Swatte Fell, Hartfell and Hartfell Spa
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View of the plaque in the roof inside Hartfell Spa. View of the plaque in the roof inside Hartfell Spa. View of the plaque in the roof inside Hartfell Spa.
14 Here is the plaque set into the roof and below you can see what is on it. Notice that the lettering is actually a mirror image of normal text. Mouseover to see it the "right way round" This is the old Douglas clan motto "Forward" and the crest, a winged heart, which is often surmounted by Bruce´s crown. This clearly refers to the fact that Robert the Bruce's great ally - the Black Douglas took Bruce's heart to the crusades and threw it at the enemy as he was himself about to die in battle in Spain. Bruces heart ended up at Melrose Abbey.
The connection of the Douglas clan with Moffat is that one of the several other titles that the Duke of Buccleuch goes by is "Lord Douglas of Kilmount, Middlebie and Dornock" a title which dates back to 1682. The Duke of Buccleuch owns huge tracts of land here and elsewhere in Britain.
The date on the plaque is 1754. Why it should be in the inverted form that you might use as a seal to imprint into wax I don't know. One visitor to this site has suggested that it you saw the plaque reflected on the surface of the water in the floor of the spa it would be the right way round. This would work if you were using artificial light in the spa but not otherwise - it is too dark on the ceiling to see it by natural light.
View of the plaque in the roof inside Hartfell Spa - detail.
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