Scone Palace
Scone Palace is a palace near Perth, in Scotland built 1802-1812.
The palace was the family seat of the Lords of Scone since 1604 and is now the home of the Earls of Mansfield. It is the third palace to be built on the site and once stood as an ancient tribal gathering place of the Picts. The first palace was the palace of the Abbots of Scone. In the Middle Ages the Kings of Scotland stayed there when they went to Scone to be crowned.
For almost 500 years the greatest treasure in Scone Palace was the Stone of Scone, on which the early kings of Scotland were crowned. The first to be crowned there was Robert the Bruce in 1306 and the last, Charles II, when he accepted the Scottish crown in 1651. When Edward I carried off the stone to Westminster Abbey in 1296, the Coronation Chair that still stands in the abbey was specially made to fit over it. After Charles II coronation, the Regalia were transported to Dunnotar Castle. The English army, seeking these royal objects, laid siege to Dunnotar.
Presently on view in the state rooms of Scone Palace are fine collections of furniture, ceramics, ivories, and clocks. The gardens and grounds are also open to the public. The gardens of Scone feature Moot Hill, the mound was said to have been created by pilgrims each carrying a bootful of soil to the site in a gesture of fealty to the king. A repica of the Stone of Scone sits on Moot Hill, where coronations occurred. Elsewhere in the garden, there is a modern day maze created of hedges.
The grounds of the Palace are the best-known breeding locality in Scotland for Hawfinch.
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