Fettercairn the Royal Arch

Fettercairn the Royal Arch

Location

Fettercairn, Kincardine

OS Map Reference

NO 650 734

Date

1864

Description

A triumphal arch of Rhenish Romanesque style; round arch between two high buttressed octagonal towers with short gabletted spirelets and wrought-iron finials. The top of the arch is finished with a crenellated parapet with a curvilinear gablet feature at the centre. It was the winner of a competition, assessed by Queen Victoria, to commemorate a visit by Victoria and Albert in 1861.

Related Information

Erected by the villagers at a cost of £250. The story of Victoria's visit is that: The Royal party had travelled from Balmoral by foot and pony across Mount Keen, to Invermark in Glen Esk. After lunch they continued the journey by carriage to Fettercairn where they stayed overnight in the Ramsay Arms.
Although the innkeeper and his wife new their identity the Queen hoped to remain incognito. When she went for an evening stroll she heard a fife and drum band and feared she had been discovered. The hotel maid assured her the band regularly played in the street. Next morning a small crowd gathered to cheer as Victoria and Albert departed by carriage, driving across Cairn O'Mount to Balmoral in a thick mist. The two day expedition covering 131 kilometres.

Era

1800s

Information Source

Abdns SMR and info board.

Related Artefacts

Categories

Iconography

  • cross, Roman
  • crown

Photographer

  • Pat Copner

Unavailable Data

  • Creator
  • External Links

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