Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Prehistoric
The northern islands of Scotland have some of the best surviving examples of prehistoric
buildings in Europe. The best known are the stone villages of Skara Brae (from 3100 BC)
in Orkney, and Jarlshof (from 1500 BC) in Shetland. The characteristic stone defensive
towers known as brochs that can be seen in the north and west, including Glenelg (south
of Kyle of Lochalsh), Dun Carloway (Lewis) and Mousa (Shetland), are thought to date
from the Iron Age (2nd century BC to 1st century AD).
Romanesque (12th Century)
The Romanesque style - with its characteristic round arches and chevron decoration - was
introduced to Scotland via the monasteries that were founded during the reign of David I
(1124-53). Good examples survive in Dunfermline Abbey, and St Magnus Cathedral in
Kirkwall.
Gothic (12th to 16th Centuries)
The more elaborate Gothic style - tall, pointed arches, ornate window tracery and ribbed
vaulting - was adapted by the monastic orders. Examples of Early Gothic architecture can
be seen in the ruins of the great Border abbeys of Jedburgh and Dryburgh, at Holyrood
Abbey in Edinburgh and in Glasgow Cathedral. The more decorative Middle and Late
Gothic styles appear in Melrose Abbey, the cathedrals of Dunkeld and Elgin, and the par-
ish churches of Haddington and Stirling.
Post-Reformation (16th & 17th Centuries)
After the Reformation many abbeys and cathedrals were damaged or destroyed, as the
new religion frowned on ceremony and ornament.
During this period the old style of castle,
with its central keep and curtain wall such as at
Dirleton Castle, was superseded by the tower
house. Good examples include Castle Camp-
bell, Loch Leven Castle and Neidpath Castle.
The Renaissance style was introduced in the
royal palaces of Linlithgow and Falkland.
CASTLES
Scotland's Castles
by Chris Tabraham is an excel-
lent companion for anyone touring Scottish castles
- a readable, illustrated history detailing how and
why they were built.
Georgian (18th & Early 19th
Centuries)
The leading Scottish architects of the 18th century were William Adam (1684-1748) and
his son Robert Adam (1728-92), whose revival of classical Greek and Roman forms in-
fluenced architects throughout Europe. Among the many neoclassical buildings they de-
