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Hazel
Song History
Bogies Bonnie
Bell
A simple brief
thought on Scottish
Independance.

Were the outdated
union not of some very
high value to England and
the English, why would
they fight so to try to
keep it?

There are only so many
slices to a pie, for one to
have more, another must
have less.

Lastly - to those Scottish
"Loyalists" - to whom are
you loyal?
Scots royalty died in the
1700's so it can be no
Scots crown - And
certainly not it appears to
those who came before,
that bled for Scotland
and her freedom !  
In the words
of Burns, as he
wrote from the heart.

Scots, wha hae wi' Wallace bled,
Scots, wham Bruce has aften led,
Welcome to your gory bed,
Or to victorie.

Now's the day, and now's the hour;
See the front o' battle lour;
See approach proud Edward's power,
Chains and slaverie.

Wha would be a traitor-knave?
Wha can fill a coward's grave?
Wha sae base as be a Slave?
Let him turn and flie:

Wha for Scotland's king and law,
Freedom's sword will strongly draw,
Free-man stand, or free-man fa',
Let him follow me.

By Oppression's woes and pains!
By your Sons in servile chains!
We will drain our dearest veins,
But they shall be free!

Lay the proud Usurpers low!
Tyrants fall in every foe!
Liberty's in every blow!
Let us Do - or Die!!!

Choose your destiny.
Because "Bogie's Bonnie Bell" is
something of a generic song we have included
some history of Huntley Town in general.










The Founding of Huntly
Huntly has a long history, the town dating back to the 14th
century. But, in addition, there is plenty of evidence of
earlier settlement in the surrounding countryside. Stone
circles and Iron Age forts nearby show local occupation
going back into prehistory.

The first Lord of Strathbogie received his lands from King
William the Lion towards the end of the 12th century. He
constructed a timber castle on an artificial mound near the
River Deveron. This wooden structure was replaced by a
massive stone towerhouse sometime after 1376 when the
Gordons settled permanently in Strathbogie. This stone
castle was itself replaced by a far more spacious building
about 1450. Restructuring of this "Palace of Strathbogie", as
it was generally called, took place frequently during the next
two hundred years.

The earliest settlement was the village of Strathbogie which
stretched along the medieval highway linking fords on the
rivers Deveron and Bogie. Gradually the village developed
into a thriving market town where milling and the extensive
weaving of cloth took place. In 1488, the status of the village
was raised to that of a Burgh of Barony in favour of George,
2nd Earl of Huntly.

The name of Huntly only appeared in the 14th century with
the arrival of the Gordons. King Robert the "Bruce" of
Scotland gifted the Lordship of Strathbogie to his loyal
supporter Sir Adam Gordon of Huntly in Berwickshire in
1318 or 1319. But it was not until the second half of the 18th
century that the new name came into regular use.

The Castle

Huntly Castle, also known as 'The Peel of Strathbogie' or
'Strathbogie Castle', stands on the south bank of the River
Deveron and close to the smaller River Bogie. The castle
consists of the motte and bailey built for the Norman Barron
Duncan ("of Strathbolgyn"), Earl of Fife, in the 12th century,
a mediaeval L-plan tower housing a ground floor prison and
the defence earthworks remaining from the Civil War.

In 1320 King Robert granted title to the lands to Sir Adam
Gordon of Huntly. The 4th Earl of Huntly (known as 'Cock of
the North') rebuilt much of his grandfathers home but in the
17th century it was changed again by the 1st Marquess of
Huntly. It welcomed renowned visitors such as James IV in
1496 and Mary of Guise (Mary Queen of Scot's Mother) in
1556. During a fight between the Douglas's and the King
(whom the Gordon's were supporting) the lands of
Strathbogie were raised and the castle of Huntly burned.

Huntly Castle is famed for its heraldic sculpture and
inscribed stone friezes. It is of enormous interest both from
the historical and architectural viewpoints. It was the
stronghold of the Gordon family, who held power in
Scotland at the highest level. For a considerable time it was
the headquarters of the Catholic Faith in Scotland. The
Castle developed from the twelfth century Norman fortress
to a fortified tower house and then to the Palace of
Strathbogie, whose stately ruins remain with us today.

The Church in Huntly
During the Reformation, Huntly was the main stronghold of
the Catholic faith in Scotland. Priests of the
Counter-Reformation were sure to find sanctuary in the
Castle or with prominent Gordon lairds in the vicinity. During
the Reformation and during the Bishops' Wars and the Civil
War of the 17th century, armies frequently traversed
Strathbogie causing great hardship to the people of Huntly.

The link with Catholicism was severed when Alexander, 2nd
Duke of Gordon died and his widow raised her son, Duke
Cosmo, as a Protestant.

The Industrial Revolution
Huntly prospered in the 18th century due to the expansion
in the production of linen in the town. At the height of linen's
popularity, Huntly accounted for one third of all linen cloth
produced in Scotland. The linen trade collapsed when the
import of cheap cotton goods from America began at the
beginning of the 19th century.









Until 1770, the town consisted of the Old Road, Castle Street,
the Square and several lanes leading off the Square. Plans
were drawn up for its expansion by Alexander, 4th Duke of
Gordon who built new streets on a grid system and sold off
many feus for building houses and factories.

In 1793, he raised a new regiment from his estates, assisted
by his wife, Jane Maxwell, who is said to have kissed each
new recruit. The regiment became known as the Gordon
Highlanders, and the town retained strong links with it until
it's amalgamation with the Queen's Own Highlanders in
1995. The regimental tartan was woven by a manufactory in
the Square.

The son of the 4th Duke, George, had no son to follow him
and so was the last Duke of Gordon. After his death, his
wife, Elizabeth Brodie, a wealthy heiress, built the Gordon
Schools as a memorial to her late husband. This fine
building was designed by the eminent architect Archibald
Simpson.

The Gordon Schools

From the castle the town is approached via a tree-lined
avenue, leading to Gordon Schools, 1839-4, Archibald
Simpson; 1888 additions, A Marshall Mackenzie (Matthew's &
Mackenzie), founded on the site of the castle port by the
Duchess of Gordon in memory of the fifth Duke; Simpsons
work is serene and Jacobean, about a centre pend arch
crowned by an ogee-capped octagonal tower. Mackenzie's
additions blend well. Other buildings include, on the west of
the avenue, the old Public School (1885, Marshall Mackenzie)
with the secondary department added by William Kelly,
c1912 - a strong, two-storey Tudor style with three
asymmetrical gables to the front, mullioned windows and
heavy chimneys. Around this is wrapped a single-storey
1930's streamlined extension with good granite bow and a
two-storey hall with tall concrete ribs, built as late as the mid
1950's. The latest addition is a discrete
three-storey flat-roofed building in creamy
brick and glass of the 1960's.