FOLLY GRANDEUR
The Eglinton Tournament of 1839 was a throwback to chivalric times which almost bankrupted an earl
Nostalgia, as they say, ain’t what it used to be; a longing for glories past is certainly nothing new. In the early days of Queen Victoria’s reign, there was a renewed interest in the Gothic Revival and the romanticism of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The works of Sir Walter Scott were popular, having brought romanticism back into the mainstream, and works such as Ivanhoe had made the age of chivalry more appealing.
Archibald William Montgomerie, 13th Earl of Eglinton and Winton, decided that he would tap into this interest in the past, when he decided to hold a massive mock-medieval tournament at his estate in North Ayrshire in August 1839. He intended the occasion to be a proper sporting event but it was, in reality, more of an epic historical re-enactment. Indeed, before the event began the Sheriff of Ayr warned that if any combatants were killed during the tournament then the other knight would face criminal charges of manslaughter, or even murder.
Having looked at the rules of various jousting competitions held in the past, it was decided to use a 16th century form of combat which saw knights on horseback bidding to hit each other’s shield with a lance.
The plan was to host a four-day event, which would be open for the general public to attend. Access to Eglinton Castle would be made easier with the new railway line from Ayr to Irvine, which opened to the public on 5 August 1839.
Interest in the event came from near and far, with the tournament attracting a huge degree of interest from London. A dealer in medieval armour, Samuel Pratt, held a meeting at his premises at 47 Bond Street in the autumn of 1838. This attracted the attention of 150 would-be knights, but many were put off when they learned of the high costs that would be incurred should they wish to take part. In the end, around forty participants maintained their interest.
Pratt’s knowledge of history gave him a major advantage when it came to the organisation of the physical logistics of the event, so he was placed in charge of running the competition, including the supply of armour, banners, decor, costumes, tents and stands.
However, one item Pratt was not allowed to provide was the lances. These were specially commissioned by Lord Eglinton so that they would break upon
impact to prevent serious injuries to the participants. Those taking part took the competition extremely seriously, which in turn ramped up public anticipation. When practice jousts were held in London in the summer of 1839 to familiarise the ‘knights’ with what they might find in Ayrshire, almost 2,700 people turned up to watch 19 knights rehearse.
To maintain the historical feel, a grand feast was planned, while a Queen of Beauty – the noted beauty Georgiana, Duchess of Somerset – was chosen. Many distinguished visitors would attend the event, including Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, the future emperor of France. Although the monarch didn’t attend, Queen Victoria made note of the Eglinton Tournament twice in her diary.
Lord Eglinton declared the event would be free to those who applied for tickets. The peer expected a crowd of around 4,000 to attend, but in the end, the Eglinton Tournament attracted 100,000 spectators, although there was one problem that wasn’t foreseen – the Scottish weather. Having been intended to run for four days, the tournament was reduced to two days – 28 and 30 August – following a heavy downpour.
Rain on day one ruined many costumes and caused the tournament area to become waterlogged, with the heavy footfall turning the field into a quagmire. The weather resulted in marquees being flooded, resulting in plans for the medieval banquet and ball being abandoned. Armour began to
“Distinguished visitors, such as LouisNapoleon Bonaparte, were in attendance
rust, with knights reportedly walking about under umbrellas, whilst the Queen of Beauty hardly left her tent.
The second day of the competition was lost as work was hurriedly carried out to salvage the event, with repairs taking place to ensure the tournament could resume. Thankfully, the sun shone on day three, which meant the knights could joust once again.
The banquet and ball were rearranged, with the opulent food at the banquet being served on a specially commissioned gold and silver dinner service. In an attempt to maintain periodic authenticity, the menu featured dishes such as peacock, swan, turtle and boars’ heads, which weren’t popular with the 400 attendees dressed in period costumes.
The rearranged ball was also a disaster. As 2,000 costumed guests were entertained by an orchestra and the band of the 2nd Dragoon Guards, the return of torrential rain meant the tournament came to a hasty conclusion.
The event was not a financial success, and Lord Eglinton had to shoulder to losses. He spent approximately £40,000 pounds on staging the tournament - approximately £4,181,000 today.
‘I am aware of the manifold deficiencies in its exhibition,’ Lord Eglinton later said of the event. ‘More perhaps than those who were not so deeply interested in it. I am aware that it was a very humble imitation of the scenes which my imagination had portrayed, but I have, at least, done something towards the revival of chivalry.’
Staging the event stripped the estate of the majority of its wealth. By 1925, the cost of Eglinton Castle’s upkeep and other taxes led to it being abandoned. A house contents sale took place in December that year, which saw the 13th Earl’s suit of armour from the tournament being sold off.
Various commemorative souvenirs were produced and a number of works of art commissioned for the Eglinton Tournament survive. A painting of the 13th Earl of Eglinton and Winton, dressed in his gold armour at the tournament, can be seen at the V&A Museum in London. More recently, a silver-gilt statue of a knight and horse was bought by the Dick Institute in Kilmarnock, keeping the event’s memory alive in Ayrshire.
In 1989, to mark the 150th anniversary of the tournament, staff at Eglinton Country Park organised a re-enactment of the tournament. In May 2011, East Ayrshire Council held an exhibition entitled ‘1839: A Gothic Adventure’ at the Dick Institute. The Eglinton Trophy was loaned by the Earl of Eglinton and North Ayrshire Council for the duration. The tournament was marked last year at the National Museum of Scotland, as part of its Wild and Majestic: Romantic Visions of Scotland exhibition, which featured a number of artefacts from the event.