Something About Holyrood, Edinburgh

Crossing Britaine's Other Eye.

Today, the body of HM Queen Elizabeth II began a 175 miles, six hour journey from the Balmoral estate to the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh - the official residence of the British monarch in Scotland.

The remaining walls of Holyrood Abbey lie adjacent to the palace. The abbey was founded in 1128 by King David I. During the 15th Century, the abbey guesthouse was developed into a royal residence, and after the Scottish Reformation the Palace of Holyroodhouse was expanded further. The abbey church was used as a parish church until the 17th Century, and has been ruined since the 18th Century.  The roofless nave is all that remains of the medieval abbey buildings [1].

Rood is an archaic word for crucifix or cross [2].

Lewis Barnavelt encountered Holyrood Abbey a few times in his life, first in the writings of John L. Stoddard about the stabbing of David Rizzio (The House with a Clock in its Walls; 1973).

Later, Lewis saw visions in the magic mirror within his uncle's enchanted coat rack of the abandoned abbey (The Whistle, the Grave, and the Ghost; 2003) and the "...strange stone coffins with hollows scooped out in the for the bodies. They lay scattered about a pebbly yard (p. 109)."

References

• [1] Wikipedia: Holyrood Abbey
• [2] Wikipedia: Holyrood