From Paris to London Waterloo Station via the Chunnel on the Eurostar, a taxi ride through London to Kings Cross Station, and another 4-1/2 hours on a train, and I had arrived in
Scotland
- I visited with cousin John P. Maule of Balerno, with whom I had exchanged letters and information for almost 16 years, and met his son Peter Maule and granddaughter Jane (Maule) Bowe.
- I drove to Carnoustie, which is "twinned" to Maule, France,
where once again I discovered that one never knows when
a sign of the family
may turn up around the next corner, when a variant of the Maule coat
of arms might appear on a town building,
and where Annie Thompson, one of the members of the
"twinning" committee, took me on a tour of several important
places connected with the Maule family:
- Extending from just to the west of the town and extending as far as one can see and beyond are the lands of the Panmure Estates, once held by the family and now held partly by an insurance company and partly by others.
- Several miles north of the town is Kelly Castle, once held by the Barons Maule of Kelly and now owned by Gerald Coulson of Kelly, Baron of Kelly, who very kindly invited me to see his excellent rehabilitation work and to tour the gardens of Kelly Castle.
- I stayed a few nights in Edzell (at a fine hotel called The Glenesk), once part of the Maule estates, where the principal tourist attraction is the ruins of Edzell Castle, and its finely maintained gardens, with respect to which one of the staff remarked, "Your family was the last to own the place." (The Lindseys had held the castle for centuries, but when the last of the clan went bankrupt the Maules purchased it and its estates, but lost them to the government when James Maule, 4th Earl Panmure, was attainted for supporting James VII's bid for the crown).
- From Edzell I made a visit to Tarfside in the Glenesk,
also land once held by the family, where I saw several special places:
- Greeted by what must be the the best of the signs, I had the opportunity to explore not only the exterior of the Maule Memorial Church but also its interior, finding a stained glass window with not only the name of a family member (it's Fox Maule Ramsay) but also, again, the arms of a member of the family.
- Gazing into the western horizon, I spotted the Maule Memorial on a distant hill. (Tough to see but its at the top of the hill in the center of the photo).
- I stopped for lunch at a tea room called The Retreat, which also houses a museum, discovering that the building was the hunting retreat of the Maules and the museum sometimes called the Maule Museum (yes, another one!). I don't know who was more surprised, the folks in the gift shop who reacted enthusiastically to my name on my credit card or myself when I saw that Her Highness and members of the Royal family had visited and signed the guest book (which was now under glass). I was just a tad late.
- I accepted an invitation from Lord and Lady Ramsay to visit their home, Brechin Castle, a long-time residence of the Maule family, which continues to be held by the Ramsay branch of the family. Warmly received and kindly entertained, I was overjoyed by this special "tour of Maule history" and the opportunity to gaze upon something like Robert Maule's 1611 history of the family. I was delighted to greet Simon Ramsay, Earl of Dalhousie, with whom I had exchanged letters and who had generously hosted the American Maule cousins who travelled to Scotland in 1991.
- I visisted the town of Brechin, easily seen from the castle and home to both Brechin Cathedral and the Round Tower, one of only two such Irish towers remaining in Scotland. Once again, I discovered another sign of the family.
- On the way back to Edinburgh, I visited the Panmure
Estates, where Bruce and Barbara Laughton showed me:
- Remants of the ruins of the twelfth century Panmure Castle
- The Maule Memorial Tower (not to be confused with the Maule Memorial in Tarfside)
- The famous Locked Gates (locked on orders of James Maule, 4th Earl Panmure in 1715, when he went into exile after being attainted for supporting James VII's claim to the crown, and having remained locked ever since, not to be unlocked until "a Stuart again sits on the throne.")
- The place where Panmure House, the Maule family seat, once stood. (Panmure house, built in the 14th century, rebuilt in the 17th century, and after being repurchased by the family, was enlarged during the 19th century, met a cruel fate in the early 1950s when the cost of refurbishment and the taxation rates combined to bring an end to what was called "the finest home in Scotland save Holyroodhouse.")
- The title page of an account book for the Panmure Estates, in the handwriting of my namesake 287 years ago. (Look closely).
- I spent 5 days in Edinburgh:
- Yes, I spent much time in libraries, where I discovered much genealogical information not available to me in the States.
- I also had a chance to wander around, discovering that only a few steps from John Knox' House one finds yet another reminder of the family's pervasiveness (and for all those Maule punsters, remember that in Scotland, "close"means "alley" and not "nearby"!)
- I climbed Calton Hill, getting a bird's eye view of the town, including Holyroodhouse.
- When I went to Edinburgh Castle, I was asked to stand in a place where I had a front row view of the ceremony in which the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards arrived at the Castle, bringing the gold disc awarded to it 25 years ago when its recording of Amazing Grace reached 100,000 in sales after 7 weeks at the "Top of the Pops." Given that the Regiment was returning home after peace keeping duties in Bosnia, it was rather serendipitous that I found myself reminded that back home at Villanova many of the students and some faculty and staff are involved in their own way through in attempts to perpetuate peace. It made the view of the city from the Castle somewhat of an anti-climax.
It was time for another train ride (two, actually), taking me to
England
- Since it claims to be the "best medieval castle in England," I made my way to Warwick Castle, and decided that since Brechin Castle is in Scotland I'd not argue the claim. It truly is a magnificent edifice.
- Many of the Earls of Warwick (and lots of other famous people, including some in other parts of my ancestral charts) are buried in the Collegiate Church of St. Mary in Warwick, so I had a look and found, among other marvelous things, some more beautiful stained glass.
- When I arrived at my hotel I discovered that the musicians playing in the pub were guests who had finished performing at the Warwick Folk Festival which had ended that day. Entertained by some of England's finest. Nice welcome, eh?
Then it was another train ride (three, to be accurate), through some of the most spectacular scenery yet, bringing me to
Wales
- I was the guest of Martin and Glynnis Maule, with whom I've exchanged letters and information for several years and who took me into Dollegau to see the Quaker Center, where there was an exhibition featuring Welsh Quakers who had emigrated to Pennsylvania, including the grandfather of Thomas Maule, Jr's wife, Zillah Walker. Not so unexpected to see Merion, Bryn Mawr and Radnor placenames on the maps, but somewhat startling to see Villanova in Wales.
- I visited the mountaintops, where the scenery is spectacular and the lakes deep blue.
Into the car with my cousins and through the mountains, forests, and small towns of Wales until we reached
England
- Martin, Glynnis and I visited Brian and Beryl Maule, who were pleased to finally meet Brian's American "email pal" (or is it "digital pen pal"?) Brian is the archivist, genealogist, and historian of the British branches of the family. Take a look at Brian's Maule Family History Homepage to get a glimpse into how much he has contributed to the compilation of the Maule Genealogy.
- We made a quick visit to Exeter Cathedral, and, yes, this is the last of the pictures of stained glass windows that you'll see here.
- After Martin and Glynnis left the next morning to visit their children, Brian and I exchanged information for hours. I would have stayed for weeks had I not had a train to catch.
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Then, on to London:- Yes, I spent a day at the Library of the Society of Genealogists, where I could and should have spent a month. Oh well, guess where Martin's going to go? :)
- And I spent the final day of this expedition playing tourist, though I must clarify that I visited this particular site voluntarily.
And then, late on the last day, it finally started raining.
So I came home.
Comments welcome. I have 460 pictures, so I've
bothered you with only a small fraction, assuming the
rest would be of much less interest. Let me know if
I'm wrong:
Simply send email to me:
maule@law.villanova.edu (Jim Maule)
The Maule portion of this page was reviewed in , the newspaper of a town very near to Maule, France. It's in French, of course, and if you cannot read French (and don't want to use a computer translator program), trust me, the writer says nice things. :-) The writer noted that I had vowed to return. And I did, in 1999 and in 2001 (and I will be there again soon). And, yes, there are more pictures. Do you REALLY want those posted, too? :-)