A Jacobite Gazetteer - France
Paris - Scots College
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The Scots College (Collège des Écossais), located at 65 rue du Cardinal-Lemoine, was for centuries the centre of Scottish Catholic life in Paris. Until 1793 the College was part of the University of Paris. Today it is the home of the Association Franco-Ecossaise. On the second floor of the college the chapel contains a number of funerary monuments of Jacobite interest; while the monuments are still in good condition, almost all the remains of the deceased were lost during the French Revolution. There are monuments to:
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King James II and VII left instructions that at his death his brain should be preserved at the college. In 1703, James Drummond, Duke of Perth, erected a monument to house these remains on the left side of the chapel immediately across from the main entrance (no. 1 on the floorplan). The monument is of grey, black and white marble. Above a plinth stands a sarcophagus with the royal arms. Atop the sarcophagus is an obelisk on which formerly rested a gilt bronze urn which contained James' brain; the urn was lost during the French Revolution. The plinth has a Latin inscription: 1
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In 1883 workmen laying a pipe under the floor of the college discovered two lead cases one of which contained what appeared to be a human brain. The case was given to Monsignor Rogerson who died the following year. The executor of his estate, a British solicitor in Paris, had custody of the case until it was claimed by the Abbé Jouannin of St. Sulpice Seminary. In 1889 J.G. Alger wrote that, "a Scotch Catholic prelate has interested himself in the matter, and the relic will probably be reinstated at the college under an inscribed slab." 2 In 2001 Edward Corp wrote that, "it has never been heard of again." 3 In the floor immediately in front of the monument to King James II and VII is a stone slab with a Latin inscription recording this as the site where the entrails of Queen Mary Beatrice were laid (no. 2 on the floorplan): 4
In the floor immediately in front of the inscription to Queen Mary Beatrice is a diamond-shaped stone slab with a Latin inscription recording this as the site where the entrails of Princess Louise Marie (daughter of King James II and VII and Queen Mary Beatrice) were laid (no. 3 on the floorplan): 5
In addition to the monuments to the Royal Family, there are also several monuments to members of their court, most of which are set into the floor. To the left of the memorial to Queen Mary Beatrice is a square stone marking the spot where the heart of Mary, Duchess of Perth, formerly lay (no. 4 on the floorplan). This lady was the daughter of the third Marquess of Huntly and the second wife of the 1st Duke of Perth; she served as a Lady of the Bedchamber in Ordinary to Queen Mary Beatrice. 6 The memorial stone is incised with tears which surround the outline of a heart, within which is a Latin inscription: 7
Next to the back wall of the chapel and immediately to the left of the memorial to the Duchess of Perth and is a stone marking the site of the burial of her husband, James Drummond, 1st Duke of Perth (no. 6 on the floorplan). He served as Governor to the Prince of Wales (later King James III and VIII), as Gentleman of the Bedchamber, and finally as Chamberlain to Queen Mary Beatrice. 8 The memorial stone has a Latin inscription: 9
To the left of the memorial to the 1st Duke of Perth and at the centre of the back wall of the chapel is a diamond-shaped memorial stone to Andrew Hay (no. 7 on the floorplan). This man was the son of Sir John Hay, of Barra and Lauds, Lord Clerk Register under King Charles I, and of his second wife Rebecca Thomson. He was a Catholic priest, and suffered terribly during the anti-Catholic riots in 1688. Eventually he retired to the Scots College. 10 The memorial stone has a Latin inscription: 11
On the wall behind the memorial to Father Hay is a memorial stone to Frances, Duchess of Tyrconnell. She was the daughter of Richard Jennings and of Frances Thornhurst, the sister of Sarah, Lady Churchill (called "Duchess of Marlborough"), and the second wife of Richard Talbot, Duke of Tyrconnell. She was a Maid of Honour to Queen Catherine, wife of King Charles II, and after 1691 a Lady of the Bedchamber to Queen Mary Beatrice. She died in Dublin and is buried in St. Patrick's Cathedral. 12 The memorial stone has a frame ornamented with burning lamps and a Latin inscription: 13
On the floor to the left of the memorial to Father Hay is a stone marking the site of the burial of James Drummond, 2nd Duke of Perth (no. 5 on the floorplan). He served as Master of the Horse to King James III and VIII. 14 The memorial stone has a Latin inscription: 15
Immediately to the left of the main entrance to the chapel is a stone slab to the memory of John Caryll, Lord Caryll of Durford (no. 10 on the floorplan). He was Secretary to Queen Mary Beatrice and later Secretary of State. He was buried at the church of the English Benedictines near the tomb of King James II and VII. 16 The memorial stone has a Latin inscription: 17
The college owns a portrait of King James III and VIII by Alexis-Simon Belle. 21 The painting was commissioned for the college in August 1703. It is a full-length portrait in which James wears armour and the sash of the Order of the Garter. He is standing on a shoreline and pointing across the water on which there are several ships towards the cliffs of Dover. Behind James is a page dressed in Polish costume. According to Jane Margaret Strickland, the page is Roger Strickland (son of Robert Strickland, Vice Chamberlain to Queen Mary Beatrice); Roger was made Page of Honour, October 30, 1701, and Groom of the Bedchamber, November 29, 1706. 22
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This page is maintained by Noel S. McFerran (noel.mcferran@rogers.com) and was last updated July 20, 2008. © Noel S. McFerran 2007-2008. |