STRATHSPEY STORYWALKS
  • Home
  • Book a walk
  • About
  • Stay & explore
  • Blog
  • Hire
  • Contact

The Capon Tree: Jacobite hangings in England

7/6/2021

0 Comments

 
Picture
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!
Book a walk
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Sarah Hobbs - read more on the About page.

    Archives

    October 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    July 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020

    Categories

    All
    Folklore Thursday
    Year Of Stories 2022

    RSS Feed

Location

What our customers think...

  This was a fabulous way to spend a morning in the Highlands. Sarah brings the landscape to life with natural history, folklore, and a deep sense of connectedness with the landscape and environment. Great for the whole family - our kids were enthralled with the fairy stories as much as we we excited to learn about the history and geography of the area.

Contact us

Home
Book a walk
About
Blog
Hire
​Contact
  • Home
  • Book a walk
  • About
  • Stay & explore
  • Blog
  • Hire
  • Contact