Aberdour Time Travel Adventure

Aberdour’s doocot or dovecot has 600 nesting boxes to provide pigeon meat and eggs for the household. The droppings could be used as fertiliser and possibly even to make gunpowder by extracting saltpetre (potassium nitrate) from pigeon poo!

Concrete and brick aren’t modern - the Romans used them both. Aberdour does have oyster shells in its walls – take a look! They helped to make sure the heavy stones didn’t squeeze out the wet mortar that stuck them together.

In 1710, there was a fire at Aberdour. They blocked the doorway to the long gallery with stones to stop the spread, and likely used buckets of water and poles to fight the fire. The world’s first organised town fire brigade was formed in Edinburgh, but not until 1824.

William, 8th Earl of Morton and his son Robert were keen horsemen. Their treasured horses were kept in the stables here. Fashion was important to some, as the ever-changing clothing in portraits shows! “Manger” is “to eat”. Fencing was a Renaissance past-time.

No monkey puzzle or Japanese acers in this garden. These were introduced to the UK much later (1795 and 1800s). All the other plants were at Aberdour in the 1600s. Some were bought from the Physic Garden in Edinburgh (now Royal Botanic Gardens).

Galleries were intended for indoor exercise (that’s why they’re long and narrow) but were also used for private meetings as walking and talking made eavesdropping harder. Aberdour had a harpsicord in the gallery but baths were usually taken in the bedchamber.

Painted ceilings full of symbols were all the rage in the 1600s and 1700s. Tapestry work was very skilled; not something the earl’s wife would do. Fine carpets were displayed on tables, not put on the floor. Leonardo Da Vinci drew plans for a helicopter, but never built it.

Regent Morton introduced the Maiden or heiding aix to Scotland. He was beheaded using this guillotine-like device when convicted of murdering Mary Queen of Scots' husband. Iron Maiden are a rock band.