Lallybroch Archway

The archway and courtyard at Midhope Castle was created with the renovations of the castle between 1582 and 1587 by Alexander Drummond and his new wife Marjory Bruce. However, the layout we see today is from the the Hope family remodelling in the 1680's. The "marriage lintel" we see now embedded with the wall AD1587MB was relocated during this time and was originally sited above an entry door to the house.

 

A marriage lintel, also referred to as a nuptial or lintel stone, is a carved inscription placed above the doorway of a house owned by a newly married couple. These inscriptions are predominantly found on the east coast of Scotland and date primarily from the sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries. Each lintel typically features the year of the wedding and the initials of the couple.

 

The purpose of these lintels was to serve as a record of marriage and the union of two families, often from aristocratic or wealthy backgrounds. They could be added to buildings constructed specifically for the married couple or incorporated into a pre-existing lintel. These inscriptions were always set above the main entrance and sometimes appeared inside houses, above the most prominent fireplace. Their placement ensured visibility, akin to an early form of social media?

 

By the end of the nineteenth century, the tradition of marriage lintels had largely disappeared, along with other traditional Scottish practices. For example, grooms are no longer expected to carry a creel (a large basket filled with stones) around the village until their bride relieves them of their burden with a kiss. Brides may still stand to the groom's left, but not because they are the 'warrior’s prize' whom the groom must protect by keeping his right hand free to fend off her family or other foes. The custom of presenting swords between families as a symbol of extended protection and acceptance has also waned in significance.

 

Nevertheless, certain customs persist. Although grooms are not necessarily required to bring 'siller' (silver coins) to the ceremony anymore, traditional weddings may still involve a scramble, where coins are thrown in the air for children to collect. Wedding walks, where the wedding party walks to the church preceded by a fiddler, also continue. Many couples still use a quaich, a two-handled 'loving cup', for the first toast to symbolize the joining of their lives. This tradition originates from clan customs, where the quaich was used by two clans to celebrate a bond, with each leader sharing the whisky it contained. Similarly, some couples engage in 'pinning the tartan,' where rosettes are exchanged to signify mutual acceptance by each other’s families.