The Borders

Cabinet 3

As soon as the English travel writer James Brome entered Scotland, he almost immediately wrote about the Stone of Scone (Scottish Gaelic An Lia Fàil), on which all Kings of Scotland were crowned.

The Stone, supposedly measuring about 660mm by 425mm by 270mm and weighing about 152kg, was transferred to Westminster by Edward I. Brome also visited Dumfries, where Robert the Bruce killed Red Comyn at Greyfriars Kirk on 19 February 1306.

This action and Bruce’s subsequent crowning as King of Scots (without the Stone), signalled the beginning of his campaign for the independence of Scotland. In November 1996, 700 years later, the Stone (real or not) was returned to Scotland.

James Brome, Travels over England, Scotland and Wales. Giving a True and Exact Description of the Chiefest Cities, Towns and Corporations. 2nd ed. London: Printed for Rob. Gosling, 1707.