A must-see: to the left of the palace's entrance front rises a heavy tower with rounded corners, capped with turrets — James V's Tower, built between 1528 and 1536. It is the oldest surviving part of Holyroodhouse and the only portion that truly belongs to the Scottish Renaissance; the symmetrical main range admired today is a 17th-century rebuild. The tower was adorned with large carved heraldic panels, the hallmark of James V's princely programme; dreaming of a palace to match those he had seen in France, he summoned French architects and craftsmen. Within these walls Mary, Queen of Scots kept her apartments, and here, in 1566, her secretary Rizzio was murdered.
Did you know?
James V, husband in turn to two French queens (Madeleine of Valois, then Mary of Guise), meant to rival the châteaux of the Loire: Holyrood's tower and Stirling Palace are the two great works where he imported the French taste in stone.
Info
- The Renaissance fabric is confined to the north-west tower; the rest of the palace is Baroque (Robert Mylne, 1670s).
- The sculpture / heraldic dimension of the Palace of Holyroodhouse (see the linked monument entry).