The College recently lent its prestigious piece of Borrodale tartan to this highly successful exhibition at the V&A in Dundee.
Exploring the history of tartan through world cultures and in Scottish history, it displayed a bewildering array of different types of tartan. The Stonyhurst Borrodale fragment was one of the highlights of the exhibition: united for the first time with three other pieces from the same plaid worn by Prince Charles Edward Stuart after the Battle of Culloden in 1746. The Stonyhurst piece was extensively analysed by forensic experts in the 1990s, which confirmed that the piece was mid 18th century in origin, and even identified the breed of Highland sheep which had provided the wool. The reconstructed weave now forms the uniform for SMH and Lower Line girls. It is known as Lady Borrodale's Gift, after Catriona MacDonald who gave Prince Charles the tartan plaid to help disguise him from the Hanoverian troops who were seeking to capture him.
