On 18th December 1661, the ‘Elizabeth of Burntisland’ sank while returning 85 barrels of historic records to Scotland, after Oliver Cromwell removed them from Stirling Castle.
Among the state documents that went down with the Elizabeth were charters and records dating back to the reigns of King Robert the Bruce and his son King David II.
But why were these important historic documents being shipped north from London in a storm? To answer that question we must go back to 1650 and Oliver Cromwell’s military campaign into Scotland.
In 1650, Oliver Cromwell’s New Model Army entered Scotland after the Scottish parliament, led by Covenanters, declared Charles II king. The defending forces were no match for Cromwell’s army of well-trained and well-provisioned professional soldiers. The Scots suffered severe losses as the city and castle of Edinburgh fell.
The Records of Scotland were held in a special register house in Edinburgh. After its capture the state and legal papers were allowed to be moved to Stirling Castle for safekeeping.
The precious archive, however, was not safe for long. In August 1651, Cromwell’s military commander, General Monck, laid siege to Stirling Castle. Monck set up artillery around the castle, including in a nearby churchyard, “whence for three days a fire was kept up causing considerable damage to the Castle.” When the Castle fell, Cromwell’s forces, carried off their ‘spoils of war.’ These included not only the Earl of Mar’s coronet and robes but also the national records.
The records were sent to the Tower of London, Cromwell may have wanted to have all records of his new ‘commonwealth’ in one archive, or he may have wished to demonstrate his power over a subjugated nation. Either way, it became very difficult to bring any legal cases in Scotland with the records in England.
After the restoration of Charles II in 1660, arrangements were made for the records to be returned to Edinburgh. However, a series of ill thought out decisions were to lead to their destruction.
Firstly, the ship carrying the records was due to sail during a period of particularly stormy weather. Secondly, it was well known that the Elizabeth of Burntisland was not the most seaworthy of vessels. Her Captain was reluctant to take the precious cargo. Ultimately, the Elizabeth was loaded with two tonnes of papers stored in 85 barrels.
The Captain’s apprehension was justified when the ship began to take on water off Northumbria. She sank, taking with her barrels of Scottish Royal charters and legal documents, documents whose loss leaves a hole in Scottish archives to this day.
