 I might be in northern England just now but I can't seem to escape 'Highland' history! This is the site of the Capon Tree just outside Brampton, near Carlisle. I was curious about the name Capon Tree, did some (online) digging - and bizarrely here unfolds a Jacobite tale! The monument commemorates six men, all members of Sir Charles Edward Stuart's army, captured in various places around Scotland and northern England in 1746 and thrown into the dungeons of Carlisle Castle. They were then "drawn on hurdles up the old highway" to Brampton, up to the Capon Tree, an ancient oak and meeting place, and hung. It was 21 October 1746, less than a year since Bonnie Prince Charlie had been ceremoniously presented with the keys to the city of Carlisle in the centre of Brampton. Three were Highlanders, two were Englishmen, one was Irish. Three were Catholic, three were Protestant. Colonel James Innes of Cullen was nearing 70 and had been a highway surveyor in Banffshire. Captain Patrick Lindesay had been "keeper of the wardrobe" at Holyrood to Bonnie Prince Charlie. The executioner William Stout of Hexham was paid 20 guineas (£2,450 in today's money) for his work that day... ...and there are said to be many spirits and ghouls inhabiting the site of the old Capon Tree, unsurprisingly. References: -- https://yourphotocard.com/Ascanius/documents/The%20Capon%20Tree,%20Brampton,%20and%20its%20Memories.pdf - http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/currency-converter/ If you'd like to hear more history and folktales of the Cairngorms and the Highlands, join an upcoming short guided walk!
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AuthorSarah Hobbs - read more on the About page. Archives
October 2022
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