Parliament Week: Meet the man who gave the Crown of Scotland a long overdue clean

Parliament Week: Curator's Choice: Richard Welander, the Head of Collections at Historic Scotland, was the man responsible for cleaning the Crown of Scotland for the first time in five years in July 2011...

“The Crown is part of the Honours of Scotland or the Scottish Regalia. The other pieces are the Sword of State and the Sceptre.
 
In early January 1540, with the imminent coronation of his new queen, Marie de Guise, King James V ordered that the Crown of Scotland, in a damaged and broken condition, was to be remodelled.

The task was given to an Edinburgh jeweller, John Mosman, who had less than six weeks to complete his work.

To the original crown, which weighed a little over 1lb, Mosman added 41 ounces of Scottish gold, 44 gemstones and 68 pearls (the large pearls are oriental and the smaller ones are believed to be Scottish freshwater pearls).

On the top of the Crown, the dark blue enamelled gold orb is French workmanship and may have been bought by James in Paris when he visited France in 1537.

The gold cross above the orb is decorated in black enamel and bears the letters IR5 referring to King James V (Jacobus Rex V).  It is studded with eight large pearls and a large amethyst on the front of the cross.
 
Mosman delivered the Crown to Holyrood Palace on February 13 1540, and it was first worn in public by the King on February 22.

In 1707, following the Act of Union, the Honours were locked away in the Crown Room at Edinburgh Castle and forgotten until they were famously rediscovered by Sir Walter Scott in 1818.
 
From the Restoration of Charles II in 1660 to the Treaty of in 1707, the Honours were brought down from Edinburgh Castle with great ceremony and taken to Parliament Hall on the Royal Mile adjacent to St Giles Cathedral.

This elaborate ceremony became known as the Riding of Parliament. It has been reinstated since the opening of the new Scottish Parliament in 1999. The Sword of State and the Sceptre are no longer in regular Royal ceremonial use.

Historic Scotland maintains and manages Edinburgh Castle on behalf of Scottish Ministers.As part of those duties, it maintains the physical security of the Crown Room and its contents.
 
Up until the mid-1990s, the Honours were cleaned annually every February. At this time, the late Mr Bill Jamieson (who died in May 2010), a well-reputed Edinburgh jeweller who had undertaken this task for more than 40 years, noted that repeated polishing appeared to be wearing away surface details.

The Crown is now only cleaned once every five years, shortly prior to the Opening of Parliament. At the start of the Riding, the Crown is carried by the Duke of Hamilton in procession down the Royal Mile from Edinburgh Castle to the Scottish Parliament.

On arrival at Parliament he carries the Crown into the Debating Chamber and places it on a Cloth of Gold-covered table in front of Her Majesty the Queen.”