed since. It was one of the highlights of my life, and these pictures transport me back to that amazing semester. Thanks for posting them!
I spent two years at the Dalkeith Palace in 2000-2002. My dad, Dr. Phillips was the director of the program. It was so much fun and one of the best experiences of my life, even though I’m only 15. We also met the Duke of Buclue,but we didn’t have to call him “Your Grace”. My dad took a picture of us(my 3 sisters and I) with the Duke and he has it on display on his palace. We were so excited when we took the tour and saw it.
please do not publish e-mail address. This may sound crazy. I believe I might have stayed in this castle in my past live. I’ve searched for a long time.