Curious Culross

Took a wee trip westward along the coast to Culross today. This is one of the windows of the Palace or "Great Lodging" which was built between 1597 and 1611 by Sir George Bruce, the Laird of Carnock. He was a successful merchant who traded with other ports in the River Forth, the Low Countries and also the Baltic. He also had interests in coal mining and salt production in the area and has been credited with sinking the world's first coal mine to extend under the sea. An all round entrepreneurial smart arse it would seem.

A lot of the materials used in the construction were sourced from his foreign trade, such as Baltic pine and Dutch red pantiles, floor tiles and glass. It was never really a palace and not even royal, although James VI of Scotland did visit in 1617. The town was granted the status of Royal Burgh in 1592 which would no doubt have helped Sir George Bruce in acquiring a monopoly of foreign trade, (although Kinghorn has bragging rights here as it was already a Royal Burgh by 1214).

The palace and other buildings within the town are owned and run by the National Trust for Scotland, so if you want to find out what a 16th century Scottish royal burgh looked like, then this is your best bet. Just make sure you pronounce the name correctly