Remember how Rolf Harris used to beam out from the TV as he painted a picture and ask “can you tell what it is yet?”. It’s a bit like that with some of the partly built furniture that has begun to arrive at Stirling Castle palace.

Any guesses what the flat upright board with holes in it, shown in the picture, is for, or the wooden crosses with the piece sticking up from the middle? In case you don’t know, the first item is actually a replica Renaissance fire guard. Once complete the front will be superbly decorated with the Scottish royal coat of arms and will look pretty impressive. The other objects won’t end up on the floor at all, but are wooden candelabras and will be suspended from the ceilings.

The piece of furniture in the other picture is clearly a cupboard, what’s not obvious is how splendid it will end up. In the 16th century a ‘cup board’, as it was known, was for display as well as storage, like a Welsh dresser today. So there will be a three-tiered rack on top to show off fine metal plate. On dreich days and dark nights this  would have looked particularly impressive as it glinted in the firelight. Adding further to the effect will be the cloth canopy, in richly woven material, which will hang above the rack. And to finish the whole thing off, all the carved detail on and around the doors, will be colourfully painted. If much of today’s furniture is about minimalism, this was maximalism.

When the palace opens to the public and they will be able to see what it may have been like in the mid-16th century. But there’s still a huge amount to do. But objects that for so long were just ideas and two-dimensional drawings are finally turning into 3D realities. After years of work, it finally feels like everything is coming together – touch wood.

Peter Buchanan, Stirling Castle Palace Project Manager

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