Mary Queen of Scots spent a month in Jedburgh in the autumn of 1566. It was the turning point in her dramatic life and the beginning of the troubles that led to her death. Inside the house, a unique collection of objects and pictures gives a moving insight into Mary’s life. They include a lock of her hair, a glittering 17th-century embroidery about her family, and her death mask.
It is difficult to be sure of the exact age of Mary, Queen of Scots’ House, due to a lack of documentary material and the house has been altered many times. However, we know that Jedburgh’s position just 12 miles north of the Border made it vulnerable to attack from the English in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. In 1409, Jedburgh Castle was demolished – the English frequently held it, and the Scottish Government felt it would be better to destroy it. The Castle was replaced by several fortified tower houses, which, together with four ports (gates), protected the town from invasion from all directions.
When Mary, Queen of Scots, arrived in Jedburgh in October 1566, she was accompanied by a large retinue, and the party would have needed several buildings to accommodate them all. The fire broke out in Mary’s first lodging, forcing her to move. It is known that Mary paid Lady Ferniehirst £40 Scots for the rent of the Lord Compositor’s house in Jedburgh. Over the years, all the other fortified houses gradually disappeared, leaving Mary, Queen of Scots’ House, inextricably linked to the Queen and her visit.
In 2005, the first paranormal investigators visited Mary Queen Of Scots, and reported an unexplained level of phenonium.
Will you be brave enough to join our team as we search for who or what haunts this building? Guided by only the light of your torch, take part in group vigils using an array of paranormal detection equipment, or will you brave a lone vigil?
Join us as we step back in time and walk the corridors of those who once lived here.
