Welcome to Doune Castle
We are the Junior Tour Guides of Doune Primary School
and we're going to give you a tour of Doune Castle today
We're going to play characters from the past
when we take you on your tour
We will be playing people who lived and worked here
during the 14th century
almost 700 years ago
In a moment you will meet Robert, the Duke of Albany
and his wife, Duchess Muriella
and two of their favourite servants
You will meet people from their household
Come with us now and we will introduce you to them
and begin our tour
Most noble Robert, Duke of Albany
we present to you these people from the 21st century
Dust me down a bit please Davie
and Mary you can dust down Duchess Muriella
because this time travelling stuff is awfully messy business
Let me help you sir
Duke Robert, Duchess Muriella
I can tell you this time we have landed in the 21st century
Dear me
that's a long way from our time
Now let me just count how long it is
We live in the 14th century
so that's 15, 16, 17...
18, 19, 20, 21
We've travelled over 600 years
And who do we have here?
Well protect us Davie
for goodness sake
they could be enemy invaders
Do you think my Castle is as well protected in 2019
as it is in my own time?
I hope so
Quick, call the Constable
I'm the Constable of Doune Castle
and it is my job to make sure it's kept secure
Who goes there, friend or foe?
Only the friends of the Duke and Duchess of Albany may proceed
If you wish to proceed, call after me
"I am a friend to the Duke and Duchess of Albany"
Well?
You are safe my lord and lady, they are friends
they have simply come to find out more about Doune Castle
and life during our own time
Oh, why didn't you say so?
I am Robert Stewart, the Duke of Albany
and this is my lovely wife, Duchess Muriella
Today we have travelled from the 14th century
Davie's my most favourite and trusted servant
and Mary is Duchess Muriella's maid
My lady, seeing as we've come so far
shall we show these guests around the old place
shall we show them some hospitality?
A splendid idea my dear
Where shall we begin?
Hmmm...
As we are at the outer walls
perhaps we should show them our...
special tower
What the Duke is referring to
is the great, big, tall tower over there
that defends any important people inside those walls
from any possible invaders
We're terribly important you know
Robert's brother is the King of Scotland
but his brother is always ill
so Robert does the job of being the King
without getting to wear the crown
We must have an impressive home to show how important we are
so we can protect ourselves should enemies ever attack us
Guards
Explain to these good people what happens
to any enemy invaders that think they can invade our castle
Yes sir
The castle is tall and high
from the top of the tower my men can keep watch for miles around
If you look closely, you might see there's also a ditch around the castle
which I hoped an army would fall into if they tried to attack us
Those parts of the castle are even before our time
Now look up to the massive tower wall
That's where the Duke and Duchess would have lived
as you also see, there's a few narrow slits in the walls of the castle
that's where arrows would have been fired out by archers
Those bits of the castle are even before our time
they're from the time of the Duke's grandfather, Robert the Bruce
a famous Scot who you may have heard of
Even if the arrows didn't get you
You'd find yourself standing before a massive wooden door
secured shut by a massive bit of timber
and behind that are iron gates called yetts
that you would have to break through
Even if somehow some of an army managed to get through that door
they would be met by a nasty surprise
If you look up, you will see a long, narrow slit in the roof above you
This is called a murder hole
We guards would pour boiling water and rocks
and anything else nasty we could think of
through the slit and onto the attackers below
Look how many visitors there are
My castle must be so popular to come and see
Well, come on Davie, let's lead them into the castle
and see for ourselves how the old place is doing
in the 21st century
On today's tour I'll be showing you
some of my favourite rooms in the castle
Castle Kitchen
the Great Hall
and the Duke's Hall
Excuse me sir
but I also think these people may like to see our pit prison
That rancid, smelly, dark dungeon of a place?
The place where I can only put the naughtiest people I can find?
Excuse me sir
but I believe that the people in the 21st century
actually like going to dungeons
Very strange
I'm sure it can be arranged at the end of the tour
once we've seen my favourite rooms
Anyway, follow us this way into the Castle Kitchen
Welcome to the Castle Kitchen
the kitchen is probably the busiest part of any castle
Let me introduce you to some of the members of our household
showing you the jobs they do in this room
I am the cook
I am in charge of creating magnificent feasts and banquets
for the Duke and Duchess and their guests
It looks and smells very different
in your time than it does in mine
This is my fireplace
I rule the roost here
I would have several fires going at once
all doing a different job
We will usually have something roasting on a spit
and lots of great, big cauldrons bubbling away
full of vegetables, soups and sauces
It's quiet in here now
but my kitchen would never be quiet
You can see the servants here
mixing and scrubbing
stirring, turning, sweeping and chopping
The fire would be crackling
I would be shouting orders
and oh, the smell
a lovely smell of roasting pig
and some of my nice herbs bubbling in the pot
To cover up the taste of the old smelly meat
Oi, watch it you cheeky ungrateful little...
Cheek
It does get a bit hot in here mind you
with the fire and all the rushing about
and the fear of the Duke and Duchess
not liking one of my dishes
but I took a bath just last year
so I'm as fresh as a daisy
Three of my assistants are showing you their work here
Let's find out what they are doing
I am the castle spitboy
They call me the turnbrochie
my job is to stand here, right by the fire
and slowly turn the spit
There is usually a great, big lamb
boar or pig skewered on the spit for a feast
It's very heavy and the fire is very hot
One side of my face -
the side turned towards the fire is always very red
so everyone knows I'm a turnbrochie
I hope you're not complaining, boy
you're lucky to be part of this great household
No ma'am, sorry
Now let's find out what the maid is doing
I am carrying a heavy platter of food
to carry through to the great hall for a feast
This is a serving hatch
When the food is ready, the people that work in the kitchen
can leave the food down at the hatch
and we servants come and carry it through to the hall
The hatch is big enough that even an entire roast pig
or an enormous stuffed swan could be passed through
I have to be careful not to drop anything
or cook will be very angry after all her preparations
I also have to be fast so that the food is still warm
when it reaches the guests in the great hall
And last, meet our pastry chef
I make pies, puddings and cakes for the Duke and Duchess
and it is my job to make these dishes look as pretty as possible
I sit by the window here so I have some light
to carve beautiful designs and patterns on the food
before it's presented to the Great Hall
You'll see guests going through
to a magnificent feast in the Great Hall
When you do, look up
you'll see a staircase
The stairs are very narrow, dark and steep
If you go up there you will find a beautiful bedchamber
where Kings and Queens stayed when they visited Doune
but for now, come with us this way to the Great Hall
This is the Great Hall of Doune Castle
Today we have invited our good friend, Lord James
to a banquet in celebration here
This place looks so different to my time
You can still see the splendour of course
but it seems so dark and cold and quiet
I am her ladyship's maid, Janet
And I am Alexander, his lordship's servant
In our time, the entire household ate here at mealtimes
though sometimes the Duke and Duchess preferred their own hall to eat in
which you will see in a moment
There were roasted meats
that the Duke and his men hunted
there were vegetables like leaks and cabbages
mixed with herbs that grew in the castle gardens
and there was freshly baked bread
baked in the castle ovens
Us important people and the Duke and Duchess
drank wine with our food
everyone else drank ale which is a bit like beer
The room wasn't as cold and dark as it appears now
The fire basket in the middle would have been full of burning wood
crackling and warm
Look up straight above it and you'll see a hole in the roof
where the smoke escaped from
Lots of people would be busy at work
to make sure that the household is fed and entertained
like these servants here
Yes, we serve food to the guests
who come here to enjoy magnificent feasts
Strong lasses like us might need to know how to carry a heavy platter
of roasted boar all the way up the hall
There were enormous long tables
that ran the entire length of the hall where the household sat
The most delicate dishes were presented to the Duke and Duchess
that sat at this end of the hall
That meant that all the delicious, grand food
could be seen and smelled by the poorer, hungrier people
that sat at that end of the hall, who just got plainer food
There were screens at the top end of the hall
that we servants could use to hide away the dirty, used plates
and get dishes ready to be brought out
Hello, my name is Jester Jim
It's my job to announce when it's time for dinner
then to entertain everyone
I tell jokes, sing rude songs
and sometimes even play instruments and dance
I stand up there in the minstrel's gallery
so that everyone can see and hear me
There is one last thing you might find interesting
It's a medieval toilet
or a latrine, or a dry closet
Whatever went in there didn't get flushed
it just had to be emptied by one of our very low servants when it got full
Enough of all this
I want to see the splendour of the castle
not look into the latrine
Come this way to the Duke's Hall
This is the Duke's Hall
my favourite room in the castle
where I can get a little bit of peace and quiet
The Duke only allows his favourite people
important guests and most trusted servants into this room
We like to dine here in private
away from the rest of the household when we can
You can see there are not one, but two fireplaces
so it is always bright, warm and cosy in here
These chairs and tables weren't even from our time
the Duke had a grand chair of estate
There were brighter, colourful hangings around the walls
displaying the Duke's coat of arms
to show any guests how important he was
I can discuss important royal business in here
and I can hold trials
If someone commits a crime on my land
like plotting against me or stealing from me
they'd be brought here and made to answer
If I find them guilty
they will be taken down there
and thrown straight into the castle pit prison
You will meet some horrible prisoners down there later
In the corner, the stairs lead up
to the Duke's study and bedchamber
and further up, my own chambers
You will also find a small private chapel
where my family and I go to pray and hear Mass
If you continue all the way up to the top
you will be able to admire the stunning views
We're coming to the end of our tour
but there's something else we'd like to show you
To get there we have to go right down to the depths of the castle
The castle pit prison
Are you brave enough?
Are you sure?
Well in that case follow us down this way to the castle pit prison
Well this is certainly not a part of the castle I would ever visit
Well I can assure you it hasn't changed much ma'am
though it doesn't smell as bad as it used to
Can you imagine what it would be like to be a prisoner here?
You can get some clues by looking at our prisoners
Prisoner
This man was caught hunting on the Duke's grounds
nohing better than a common thief
Describe to these good people the conditions in your prison
It's dark
very dark
In winter we can't tell if it's day or night
The rooms that you've passed to get here
is where the Duke keeps all his food and drinks
We can only tell when it's day
when we hear the servants coming and going
and I start to imagine what lovely food they were just about to eat up there
It's just stale bread for us down here
And there's the cold
There's no fireplace here as you may have seen in the other rooms
and no fire basket
There's no toilets so it's always really smelly
and we have rats and spiders down here for company too
Well that will teach you for stealing from Duke Robert
Stop your complaining all of you
Hmmm...
I remember these prisoners
Their trials were held upstairs in the Duke's Hall
They were lucky they were just lowered through the hatch
and not just thrown down
Let's get out of here my lord
I'm starting to feel a little uneasy
That brings us to the end of our tour today
we hope you found things interesting
If you'd like to visit us here at Doune Castle
you'll have the chance to play games, quizzes
and ask questions
Contact Doune Primary School
or Historic Environment Scotland
Thank you for watching