[MR] Handedness

[Garth G. Groff]

Friends,

There was/is a Scottish border clan which was famous for being mostly 
left-handed, the Kerrs (pronounced "CAR"). The usual arrangement of 
newel stairs (that wind around a central post) in castles was clockwise, 
supposedly to give a right-handed defender a slight advantage as he 
retreated up the steps. Castles and tower houses built by the Kerrs (or 
acquired castles later modified during expansion) featured 
anti-clockwise stairs to give defenders a double advantage over 
ascending right-hand opponents. "Mary Queen of Scots' House" a small 
t-shaped tower house still intact in Jedburgh features these 
anti-clockwise newel stairs. It was supposedly owned by the Kerrs and 
leased to the Queen for a time. There is a nice photo and explanation 
found on page 30 in the Osprey book STRONGHOLDS OF THE BORDER REIVERS: 
FORTIFICATIONS OF THE ANGLO-SCOTTISH BORDER, 1296-1603 by Keith Durham 
(ISBN 9781846031977).

Kind regards,


Mungo Napier, That Crazy Scot
(mka Garth Groff)