The Clifftop Castle That Outsmarted Cromwell and Saved Scotland’s Crown Jewels

In 1651, Oliver Cromwell’s army had already swept through Scotland. Edinburgh had fallen, the nation’s records had been seized, and now England wanted something far more symbolic: the Honours of Scotland — the ancient crown, sceptre, and sword of state that had crowned Scottish monarchs for generations. The only thing standing between Cromwell and complete victory was a ruined garrison balanced on a clifftop above the North Sea.

A Fortress at the Edge of the World

Dunnottar Castle stands three miles south of Stonehaven in Aberdeenshire, perched on a rocky headland that drops 160 feet to the sea below. On three sides, sheer cliffs make it virtually impregnable. The only approach is a narrow, winding path that funnels attackers into a deadly killbox.

It had been many things across its long history — a Pictish stronghold, a royal residence, a church turned prison. William Wallace captured it from the English in 1297. Mary Queen of Scots visited in 1562. By the time Cromwell’s forces arrived, it had already witnessed seven centuries of Scotland’s most turbulent stories.

It was about to witness one more remarkable chapter.

The Crown Jewels and the Coming Storm

As Cromwell’s New Model Army advanced north in 1650, the Honours of Scotland — the oldest surviving royal regalia in the British Isles — needed a hiding place. They had already survived one close call, rushed out of Edinburgh before the city fell.

In 1651, they were brought to Dunnottar for safekeeping. The castle, commanded by Sir George Ogilvy and defended by a small garrison, became the last stronghold of Scottish sovereignty. That September, English forces arrived and encircled the headland.

They could not storm the castle directly. So they settled in for a siege.

Eight Months on the Clifftop

The garrison held out through the bitter Scottish winter of 1651 and into 1652, enduring cannon bombardment and slowly running out of supplies. Ogilvy knew that surrender was inevitable. The question was not whether the castle would fall — it was whether the Honours would fall with it.

Cromwell’s commanders were quite clear in their demands: surrender the crown jewels, or face the consequences. But the garrison had no intention of letting centuries of Scottish sovereignty pass into English hands.

The Audacious Escape

Exactly how the Honours got out of Dunnottar is one of the great debates in Scottish history. The most widely accepted account credits a woman — Mrs Grainger, wife of the minister at nearby Kinneff Church — who visited the besieged castle under the pretence of seeing a friend.

She walked back out past the English troops with Scotland’s crown jewels concealed beneath her skirts, wrapped in flax or hidden among bundles of wool. A servant may have helped lower the regalia from the castle walls in a basket. The precise details are debated. What is not disputed is the result.

The Honours of Scotland vanished from under Cromwell’s nose.

They were buried beneath the floor of Kinneff Church, where they remained hidden for nearly a decade — through the entirety of Cromwell’s rule — until the Restoration of Charles II in 1660.

When a commission finally opened the floorboards at Kinneff, the crown, sceptre, and sword of state were exactly where they had been hidden. Intact. Safe. Still Scotland’s.

What Became of Dunnottar

After holding out for so long, Dunnottar eventually surrendered in May 1652. Sir George Ogilvy was imprisoned in Edinburgh but later released. The castle was badly damaged during the siege and never fully recovered. Partial demolition followed in the 18th century after its owner faced punishment for Jacobite sympathies.

What remains today are dramatic ruins — towers, great hall, chapel, and vaulted storage chambers — perched above the North Sea like the skeleton of something ancient and unbowed. If you’re curious about why so many of Scotland’s castles ended up as ruins, the story is a long and fascinating one. And for another castle with secrets it refuses to relinquish, Glamis Castle has been keeping its own mysteries for centuries.

Standing at Dunnottar Today

When you walk down the winding path to the entrance of Dunnottar Castle and the sea opens out below you on all sides, the scale of what happened here becomes very clear. The English army camped on the headland above. The garrison held this rocky promontory below. And somewhere in those walls, a crown was hidden and a nation’s identity was quietly preserved.

Visit on a grey Aberdeenshire morning, when the mist rolls in off the North Sea and the wind carries salt and history in equal measure, and you will feel exactly why Scotland never forgot what was protected here.

For more stories from the places and people that shaped Scotland, explore lovetovisitscotland.com — there is always another remarkable corner waiting to be discovered.

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