Hiding the Honours of Scotland
In 1651, as Cromwell's forces swept through Scotland after their victory at Dunbar, the Scottish Crown Jewels — known as the Honours of Scotland — were smuggled out of Dunnottar Castle on the Aberdeenshire coast in one of the most daring acts of concealment in Scottish history. The Honours are the oldest set of crown jewels in the British Isles, and their survival is a testament to the courage and ingenuity of those who hid them.
Dunnottar Castle, a dramatic fortress perched on a rocky headland above the North Sea, was the last stronghold holding out against Cromwell in northeastern Scotland. The Honours — the Crown, the Sceptre, and the Sword of State — had been sent there for safekeeping. Cromwell was determined to seize them, just as he had already captured the English Crown Jewels (which he melted down). A Parliamentary force besieged Dunnottar, and the garrison knew it could not hold out indefinitely.
The smuggling operation was carried out by the wife of the minister of nearby Kinneff Church, Mrs Granger, with help from a serving woman. According to tradition, the Honours were lowered from the castle walls in a basket, hidden among bundles of flax. Mrs Granger carried them past the besieging army and took them to Kinneff Church, where they were buried under the floor. The garrison of Dunnottar eventually surrendered, and Cromwell's soldiers searched the castle from top to bottom. They found nothing.
The Honours remained hidden under the floor of Kinneff Church for eight years, until the Restoration of Charles II in 1660. They were recovered and returned to Edinburgh Castle, where they were locked away and eventually forgotten. In 1818, Sir Walter Scott, armed with a royal warrant, broke open the sealed room in Edinburgh Castle and rediscovered the Honours, covered in dust but intact. They are now displayed in the Crown Room at Edinburgh Castle — the most visited attraction in Scotland — alongside the Stone of Destiny. Dunnottar Castle itself, its ruins rising from the sea cliffs, remains one of the most spectacular sights on the Scottish coast.