The Stone of Scone

Elder Bylund noticed in the news in July that a Kay Matheson had passed away. Her claim to fame is  that she was the only woman among four Glasgow University students who “retrieved” Scotland’s historic Stone of Destiny (Stone of Scone) from London’s Westminster Abbey in a dramatic raid on Christmas Day, 1950. Historically, the Stone, over which Scottish Kings were traditionally crowned, was kept at the now-ruined Scone Abbey in Scone. Because we had recently visited Scone Palace (only 20 miles from Dundee),  I pursue the story further, both watching the movie, “Stone of Destiny” and reading the book, The Taking of the Stone of Destiny”, written by Ian Hamilton, the ringleader of the group.

Some Scotts have quite the dislike of the English and dislike even more being governed from London. The retrieval of the Stone of Scone awakened the Scots sense of nationalism, which is alive and well today. One year from now, the Scots will vote on independence from the United Kingdom. The question to be voted on is simply "Should Scotland be an independent country?" It will be interesting to watch. 

The retrieval of the Stone is quite the story. The four students from Glasgow drove to London, a journey which took them eighteen hours. Later that day Ian Hamilton hid under a trolley in the Abbey, but was caught by a nightwatchman after the Abbey doors had been closed, briefly questioned, and then let go.

In the middle of the following night, the three men entered a works yard and gained entrance to the Abbey. On removing the Stone from under the Chair, it crashed to the floor and broke into two pieces.  The three men, using Hamilton's coat, dragged the larger piece down the high altar steps, then Hamilton took the smaller piece to one of the cars waiting outside dirven by Kay Matheson.

Ian Hamilton placed the small piece of Stone in the boot of the car and got into the passenger seat. As he did this, a policeman approached, and Hamilton and Matheson immediately fell into a lovers' clinch. The policeman stopped and the three proceeded to have a conversation even though it was 5 am.. Matheson drove off to Victoria and Hamilton went back to the Abbey. Unable to find the other 2, he proceeded to drag the large piece of stone to the car himself. Hamilton drove to Kent, hid the large piece of stone in a field and made his way back to Scotland. Matheson left her car, containing the small piece of the Stone, with a friend in the Midlands. On discovering that the Stone was missing, the authorities closed the border between Scotland and England for the first time in four hundred years.

A fortnight later Hamilton and some friends recovered the two pieces of stone and brought them to Glasgow. They hired a stonemason to mend the Stone.

In April 1951 the police received a tip-off and the Stone was found on the site of the High Altar at Arbroath Abbey (10 miles from Dundee) where in 1320 the assertion of Scottish nationhood was made in the Declaration of Arbroath.. The Stone was returned to Westminster Abbey in February 1952.. The perpetrators were not prosecuted.  The Stone was officially returned to Scotland in 1996 and resides in the Edinburgh Castle, as we have independently confirmed.