The first daffodils are always such a welcome sight, a flower of renewal and rebirth. They are impossible to ignore as the neon-yellow-ness of the bobbing flower pierces through any shrubbery, dreary garden or woodland as if to say “Spring is coming! Winter has gone – let’s party!”

They are hardy flowers but if they bloom too soon in a cold spring they can become frozen and wilt. The bulbs need the cold of a winter chill to break their dormant period and start growth so it is wise to mulch the planting area in autumn. This insulates the bulbs and prevents them from growing too soon.

Whilst Daffodils are common in most gardens, how many people realise that they are toxic? They belong to the ‘Narcissus’ family, named from the Greek word ‘ narke’ or narcotic. This is a warning of the paralytic numbness and intoxication that will affect anyone who consumes the sticky juices from the leaves, stems or bulb. Thankfully this is an uncommon event and the flowers have well-earned place in most households.

Daffodils are mentioned in Greek mythology as early as 3BC, where they supposedly grew at the entrance to the Underworld. Narcissus was paralysed with love for his own reflection and pined away, after which Narcissi were said to have sprouted from his grave.

Originally flowering in Mediterranean region, the Romans most likely brought them to Britain to enrich their gardens and they traditionally planted them in honour of fallen comrades. Since then, the flowers have spread and diversified over the centuries to more recent times when Victorian plant-breeders developed many of the varieties we now know and love.

Van Sion Daffodils

Here are some of the heritage varieties growing at Bannockburn House, each the work of a man who dedicated his life to breeding daffodils.

Peter Barr (1826–1909) was born in Govan. As a plant collector he travelled the world but, inspired by the work of John Parkinson (Royal botanist to Charles 1 who created the Great Spanish Double daffodil, ‘Parkinson’s daffodil’, in 1620), Peter’s true love became the daffodil. He established nurseries in London and Suffolk, spending his time among his 4 million bulbs compiling a history of their origins and culture and even after retiring, he continued searching for new varieties to enhance his collection. By the late 19th century there were thousands of varieties of daffodils which he had saved from extinction and we can still enjoy them today, thanks to Mr. Barr, a man known as The Daffodil King.

Barri Conspicuus

The Reverend George Herbert Engelheart, (1851-1936 – Mr. Daffodil,) was so busy as a daffodil breeder that it was not unknown for his parishioners to turn up for their Sunday morning church service only to find a note pinned to the door saying ‘No Service today – working with daffodils’.

He was born in Guernsey on April 25th, 1851 and began breeding daffodils in 1880. During his life he created over 700 different varieties including ‘Albatross’, ‘Seagull’, ‘Will Scarlett’, ’White Lady’ and ‘Beersheba’ a flower of the purest white. Many of these blooms won acclamation and awards and during his life he was awarded the Victoria Medal and the Veitch Memorial Medal by the Royal Horticultural Society for services to daffodil breeding. It can take 5 years for a seed to develop into a flowering bulb and then you have to grow it for a few more years to understand it’s strengths and weaknesses before deciding whether you can turn it into a commercial success so it can take several years to create one successful variety, yet he produced 700 different flowers during his career, an amazing achievement! We have quite a few Engelheart varieties growing in our woodlands and garden, here are photos of ‘Will Scarlett’ and ‘White Lady’.                                  

Will Scarlett Daffodil

White Lady Daffodil

And finally, the Backhouse family, especially William Backhouse, who were well-known daffodil breeders. In 1865 William bred two stunning daffodils one pure yellow and one yellow with white petals. He named them ‘Emperor’ and ‘Empress’, the ancestors of many of our modern daffodils today. Sarah Dodgson, an English plant breeder and horticulturist, married into the Backhouse family where she carried on the plant breeding tradition. She was the first female recipient of the Royal Horticultural Society’s prestigious Peter Barr Cup and created the first pink-cupped daffodil in 1884. The Backhouse family continues to play a part in daffodil breeding and preserving the history of this flower and you can visit the walled garden at Backhouse Rossie estate in Fife where Scotland’s Daffodil Festival will take place on the 11th and 12th of April. It’s bound to be a dazzling sight with thousands of daffodils on display and delicious cakes and tea. Sounds like just the kind of party daffodils would like to hold to celebrate the departure of winter and the arrival of Spring. Don’t miss it!

Emperor Daffodil (top) and Empress Daffodil (bottom) bred by Backhouse

Blog Written by Margaret Pollock, Head Gardener & Trustee.

With spring unfolding across the grounds, Bannockburn House will reopen for tours on 18 April. Visit our What’s On page to explore this season’s tours and book your place.

Do you love gardening? Come and join our merry band of volunteer gardeners! Contact us below:

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Major National Funding Secures Emergency Works at Bannockburn House

Good news really does come in threes!

Bannockburn House Trust is delighted to announce that three major heritage funders have awarded a combined £325,432 to support urgent emergency works at Bannockburn House. It is critical first step in what is expected to become one of the largest community-led conservation and restoration programmes ever undertaken in Scotland.

This support from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, The National Heritage Memorial Fund, and Historic Environment Scotland will allow work to begin on stabilising some of the most vulnerable parts of the building, protecting its rare historic fabric and helping secure its future.

After decades of water ingress, failing masonry and structural movement, the house had reached a point where urgent intervention was essential. Without action, Bannockburn House risked losing irreplaceable features, including its original roof structure and the extraordinary plaster ceiling of the Blue Room, one of the rarest survivals of its kind in Britain.

The emergency works now under way will focus on stabilising vulnerable masonry and timber, improving weatherproofing, and protecting nationally significant interiors. Alongside this, the project continues to reveal remarkable new evidence about the history of the house, from traces of historic painted decoration to the recently announced evidence of a failed assassination attempt on Bonnie Prince Charlie.

Photo Copyright Historic Environment Scotland

The Work Few People Ever See

Some of the most urgent work at Bannockburn House is taking place high above the ground.

There, specialist heritage contractors are carrying out repairs in exposed and demanding conditions, where every tool, every bucket, and every piece of material must be managed with immense care. It is physically gruelling work, but it is also skilled conservation in its purest form: slow, deliberate, and respectful of the fragile historic building beneath it.

Among the crafts involved in this kind of work is the tradition of the steeplejack.

Today, many people may never have heard the word. Yet for generations, steeplejacks have been the men who worked where few others could: on church towers, chimneys, roofs, spires and other tall structures. A modern museum summary describes them as skilled tradespeople who assess, maintain and construct tall buildings, structures and towers, and notes that the name comes from their historic association with ecclesiastical buildings.

Photo Copyright Historic Environment Scotland

Older Than the Name

The trade itself is older than the word.

In medieval and early modern Scotland, there was probably no separate profession formally called “steeplejack.” Instead, high-level repairs were carried out by masons, wrights and slaters — the established building trades responsible for church towers, roofs, steeples and upper masonry. Scottish craft incorporations for masons, wrights and slaters are documented from the medieval and early modern periods, showing that these were the trades historically responsible for such work.

That matters because it helps explain what steeplejacking really is. It did not appear from nowhere as a pure climbing profession. It grew out of the older building crafts, especially the trades that already had to work at height on churches, towers, rooflines and chimneys.

So while medieval Scotland certainly had people doing this sort of work, they would more likely have been known as masons, wrights, or slaters, rather than steeplejacks.

When the Word Appears

The name itself seems to be relatively modern. Sources differ slightly on its earliest printed appearance: the Oxford English Dictionary dates the earliest known use of the noun “steeplejack” to the 1880s, while other etymological sources trace it to the mid-19th century, around 1847. Either way, the term belongs to the industrial age rather than the medieval one.

That makes sense. By the 19th century, Britain’s skyline was changing. There were more factory chimneys, larger civic buildings, more churches, more mills, and more structures that needed repair at dangerous heights. As maintenance work on tall buildings became more frequent and more specialised, the role of the steeplejack emerged more clearly as a distinct trade.

How the Trade Changed

Over time, the work evolved.

In earlier centuries, high-level repairs depended heavily on scaffolds, ladders, ropes, and the practical ingenuity of craftsmen trained first in masonry, carpentry or roofing. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, steeplejacks became famous for working on towers and chimneys with extraordinary confidence and economy, often avoiding the need for full scaffolding. They developed a reputation not only for nerve, but for speed, balance, and deep practical knowledge of how buildings behaved at height. Contemporary images and accounts from the 20th century show steeplejacks as the essential “workers-on-high” of industrial Britain.

In the modern world, some aspects of that work overlap with rope access, but the two are not quite the same.

A rope access technician may be highly skilled in access systems alone. A heritage steeplejack, by contrast, often brings together access expertise and practical knowledge of traditional building trades. On historic buildings, that may include leadwork, slating, lime mortar repairs, stonemasonry, and sometimes joinery. In that sense, the best steeplejacks still reflect the older roots of the trade: craftspeople first, height-workers second.

 Photo Copyright Historic Environment, Scotland

Why It Matters Here

That is exactly why this kind of specialist skill matters at Bannockburn House.

Historic buildings cannot simply be treated like modern structures. Repairs must be careful, compatible, and informed by an understanding of traditional materials and methods. Working high on a fragile roof or upper wall is not only a question of access. It is a question of judgement, experience, and craft.

From the ground, these workers can appear almost silhouetted against the sky — small figures moving carefully across the roofline. But what they are doing is enormously significant. Their work helps protect not just stone, slate, timber and plaster, but the survival of a nationally important building and the stories held within it.

Saving the Blue Room and Beyond

One of the most significant features being protected through this emergency programme is the celebrated Blue Room ceiling, thought to be the work of the same craftsmen responsible for similar ceilings at Holyrood Palace in the late 17th century. Support from the National Heritage Memorial Fund will help conserve this exceptional survival, while the wider programme supported by The National Lottery Heritage Fund and Historic Environment Scotland will stabilise the house and provide a foundation for long-term recovery.

This is only the beginning!

Bannockburn House Trust’s long-term vision is to conserve the house as a nationally significant historic site while developing it as a centre for research, heritage skills and public engagement. The current emergency works are the vital first phase of that journey.

Bannockburn House Trust would like to extend its sincere thanks to our current funders for their invaluable support. We are especially grateful to the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Historic Environment Scotland, and the William Grant Foundation, whose generosity is helping us conserve, restore, and share Bannockburn House for the benefit of the community and future generations.

Using money raised by National Lottery players, The National Lottery Heritage Fund supports projects that connect people and communities with the UK’s heritage. The Emergency Project 1 works at Bannockburn House are made possible with The National Lottery Heritage Fund. Thanks to National Lottery players, we have been able to fund saving the northwest gable wall from collapse, making the house watertight, and helping to ensure the house can remain open to the public safely.

Thanks to the support of The National Heritage Memorial Fund, we are carrying out emergency works to save one of Britain’s rarest 17th century plasterwork ceilings. The funding includes allotments for world renowned specialist plasterwork experts and for conservation engineering and architecture support to design the stabilisation. 

Thanks to the support of Historic Environment Scotland, we are carrying out vital emergency works to safeguard Bannockburn House. This includes a specialist timber survey and steeplejack works to assess the condition of the roof and help secure the building against further water ingress.

Thanks to the support of the William Grant Foundation, Bannockburn House Trust has been able to support vital staff capacity during an important period of development. This funding is helping us maintain momentum across our conservation, restoration, and public engagement work.

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This seems to have been a long, dreary winter. For us here, in central Scotland, our photos record some snow and the there were some sunny, frosty days but it is hard to recall them as there has been such a long stretch of grey, damp dullness. But Winter is coming to an end and hopefully warmer days lie ahead.

Of course, one of the first signs of the changing season is the lengthening days and lighter evenings and then with no fuss nor any sense of ostentation the snowdrops magically appear. Their gleaming white flowers seem to pierce the dreich, grey light as the ‘February Fair Maids’ draw our eyes down to garden level. Originating from south-east Europe, the earliest wild snowdrops were recorded in 1778, though they may have arrived in the 1600’s or earlier. They love shady, moist, well-drained woodland soil and if they are happy in their location the clump should double in size every 7-10 years. Just imagine how long it has taken for a large carpet of snowdrops to spread in some of the mature gardens and woodlands near your house. They may look innocent, but the plant is toxic if eaten. However, scientists are able to create a medicine for treating dementia from compounds in the bulbs. Poisonous or not, one thing for sure is that snowdrops are much loved and treasured in many sites across the country. (Please remember, if you are tempted, it is illegal to dig up or pick wild snowdrops in the UK!)

Our Snowdrops are enjoying the Spring sunshine!

Winter is as busy time in the garden here, as we do much of our landscaping work, including tree-planting and pruning all the apple trees and fruit bushes. Earlier this year we decided to tackle restoration pruning of the huge, overgrown veteran apple trees which have been here for a century or more. This is not a job for the faint-hearted as it involved some high work on ladders using lengthy pole-saws to remove some of the craggy branches extending high above the main crown of the tree. We were fortunate that Colin Wren was available to guide and train us in this work, as an instructor from The Royal Caledonian Horticultural Society. He expertly guided and advised us where to make the main cuts and how best to remove large sections from the top down. Two hours later, with a substantial amount of pruned branches piling up on the ground, we stood back to look at our work. Surprisingly, it was difficult to notice the difference because Colin had sympathetically worked with the shape of the remaining tree ensuring that it was balanced and healthy. We are grateful to him for his expert guidance, but there is more to do and it will take a couple more years yet before we have them pruned to a manageable height and shape.

Our garden volunteers have been busy learning new skills on a pruning masterclass.

Many garden manuals, written by gardeners working further south than us, suggest St. Valentine’s day ( Feb, 14th) as the time to start planting seeds for the coming summer but here we tend to wait at least a fortnight or more before it is warm enough to consider sowing in unheated conditions. In the poly tunnels we are beginning to sow our vegetable seeds, broad beans and onion sets, as these are not fazed if the overnight temperature drops too low, but it will be a few more weeks at least before we plant the main vegetables ( courgettes, pumpkins etc) as they need heat to start them off. Chitting seed potatoes need to be in a light, cool but frost free place and they need about 4-6 weeks to develop the shoots before planting so keep an eye out for patches of lower temperature to keep them safe. Our vegetable beds are weeded, mulched and ready to go and we may well put some black polythene over some of them now to help warm up the soil over the next few weeks. Who knows what the growing season will be like this coming year but despite the wet winter, we may well have a long sunny spell with near drought conditions, or more weeks of rain and muddy boots.

Don’t despair, today’s rain is tomorrow’s whisky! Happy Gardening!

Preparation for the 2026 planting season is underway in our vegetable beds.

Written by Margaret Pollock, Head Gardener for Bannockburn House 

Do you love gardening? We need your help! If you’re interested in volunteering with our garden team, please let us know using the contact form below. We are onsite to tend the gardens Sundays, Mondays, Tuesdays, & Wednesdays.

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Prince Charles Edward Stuart [1720-1788] by Allan Ramsay [1713-1784] Date: 1745, Accession number: PG 3762. Scottish National Portrait Gallery.

Researchers at Bannockburn House have identified new evidence in the suspected assassination attempt on Bonnie Prince Charlie during his stay in January 1746. A lead ball consistent with 18th century shot, believed to be from a second musket or pistol fired into the room, was discovered within a section of the bed traditionally associated with Prince Charles Edward Stuart. Adding evidence of a second shooter during the assassination attempt, the discovery deepens one of the house’s most dramatic and intriguing Jacobite-era mysteries during a pivotal time in Scotland’s history.

  Back of the bed in Bannockburn House used by Bonnie Prince Charlie. Damage from the shot in the bed can be seen on far right side.

X-Ray of 13.5mm lead ball, likely from an 18th century pistol lodged in bed used by Bonnie Prince Charlie in 1746.

The discovery follows the identification of a musket ball impact in the room’s wall panelling in 2024. During subsequent conservation assessment of a historic bed associated with the room, several unusual features were found within the footboard. Dr. Bradley, the Trust’s conservation and research trustee, became suspicious after finding thick hand cut veneers, historic repairs, and multiple layers of upholstered fabric from different periods on part of the bed. The finds raised questions about the age of the bed and damage which prompted closer investigation.

Using miniature cameras, a projectile was discovered stuck inside a section of the bed. Further investigations to confirm suspicions were undertaken by experts from Robert Gordon University. A deformed projectile measuring approximately 13.5mm was identified on X-ray inside the bed section. Preliminary material analysis by the forensics experts at RGU indicates the presence of lead consistent with an 18th century pistol or musket ball. Traces of gold were also present. Further specialist analysis is planned to confirm the exact type of weapon that fired the ball.

The X-ray and digital documentation imaging work was done in partnership with Bannockburn House Trust by Johns Hopkins University graduate student Katharine Rubinetti, under the supervision of Associate Professor Douglas Pritchard of Robert Gordon University. The work was part of a wider digital curation internship project aimed at creating a publicly available research record of Bannockburn House’s material evidence made possible by a scholarship awarded to Mrs. Rubinetti by the St. Andrew’s Society of Washington DC.

The project stemmed from a three-dimensional technology and documentation field course in the Johns Hopkins MA in Cultural Heritage Management degree program led by Douglas Pritchard. Students from Johns Hopkins University visited Bannockburn House during the spring 2025 semester.

The identification of a second projectile suggest multiple shots were fired. The find has renewed and broadened the historical and archaeological investigation at Bannockburn House. While the first impact on the wall suggested the possibility of a single shooting incident, the presence of a second in a different part of the room raises questions about the event. Researchers are now considering how many attackers may have been involved, how the prince escaped, and whether there is truth to stories of a secret tunnel.

Dr. Bradley notes that the oral tradition in Bannockburn relating to Bonnie Prince Charlie’s stay at the house is long-established, with references to the site attracting visitors as early as the first part of the 19th century. Written accounts from later in the 19th century also allude to a shooting incident associated with the Prince’s presence at Bannockburn House, suggesting a long-held narrative that has persisted for generations.

“What’s genuinely exciting is seeing fragments of that tradition begin to align with physical and archival evidence,” said Dr Bradley. “This has become a careful piece of historical detective work. Every new detail sends us back to the archives, back to the objects, and back to the building itself. We’re testing stories that have been told locally for centuries and finding that some of them may be rooted in very real events. The more we look, the clearer it becomes that there is still a great deal to uncover about the Jacobite Siege of Stirling.”

An inspection camera was inserted in between the last two fabric layers of upholstery and revealed a sewn up hole in the oldest layer of fabric associated with damage on the back of the bed.

Remarking on the import role technology played in the discovery, Professor Douglas Pritchard said, “This research improves our understanding of the Jacobite Rising and the dangers faced by Bonnie Prince Charlie. These technologies allow for the digital preservation of fragile objects and sites, creating records that support further research and public sharing. By capturing these assets accurately and in 3D, we are both expanding our knowledge and guaranteeing their preservation for future study.”

Professor Murray Pittock, Vice Pro Chair of the University of Glasgow, who confirmed the first discovery, will continue to provide historical context as analysis progresses. Earlier assessment of the first impact indicated characteristics consistent with a mid-18th century British Land Pattern musket, a weapon issued to government troops during the period.

Researchers emphasise that interpretation remains ongoing. The emerging evidence does not yet conclusively define the nature of the incident, but it does expand the evidence base and has prompted an investigation into how Prince Charles Edward Stuart left the house and how quickly events unfolded. As part of this work, the Trust is also examining long-standing references to a possible escape route or tunnel, with archaeological investigation planned as research continues.

Malcolm McEwan, Chair of the Board of Trustees at Bannockburn House said, “This project shows what can happen when community-led heritage work is supported by academic and professional expertise. We’re deeply grateful to our university partners and Historic Environment Scotland for their involvement. It’s at this intersection, between local knowledge, skilled practitioners, and research, that discoveries like this are made, and it’s the model the Trust is building its future around.”

Further conservation work, specialist analysis, and archaeological investigations are planned as part of Bannockburn House Trust’s continuing research programme with the first dig for the secret tunnel scheduled for the end of this month by archaeologist, Dr. Murray Cook. The section of the bed containing the lead ball is in fragile condition and will be on display only to the public at the Trust’s event January 31st – February 1st to mark the 280th anniversary of Bonnie Prince Charlie’s stay at Bannockburn House.

Support the conservation work

The section of the historic bed containing the projectile is extremely fragile, and specialist conservation is now underway to stabilise, study, and safely display it for the future. Alongside this, vital conservation work continues across Bannockburn House to protect the building and its remarkable Jacobite-era interiors.

If you would like to help support the conservation of the house and this newly identified object, you can find out more and contribute to the work here:
Visit our Crowdfunder here

Every contribution helps ensure this evidence and the story it tells can be preserved, researched, and shared.

Front side of the headboard showing the second oldest layer of fabric, an 18th century cotton chintz.

The post New Find in the Bed Linked to Bonnie Prince Charlie at Bannockburn House Deepens the Assassination Attempt Mystery appeared first on Bannockburn House.

Winter has always had a way of creeping into the bones. Long before central heating, antibiotics, or the luxury of staying home with a hot water bottle, people in the 17th and 18th centuries still battled the same seasonal miseries we know today. The coughs, chills, fatigue, and that unmistakable feeling of “I’m coming down with something” were as common then as they are today. In a world where medicine was limited and the nights were long, comfort remedies mattered: warming fires, thick blankets, and nourishing food and drink that could soothe as much as it strengthened.

One of the most beloved of these was the posset. In prior centuries, it was a rich spiced curdled mixture of cream and ale, thickened with eggs and sweetened to taste. It’s the kind of restorative treat we can easily imagine being served at Bannockburn House on a cold night, offering a moment of warmth and care in the middle of a hard Scottish winter.

Cream, Spice, and a Little Bit of Magic

If you know Jacobite January at Bannockburn House, you probably know the Clementina & Bonnie Prince Charlie story. The supposed lived reality of two people moving through Bannockburn House in a world of secrecy, loyalty, danger and romance. You’ll know it wasn’t all dramatic decisions and whispered politics… sometimes it was simply warmth, food, and something soothing in a cup.

Posset Pot with Cover, 1630-1635. V&A Museum. Accession #C.32&A-1972

Enter the posset. A comfort drink that’s been around for over 600 years. Popular in the 18th-century, it sits somewhere between a hot toddy and a pudding. Frankly, to us it sounds like exactly the sort of thing you’d serve to a weary guest who’d arrived cold, tired, and very much in need of a moment by the fire. A posset wasn’t just a treat, it was care. In the tumultuous Jacobite world, care could be quietly courageous.

A Romance and the Reality Behind It

That’s the thing we sometimes forget when we talk about history. These weren’t characters in a costume drama. They were people. People got sick. People fell in love. People experienced the bitterness of disappointment. People who made choices that felt thrilling in the moment and complicated later. Just like today, relationships could be tender, passionate, hopeful… and they could also become strained, painful, or difficult to survive.

Clementina and Charlie’s story is remembered for its romance, but it also reminds us of something deeply human… love doesn’t always stay sweet. Their relationship eventually gave rise to a later love affair, and to Charles Edward’s only legitimised child, Charlotte. Like so many stories, historical or modern, what followed wasn’t simple. Parenthood changes everything. Pressure changes everything. The weight of politics, reputation, fear, failure, distance, and disappointment can reshape people in ways no one expects at the beginning.

Clementina Walkinshaw [1720-1802]. by Allan Ramsay [1713-1784]. West Highland Museum

Prince Charles Edward Stuart [1720-1788] by Allan Ramsay [1713-1784] Date: 1745, Accession number: PG 3762. Scottish National Portrait Gallery.

A Drink for the Fire…and Flirting

So yes… we’re talking cream, ale, eggs, sugar, nutmeg, and a big dose of history you can taste. And if you believe some early recipe writers, possets weren’t just warming… they were encouraging. In fact, possets had a reputation for being the kind of “restorative” that could revive more than your spirits after a cold night. London physician Thomas Moffett [1553-1604] described a posset as way to increase lust in men. Rich, boozy versions with a certain… reputation. 

Some writers of the time suggested the “lustiness” came from the cow through the milk. I suppose the idea being, the cow’s enthusiasm might somehow transfer to the drinker. Whether that was truly the secret ingredient is, well, debateable. But as anyone who has been in a pub at 1 am knows, it definitely has something to do with the alcohol. 

Which means, if we’re placing a posset into the Clementina & Charlie story, we’re not only talking comfort and care… we may also be talking about the sort of hospitality that comes with raised eyebrows and the occasional scandal waiting to happen.

And honestly? That’s part of why we love historic food. It isn’t just about the ingredients it’s about the people, the moments, and the little everyday rituals that still feel strangely familiar. If you fancy bringing a bit of that world into your own kitchen (lusty cows, or no!), an 18th century posset is a wonderfully indulgent place to start.

A Posset Fit for a Prince and Your Kitchen!

For our version, we’re turning to a Scottish favourite, Elizabeth Cleland’s A New and Easy Method of Cookery (Edinburgh, 1755). Ms. Cleland had a cooking school for well to do ladies in Luckenbooths Close in Edinburgh. The recipe captures the everyday reality of Georgian Scotland and the kind of food and drink that sat somewhere between comfort, practicality, and a little bit of indulgence. Her posset is exactly the sort of thing you can imagine being served on a bitter winter night. 

And while we can’t promise it’ll cure a cold or cause a Jacobite scandal…it’s a delicious way to taste a little slice of the past. 

Source: Elizabeth Cleland, A New and Easy Method of Cookery (Edinburgh, 1755).

Elizabeth Cleland’s 1755 Posset Recipe Adapted for 21st Century Kitchens

Ingredients:

1 litre of whipping cream or double/heavy cream or Jersey Gold

1 pint (568ml) of ale or sack wine (see below for authentic choices)

5–6 plain sweet biscuits (digestives, shortbread)

1/4 – 1 cup sugar to taste (or less according to your preference)

1.5 tsp. grated nutmeg (can you actually have too much nutmeg?!)

* Ale choices- to get an authentic 18th century vibe, use an ale that is malty, low hop, and not too strong Similar to a cask style (or Real Ale). Pick sweetish, bready, with gentle bitterness. Avoid modern citrus IPAs, heavily dry-hopped pale ales, sours, or roasty stouts and porters. 

** Sack choices – the closest modern wines to an 18th century sack wine are usually dry sherry, like Fino, Amontillado, or Oloroso. You’re aiming for dry, crisp, and slightly yeasty or salty. Slightly rich or nutty is ok in moderation.

Instructions:

1) Make the creamy biscuit base – Pour the cream (or milk) into a saucepan. Crush or finely crumble the biscuits into it. Bring to a gentle simmer (not a rolling boil), stirring constantly. Simmer for 3–5 minutes, until the biscuits soften and the mixture thickens slightly.

2) Sweeten and spice – Stir in sugar and nutmeg. Take it off the heat and let it stand 2–3 minutes to cool slightly. (This matters because if it’s boiling hot, the alcohol can split or curdle too aggressively.) 

3) Add the “sack” or ale (the dramatic historic bit) – Pour the ale or sherry into your serving bowl or jug. Warm it slightly if you like (10–15 seconds in a microwave or briefly in a pan). It should be warm, not hot. Now do the old-school technique: pour the creamy mixture from a height (carefully!) into the ale/sherry while stirring gently. That “from on high” pour helps it froth and combine, and gives you the classic posset texture.

*It’s ok if it curdles a little bit!

4) Let it stand – Leave it for 2–5 minutes to settle and thicken.

5) Serve – Ladle into small bowls, cups, or glasses. Finish with a dusting of nutmeg. It can be served from a small punch bowl to individual bowls or in glasses.

If you want the full Clementina & Charlie experience the stories, atmosphere, and Bannockburn House vibes, don’t forget to grab your event tickets. They’re going fast, and we’d love to see you there! 

Book Your Tickets Here!

If you’ve enjoyed this little taste of the past, please consider supporting our work — Bannockburn House is one of the UK’s largest community-led heritage conservation and restoration projects, and every donation helps us protect this remarkable place for future generations. Click Here to Donate!

Post by Conservation Trustee, Dr. Catherine Bradley

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– by Margaret Pollock

Next time you visit us, see if you can spot our two majestic rows of veteran Lime trees (Tilia x europaea). They create a wind break and originally marked out some of the boundaries of the Estate. 

 

We are blessed that 40 of these Ancient trees are still thriving and they are classed as an ‘Irreplaceable habitat’ for wildlife. There were probably planted about 340 years ago, as the House was being rebuilt in 1685.

In England, when William and Mary became the new Monarchs (around 1688), they imported Lime trees from Holland as part of their new landscape designs at Hampton Court. Any landed gentry wanting to show their support for the new Monarch rushed to plant these new, fashionable trees and indicate their loyalty.

A recent visitor to the House, who lived in the Cottage in the 1940’s, called the the Lime Avenue near the car park “The Blindman’s Row” .

If anyone can shed some light on it please let us know.

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Volunteering, we are always looking for enthusiastic team members for the gardens, explore more possibilities CLICK HERE TO VOLUNTEER

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The post Welcome to National Tree Week. – Ancient Lime Trees appeared first on Bannockburn House.

The Bannockburn House Trust Garden Blog

– by Margaret Pollock

Trees are special.

They store carbon, replenish oxygen and conserve our soil; they give us food and shade, building materials for our homes and irreplaceable habitats for innumerable species and without trees our water supply would dwindle.

Yet, in many societies, we tend to see them as an obstruction to a development or something to be cut down and sold.

Life without trees would be difficult and very dull so why not celebrate their presence, their generosity and their beauty.

During National Tree Week we want to show you some of the amazing, ancient, huge and downright gorgeous trees growing in the grounds of Bannockburn House.

Reveal number one features ‘The Five Sisters’ – our five stunningly beautiful ‘Giant Redwood’ trees or ‘Sequoia giganteum’.

You will see these awe-inspiring, evergreen trees near the ancient Gate Pillars as you approach the House.

The giant Redwood was introduced into Scotland in 1853 after Patrick Matthew’s son, John, sent seeds home to grow in their nursery in Perth. The resulting young trees were highly fashionable and quickly spread across the parklands and estates of Scotland where many still can be seen today. As they grow taller their lower branches to drop off as this helps them to withstand high winds so you will find that many Giant Redwood trees over 100 years old have no branches on their lower trunk. This accentuates their height and makes them all the more impressive. Our trees may have been planted in the 1880’s when many changes were introduced to the House and gardens, so they could be 150 years old but in Redwood terms that means they are just ‘toddlers’.

Sequoia trees thrive in the Sierra Nevada mountains in California growing to be among the tallest and oldest trees on the planet with some of them living for more than 3,000 years. Despite being one of the most fire resistant species on the earth, their resilience to insect damage, disease and fire has decreased dramatically in the last ten years and their native habitat is at increasing risk from drought and forest fires. The Giant Redwood is listed as an endangered species by the IUCN* with fewer than 80,000 remaining in its native California. Sequoias grow in a temperate climate and enjoy a lot of rain so our Scottish climate is ideal for them to flourish. The Scottish Redwood Trust has been researching suitable geographical areas to grow these trees and sustain an external gene pool to ensure the continuity of the species. We are working with them to plant a grove of these stunning trees on our land.

In 1860 a young Bannockburn laddie called John McLaren began his working life as an apprentice gardener at Bannockburn House. John enjoyed this work so much that he decided to train as a professional gardener at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Edinburgh where he would meet his future wife. They emigrated to the USA where John became famous as the gardener who created the Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. He planted over two million trees in his lifetime and we believe that his favourite tree was the Giant Redwood.

Did he send over seeds or saplings that were planted to create our ‘Five Sisters’?

We don’t know the origin of our trees yet but it is fitting that we have five of these amazing trees growing in the garden that formed the cradle of one of America’s great gardeners.

John’s words of advice to his son were :“ if you have nothing to do, go plant a tree and it will grow while you sleep.”

Here is a photo of 11 year old baby, ‘Wee Fergus’ who definitely grows while we sleep!

Keep your eyes open as you drive around and you may be surprised how many of these tall, elegant trees you can spot. The tallest Scottish tree is at Benmore in southwest Scotland, reaching 56.4 metres (185 ft) in 2014 at age 150 years. Contrast this with the tallest tree measured so far in the Redwood National Park. It is called ‘General Sherman’ and the most recent measurement showed it stood at 83 metres (275 ft). It is between 2,500 and 2,700 years old

Closer to home, if you visit Gargunnock House you will find that the approach drive is lined with several of these stately, mature trees, a quite beautiful sight and, of course, there are several Giant Redwood trees on the summit of Gillies Hill , Cambusbarronwhich were recently saved from felling by the community .

https://www.scottishredwoodtrust.com/post/the-giant-sequoia-of-gillies-hill-under-threat-by-peggy-edwards-redwood-aficionado

* IUCN – International Union for the Conservation of Nature

Want to help us ?

Volunteering, we are always looking for enthusiastic team members for the gardens, explore more possibilities CLICK HERE TO VOLUNTEER

We will be looking to give away produce to support the local community very soon, please follow us on Facebook, X, Insta or other socials for updates ! 

Donations.

Donate and help Margaret & our dedicated garden teams stay on the go and keep up the good work to provide locally grown produce for the community via any of the links below to help 

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The post Welcome to National Tree Week. – News From Bannockburn House Gardens appeared first on Bannockburn House.

The Bannockburn House Trust Garden Blog

– by Margaret Pollock

Summer 2025 is proving to be a bumper year for all our crops. In June and July we had mountains of Blackcurrants. Our harvested onions are huge and now we are picking boxes of delicious, ripe tomatoes.

We have grown six varieties this year: ‘Moneymaker’ and ‘Shirley’ are the biggest ones. ‘Gardener’s Delight’, ‘Sweet Million’, ‘Sungold’ and ‘Black Cherry’ are the scrumptious, small tomatoes. My personal favourite is the ‘Black Cherry’ which is more of a mahogany-purple colour when ripe and has a sweet but tangy taste.

Tomatoes are so common in our kitchens that we almost take them for granted yet it was only the invention of plate glass, featured in the Great Exhibition of 1851 at Crystal Palace, that allowed large-scale cultivation of tomatoes to begin in British glasshouses. This offered the plants protection from our cooler climate and extra warmth to ripen the fruits, thus many people became commercial tomato growers.

Originally grown in Mexico, for thousands of years, tomatoes first appeared in Scotland in the16th century but, as they were initially thought to be poisonous, it took a few hundred years for them to become the accepted food we know and love.

When do you think tins of Campbells Condensed Tomato Soup first appeared on the market – a) 1897; b) 1927; or c) 1987? See answer * below…..

The neighbouring farmer was busy last week bringing in the barley. Fortunately he completed the harvest, gathering and storing all the straw bales before the rain came. There is such a difference in the landscape once the quivering barley has been cut.

Only the yellow stubble remains, then hordes of pigeons, crows and starlings appear gleaning the fallen grains to augment their autumn fayre.

The Doo’cot stands, silent, amid this glowing, golden field, the rugged texture of the furrows accentuating the rough texture of its ancient stone walls. It has dominated this scene for 327 years, witness to many harvests. When it was built in 1698, it was quite a status symbol as you needed to own a substantial area of land to support the flock of birds within. You see, pigeons will happily eat your grain and your neighbour’s, so in 1617, a law was passed, stating that you could only have a doo’cot if you were producing grain over a 2 mile radius around the building. This was to ensure that the pigeons only fed on the landowner’s own crops.

You should have harvested your potato bags by now and it would be lovely if we could have some photographs of your achievements.

Did you remember to water them or did the novelty wear off and so you only got a few tatties? Maybe you were on holiday and the dry sunny weather caught you out or you genuinely forgot to look after them….

We’d love to see some pictures of your successes or failures so please send us some feedback (reply to this post ) on our Facebook page.

Here’s a picture of the harvest from a couple of our plants grown in the ground.

As you can see, we got quite a return from two plants!

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* Quiz answer: – Campbells tomato soup first appeared in 1897

Want to help us ?

Volunteering, we are always looking for enthusiastic team members for the gardens, explore more possibilities CLICK HERE TO VOLUNTEER

We will be looking to give away produce to support the local community very soon, please follow us on Facebook, X, Insta or other socials for updates ! 

Donations.

Donate and help Margaret & our dedicated garden teams stay on the go and keep up the good work to provide locally grown produce for the community via any of the links below to help 

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The post Riches from the Garden – News From Bannockburn House Gardens appeared first on Bannockburn House.

The Bannockburn House Trust Garden Blog

– by Margaret Pollock

After such a warm, sunny spring this year it has come as no surprise to us that we have a bumper blackcurrant crop this year. Our bushes were planted in the spring of 2020, just as we all went into ‘lockdown’ so this is their fifth year and whilst they have given us a great harvest every year since, this year has been incredible.

We started picking them on June 25th and we are still picking this week, July 30th with a couple of bushes left to strip. We used them for jam which we sold in our shop, froze several pounds and gave some more away to other food groups in Forth Valley.

I can recommend ‘Blackcurrant Flapjacks’ as a great way to increase your fibre and get one of your daily five fruits, they are delicious on overnight oats and of course they make fantastic ice-cream.

The bushes we are ‘currantly’ growing are ‘Big Ben’ and ‘Ben Connan’ both bred at the James Hutton (formerly the Scottish Crop Research Institute) and they come with an RHS Award of Garden Merit, a recommendation of excellence. They have been bred to suit a northern climate: disease resistant, frost tolerant at flowering time and, ultimately, for top flavour. ’Big Ben’ ripens in June, is a prolific fruiter and has some of the biggest berries I have ever seen, some almost as big as small grapes! It yields as much as 4.5kg (9lbs.) per bush.

‘Ben Connan’ which ripens in July/August is also a heavy fruiter and can produce upwards of 3.5kg (7 lbs) per bush.

Did you know that 95% of the UK blackcurrant crop is made into ‘Ribena’ ?

Our first early potatoes have been harvested. We grew ‘Casablanca’ (RHS AGM) this year, a recently created potato variety with a heavy, uniform crop, which was recommended to us by the seed potato growers. It has certainly proven to be a winner. From three plants we harvested 17lbs of potatoes – quite a return.

Growing early potatoes can be a good way to avoid the dreaded potato blight, a summer disease that rapidly decimates the crop and which caused the Great Potato Famine in Ireland in the 1850’s. Blight is spread by a fungus and that makes it difficult to contain but even if blight hits your plants, your potato crop is thankfully not a complete write-off. You can potentially save your potato crop if you immediately cut down everything, remove all the foliage and stems and leave the area undisturbed for three weeks. This gives enough time for spores to be killed in the soil and not infect the potatoes when they are lifted.

There are two types of blight – early and late and they thrive in different conditions. The most common is late blight which attacks the foliage and potatoes rapidly devastating the entire crop. It thrives in warm, wet, and humid weather, spreading quickly when there are two consecutive days over 10°C (50°F) and with 6-10 hours of 90% humidity. If you want to check growing conditions then look up the James Hutton Blightspy website

https://blightspy.huttonltd.com/#/ which gives you access to temperature and humidity readings in your locality so you can be prepared.

Sometimes it can just get a bit too hot out in the garden when the clouds have gone and the sun is beating down. Wouldn’t it be lovely to curl up somewhere cool and shady and have a long sleep? But where is the best spot? Under a mature lime tree with spreading branches and a cool breeze, or in a shady arbour decked with climbing roses and honeysuckle.

Well, if you are Drummond then it is none of the above and clearly the simplest answer is just to lie down under the Artichoke leaves, leaning hard up against their strong stems, serenaded by the buzzing bees gathering nectar from the borage and oregano flowers. He knows how to live!

Want to help us ?

Volunteering, we are always looking for enthusiastic team members for the gardens, explore more possibilities CLICK HERE TO VOLUNTEER

We will be looking to give away produce to support the local community very soon, please follow us on Facebook, X, Insta or other socials for updates ! 

Donations.

Donate and help Margaret & our dedicated garden teams stay on the go and keep up the good work to provide locally grown produce for the community via any of the links below to help 

DIRECT DONATE                       DONATE VIA CROWDFUNDER

The post Summertime and the Livin’ is Easy – News From Bannockburn House Gardens appeared first on Bannockburn House.

The Bannockburn House Trust Garden Blog

– by Margaret Pollock

As I write this it is raining and it is a wonderful sound as it beats off the garden path outside the door after such a dry Spring. We have several newly planted trees and bushes so it has been quite stressful trying to keep them alive and watered as their leaves slowly unfurled. They say it is the driest Spring for over a century and whilst it has been wonderful to have such a long, sunny spell (over 650 hours) it was becoming increasingly difficult to carry out heavy, physical work ( e.g. digging and planting potatoes) in the strong sunshine and high temperatures. The polytunnels, in particular, have been dangerously hot regularly limiting the time we could safely spend working inside.

One of the early signs of the warm spring was the magnificent display from our Wisteria which draped its pale lilac flowers all along the main garden wall a huge 14 days earlier than 2024.

The Swallows have returned and are nesting in one of our outhouses. We also have House Martins on site and so we find ourselves gazing skywards as the birds fly past, trying to work out from their tail feathers which is which. Meanwhile, the Starlings have already fledged their first family of the year and I am in awe of their ability to find food for their chicks given how dry the garden and surrounding countryside has become. May brings a transformation to the garden as daylight lengthens and temperatures climb, especially overnight. The fruit blossom has been magnificent this year and already there seem to be signs of a large fruit harvest on the way. Plum trees are laden, cherries too and I worry that a lot of young apples will drop off in June, unless we give the trees a good drink during any future dry spells. To counter this we have been busy mulching everything we can to try and lock in the moisture. We have been spreading grass cuttings over many of the vegetable beds and wood chip around the fruit bushes and rhubarb. Our rhubarb always grows well but this year it has been incredible. We have already picked well over 80lbs and counting. Some of the crowns have grown very large stems with huge leaves resembling plants from a prehistoric forest. They could be very useful should we ever decide to do a ‘Calendar Girls’ photo shoot.

Drummond has just had his 2nd birthday with us and he is now about five years old. He loves to lie on the paths in the polytunnels, enjoying the wind-free warmth and he has come to realise that no matter how loud the falling rain sounds inside the tunnels, he seems to stay dry so he is content. Despite his presence, the voles still seem to be managing to steal all our strawberries as they ripen – presumably at night time while Drummond is sleeping elsewhere! I like to know where he is before I go home at night ( so that I can be sure he hasn’t been shut in somewhere) and sometimes this can prove to be quite time consuming. He is always finding new places to rest or watch things from a safe distance and recently I could hear him but not see him. It took me some time to find him. See how well you fare.

Want to help us ?

Volunteering, we are always looking for enthusiastic team members for the gardens, explore more possibilities CLICK HERE TO VOLUNTEER

We will be looking to give away produce to support the local community very soon, please follow us on Facebook, X, Insta or other socials for updates ! 

Donations.

Donate and help Margaret & our dedicated garden teams stay on the go and keep up the good work to provide locally grown produce for the community via any of the links below to help 

DIRECT DONATE                       DONATE VIA CROWDFUNDER

The post At last the rain has come – News From Bannockburn House Gardens appeared first on Bannockburn House.