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Encyclopaedia of the North East

C - Cairngorms to clock

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A large red manuscript capital letter C, with clocks and watches, metal, ceramic and stone objects from Coull Castle, two ptarmigans and a black crystal.

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Cairngorms n 
1 Highest mountain range in Britain lying on the Aberdeenshire / Banffshire / Invernesshire border 
2 A yellowish-brown semi-precious stone la18C-. 

For some thousands of years after the last Ice Age, the high tops of the Cairngorms changed little. The Highlanders seldom climbed up to them. Many times the climate warmed and cooled but the stormy tablelands still remained an arctic wilderness. Up to the Second World War, more visitors went to the Highlands, but there was not yet a great popular tourist boom. From the 1950s however, developers and tourists have greatly changed these tops.
D Nethersole-Thomson & A Watson 1974. The Cairngorms: their natural history and scenery.

Ptarmigans. Two taxidermy ptarmigans: ptarmigan in winter plumage, all white except for the sides of the tail which are black, with dense feathers covering its feet, and a ptarmigan in summer plumage which is a mottled white, brown and grey colour with a white breast, with less dense feathers on its feet.

Ptarmigans, Lagopus mutus.

left: winter plumage. LEMUR:1000046

right: summer plumage. LEMUR:1000047

Cairngorm gem. Polished black gem, about 9 inches tall, the shape of a hexagonal prism with a pointed top.

'Cairngorm' gem (smoky quartz).

LEMUR:1000005

Plant specimen. Piece of paper with a dry, flattened plant attached. The plant has long stems with a cone of small flowers at the top. A map of the Northern UK is attached showing the distribution of the species mostly in the Cairngorms region.

Dried plant specimen, Poa alpina.

LEMUR:1000015

Plant specimen. Piece of paper with a dry, flattened plant attached. The plant has a bunch of small stems with oval shaped leaves, and one stem with small flowers. A map of the Northern UK is attached showing the distribution of the species is solely in the Cairngorms region.

Dried plant specimen, Astragalus alpinus.

LEMUR:1000013

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castle n

1 a fortified dwelling

2 the residence of a prince or nobleman

Coull - early castle of enclosure near Aboyne built in the 13th century.

Kildrummy - large 13th century castle near Alford possibly elaborated by Edward I of England.

Pieces of Coull Castle. Left to right: large stone with a cross carved into it, a fragment of a floor tile made of red ceramic with a green glaze on top, and a crumpled piece of white roofing lead.

Fragments of building fabric from Coull Castle, Aberdeenshire.

left: carved stone from doorway. ABDUA:37465

middle: glazed ceramic tile. ABDUA:14471

right: scrap of roofing lead. ABDUA:14402

Fragments of vessels from Coull Castle. A large green ceramic handle with grooves, a fragment of brown pitted ceramic with a handle and some of the side and rim of the vessel, and a fragment of an iron cauldron.

Fragments of vessels from Coull Castle, Aberdeenshire.

top and left: handles of flagons. ABDUA:14467, 14468

right: fragment of iron cauldron. ABDUA:14017

Iron objects from Coull Castle. Left to right: tongs with long handles, a large simple key or door catch with a ring on one end and a tooth at the other, a narrow single edged knife blade with a fragment of a wooden handle, and a long pointed arrowhead or skewer like object.

Iron objects from Coull Castle.

Left to right:

Tongs. ABDUA:14032

Possibly a key or door catch. ABDUA:39382

Knife blade with remains of handle. ABDUA:14404 

Skewer or arrowhead. ABDUA:14021

Nails. Ten large iron nails with squarish cross sections, ranging in length from five to ten centimetres.

Nails from Coull Castle, Aberdeenshire.

ABDUA:39381

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clock n

1 a machine for measuring time

2 a time measure

3 a beetle la16C-vi

4 the sound made by a broody hen la17C-

"At the third stroke, the time sponsored by the Accurist will be ten forty-one and twenty seconds."

Hourglasses. Two large hourglasses with clear and bluish glass containing orange sand, with wooden rings around the middle, held in wooden frames.

Hourglasses from Aberdeenshire.

left: 57 minute hourglass. ABDUA:16348

right: 72 minute hourglass. ABDUA:16347

Watch. A gold pocket watch, open showing its white clockface with black roman numerals.

Gilt watch inscribed 'Presented to Alexander Riach by Easton Gibb, Contractor in token of his faithful Service as Manager for the last 10 years, Nvr 1873', made by Jamieson of Aberdeen.

ABDUA:15870

Sundial. A brass ring, bracelet sized, with a small loop. Numbers, lines and letters are engraved on the inner and outer surfaces and a small hole allows light through.

Traveller's sundial from Aberdeenshire.

ABDUA:15501

Sundial. Two folding brass rings engraved with degrees, dots and lines with a central bar which has a slider on it and the first letter of each month. The slider has a tiny hole in it which light shines through.

Portable ring sundial (around 1750).

ABDUA:15698

Watch. Tarnished silver pocket watch with copper hands and white clockface with roman numerals.

Watch made by John Wood of Banff (19th cent.)

ABDUA:36884

Lantern clock. Ornate brass clock roughly the size of a lantern, with a square shape and a domed top. The face is a disc of brass engraved with roses, foliage and a face and inscribed William Sellwood fecit 1621. A silver ring around the brass disc has roman numerals on it.

Lantern clock made by William Sellwood in 1621, originally the property of William Keith, at Hallforest, Kintore

ABDUA:16552

Watch. Small, rusty pocket watch with a melted clockface. A label is attached which says: Bracelet watch found in wreckage after troop train disaster at Gretna Green 1915.

Watch found in the wreckage of the troop train disaster at Gretna, Dumfries-shire 1915.

ABDUA:36883

C - Cairngorms to clock