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azzuri · 'Our Scotland' Fossil Joined: 12 Sep 2005 Posts: 3776

see - http://news.scotsman.com/scotland.cfm?id=1085432006

Descendant to relate tale of Flora MacDonald and prince

ANDY MILNE

TWO hundred and sixty years ago, Flora MacDonald became one of the heroines of Scottish history by helping Bonnie Prince Charlie escape the country to France.

Now visitors to an exhibition in the Capital about the Battle of Culloden will get a little closer to the past than they might expect.

For guiding them around the displays will be Catriona MacNaughton, 80, ready to relate tales about her great-great-great-great-great aunt, Flora MacDonald.

After his defeat at Culloden in 1746, the Young Pretender fled to the Outer Hebrides where he famously disguised himself as Flora's maid to escape his pursuers and flee to France.

Mrs MacNaughton, a retired nurse who lives in Morningside, has been raised on stories of the 1745 rebellion.

"I can't be completely balanced about Culloden. The aftermath of the battle was particularly hard on the Highlanders and they had a terrible life afterwards. Of course, there were Scots on both sides of the fight," she said

"I'm looking forward to guiding people around the display, especially as I've been brought up on all these stories about the Jacobites. I think we need to make people more aware of Scottish history."

A highlight for Mrs MacNaughton will be the Betty Burke Glass, a 230-year-old glass that holds an engraving of Bonnie Prince Charlie disguised as Flora MacDonald's maid.

The glass is thought to have been produced and cherished by a Jacobite family in the aftermath of the failed rebellion.

Clare Meredith, head conservator of the exhibition, said she believed Mrs MacNaughton will be able to give the display a human touch.

"Part of what the exhibition is about is making a connection to the events and helping people understand them," she said.

"It's wonderful to have a descendant working at the exhibition as it helps people to make that connection."

"Many of the artifacts on display will have been familiar to Flora MacDonald."

The Battle of Culloden exhibition at 28 Charlotte Square is set to open on August 1 and will run until the end of September. It is part of the National Trust for Scotland's new interpretation of the Battle of Culloden and features many rarely seen artifacts.

The most striking is a handwritten letter from Bonnie Prince Charlie to Louis XV of France.

In the "Holyrood Letter", Prince Charlie pleads with Louis to invade England and secure his succession to the British throne.

"To have a handwritten letter from Prince Charlie is similar to seeing John Lennon's original manuscript of Let it Be," said Ms Meredith.

"It's really very immediate."

Other artifacts include more engraved glasses, a ladies' fan, portraits of an unknown Jacobite lady and one of Prince Charlie as well as swords and shields from the battlefield.

After the exhibition the artifacts will be transported to the Culloden battlefield, which is being completely renovated to incorporate the latest academic research.

John Hollingsworth, a spokesman for the NTS, said: "The exhibition will show how we plan to tell the story in more detail with the new Culloden Battlefield Memorial Centre, which is to be developed at the battle site."

Mrs MacNaughton's family has always been aware of its roots in the Jacobean rebellion through a valuable family heirloom.

A Venetian glass rolling pin that belonged to Flora has been passed down from aunt to niece for 6 generations.

The ornate rolling pin was brought back from Europe in the late 18th century by one of her cousins.

Members of the Highland clans, as Stewart loyalists, fought in wars across the continent and it is thought that the rolling pin was bought when he was a French officer cadet.

"What happened is Flora MacDonald's niece took a shine to this rolling pin," said Mrs MacNaughton.

"So Flora gave it to her and it's been passed down the generations ever since. It's currently with my niece, Katrina Munro, in South Africa."

The family are currently considering donating the rolling pin to either the National Museum of Scotland or the MacDonald museum on the Isle of Skye.

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Blackadder · 'Our Scotland' Fossil Joined: 28 Jul 2006 Posts: 4125

Speed bonnie boat??? Yeah, right! More like it went across that stretch of water like a bat out of hell! ... though if they'd only waited 250 years, they could've walked over on the Sky Bridge. Though paying the Toll may've been problematic!