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[Stamp]
Royal Commission
on the Ancient & Historical
Monuments of Scotland
[Note]
456 Annexe
A 1·1
INV (16)
The Royal Commission
on the Ancient & Historical
Monuments of Scotland |
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STIRLINGSHIRE |
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[Photograph inserted]
PLATE 1 JAMES V; sculptured figure at the NE. angle of the Palace, Stirling Castle (192). |
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[Coat of Arms inserted]
STIRLINGSHIRE
AN INVENTORY OF THE ANCIENT MONUMENTS
VOLUME 1
THE ROYAL COMMISSION ON THE
ANCIENT AND HISTORICAL MONUMENTS OF SCOTLAND
1963 |
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© Crown copyright 1963
Published by
HER MAJESTY'S STATIONERY OFFICE
To be purchased from
13A Castle Street, Edinburgh 2
York House, Kingsway, London W.C.2
423 Oxford Street, London W.1
109 St. Mary Street, Cardiff
39 King Street, Manchester 2
50 Fairfax Street, Bristol 1
35 Samallbrook, Ringway, Birmingham 5
80 Chichester Street, Belfast
or through any bookseller
Price £12, 12s. 0d. net
per set of 2 volumes
Printed in Scotland under the Authority of HER MAJESTY'S STATIONERY OFFICE
by T. and A. CONSTABLE LTD., Edinburgh
Wt. 70069 K10 |
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CONTENTS OF VOLUME 1
-- Page
List of Figures -- vii
List of Plates -- xi
Royal Warrant -- xix
Sixteenth Report of the Royal Commission -- xxi
List of Monuments which the Commissioners consider most
worthy of Preservation -- xxiii
List of Monuments discovered during the Survey of Marginal
Lands (1956-8) -- xxv
Register of Monuments in Stirlingshire by Parishes -- xxvii
Abbreviated Titles used in the References -- xxxv
Editorial Notes -- xxxix
Introduction to the Inventory of the Ancient and Historical
Monuments of Stirlingshire -- 1
Inventory of the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Stirling-
shire (Shell-heap to Castles and Tower-houses) -- 59
-- v |
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List of Figures
Fig. -- Title -- Page
1 -- Distribution map of Mesolithic relics -- 19
2 -- Distribution map of Clyde-Carlingford chambered cairns in Central
Scotland -- 21
3 -- Distribution map of Neolithic and Bronze Age monuments and
relics -- facing 22
4 -- Distribution map of Iron Age, Roman, and Dark Age monuments
and relics -- facing 28
5 -- Cairns and barrow, Blochairn (No. 11) -- 61
6 -- Standing stones, Dumgoyach (No. 58) -- 67
7 -- Fort, Dumyat (No. 68) -- 70
8 -- Fort, Abbey Craig (No. 69) -- 71
9 -- Fort, Gillies Hill (No. 70) -- 71
10 -- Fort, Sauchie Craig (No. 71) -- 72
11 -- Fort, Cowie (No. 72) -- 72
12 -- Fort, Langlands (No. 73) -- 73
13 -- Fort, Braes (No. 74) -- 74
14 -- Fort, Myot Hill (No. 75) -- 75
15 -- Fort, Coneypark (No. 76) -- 76
16 -- Fort, Dunmore (No. 77) -- 77
17 -- Fort, Meikle Reive (No. 78) -- 78
18 -- Fort, Craigmaddie (No. 79), also showing Craigmaddie Castle (No. 206) -- 79
19 -- Dun, Touch Muir (No. 85) -- 80
20 -- Dun, Castlehill Wood (No. 86) -- 81
21 -- Dun, Wester Craigend (No. 87) -- 82
22 -- Dun, Wallstale (No. 88) -- 82
23 -- Dun, Craigton (No. 89) -- 83
24 -- Broch, Tor Wood (No. 100) -- 86
25 -- Homestead, Logie (No. 102) -- 87
26 -- Homestead, Woodside (No. 103) -- 88
27 -- Homestead, West Plean (No. 104); general plan -- 89
28 -- the two houses -- 90
29 -- Homestead, Keir Hill, Gargunnock (No. 105) -- 92
30 -- The Antonine Wall (No. 111); map -- 94
31 -- expansions -- 95
32 -- plan of Bonnyside East expansion -- 96
33 -- Roman fort, Mumrills (No. 112); outline plan -- 97
34 -- detailed plan -- 98
35 -- inscribed altar i -- 99
36 -- tombstone ii -- 99
37 -- inscribed altar iii -- 99
-- vii |
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LIST OF FIGURES
[Fig. -- Title -- Page]
38 -- Roman fort, Rough Castle (No. 115); plan -- 101
39 -- building inscription i -- 102
40 -- inscribed altar ii -- 102
41 -- Roman fort, Castlecary (No. 117); plan -- 104
42 -- inscribed altar i -- 105
43 -- inscribed altar ii -- 105
44 -- building-inscription iv -- 106
45 -- building-inscription v -- 106
46 -- Camelon: Roman forts, temporary camps and burials (No. 122);
native fort (No. 82) -- 108
47 -- Roman forts, Camelon (No. 122); plan -- 109
48 -- Roman temple, Arthur's O'on (No. 126) -- 117
49 -- Cambuskenneth Abbey (No. 130); block plan -- 121
50 -- church, cloistral buildings and tower -- 123
51 -- outlying buildings -- 129
52 -- Holy Rude Church, Stirling (No. 131); ground plan --131
53 -- section by MacGibbon and Ross (1908) -- 132
54 -- the tower -- 133
55 -- Old Parish Church, Airth (No. 137); ground plan -- 144
56 -- capitals in 12th-century arcade -- 145
57 -- Parish Church, Bothkennar (No. 139) -- 149
58 -- Cashel, Knockinhaglish (No. 160) -- 164
59 -- Church, Inchcailleach (No. 163); tombstones -- 166
60 -- Cashel, Strathcashell Point (No. 164) -- 167
61 -- Motte, Bonnybridge (No. 180); plan -- 172
62 -- sections -- 172
63 -- Motte, Balcastle (No. 182) -- 173
64 -- Motte, Garmore (No. 183) -- 174
65 -- Motte, Woodend (No. 184) -- 174
66 -- Motte, Fintry (No. 185) -- 175
67 -- Motte, Sir John de Graham's Castle (No. 186) -- 176
68 -- Motte, Keir Knowe of Drum (No. 187) -- 177
69 -- Homestead Moat, Peel of Gartfarren (No. 189) -- 179
70 -- Stirling Castle (No. 192); outer defences -- 190
71 -- Elphinstone Tower and Grand Battery -- 192
72 -- gatehouse of the Forework -- 194
73 -- ground plan of the Palace -- 198
74 -- first-floor plan of the Palace -- 200
75 -- second-floor plan of the Palace -- 203
76 -- reconstruction of the King's Presence Chamber -- 204
77 -- lower floors of the Great Hall -- 206
78 -- upper floors of the Great Hall -- 208
79 -- plans of the Great Hall, restored -- 209
80 -- reconstruction drawing of the Great Hall, W. elevation -- facing 210
81 -- reconstruction drawing of the Great Hall, E. elevation -- facing 210
-- viii |
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LIST OF FIGURES
[Fig. -- Title -- Page]
82 -- reconstruction drawings of the Great Hall, section and S.
elevation -- facing 210
83 -- the Chapel Royal -- 212
84 -- the Mint and Kitchen Range -- 214
85 -- the King's Old Building -- 217
86 -- general plan -- facing 222
87 -- The Blair, Blairlogie (No. 193) -- 223
88 -- Old Sauchie (No. 195) -- 225
89 -- Bruce's Castle (No. 196) -- 227
90 -- Plean Tower (No. 197) -- 228
91 -- Dunmore Tower (No. 198) -- 230
92 -- Airth Castle (No. 199); plans -- 231
93 -- details of dormer pediment and tower parapet -- 234
94 -- Stenhouse (No. 200) -- 240
95 -- Skaithmuir Tower (No. 201) -- 240
96 -- Almond Castle (No. 202) -- 241
97 -- Castle Cary (No. 203) -- 244
98 -- Woodhead (No. 205) -- 247
99 -- Craigmaddie Castle (No. 206) -- 248
100 -- Mugdock Castle (No. 207); site plan -- 249
101 -- general plan -- 250
102 -- detailed plans -- 252
103 -- Bardowie Castle (No. 208) -- 254
104 -- Duntreath Castle (No. 209); plan of about 1857 -- 256
105 -- W. and S. elevations of gatehouse -- 257
106 -- plans of tower -- 259
107 -- Duchray Castle (No. 211) -- 261
108 -- Culcreuch Castle (No. 213) -- 263
109 -- Gargunnock House (No. 215) -- 265
110 -- Castle Rankine (No. 217); plan -- 268
111 -- section -- 268
-- ix |
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LIST OF PLATES
Plate
1 -- (Frontispiece) Scultuptured figure of James V at the NE. angle of the Palace,
Stirling Castle (No. 192)
2 A -- Beaker, Shankhead (p. 22)
2 B -- Ceremonial axe, Stirling (p. 21)
2 C, D -- Cup-and-ring markings, Tor Wood Broch (No. 44)
3 A -- Standing stone, Airthrey Castle (W.) (No. 47), from S.
3 B -- Standing stone, Airthrey Castle (E.) (No. 48), from SE.
3 C -- Standing stone, Knockraich (No. 60), from W.
3 D -- Standing stones, Waterhead (No. 61), from W.
4 A, B -- Boat-shaped brooch, Castlecary (p. 23)
4 C, D -- Boat-shaped brooch, Falkirk (p.23)
4 E -- Gold armlet, Bonnyside (p. 22)
5 -- Broch, Tor Wood (No. 100); interior from N.
6 A -- stair lobby and small recess in wall face
6 B -- entrance passage from outside
6 C -- door-check and bar-hole, N. side of entrance
7 A -- Cairn, Hill of Airthrey (No. 6), from SE.
7 B -- Fort, Dumyat (No. 68), from SW.
8 A -- Antonine Wall (No. 111); ditch near Watling Lodge (No. 114),
looking W.
8 B -- ditch in Callendar Park, looking W.
9 A, B -- Fibula, Polmaise (p. 36)
9 C -- Bronze statuette of Mercury, Throsk (p. 36)
9 D -- Statuette of the goddess Fortune, Castlecary (p. 105) (By courtesy of
the University of Glasgow)
10 A -- Silver pin, Dunipace (p. 37); front
10 B -- back
10 C, D -- showing design on back
11 A -- Turf House, Carse of Stirling (p.49), by Farington; exterior
11 B -- in course of construction
12 -- interior
13 A -- Old Church, Logie (No. 127), from SE.
13 B -- Blairlogie Church (No. 129), from S.
14 -- Cambuskenneth Abbey (No. 130); bell-tower from SE.
15 A -- bell-tower from NW.
15 B -- SE. angle-buttress of bell-tower (Photo: Ministry of Works)
15 C -- cresset
15 D -- cap-house of bell-tower
16 A -- entrance-doorway to bell-tower (Photo: Ministry of Works)
16 B -- W. doorway of nave (Photo: Ministry of Works)
-- xi |
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LIST OF PLATES
17 -- Holy Rude Church, Stirling (No. 131); from SE.
18 A -- from S.
18 B -- presbytery from SE.
18 C -- tower from NW.
19 A -- cap-house of tower
19 B -- E. face of tower showing nave-roof levels
19 C -- remains of W. doorway
19 D -- detail of buttress, S. nave-aisle
20 A -- detail of parapet, S. choir-aisle
20 B -- niche, N. side of choir
20 C -- niche, S. side of choir
20 D -- detail of flagged roof of presbytery
20 E -- detail of buttress finials, S. choir-aisle
21 A -- St. Mary's Aisle, remains of entrance-doorway
21 B -- St. Mary's Aisle, respond-capital of entrance-doorway
21 C -- St. Mary's Aisle, credence and piscina
21 D -- remains of doorway, N. nave-aisle
22 A -- St. Andrew's Aisle, ribbed vault
22 B -- St. Andrew's Aisle, N. window
22 C -- St. Andrew's Aisle, exterior
22 D -- St. Andrew's Aisle, recess in E. wall
23 A -- nave from crossing
23 B -- choir from crossing
24 A-E -- details of capitals and bases in nave
25 -- S. nave-arcade from E.
26 -- roof of nave
27 A -- N. choir-arcade
27 B -- detail of capital, S. choir-arcade
27 C -- detail of base, S. choir-arcade
27 D -- Easter Sepulchre
27 E -- pulpit
28 A -- ribbed vault, S. choir-aisle
28 B -- wall-shaft, S. choir-aisle
29 A -- barrel-vault over presbytery
29 B -- wall-shaft, S. side of presbytery
29 C -- wall-shaft, N. side of presbytery
30 A -- Old Church, St. Ninians (No. 133); steeple from NW.
30 B -- chancel from S.
31 A -- North Church, Airth (No. 136); from N.
31 B -- S. elevation, architect's drawing
31 C -- Larbert Parish Church (No. 146), from S.
32 -- Old Parish Church, Airth (No. 137); general view from SW.
33 A -- interior looking E.
33 B -- capital of nave-arcade
33 C -- niche, Airth Aisle
-- xii |
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LIST OF PLATES
34 A -- Old Parish Church, Airth (No. 137); carved panel
34 B -- carved fragment
34 C -- carved panel
34 D -- Parish Church, Falkirk (No. 140); crosshead
34 E -- roof boss
35 -- from SW.
36 A -- Manuel Nunnery (No. 144); remains of W. end
36 B -- W. end, by Cardonnel
36 C -- church from SE., by Cardonnel
36 D -- church from N., 18th-century drawing (Photo: Bodleian Library)
37 A -- Old Church, Killearn (No. 161), from SW.
37 B -- North Church, Buchlyvie (No.170), from S.
38 A -- Parish Church, Slamannan (No. 145); from SW.
38 B -- detail of ceiling
38 C -- Church, Edinbellie (No. 168), from S.
38 D -- Old Parish Church, Kippen (No. 171); bell-cote
39 A -- Parish Church, Kilsyth (No. 154), from S.
39 B -- The High Church of Campsie (No. 156); font from the old parish
church (No. 157)
39 C -- from S.
39 D -- Parish Church, Fintry (No. 169), from S.
40 A -- Erskine Marykirk, Stirling (No. 132), from NE.
40 B -- Parish Church, Muiravonside (No. 143), from S.
41 A -- Parish Church, Gargunnock (No. 172), from W.
41 B -- Parish Church, Baldernock (No. 159), from S.
42 A -- Old Church, Logie (No. 127); hog-backed stone
42 B -- Old Church, St. Ninians (No. 133) early headstone
42 C -- Old Parish Church, Airth (No. 137); mediaeval tombstone in re-use
43 A-C -- Cambuskenneth Abbey (No. 130); coped stones (Photos: Ministry of
Works)
44 A, B -- Old Parish Church, Airth (No. 137); grave-slabs
44 C -- Larbert Parish Church (No. 146); grave-slab
44 D -- Holy Rude Church, Stirling (No. 131); grave-slab in St. Andrew's
Aisle
44 E -- Old Parish Church, Campsie(No. 157); grave-slabs
45 -- Old Parish Church, Airth (No. 137); effigy in Airth Aisle (Photo:
Society of Antiquaries of Scotland)
46 A, B -- Parish Church, Falkirk (No. 140); effigies
47 A -- Murehead monument
47 B -- Holy Rude Church, Stirling (No. 131); headstone
48 A -- Larbert Parish Church (No. 146); headstone
48 B-D -- Parish Church, Bothkennar (No. 139); headstones
49 -- Holy Rude Church, Stirling (No. 131); Wilson monument
50 A -- Callendar House (No. 311); mausoleum
50 B -- Erskine Marykirk, Stirling (No. 132); Erskine monument
51 A -- Buchanan Monument, Killearn (No. 279)
-- xiii |
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LIST OF PLATES
51 B -- Parish Church, Strathblane (No. 158); Hamilton monument
51 C -- North Church, Airth (No. 136); mortsafe
51 D -- Larbert Parish Church (No. 146); Bruce monument
52 -- Motte, Fintry (No. 185), from SW.
53 -- Stirling Castle (No. 192); aerial view from S. (Photo: Aerofilms and
Air Pictorial Ltd.)
54 -- from S.
55 A -- from W.
55 B -- view from S. (Photo: British Museum)
56 -- general plan by Slezer (Photo: Public Record Office)
57 -- view from SE. by Slezer (Photo: Public Record Office)
58 -- view from NE. by Slezer (Photo: Public Record Office)
59 -- plan by Dury (By courtesy of the National Library of Scotland)
60 -- the outer defences, 1751 (Photo: British Museum)
61 -- the King's Knot (p. 219) (Photo: Ministry of Works)
62 A -- the Outer Defences (p. 191); the New Port (Photo: Ministry of
Works)
62 B -- the Over Port
63 A -- the Spur Battery
63 B -- the Queen Anne Battery, exterior of lower battery
64 A -- sentry box
64 B -- the Queen Anne Battery, interior of lower battery
64 C -- gun-loop in approach to the Forework
65 A -- the Forework (p.193) (Photo: Ministry of Works)
65 B -- gatehouse from N. (Photo: Ministry of Works)
65 C -- gun-loop
66 -- the Forework and Upper Terrace (Photo: Ministry of Works)
67 -- the Palace (p. 196); S. façade (Photo: Ministry of Works)
68 A -- S. façade, Bay 1 (Photo: Ministry of Works)
68 B -- S. façade, Bay, 1 shaft corbel (Photo: Ministry of Works)
68 C -- S. façade, Bay 2, shaft corbel (Photo: Ministry of Works)
68 D -- S. façade, Bay 3, shaft corbel (Photo: Ministry of Works)
69 A -- S. façade, principal figure in Bay 2 (Photo: Ministry of Works)
69 B -- S. façade, principal figure in Bay 3 (Photo: Ministry of Works)
69 C -- S. façade, principal figure in Bay 4 (Photo: Ministry of Works)
70 -- E. façade (Photo: Ministry of Works)
71 A -- E. façade, principal figure in Bay 5, perhaps St. Michael
(Photo: Ministry of Works)
71 B -- E. façade, principal figure in Bay 6 (Jupiter) (Photo: Ministry of
Works)
71 C -- E. façade, Jupiter; engraving by Burgkmair
72 A -- E. façade, Bay 7 (Photo: Ministry of Works)
72 B -- E. façade, Bay 8, principal figure (Photo: Ministry of Works)
72 C -- E. façade, Bay 9 (Photo: Ministry of Works)
73 A -- E. façade, shaft corbel in Bay 7 (Photo: Ministry of Works)
73 B -- E. façade, shaft corbel in Bay 8 (Photo: Ministry of Works)
-- xiv |
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LIST OF PLATES
73 C -- Stirling Castle (No. 192); E. façade, shaft corbel in Bay 9 (Photo: Ministry of Works)
73 D -- E. façade, shaft corbel in Bay 6 (Photo: Ministry of Works)
74 A -- SE. angle with Bay 5 (Photo: Ministry of Works)
74 B -- NE. angle with Bay 11 (Photo: Ministry of Works)
75 -- N. façade (Photo: Ministry of Works)
76 A -- N. facade, principal figure in Bay 11 (James V)
76 B -- N. façade, principal figure in Bay 12 (Photo: Ministry of Works)
76 C -- N. façade, principal figure in Bay 13 (Venus) (Photo; Ministry
of Works)
77 A -- N. façade, principal figure in Bay 14 (Photo: Ministry of Works)
77 B -- N. façade, principal figure in Bay 15 (Photo: Ministry of Works)
78 A -- N. façade, shaft corbel in Bay 11 (Photo: Ministry of Works)
78 B -- N. façade, shaft corbel in Bay 12 (Photo: Ministry of Works)
78 C -- N. façade, shaft corbel in Bay 13 (Photo: Ministry of Works)
78 D -- N. façade, shaft corbel in Bay 14 (Photo: Ministry of Works)
78 E -- N. façade, shaft corbel in Bay 15 (Photo: Ministry of Works)
79 -- S. façade, figures at parapet level (Photo: Ministry of Works)
80 A -- S. façade, Bay 1, figure at parapet level (Photo: Ministry of
Works)
80 B -- gable finial
80 C -- E. façade, Bay 6, figure at parapet level (Photo: Ministry of
Works)
80 D -- N. façade, Bay 15, gargoyle (Photo: Ministry of Works)
80 E -- N. façade, Bay 15, carved stop (Photo: Ministry of Works)
81 A -- fireplace in the King's Guard Hall (Photo: Ministry of Works)
81 B -- detail of fireplace in the Queen's Guard Hall (Photo: Ministry
of Works)
81 C -- fireplace in the Queen's Presence Chamber (Photo: Ministry of
Works)
81 D -- fireplace in the Queen's Bed Chamber (Photo: Ministry of
Works)
81 E -- fireplace in the King's Bed Chamber (Photo: Ministry of
Works)
82 A -- fireplace in the King's Presence Chamber (Photo: Ministry of
Works)
82 B -- detail of fireplace in the King's Presence Chamber (Photo:
Ministry of Works)
83 A -- detail of fireplace in the King's Guard Hall (Photo: Ministry of
Works)
83 B -- detail of fireplace in the King's Bed Chamber (Photo: Ministry
of Works)
84 A, B -- details of fireplace in the Queen's Presence Chamber (Photos:
Ministry of Works)
85 A -- doorway to the Queen's Bed Chamber
85 B -- doorway to the W. Gallery
85 C -- doorway to garderobe off the King's Bed Chamber
-- xv |
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LIST OF PLATES
85 D -- Stirling Castle (No. 192); detail of door of the Queen's Bed
Chamber (Photo: Ministry of Works)
85 E -- doorway, E. façade
85 F -- gun-loop, Lions' Den
86 A-F -- the Stirling Heads (p. 202)
87 A -- the Great Hall (p. 205); W. façade (Photo: Ministry of Works)
87 B -- from SE. (Photo: Ministry of Works)
88 A -- the Great Hall and Palace; 18th-century drawing (Photo: Bodleian
Library)
88 B -- the Great Hall (p. 205); niche in W. façade (Photo: Ministry of
Works)
88 C -- detail of niche in W. façade (Photo: Ministry of Works)
89 A -- door-head in E. façade
89 B, C -- details of door-head in E. façade
89 D -- detail of window-head in E. façade
89 E, F -- details of window-head in stair-tower
89 G -- remains of principal entrance-doorway in W. façade (Photo:
Ministry of Works)
90 A-E -- details of vaulting over heads of bay-windows (Photo: Ministry
of Works)
91 A -- the Chapel Royal (p. 211); S. front (Photo: Ministry of Works)
91 B -- entrance-doorway (Photo: Ministry of Works)
91 C -- detail of entrance-doorway (Photo: Ministry of Works)
92 A -- painted decoration on W. gable (Photo: Ministry of
Works)
92 B -- detail of painted decoration on W. gable (Photo: Ministry of
Works)
93 A -- the King's Old Building (p. 216), from E. (Photo: Ministry of
Works)
93 B -- the Mint (p. 213); from S. (Photo: Ministry of Works)
93 C -- entrance-gateway (Photo: Ministry of Works)
94 A -- Kitchen Range (p. 215; fireplace in kitchen
94 B -- gun-loop in bakehouse
94 C -- gun-loops in E. curtain
95 A -- the King's Old Building (p. 216); Museum Room, pulpit
95 B -- Museum Room, door with carved panels
95 C -- Museum Room, plaster panels
96 A -- The Blair, Blairlogie (No. 193); older portion from W.
96 B -- balustrade on stair landing
96 C -- door of locker
97 -- Old Sauchie (No. 195); from SW.
98 A -- from NW.
98 B -- SE. angle-turret
98 C -- S. wall, window and supposed peep-hole
98 D -- S. wall, gun-loop and corbelled base of stair-tower
99 A -- Plean Tower (No. 197), from W.
99 B -- Skaithmuir Tower (No. 201), from W.
-- xvi |
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| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_016 |
LIST OF PLATES
100 A -- Dunmore Tower (No. 198), from W.
100 B -- Duchray Castle (No. 211), from S.
100 C -- Culcreuch Castle (No. 213), from SE.
101 A -- Airth Castle (No. 199); from S.
101 B -- N. façade
102 A -- Stenhouse (No. 200); from S.
102 B -- SE. angle-turret
102 C -- detail of ceiling in lobby
102 D -- dormer pediment
103 A -- Almond Castle (No. 202); view from E. by Archer (Photo: Scottish
National Buildings Record)
103 B -- view from E.
104 A -- interior of main block
104 B -- slop-sink in kitchen
104 C -- oval window in SE. addition
104 D -- kitchen fireplace
105 -- Castle Cary (No. 203); from S.
106 A -- from NE.
106 B -- yett
106 C -- gun-loop, S. wall
106 D -- stone corbel of hall ceiling-rafter
107 -- Mugdock Castle (No. 207); SW. tower from SW.
108 A -- SW. tower from NE.
108 B -- SW. tower and postern from NW.
109 A -- SW. tower, doorway and window-embrasure on third floor
109 B -- SW. tower, ribbed barrel-vault, on first floor
109 C -- SW. tower, ogival-headed window, on third floor
109 D -- SW. tower, fireplace, on second floor
110 A -- latrine tower with garderobe chutes
110 B -- remains of portcullis chase in gatehouse
110 C -- inverted key-hole loop in SW. curtain
110 D -- doorway in NW. tower
111 -- Bardowie Castle (No. 208); from S.
112 -- arch-braced roof
113 A -- Duntreath Castle (No. 209); tower from N.
113 B -- entrance-doorway and stair-tower
114 A -- iron gate, external face
114 B -- iron gate, internal face
114 C -- fireplace in NW. compartment on first floor
114 D -- fireplace in NW. compartment on second floor
115 A -- Bruce's Castle (No. 196); jamb of fireplace
115 B -- Airth Castle (No. 199); carved stone, Elphinstone of Airth
115 C -- Bardowie Castle (No. 208); carved lintel, John Hamilton and Marion
Buchanan
115 D -- Duntreath Castle (No. 209); carved stone, Sir James Edmonstone
-- b -- xvii |
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| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_017 |
ROYAL WARRANT
ELIZABETH R.
ELIZABETH THE SECOND, BY THE GRACE OF GOD, of Great
Britain, Ireland and the British Dominions beyond the Seas, Queen,
Defender of the Faith, to
Our Trusty and Well-beloved ANGUS GRAHAM, Esquire, Master of Arts,
Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland
GREETING!
WHEREAS it please His late Majesty King George the Sixth by Warrant
under his Royal Sign Manual bearing date the first day of January, Nineteen
hundred and forty-eight, to appoint Commissioners to make an inventory of the
Ancient and Historical Monuments and Constructions connected with or
illustrative of the contemporary culture, civilisation and conditions of life of the
people in Scotland from the earliest times to the year 1707 and such further
Monuments and Constructions of a date subsequent to that year as might seem in
their discretion to be worthy of mention therein, and to specify those which seem
most worthy of preservation:
AND WHEREAS a vacancy has occurred amongst the Commissioners so
appointed.
NOW KNOW YE that We reposing great trust and confidence in your
knowledge, discretion and ability have nominated, constituted and appointed
and do by these Presents nominate, constitute and appoint you the said Angus
Graham to be one of the Commissioners for the purposes of the said Inquiry.
Given at Our Court at Windsor the seventeenth day of June 1960, in the ninth
Year of Our Reign.
BY HER MAJESTY'S COMMAND,
JOHN S. MACLAY
-- xix |
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| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_018 |
SIXTEENTH REPORT
of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical
Monuments of Scotland
TO THE QUEEN'S MOST EXCELLENT MAJESTY
MAY IT PLEASE YOUR MAJESTY, -
We, Your Majesty's Commissioners, appointed to make an Inventory of the Ancient and
Historical Monuments and Constructions connected with or illustrative of the contemporary
culture, civilisation and conditions of life of the people in Scotland from the earliest times
to the year 1707, and such further Monuments and Constructions of a date subsequent to
that year as may seem in our discretion worthy of mention therein, and to specify those which
seem most worthy of preservation, humbly present to Your Majesty this our Sixteenth Report,
together with an inventory of the Ancient Monuments of Stirlingshire and a list of those
which, in our opinion, are most worthy of preservation. We also attach an additional list of
monuments, discovered since the presentation of our Fifteenth Report, in areas covered by
our survey of marginal lands likely to be affected by the expansion of agriculture and
afforestation.
We record with grateful respect the receipt of the gracious message that accompanied
Your Majesty's acceptance of the volume embodying our Fifteenth Report with Inventory
of the Ancient Monuments of Selkirkshire.
We desire to acknowledge the welcome assistance given us, during the preparation of the
Inventory, by the owners and occupiers of ancient buildings and sites, and by parish ministers,
throughout the County. We owe particular thanks to Lt.-Col. R. L. Hunter, T.D., B.Sc., F.S.A.,
Mr. A. R. Cross, M.C., B.A., L.L.B., Mrs Feachem, and Mr. R. Swift, for help in the field
survey; to the Trustees of the Smith Institute, Stirling, for permission to take photographs
and to study objects in the Institute; to Miss D. M. Hunter, M.A., Curator of Falkirk Museum,
for advice on the local records; to Mr. W. H. Gillespie, L.R.I.B.A., Burgh Architect of
Stirling, and other municipal officers for assistance in the survey of the Burgh; to Mr. A. R. B.
Haldane, L.L.B., D.Litt., W.S., for information about drove roads; to the Cambridge
University Committee for Aerial Photography, for permission to reproduce air-photographs;
to Sir Thomas Innes of Learney and Kinnairdy, K.C.V.O., L.L.D., Lord Lyon King of Arms,
who kindly revised the heraldic matter in the inventory; to the Geological Survey of Great
Britain, and particularly to Mr. R. J. A. Eckford, F.S.A.Scot., formerly one of its officers,
for advise on geological questions; to the Department of Health for Scotland, for facilities
for the study of air-photographs; and to the staffs of the National Museum of Antiquities
of Scotland, the Ministry of Works and the Scottish Record Office for continued and valued
co-operation.
-- xxi |
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| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_019 |
SIXTEENTH REPORT
We wish to record that the following past and present members of staff took part in
the preparation of the Stirlingshire Inventory; Mr. A. Graham, M.A., F.S.A., and Mr. K. A.
Steer, M.A., Ph.D., F.S.A., who also acted as Editors; the late Mr. G. P. H. Watson, M.B.E.,
F.R.I.B.A. (retired), R.S.W.; Messrs. C. S. T. Calder, A.R.I.A.S., R. W. Feachem, M.A.,
M.Sc., F.S.A., G. D. Hay, A.R.I.B.A., J. G. Dunbar, M.A., F.S.A., A. MacLaren, M.A.,
G. B. Quick, A.I.B.P., and I. G. Scott, D.A. (Edin); Miss H. McLaren and Miss A. E. H. Muir.
The outstanding feature of this Inventory is Your Majesty's Royal Castle of Stirling, and
we hope that our account of this great complex of buildings may serve to indicate its vanished
magnificence. To this end we have also prepared a book on the carved wooden medallions,
commonly known as the "Stirling Heads", which once formed the decoration of the ceiling
of the King's Presence Chamber, and have issued it in advance of the Inventory. Other
buildings in Stirling, as well as in the County at large, admirably illustrate the standards of
taste in domestic architecture in the 16th and 17th centuries. We have also found a great deal
of interesting material of the 18th and early 19th centuries, some of it associated with the
beginnings of industrial development, and we have taken full advantage of the discretion
accorded to us in His late Majesty's Royal Warrant of 1948 to give this adequate treatment. In
prehistoric monuments the County is not particularly rich, though the survey has disclosed
an interesting series of Early Iron Age structures which were either unrecorded or had been
lost to sight. The Roman remains, on the other hand, are both numerous and important,
including as they do a considerable stretch of the Antonine Wall, with its associated forts,
and we have been able to undertake some original, productive research in this field, in addition
to revising and amending earlier work.
We wish to take this opportunity of recording our gratification with the measures which
have recently been announced by the Ministry of Works for safeguarding the visible remains
of the Antonine Wall. At the same time we regard with the utmost concern the steady and
progressive destruction of other monuments of all classes, particularly in areas of urban
improvement or expansion, against which the existing safeguards seem to have little effect.
We record with great regret the death, which occurred in 1959, of Mr. G. P. H. Watson,
M.B.E., F.R.I.B.A. (retired), R.S.W. Mr. Watson first joined the Commission's staff in 1911,
was appointed full-time architect in 1914, being responsible for the architectural surveys from
then until his retirement in 1952, and was then appointed a Commissioner. We humbly thank
Your Majesty for the appointment of Mr. A. Graham, M.A., F.S.A., to fill the vacancy.
In 1957 Mr. K. A. Steer, M.A., Ph.D., F.S.A., was appointed Secretary, on the retirement
of Mr. A. Graham, M.A., F.S.A. Three new officers have recently joined our staff, Mr. G. B.
Quick, A.I.B.P., in 1957, Mr. I. G. Scott, D.A.(Edin), in 1959, and Mr. A.C.S. Dixon,
B.Arch., A.R.I.B.A., in 1961.
WEMYSS, Chairman
I. A. RICHMOND
STUART PIGGOTT
W. D. SIMPSON
IAN G. LINDSAY
W. CROFT DICKINSON
ANNIE I. DUNLOP
ANGUS GRAHAM
KENNETH A. STEER, Secretary
-- xxii |
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| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_020 |
LIST OF MONUMENTS IN STIRLINGSHIRE
WHICH THE COMMISSIONERS CONSIDER MOST
WORTHY OF PRESERVATION
Cairn, Sheriffmuir Road (No. 3)
Mound, Sheriffmuir Road 1 (No. 4)
Mound, Sheriffmuir Road 2 (No. 5)
Cairn, "Fairy Knowe", Hill of Airthrey (No. 6)
Cairn, King's Yett (No. 8)
Cairns and barrow, Blochairn (No. 11)
Chambered cairn, Stockie Muir (No. 12)
Mound, Meikle Caldon (No. 13)
Cairn, Cairnhall (No. 14)
Cairn, Todholes (No. 15)
Cup-and-ring marking, King's Park, Stirling (No. 42)
Standing stone, Sheriffmuir Road (No. 46)
Standing stone, Airthrey Castle (E.) (No. 48)
Standing stones, Randolphfield (No. 49)
Standing stone, Broadgate (No. 55)
Standing stone, parish graveyard, Strathblane (No. 56)
Standing stones, Dumgoyach (No. 58)
Standing stone, Knockraich (No. 60)
Standing stones, Waterhead (No. 61)
Hut-circle, Double Craigs (No. 65)
Hut-circle, Waterhead (No.66)
Hut-circles, Todholes (No. 67)
Fort, Dumyat (No. 68)
Fort, Abbey Craig (No. 69)
Fort, Gillies Hill (No. 70)
Fort, Sauchie Craig (No. 71)
Fort, Langlands (No. 73)
Fort, Braes (No. 74)
Fort, Myot Hill (No. 75)
Fort, Coneypark (No. 76)
Fort, Dunmore (No. 77)
Fort, Meikle Reive (No. 78)
Fort, Craigmaddie (No. 79)
Dun, Baston Burn (No. 84)
Dun, Touch Muir (No. 85)
Dun, Castlehill Wood (No. 86)
Dun, Wester Craigend (No. 87)
Dun, Wallstale (No. 88)
Dun, Craigton (No. 89)
Dun, Brokencastle (No. 90)
Broch, The Tappoch, Tor Wood (No. 100)
Homestead, Logie (No. 102)
Homestead, Woodside (No. 103)
Homestead, West Plean (No. 104)
Crannog, Strathcashell Point (No. 107)
The Antonine Wall (No. 111)
Roman Fort, Rough Castle (No. 115)
Roman Fort, Castlecary (No. 117)
Roman road running northwards from the Antonine
Wall (No. 124); all visible remains
Old Church and hog-backed stones, Logie (No. 127)
Cambuskenneth Abbey (No. 130)
The Church of the Holy Rude, Stirling (No. 131), and
Sconce monument.
Old Church, St. Ninians (No. 133), and early headstone.
Old Parish Church, Airth (No. 137)
Effigies and graveyard monuments (Graham, Menzies,
Murehead), Falkirk Parish Church (No. 140)
"Tattie Kirk", Cow Wynd, Falkirk (No. 141)
Manuel Nunnery (No. 144)
Bruce monument, Larbert Parish Graveyard (No. 146)
The High Church of Campsie (No. 156)
Baldernock Parish Church (No. 159)
Cashel, Knockinhaglish (No. 160)
Coped stone, Inchcailleach(No. 163)
Cashel, Strathcashell Point (No. 164)
Garrison graveyard, Inversnaid (No. 166)
Church, Edinbellie (No. 168)
North Church, Buchlyvie (No. 170)
Gargunnock Parish Church (No. 172)
Motte, Slamannan ((No. 179)
Motte, Colzium (No. 181)
Motte, Balcastle (No. 182)
Motte and Bailey, "Maiden Castle", Garmore (No.
183)
Motte, Woodend (No. 184)
Motte, Fintry (No. 185)
Motte, Sir John de Graham's Castle (No. 186)
Motte, Keir Knowe of Drum (No. 187)
Homestead Moat, Peel of Gartfarren (No. 189)
-- xxiii |
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| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_021 |
MONUMENTS WORTHY OF PRESERVATION
Stirling Castle (No. 192)
The Blair, Blairlogie (No. 193)
Old Sauchie (No. 195)
Airth Castle (No. 199)
Stenhouse (No. 200)
Almond Castle (No. 202)
Castle Cary (No. 203)
Craigmaddie Castle (No. 206)
Mugdock Castle (No. 207)
Bardowie Castle (No. 208)
Duntreath Castle (No. 209)
Culcreuch Castle (No. 213)
Gargunnock House (No. 215)
The Garrison, Inversnaid (No. 225)
Argyll's Lodging, Stirling (No. 227)
Old Grammar School, Stirling (No. 228)
Mar's Work, Stirling (No. 230)
Cowane's Hospital, etc., Stirling (No. 231)
The Town House, Stirling (No. 232)
Cowane's House, Stirling (No. 237)
Bruce of Auchenbowie's House, Stirling (No. 244)
The Town Wall, Stirling (No. 249)
The Town Steeple, Falkirk (No. 253)
Schoolhouse, Polmont (No. 269)
The Old Manse, Larbert (No. 273)
Numbers 1 to 8 Whitefield, and Numbers 48 and 50
Crosshill Street, Lennoxtown (No. 276)
The Buchanan Monument, Killearn (No. 279)
Orchardfield, Clachan of Balfron (No. 281)
Early industrial housing, Fintry (No. 282)
Taylor's Building, Kippen (No. 285)
Airthrey Castle (No. 287)
Powis House (No. 288)
Bannockburn House (No. 295)
Auchenbowie House (No. 296)
Braes (No. 297)
Quarter House (No. 298)
Torwood Castle (No. 299)
Kersie Mains (No. 300)
"The Pineapple", Dunmore Park (No. 302)
Neuck (No. 303)
The Manse, Bothkennar (No. 309)
Callendar House, and mausoleum (No. 311)
Ballencleroch, and sundial (No. 325)
Dalnair (No. 328)
Craigivairn (No. 330)
Old Ballikinrain (No. 332)
Old Place of Balgair (No. 333)
Wrightpark (No. 335)
Old Auchentroig (No. 336)
Garden (No. 338)
Arnprior Farm (No. 339)
Old Leckie House (No. 343)
Touch (No. 345)
Seton Lodge (No. 346)
Windmill, Myrehead (No. 355)
Dovecot, Touch (No. 389)
Dovecot, Old Sauchie (No. 390)
Dovecot, Lower Polmaise (No. 391)
Dovecot, Bannockburn (No. 392)
Dovecot, Carron House (No. 393)
Dovecot, Westquarter, Redding (No. 396)
Dovecot, Drumquhassle (No. 398)
Dovecot, Laraben (No. 399)
The Mercat Cross, Stirling (No. 401)
Sundial, Ballindalloch (No. 444)
Cardross Bridge (No. 452)
Old bridge, Leckie (No. 453)
Old bridge, Drip (No. 454)
Old bridge, Stirling (No. 455)
Old bridge, Bannockburn (No. 457)
Old bridge, Larbert (No. 462)
Carron Bridge (No. 466)
Low Bridge, Gonachan (No. 467)
Avon Viaduct (No. 472)
Avon Aqueduct (No. 474)
Railway viaduct, Camelon (No. 475)
Earthwork, Arngibbon (No. 482)
Earthwork, Keir Knowe of Arnmore (No. 483)
Earthwork, Dasher (No. 484)
Earthwork, Keir Hill of Dasher (No. 485)
Earthwork, Easter Glins (No. 491)
Cultivation terraces, Buckie Burn (No. 501)
Cultivation terraces, Castle Hill, Avonbank (No. 504)
Cultivation terraces, Easter Manuel (No. 505)
Cross Well, Falkirk (No. 540)
-- xxiv |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_022 |
LIST OF MONUMENTS DISCOVERED DURING THE
SURVEY OF MARGINAL LANDS (1956-8)
P in Notes column indicates that the monument has been planned; C that only a crop-mark is visible.
Monuments marked with an asterisk are considered to be worthy of preservation.
County -- Parish -- Monument -- Notes
ABERDEENSHIRE -- Kennethmont -- *Fort (unfinished), Hill of Christ's Kirk -- P
ANGUS -- Auchterhouse -- Cairn, West Mains Hill --
ANGUS -- Inverkeilor -- Fort, West Mains -- P
ANGUS -- Murroes -- Fort and Broch, Craig Hill -- P
ANGUS -- Newtyle -- *Fort, Kinpurney Hill --
BANFFSHIRE -- Fordyce -- Promontory Fort, Crathie Point --
INVERNESS-SHIRE -- Abernethy and Kincardine -- Dun, Creag Phitiulais --
INVERNESS-SHIRE -- Duthil and Rothiemurchus -- *Fort, Avielochan -- P
INVERNESS-SHIRE -- Urquhart and Glenmoriston -- Fort, Strone Point
LANARKSHIRE -- Covington -- Earthwork, St. John's Kirk -- P
LANARKSHIRE -- Douglas -- Motte, Ladle Knowe -- P
LANARKSHIRE -- Lesmahagow -- Cairn, Dillar Hill --
LANARKSHIRE -- Lesmahagow -- Fort and Settlement, Black Hill -- P
LANARKSHIRE -- Lesmahagow -- Cairn, Black Hill --
MORAY -- Alves -- *Fort, Knock of Alves -- P
NAIRN -- Nairn -- Earthwork, Raitcastle -- C
PERTHSHIRE -- Dull -- Dun, Braes of Foss --
PERTHSHIRE -- Dull -- Dun, Tom Orain -- P
PERTHSHIRE -- Dunkeld and Dowally -- *Fort, King's Seat, Dunkeld -- P
PERTHSHIRE -- Forteviot -- Cairn, Jackschairs Wood --
PERTHSHIRE -- Forteviot -- Roman Fort, Upper Cairnie -- C
PERTHSHIRE -- Fortingall -- Fort, Craig à Ghiubhais -- P
PERTHSHIRE -- Glendevon -- *Fort, Down Hill --
PERTHSHIRE -- Kenmore -- *Cup-and-ring markings, Braes of Taymouth -- P
PERTHSHIRE -- Kilmadock -- Fort, Easter Torrie
PERTHSHIRE -- Little Dunkeld -- Dun, Kincraigie -- P
-- xxv |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_023 |
REGISTER OF MONUMENTS IN STIRLINGSHIRE
BY PARISHES
AIRTH PARISH
"Club's Tomb", Linkfield (No. 135)
North Church, Airth (No. 136)
Old Parish Church, Airth (No. 137)
South Church, Airth (No. 138)
Dunmore Tower (No. 198)
Airth Castle (No. 199)
The Burgh of Airth (No. 251)
Kersie Mains (No. 300)
Dunmore Park (No. 301)
"Pineapple", Dunmore Park (No. 302)
Neuck (No. 303)
Powfoulis; mansion, carved stone, etc. (No. 304)
Carved Panels, St Andrew's Church, Dunmore
(No. 411)
The Mercat Cross, Airth (No. 412)
Old market-cross, Airth (No. 413)
Carved stone, Overseer's House, Airth (No. 414)
Carved stones, Bloemfontein, Airth (No. 415)
Architectural fragment, Eastfield (No. 416)
Carved stone, Greendyke (No. 417)
Old bridge, West Westfield (No. 458)
Old bridge, Airth (No. 459)
Abbeytown Bridge, Airth (No. 460)
Bridge, New Mills (No. 461)
Earthwork, Hill of Dunmore (site) (No. 494)
Well, Airth Castle (No. 539)
Lady Well, Airth (site) (No. 548)
River dyke, Airth (No. 556)
Old Harbour, Airth (No. 557)
Old Quarry and coal workings, Hill of Airth (No. 564)
Old quarry, Airth Church (No. 565)
BALDERNOCK PARISH
Cairns and barrow, Blochairn (No. 11)
Cist, Glenorchard House (site) (No. 31)
Chambered cairns, Craigmaddie Muir (sites) (No. 32
Cup-marked boulder, North Blochairn (site) (No. 45)
Fort, Craigmaddie (No. 79)
Roman temporary camp (probable), Tower (site) (No.
121)
Parish Church, Baldernock (No. 159)
Craigmaddie Castle (No. 206)
Bardowie Castle (No. 208)
Tower (No. 323)
Old inn, Barraston (No. 365)
Old well, Tower (No. 543)
Millstone quarries, Craigmaddie Muir (No. 567)
"Auld Wife's Lift". Craigmaddie Muir (No. 576)
Indeterminate remains, Kettlehill (No. 582)
BALFRON PARISH
Cairn, Cairnhall (No. 14)
Standing stone, Balgair Muir (No. 59)
Parish Church and graveyard, Balfron (No. 167)
Church, Edinbellie (No. 168)
Motte, Woodend (No. 184)
Balfron Village (No. 280)
The Clachan of Balfron (No. 281)
Old Place of Balgair (No. 333)
Mains of Glins (No. 334)
Old farms, Balgair (No. 381)
Sundial, Ballindalloch (No. 444)
Sundial and carved stones, Camoquhill Douglas (No.
445)
Heraldic panel, Easter Ballochairn (No. 446)
Carved stones, Hill of Balgair (No. 447)
Sundial and carved stones, Harvieston (No. 448)
Enclosure, Spout of Ballochleam (No. 486)
Earthwork, Easter Glinns (No. 491)
BUCHANAN PARISH
Crannog, Strathcashell Point (No. 107)
Crannog (probable), "The Kitchen", Loch Lomond
(No. 108)
Crannogs, Loch Lomond (sites) (No. 109)
Church, Inchcailleach (No. 163)
Cashel, Strathcashell Point (No. 164)
Burial ground, Stronmacnair (No. 165)
Garrison graveyard, Inversnaid (No. 166)
-- xxvii |
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| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_024 |
REGISTER OF MONUMENTS BY PARISHES
Chapel of St. Mary and St. Michael, Buchanan Old
House (site) (No. 177
Peel of Buchanan (site) (No. 221)
The Garrison of Inversnaid (No. 225)
Buchanan Old House (No. 329)
Old farms, Crockeild (No. 371)
Old house, Corheichan (No. 372)
Huts, etc., Glen Gyle (No. 373)
Old houses and site of graveyard, Lag a' Chuirn (No. 374)
Old farms, Comer (No. 375)
Old farms, Loch Dubh (No. 376)
Cruck-framed byre, Stronmacnair (No. 377)
Old farms, Glen Dubh (No. 378)
Old farms, Little Bruach-caoruinn (No. 380)
Bridges on the Rowardennan road (No. 470)
Road to Rowardennan (No. 520)
Old road from the Garrison of Inversnaid to Rowar-
dennan (No. 521)
Old road from Garrison of Inversnaid to Inversnaid
Harbour (No. 522)
Old road from the Garrison of Inversnaid to Stronach-
lachar (No. 523)
St. Maha's Well, Muirpark (No. 544)
Bloomeries, etc., Loch Lomond (No. 569)
Bloomeries, Stronmacnair (No. 570)
Jetty, Rowardennan (No. 574)
Mound, Ballinjour Wood (No. 577)
Indeterminate remains, Ceardach (No. 583)
Indeterminate remains, Clairinch (No. 584)
Indeterminate remains and cultivation terrace, Cuil a'
Mhuilinn (No. 585)
CAMPSIE PARISH
Cairn, West Carlestoun (No. 10)
Cairn, Law (site) (No. 30)
Fort, Meikle Reive (No. 78)
High Church of Campsie (No. 156)
Old Parish Church, Campsie (No. 157)
Martyrs' Tomb, Burnfoot (site) (No. 176)
Motte and bailey, "Maiden Castle", Garmore (No. 183)
Woodhead (No. 205)
Lennoxtown (No. 276)
Glorat (No. 320)
Kincaid House (No. 321)
Birdston Farm (No. 322)
Lennox Castle (No. 324)
Ballencleroch (No. 325)
Old House, Campsie Manse (No. 364)
Old cottage, Drove Hill (No. 382)
Sundial and carved stone, Torrance (No. 435)
Carved stone, Balgrochan Mill (No. 436)
Carved stone, West Balgrochan (No. 437)
Carved stone, Campsie Manse (No. 438)
Carved stones, Craigbarnet Mains (No. 439)
Earthwork, East Carlestoun (site) (No. 499)
Cultivation terraces, Clachan of Campsie (No. 506)
St. Machan's Well (site) (No. 550)
Indeterminate remains, King's Hill, Antermony (No.
581)
DENNY PARISH
Cist, Denny Bridge (site) (No. 20)
Cist, Woodgate (site) (No. 21)
Fort, Myot Hill (No. 75)
Dun (probable), West Bonnyfield (site) (No. 94)
Settlement, Wheatlands (site) (No. 101)
Parish Church, Denny (No. 149)
Broompark Church, Denny (No. 150)
Church, Dennyloanhead (No. 151)
Castle Rankine (site) (No. 217)
Denny Town (No. 274)
Dennyloanhead Village (No. 275)
Hallhouse (No. 359)
Leys (No. 360)
Bridge, Faughlin Burn (No. 465)
Earthwork, Middle Bankhead (site) (No. 497)
Earthwork, Bankier (site) No. 498)
Drove roads in Denny Parish (No. 529)
Indeterminate site, Chapel Hill (No. 594)
Indeterminate site, East Bankier (No. 595)
DRYMEN PARISH
Chambered cairn, Stockie Muir (No. 12)
Mound, Meikle Caldon (No. 13)
Chambered cairn, Cameron Muir (site) (No. 36)
Cashel and church site, Knockinhaglish (No. 160)
Parish Church and graveyard, Drymen (No. 162)
Chapel, Chaplearroch (site) (No. 178)
Homestead moat, Peel of Gartfarren (No. 189)
Homestead moat (probable), Peel of Garchell (No. 190)
Barmkin and ruins, Craigivairn (No. 210)
Duchray Castle (No. 211)
Gartness Castle (site) (No. 220)
Drymen Village (No. 277)
Dalnair (No. 328)
Craigivairn (No. 330)
Auchentroig (No. 336)
-- xxviii |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_025 |
REGISTER OF MONUMENTS BY PARISHES
Gartinstarry (No. 337)
Old Cottage, Cameron Muir (No. 369)
Old Mill, Gartness (No. 370)
Dovecot, Drumquhassle (No. 398)
Sundials and carved stones, Park of Drumquhassle
(No. 442)
Earthwork, Peel of Claggans (No. 480)
Earthwork, Ballochneck (No. 481)
Drove road, Cameron Muir to Strathblane (No. 518)
Old road, Cameron Muir (No. 519)
St. Vildrin's Well (site) (No. 551)
Millstone quarry, Spittal (No. 568)
DUNIPACE PARISH
Cairn, Kirkland (site) (No. 22)
Cup-and-ring markings from Tor Wood Broch (No. 44)
Standing stone, W. of Doghillock (No. 50)
Standing stone, SW. of Doghillock (No. 51)
Standing stone, Ingliston (site) (No. 62)
Fort, Langlands (No. 73)
Fort, Braes (No. 74)
Broch, Tor Wood (No. 100)
Church site and graveyard, Dunipace (No. 147)
Parish Church, Dunipace (No. 148)
Herbertshire Castle (site) (No. 216)
Braes (No. 297)
Quarter (No. 298)
Torwood Castle (No. 299)
Old farm, West Barnego (No. 361)
Dovecot and old house, Dunipace (No. 397)
Carved stone, Herbertshire Castle (No. 429)
Denny Bridge (site) (No. 479)
Earthwork, Wester Barnego (No. 490)
Enclosure, Bonnywood (site) (No. 496)
Well, Denny Paper Works (No. 541)
Old quarries, Tor Wood (No. 566)
"Hills of Dunipace" (No. 575)
Indeterminate remains, Househill (No. 580)
FALKIRK PARISH
Cist, Camelon 1 (site) (No. 24)
Cist, Camelon 2 (site) (No. 25)
Fort, Camelon (site) No. 82)
Crop-marks, Mumrills (No. 83)
Roman fort, Mumrills (site) (No. 112)
Roman fort, Falkirk (site) (No. 113)
Roman fortlet, Watling Lodge (site) (No. 114)
Roman fort, Rough Castle (No. 115)
Roman fort, Seabegs (site) (No. 116)
Roman fort, Castlecary (No. 117)
Roman temporary camp, Milnquarter (site) (No. 119)
Roman temporary camp, Dalnair (site) (No. 120)
Roman forts and temporary camps, Camelon (sites) (No.
122)
Parish Church, Falkirk (No. 140)
"Tattie Kirk", Cow Wynd, Falkirk (No. 141)
Motte, Bonnybridge (No. 180)
Motte (probable), Watling Lodge (site) (No. 188)
Castle Cary (No. 203)
The Burgh of Falkirk (No. 252)
Town Steeple, Falkirk (No. 253)
Laurieston Village (No. 267)
Callendar House (No. 311)
Old cottage, Beancross (site) (No. 400)
Carved stones, 36 Silver Row, Falkirk (No. 426)
Carved stone, 9 Pleasance, Falkirk (No. 427)
Carved stones, Falkirk Museum (No. 428)
Railway viaduct, Camelon (No. 475)
Railway viaduct, Castlecary (No. 476)
Tryst ground (site) and drove road, Reddingrig Muir
(No. 535)
Cross Well, Falkirk (No. 540)
Indeterminate site, Cowden Hill (No. 593)
FINTRY PARISH
Cairn, Todholes (No. 15)
Cists, Waterhead (site) (No. 39)
Standing stone, Knockraich (No. 60)
Standing stones, Waterhead (No. 61)
Hut-circle, Double Craigs (No. 65)
Hut-circle, Waterhead (No. 66)
Hut-circles, Todholes (No. 67)
Fort, Dunmore (No. 77)
Dun, Craigton (No. 89)
Parish Church, Fintry (No. 169)
Motte, Fintry (No. 185)
Culcreuch Castle (No. 213)
Fintry Castle (No. 214)
Fintry Village (No. 282)
Old toll-house, Campsiemuir (No. 383)
Old farm, Broomhole (No. 384)
Milestone, Craw Road (No. 449)
Low Bridge, Gonachan (No. 467)
Bridge, Fintry (No. 468)
Old road, Burnfoot to Walton Reservoir (No. 526)
Indeterminate remains, Dungoil (No. 586)
Indeterminate remains, Dunbeg (No. 587)
-- xxix |
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| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_026 |
REGISTER OF MONUMENTS BY PARISHES
GARGUNNOCK PARISH
Homestead, Keir Hill, Gargunnock (site) (No. 105)
Parish Church, Gargunnock (No. 172)
Homestead moat (probable), Peel of Gargunnock (site)
(No. 191)
Gargunnock House (No. 215)
Boquhan Tower (site) (No. 224)
Gargunnock Village (No. 286)
Boquhan (No. 341)
Stables, Boquhan (No. 342)
Old Leckie House (No. 343)
The Manse, Gargunnock (No. 344)
Auldhall (No. 386)
Milestone, Fordhead (No. 451)
Old bridge, Leckie (No. 453)
Bridge of Offers (site) (No. 477)
Fords of Frew, Fordhead (No. 524)
Old road, Boquhan Burn to the Endrick Water (No. 525)
Indeterminate remains, Hillhead (No. 588)
GRANGEMOUTH PARISH
Shell-heap, Polmonthill (site) (No. 1)
"Wallace's Stone", Wallacestone (No. 52)
Homestead (probable). Bowhouse (site) (No. 106)
Roman temporary camp, Little Kerse (site) (No. 118)
Parish Church, Bothkennar (No. 139)
Old church, Polmont (No. 142)
Old Houses, Grangemouth Basin (No. 266)
Polmont Village (No. 268)
Schoolhouse, Polmont (No. 269)
The Manse, Polmont (No. 270)
Orchardhead (No. 305)
Newtown of Bothkennar (No. 306)
Westertown (No. 308)
The Manse, Bothkennar (No. 309)
Carron House and walled garden (No. 310)
Polmont Park (No. 312)
Parkhill (No. 313)
Polmont House (No. 314)
Folly, Avondale House (No. 315)
Round house, Dalgrain (No. 352)
Old building, Bowhouse (No. 353)
Old building, Upper Candie (No. 354)
Dovecote, Carron House (No. 393)
Dovecot, Westquarter, Redding (No. 396)
Sundial, Howkerse (No. 419)
Carved stones, Millfield (No. 420)
Indeterminate site, Polmonthill (No. 590)
Indeterminate site and carved stones, Zetland Park,
Grangemouth (No. 591)
Sundial, Inchyra Grange (No. 599)
KILLEARN PARISH
Cairn, Muir of Killearn (site) (No. 38)
Stone setting, Blairessan Spouthead (site) (No. 64)
Old church, Killearn (No. 161)
Baron's Place, Balglass (No. 212)
Killearn Village (No. 278)
Buchanan Monument, Killearn (No. 279)
The Old Manse, Killearn (No. 331)
Old Ballikinrain (No. 332)
Huts, Auchineden Burn (No. 367)
Old farm, Braefoot (No. 368)
Carved stone and sundial, Boquhan House (No. 443)
Moss Bridge (No. 469)
Old roads, Stockie Muir (No. 517)
KILSYTH PARISH
Cairn, Queenzieburn (site) (No. 37)
Fort, Coneypark (No. 76)
Dun, Auchincloch (site) (No. 93)
Dun (probable), West Auchincloch (site) (No. 95)
Dun (probable), Ruchill (site) (No. 96)
Dun (probable), Auchinvalley (site) (No. 97)
Dun (probable), Townhead (site) (No. 98)
Dun (probable) Colziumbea (site) (No. 99)
Parish Church, Kilsyth (No. 154)
Graveyard and church site, Kilsyth (No. 155)
Motte, Colzium (No. 181)
Motte, Balcastle (No. 182)
Colzium Castle (No. 204)
Old Place (site) (No. 218)
The Burgh of Kilsyth (No. 254)
Tamrawer (site) (No. 348)
Garrel Mill-house (No. 363)
Carved stone, Orchard (No. 430)
Carved stone, Kelvinhead (No. 431)
Carved stones, Garrel Mill (No. 432)
Heraldic panel, Craigengoyne (No. 433)
Carved stones, Gospel Hall, Kilsyth (No. 434)
Carron Bridge (No. 466)
St. Mirren's Well and carved stone, Brockieside (No.
542)
Old railway, Banton to Kelvinhead (No. 560)
Cave, Garrel Glen (No. 573)
Kilsyth Castle (No. 597)
-- xxx |
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| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_027 |
REGISTER OF MONUMENTS BY PARISHES
KIPPEN PARISH
Cist, Mains of Buchlyvie (site) (No. 40)
Cairn, "Fairy Knowe", Kippen (site) (No. 41)
Dun, Brokencastle (No. 90)
Crannog, Loch Laggan (site) (No. 110)
North Church, Buchlyvie (No. 170)
Old Parish Church, Kippen (No. 171)
Motte, Keir Knowe of Drum (No. 187)
Tower of Garden (site) (No. 222)
Arnprior Castle (site) (No. 223)
Buchlyvie Village (No. 283)
Kippen Village (No. 284)
Taylor's Building, Kippen (No. 285)
Wrightpark (No. 335)
Garden (No. 338)
Arnprior Farm (No. 339)
Arnmore House (No. 340)
New Mill, Broich Burn (No. 385)
Dovecot, Laraben (No. 399)
Carved stone, Arngomery (No. 450)
Cardross Bridge (No. 452)
Earthwork, Arngibbon (No. 482)
Earthwork, Keir Knowe of Arnmore (No. 483)
Earthwork, Dasher (No. 484)
Earthwork, Keir Hill of Dasher (No. 485)
Earthwork, Keir Brae of Garden (site) (No.492)
Corduroy road, Parks of Garden (site) (No. 530)
Tryst ground, Hill of Balgair (site) (No. 532)
St. Mauvais' Well, Kippen (No. 545)
Indeterminate remains, Kippen Muir (No. 578)
Indeterminate site, Keir Hill of Glentirran (No. 596)
LARBERT PARISH
Cist, Stenhousemuir (site) (No. 23)
Roman temple, "Arthur's O'on", Stenhouse (site) (No.
126)
Parish Church, Larbert (No. 146)
Stenhouse (No. 200)
Skaithmuir Tower (No. 201)
Engineering shop, Carron Ironworks (No. 265)
Larbert Village (No. 272)
The Old Manse, Larbert (No. 273)
Garden walls and heraldic panel, Kinnaird House (No.
307)
Architectural details and sundial, Kinnaird House (No.
418)
Old bridge, Larbert (No. 462)
Cultivation terraces, Stenhouse (No. 502)
Old road, Stenhouse (No. 513)
Tryst ground, Stenhousemuir (site) (No. 534)
Pottery kilns, Stenhouse (sites) (No. 572)
Indeterminate site, Larbert (No. 592)
LOGIE PARISH
Cairn, Cuparlaw Wood (No. 2)
Cairn, Sheriffmuir Road (No. 3)
Mound, Sheriffmuir Road 1 (No. 4)
Mound, Sheriffmuir Road 2 (No. 5)
Cairn, "Fairy Knowe", Hill of Airthrey (No. 6)
Cist, Bridge of Allan (site) (No. 16)
Cist, Airthrey (site) (No. 17)
Standing stone, Sheriffmuir Road (No. 46)
Standing stone, Airthrey Castle (W.) (No. 47)
Standing stone, Airthrey Castle (E.) (No. 48)
Fort, Dumyat (No. 68)
Fort, Abbey Craig (No. 69)
Homestead, Logie (No. 102)
Old church, Logie (No. 127)
Parish Church, Logie (No. 128)
The Blair, Blairlogie (No. 193)
Manor Castle (No. 194)
Old houses, Henderson Street, Bridge of Allan (No. 255)
East Lodge, Bridge of Allan (No. 256)
Blairlogie Village (No. 257)
Airthrey Castle (No. 287)
Powis House (No. 288)
Old cottages, Dumyat (No. 349)
Dovecot, Manorneuk (No. 388)
Carved panel, Logie Cottage (No. 408)
Enclosure, Dumyat (No. 488)
Sheriffmuir Road (No. 508)
Old road, Bridge of Allan to Blairlogie (No. 509)
Tryst ground, Pathfoot (site) (No. 533)
"Highlandman's Well", Sheriffmuir Road (site) (No.
546)
Old copper-mine, Bridge of Allan (No. 561)
Old copper-mine, Logie Burn (No. 562)
Old copper-mines, Ewe Lairs (No. 563)
MUIRAVONSIDE PARISH
Cists, Avonbank (sites) (No. 26)
Cist, Castle Hill (site) (No. 27)
Cist, Manuelhaughs (site) (No. 28)
Cist, Brakes (site) (No. 29)
-- xxxi |
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| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_028 |
REGISTER OF MONUMENTS BY PARISHES
Parish Church, Muiravonside (No. 143)
Manuel Nunnery (No. 144)
Almond Castle (No. 202)
Muiravonside House (No. 316)
Compston (No. 317)
Windmill, Myrehead (No. 355)
Dovecot, Muiravonside House (No. 394)
Dovecot, Compston (No. 395)
Heraldic panel. Gilmeadowland (No. 421)
Bridge, Almond Castle (No. 463)
Railway Viaduct, Avonbank (No. 471)
Avon Viaduct (No. 472)
Railway viaduct, Manuel (No. 473)
Avon Aqueduct (No. 474)
Cultivation terraces, Avonbank (No. 503)
Cultivation terraces, Castle Hill, Avonbank (No. 504)
Cultivation terraces, Easter Manuel (No. 505)
Slamannan Railway, terminal yard (No. 559)
Indeterminate site, Castlehill (No. 589)
ST. NINIANS PARISH ¹
Mound, Touch (No. 7)
Cairn, King's Yett (No. 8)
Cairn, Craigengelt (No. 9)
Cists, Cambusbarron (sites) (No. 18)
Cairn, Sauchie (site) (No. 19)
Cup-and-ring markings, Castleton (No. 43)
Fort, Gillies Hill (No. 70)
Fort, Sauchie Craig (No. 71)
Fort, Cowie (No. 72)
Dun, Baston Burn (No. 84)
Dun, Touch Muir (No. 85)
Dun, Castlehill Wood (No. 86)
Dun, Wester Craigend (No. 87)
Dun, Wallstale (No. 88)
Dun, Castlehill 1 (site) (No. 91)
Dun, Castlehill 2 (site) (No. 92)
Homestead, Woodside (No. 103)
Homestead, West Plean (No. 104)
Old Church, St. Ninians (No. 133)
Parish Church, St. Ninians (No. 134)
Buckieburn Church (No. 152)
Graveyard, Kirk o' Muir (No. 153)
Chapel, Cambusbarron (site) (No. 174)
Chapel, Carnock (site) (No. 175)
Motte, Sir John de Graham's Castle (No. 186)
Old Sauchie (No. 195)
Bruce's Castle (No. 196)
Plean Tower (No. 197)
Cambusbarron Village (No. 258)
St. Ninians Village (No. 260)
Old Manse, St. Ninians (No. 261)
Parliament Close, St. Ninians (No. 262)
Chartershall Village (No. 263)
Bannockburn Town (No. 264)
Craigforth House (No. 289)
Borrowmeadow (No. 292)
Steuarthall (No. 293)
Bannockburn House (No. 295)
Auchenbowie House (No. 296)
Touch House (No. 345)
Seton Lodge (No. 346)
Carnock House (site) (No. 347)
Old mill, Milton (No. 350)
"Beaton's Mill", Milton (No. 351)
Cruck-framed byre, Hallquarter (No. 362)
Kildean Mill, Old Mills Farm (No. 387)
Dovecot, Touch (No. 389)
Dovecot, Old Sauchie (No. 390)
Dovecot and carved stones, Lower Polmaise (No. 391)
Dovecot, Bannockburn House (No. 392)
Carved stone, Kerse Mills (No. 409)
Sundials, etc., Sauchieburn House (No. 410)
Old bridge, Drip (No. 454)
Bridge, Chartershall (No. 456)
Old bridge, Bannockburn (No. 457)
Enclosure, Touch Muir (No. 487)
Enclosure, Cowie (No. 489)
Earthwork, Lower Greenyards (site) (No. 493)
Earthwork, Gallamuir (site) (No. 495)
Cultivation terraces, Sauchieburn House (No. 500)
Cultivation terraces, Buckie Burn (No. 501)
"Cadger's Loan", Plean (No. 512)
Old road from Fintry to Stirling (No. 527)
Old road, Bearside (site) (No. 531)
St. Thomas' Well, Cambusbarron (No. 537}
Old Well, Milton (No. 538)
Chapel well, Cambusbarron (site) (No. 547)
Bore Stone, Brock's Brae (No. 571)
Indeterminate remains, Touch (No. 579)
Carved stone, Shankhead (No. 598)
1 The O.S. map shows the churches and village of St. Ninians as within the parish of Stirling. This is partly the result of a
southward extension of the boundaries of Stirling Burgh. However, a Presbyterial redistribution of parishes attached to the
various local churches has allocated, for pastoral purposes, a small area here within the Burgh to the Church of St. Ninians Old,
and, in view of this fact as well as of the long history of the parish in its earlier form, the monuments numbered 130, 134, 260,
261 and 262 have been listed under St. Ninians and not under Stirling.
-- xxxii |
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| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_029 |
REGISTER OF MONUMENTS BY PARISHES
SLAMANNAN PARISH
Standing stone, Glen Ellrig 1 (No. 53)
Standing stone, Glen Ellrig 2 (No. 54)
Parish Church, Slamannan (No. 145)
Motte, Slamannan (No. 179)
Slamannan Village (No. 271)
Dalquhairn (No. 318)
Pirnie Lodge (No. 319)
Summerhouse (No. 356)
Old building, Stoneridge (No. 357)
Binnie Green, Balquhatstone (No. 358)
Doorway, Babbit Hill (No. 422)
Carved stones, North Arnloss (No. 423)
Carved stones, Balquhatstone House (No. 424)
Carved stones, Loanhead (No. 425)
Bridge, Dalquhairn (No. 464)
Old Glasgow Road (No. 515)
St Laurence's Well, Slamannan (site) (No. 549)
STIRLING PARISH
Cup-and-ring markings, King's Park, Stirling (No. 42)
Standing stones, Randolphfield, Stirling (No. 49)
Fort, Mote Hill (site), Stirling (No. 80)
Fort, Livilands (site), Stirling (No. 81)
Roman fort, Stirling (site) (No. 123)
Cambuskenneth Abbey (No. 130)
Holy Rude Church, Stirling (No. 131)
Erskine Marykirk, St. John Street, Stirling (No. 132)
Greyfriars Convent (site). Stirling (No. 173)
Stirling Castle (No. 192)
The Burgh of Stirling (No. 226)
Argyll's Lodging, Stirling (No. 227)
Old Grammar School, Castle Wynd, Stirling (No. 228)
Number 30, Lower Castlehill, Stirling (No. 229)
Mar's Work, Stirling (No. 230)
Cowane's Hospital, bowling green, etc., Stirling(No.
231)
The Town House, Broad Street, Stirling (No. 232)
Norrie's House, 34 Broad Street, Stirling (No. 233)
Broad Street, Stirling; lesser houses and architectural
details (No. 234)
Darnley House, Bow Street, Stirling (No. 235)
Bow Street, Stirling; lesser houses (No. 236)
Cowane's House, St. Mary's Wynd, Stirling (No. 237)
St. Mary's Wynd, Stirling; lesser houses and architec-
tural details (No. 238)
King's Stables Lane, Stirling, indeterminate remains
and carved stones (No. 239)
Allan's Hospital, Irvine Place, Stirling (No. 240)
Doorway, 42 Upper Bridge Street, Stirling (No. 241)
Number 101, Lower Bridge Street, Stirling (No. 242)
Baker Street, Stirling; lesser houses and carved stones
(No. 243)
Bruce of Auchenbowie's House, St John Street, Stirling
(No. 244)
St. John Street, Stirling; lesser houses and architectural
details (No. 245)
Spittal's Hospital, 82 Spittal Street, Stirling (No. 246)
The Athenæum, King Street, Stirling (No. 247)
Spittal Street, Stirling; lesser houses and architectural
details (No. 248)
The Town Wall, Stirling (No. 249)
The Back Walk, Stirling, and carved stones (No. 250)
Torbrex Village (No. 259)
The Inclosure, Windsor Place, Stirling (No. 290)
Laurelhill House, Stirling (No. 291)
Torbrex Farm (No. 294)
The Mercat Cross, Broad Street, Stirling (No. 401)
Inscribed lintel, 85 Lower Bridge Street, Stirling (No.
402)
Inscribed rock, Gowan Hill, Stirling (No. 403)
Carved stones, 14 Abercromby Place, Stirling (No. 404)
Carved woodwork, carved stones, etc., Smith Institute,
Stirling (No. 405)
Painted ceiling, Westerlands, Stirling (No. 406)
Carved stone, Craigforth Dairy, Raploch Road, Stirling
(No. 407)
Old bridge, Stirling (No. 455)
Bridge, Kildean (site) (No. 478)
St. Ninians Well, Wellgreen, Stirling (No. 536)
STRATHBLANE PARISH
Cairn, Ballagan (site) (No. 33)
Cist, Broadgate (site) (No. 34)
Chambered cairn, Strathblane (site) (No. 35)
Standing stone, Broadgate (No. 55)
Standing stone, Parish Graveyard, Strathblane (No. 56)
Standing stone, Craigmore Cottage (No. 57)
Standing stones, Dumgoyach (No. 58)
Standing stones and cists, Middleton (sites) (No. 63)
Parish Church, Strathblane (No. 158)
Mugdock Castle (No. 207)
Duntreath Castle (No. 209)
Ballagan Castle (site) (No. 219)
Middle Ballewan (No. 326)
Carbeth Guthrie House (No. 327)
Old cottages, Edinkill (No. 366)
-- c -- xxxiii |
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| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_030 |
REGISTER OF MONUMENTS BY PARISHES
Carved stone, Leddriegreen House (No. 440)
Carved stones, Dumgoyach (No. 441)
Cultivation terraces, Troughstone (No. 507)
NOT CONFINED TO A SINGLE PARISH
The Antonine Wall (No. 111
Roman road running northwards from the Antonine
Wall (No. 124)
Supposed Roman communications between Clydesdale
and the Antonine Wall (No. 125)
Military road from Stirling to Dumbarton (No. 510)
Old road from Stirling to Kilsyth and Glasgow (No. 511)
Old roads from Falkirk to Airth and Alloa (No. 514)
Old road from Campsie to Kippen (No. 516)
Old road from Fintry to Denny (No. 528)
The Forth and Clyde Canal (No. 552)
The Union Canal (No. 553)
River-improvements on the River Kelvin (No. 554)
River-improvements, etc., between Larbert and Grange-
mouth (No. 555)
Railways (general) (No. 558)
-- xxxiv |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_031 |
ABBREVIATED TITLES USED IN
THE REFERENCES
Accts. L.H.T. -- Accounts of the Lord High Treasurer of Scotland, H.M. General Register House,
Edinburgh, 1877-1916.
Acts Parl. Scot. -- The Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland, Record Edition, 1844-75.
Annals -- Wilson, Sir D., Prehistoric Annals of Scotland, Edinburgh, 1863.
Arch. J. -- The Archaeological Journal.
Arch. Scot. -- Archaeologia Scotica; or Transactions of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland,
Edinburgh, 1792-1890.
A.W.R. -- Glasgow Archaeological Society, The Antonine Wall Report, Account of Excavations,
etc., Glasgow, 1899.
Balcarres Papers -- Foreign Correspondence with Marie de Lorraine, etc., S.H.S., Edinburgh 1923.
Bede, Hist, Eccles. -- Baedae Opera Historica, i-ii; Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum, Oxford, 1896
B.M. -- British Museum.
Cal. of Docts. -- Calendar of Documents relating to Scotland, H.M. General Register House, Edinburgh,
1881-8.
Cambuskenneth -- Registrum Monasterii S. Marie de Cambuskenneth, 1147-1535 (ed. Fraser), Edinburgh,
1872.
Cast. and Dom. Arch. -- MacGibbon, D., and Ross, T., The Castellated and Domestic Architecture of Scotland,
Edinburgh, 1887-92.
Castles and Mansions -- Fleming, J. S., Ancient Castles and Mansions of Stirling Nobility, Paisley, 1902.
Chron. de Lanercost -- Chronicon de Lanercost, 1201-1346, Maitland Club, Edinburgh, 1839.
C.I.L. -- Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum, Berlin.
Colvin, English Architects -- Colvin, H. M., A Biographical Dictionary of English Architects 1660-1840, London,
1954.
C.P.R. -- Calendar of Entries in the Papal Registers relating to Great Britain & Ireland, H.M.S.O.,
1893-1955.
Cregeen, "Recollections" -- Cregeen, E. "Recollections of an Argyllshire Drover", in Scottish Studies, iii, pt. ii,
pp. 143 ff.
C.U.C.A.P. -- Cambridge University Committee for Aerial Photography.
C.W. -- Transactions of the Cumberland and Westmorland Archaeological Society.
D.N.B. -- Dictionary of National Biography, London, 1885-1903.
Dunfermline -- Registrum de Dunfermelyn, Bannatyne Club, Edinburgh, 1842.
Easson, Religious Houses -- Easson, D.E., Mediaeval Religious Houses, Scotland, etc., London, 1957.
Eccles. Arch. -- MacGibbon, D., and Ross, T., The Ecclesiastical Architecture of Scotland, Edinburgh,
1896-7.
Excheq. Rolls -- The Exchequer Rolls of Scotland, H.M. General Register House, Edinburgh, 1878-98.
Fasti -- Scott, H., Fasti Ecclesiae Scoticanae, Edinburgh, 1866-71.
General View -- Graham, P., General View of the Agriculture of Stirlingshire, 1812.
Geogr. Collections -- Macfarlane, W., Geographical Collections relating to Scotland, S.H.S., Edinburgh,
1906-8.
Hamilton Papers -- The Hamilton Papers, Letters and Papers illustrating the political relations of England and
Scotland in the XVIth century, H.M. General Register House, Edinburgh, 1890-2.
Hist. MSS. Commission -- Historical Manuscripts Commission.
-- xxxv |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_032 |
ABBREVIATED TITLES
History -- Nimmo, W., A General History of Stirlingshire, Edinburgh, 1777.
H.M.S.O. -- Her Majesty's Stationery Office.
Holyrood -- Liber Cartarum Sancte Crucis, Bannatyne Club, Edinburgh, 1840.
Inventory of [County] -- Royal Commission on Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland: Inventory of the
Ancient and Historical Monuments and Constructions in [the county stated].
Itin. Septent -- Gordon, A., Itinerarium Septentrionale or, A Journey Thro' most of the Counties of
Scotland and Those in the North of England, London, 1726.
J.B.A.A. -- Journal of the British Archaeological Association.
J.R.S. -- Journal of Roman Studies.
"Kippen" -- "The History and Traditions of the Parish of Kippen", an unpublished lecture by the
Rev. William Wilson, delivered at Kippen on 12 March 1878.
Lawrie, Charters -- Lawrie, A., Early Scottish Charters prior to A.D. 1153, Glasgow, 1905.
Lennox -- Cartularium Comitatus de Levenax, Maitland Club, Edinburgh, 1833.
Maitland, History -- Maitland, W., History and Antiquities of Scotland to 1603 (1757).
Military Antiquities -- Roy, W., Military Antiquities of the Romans in North Britain, London, 1793.
M. of W. Accts. -- Accounts of the Masters of Works for Building and Repairing Royal Palaces & Castles,
H.M. General Register House, Edinburgh, 1957 - .
Newbattle -- Registrum S. Marie de Neubotle, Bannatyne Club, Edinburgh, 1847.
N.S.A. -- The New Statistical Account of Scotland, Edinburgh, 1845.
Origines -- Origines Parochiales Scotiae, Bannatyne Club, Edinburgh, 1851-5.
P.F.A.N.H.S. -- Falkirk Archaeological and Natural History Society: Proceedings.
Place Names -- Watson, W. J., The History of the Celtic Place Names of Scotland, Edinburgh, 1926.
Post-Reformation Churches -- Hay, G., Architecture of Scottish Post-Reformation Churches, 1560-1843, Oxford, 1957.
P.R.O. -- Public Record Office.
P.R.S. -- Proceedings of the Royal Society of London.
P.P.S. -- Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society.
P.R.I.A. -- Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy.
P.S.A.S. -- Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland.
Reg. Sec. Sig. -- The Register of the Privy Seal of Scotland, H.M. General Register House, Edinburgh,
1908 - .
Retours. -- Inquisitionum ad Capellam Domini Regis Retornatarum quae in Publicis Archivis Scotiae
adhuc servantur Abbreviatio, 1811-6.
R.M.S. -- The Register of the Great Seal of Scotland, H.M. General Register House, Edinburgh
1882-1914.
R.P.C. -- The Register of the Privy Council of Scotland, H.M. General Register House, Edinburgh,
1887- .
R.S. -- Rolls Series, Rerum Britannicarum Medii Aevi Scriptores, London, 1858-97.
R.W.S. -- Macdonald, Sir G., The Roman Wall in Scotland, 2nd ed., 1934.
Scotichronicon -- Joanis de Fordun Scotichronicon, etc., ed. Goodall, 1759.
Scots Peerage -- The Scots Peerage, ed. Balfour Paul, Edinburgh, 1904-14.
Scottish Papers -- Calendar of the State Papers relating to Scotland and Mary, Queen of Scots, 1547-1603.
H.M. General Register House, Edinburgh, 1898- .
S.H.R. -- Scottish Historical Review, Edinburgh.
S.H.S. -- Scottish History Society.
Sibbald, Historical Inquiries. -- Sibbald, Sir R., Historical Inquiries concerning the Roman Monuments and Antiquities
in the North-Part of Britain called Scotland, Edinburgh, 1707.
Sibbald, History -- Sibbald Sir R., History and Description of Stirlingshire, Ancient and Modern, 1707,
ed. 1892.
Smith Institute Catalogue. -- Catalogue of Collections in the Picture Galleries and Museum of the Smith Institute,
Stirling, 3rd ed., Stirling, 1934.
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ABBREVIATED TITLES
Stat. Acct. -- The Statistical Account of Scotland, Edinburgh, 1791-9.
State Papers, Scottish -- Calendar of the State Papers relating to Scotland preserved in the State Paper Department
of Her Majesty's Public Record Office, London, 1858.
Stirling Antiquary -- The Stirling Antiquary, extracts from The Stirling Sentinel (888-1906) reprinted for
private circulation, ed. Cook, W. B.
Stirling Burgh Records -- Extracts from the Records of the Royal Burgh of Stirling, Scottish Burgh Records Society;
vol. 1519-1666, Glasgow, 1887; vol. 1667-1752, Glasgow, 1889.
Stirling Charters -- Charters and Other Documents Relating to the Royal Burgh of Stirling, 1124-1705,
Scottish Burgh Records Society, Glasgow, 1884.
Stirlingshire Sasines -- "Abbreviated Register of Sasines" (Stirlingshire), H.M. General Register House,
Edinburgh.
Strathblane -- Smith, J. Guthrie, The Parish of Strathblane and its Inhabitants from Early Times,
Glasgow, 1886.
Strathendrick -- Smith, J. Guthrie, Strathendrick and its Inhabitants from Early Times, Glasgow, 1896.
S.T.S. -- Scottish Text Society.
T.D.G.N.H.A.S. -- Dumfriesshire and Galloway Natural History and Antiquarian Society, Transactions and
Journal of Proceedings.
T.G.A.S. -- Transactions of the Glasgow Archaeological Society.
T.R.H.S. -- Transactions of the Royal Historical Society.
T.R.S.E. -- Transations of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.
T.S.N.H.A.S. -- Stirling Natural History and Archaeological Society : Transactions.
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EDITORIAL NOTES
Arrangement
The county has been treated as a single unit and not subdivided into
parishes. The monuments are classified in groups, on a chronological basis,
those in each group being arranged in a topographical order, usually
clockwise from the north-east. A list of monuments under parish headings
will be found on pp. xxvii-xxxiv.
Maps, Grid References and Dates of Visit
At the end of each article will be found the National Grid reference of
the monument in question, the number of the 6-inch O.S. sheet on which
it occurs, and the date (or dates) when it was examined.
As the majority of the monuments are in 100-kilometre grid square NS,
these letters have been omitted throughout and a six-figure reference only
has been given. Thus a reference given as 123456 is to be understood as
meaning NS 123456. In the case of the few monuments which are in the
100-kilometre square NN, these letters are given in addition to the six figures
of the reference number.
The 6-inch O.S. sheet numbers refer either to the edition based on the
National Grid, where this is available, or to the edition of 1922-24. The
sheets of the National Grid edition are distinguished by the prefix NN or NS,
representing the respective 100-kilometre grid squares, while those of the
1922-24 edition have the prefix N and are numbered in Roman figures.
Air-photograph References
In the case of National Survey photographs, the reference consists of
the sortie number followed by the numbers of the two consecutive prints that
allow the monument to be viewed stereoscopically (e.g 106G/SCOT/UK18,
5366-7); while in the case of photographs belonging to the Cambridge
University Committee for Aerial Photography, the print-number is given
first and is followed by the abbreviation C.U.C.A.P.
Inscriptions
Square brackets occurring in the text of an inscription indicate that the
words or letters within them are illegible but have been restored, a note of
question being added when restoration is uncertain. Words or letters in
round brackets have never existed on the stone but have been inserted for the
sake of clarity. All ligatures have been expanded.
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INTRODUCTION
to the Inventory of the Ancient and Historical
Monuments of Stirlingshire
PART 1. GENERAL
1. THE LAND AND ITS RESOURCES
Stirlingshire lies in the Midland Valley of Scotland, occupying most of the narrow
"waist" between the Firths of Forth and Clyde, but the county presents no real
geographical unity. Its core is the massif of the Lennox Hills, much of which is over
1000 ft. above sea-level and comprises the Fintry Hills (Stronend 1676 ft.), the Gargunnock
Hills (up to 1591 ft.), the Touch Hills and their southward extension (Earl's Hill 1443 ft.),
the Kilsyth Hills (Garrel Hill 1503 ft.) and the Campsie Fells (Meikle Bin 1870 ft.) Earl's Seat
(1896 ft.). This core is surrounded by a lowland margin which extends to the River and Firth
of Forth on the north and east, to the Bonny Water and the River Kelvin on the south, and
to the eastern corner of Loch Lomond on the west; much of this lies at quite low elevations,
the moss flanking the Forth, where it first touches the county, at less than 60 ft. above sea
level and the watershed between the Kelvin and the Bonny Water at just under 200 ft. The
surface of Loch Lomond lies at about 27 ft. Beyond the lowland margin of the core there
are four outlying areas, the largest of which is a tapering strip of mountainous country, which
flanks Loch Lomond on the north-east nearly as far as its head and reaches an elevation of 3192
ft. at the summit of Ben Lomond. Second is an outlier of the Kilpatrick Hills (Auchineden Hill
1171 ft.) south-west of the Blane valley; third a triangular block projecting into the Southern
Uplands south of Falkirk, which nowhere exceeds 750 ft. in elevation; and finally a small area
just across the Forth from Stirling which includes a portion of the Ochil Hills (up to 1771 ft.).
A gently curving line drawn through the middle of the county, from Linlithgow Bridge on the
east to Ben Ducteach at the north-western corner, is about 50 miles in length; while a transverse
measurement, from the Ochils to south of Black Loch, is about 21 miles. The total area of the
county is 288, 842 acres, or 451.3 square miles.
The interior of the Lennox Hills is drained by the River Carron and the Endrick Water,
the former running eastwards to the Firth of Forth and the latter westwards to Loch Lomond.
The Endrick Water is joined, after reaching the lower-lying ground, by the Blane Water,
which turns the western shoulder of the Campsie Fells in a trough which separates these from
the Kilpatrick Hills. The southern side of the Lennox Hills is drained by short tributaries of
the River Kelvin and the Bonny Water, and their northern and eastern sides by other short
streams discharging respectively into the River Forth and its Firth. The Forth and its
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INTRODUCTION : GENERAL
headwater tributaries descend from the north-eastern flank of the Ben Lomond massif, while
the south-western slopes fall directly to the shore of Loch Lomond. Part of the region south
of Falkirk drains northwards towards the mouth of the Carron and the remainder eastwards
to the Avon.
The north-western portion of the county, comprising Ben Lomond and its associated
heights, lies north-west of the Highland Boundary Fault, which here corresponds with a line
drawn from Aberfoyle to Inch Murrin. ¹ The rocks north-west of the Fault are predominantly
metamorphosed sediments, such as various types of schists and schistose grits, quartzites,
slates etc., together with altered igneous rocks, such as epidiorite. The rocks have been
invaded, at a time subsequent to the dynamic movements that folded and metamorphosed
them, by intrusions in the form of bosses and dykes comprising diorite, felsite, porphyrite,
lamprophyre, dolerite, and so on. The metamorphic rocks are known as Dalradian, and the
concensus of geological opinion seems to be that they are of pre-Cambrian age. Along the
south-eastern side of the Fault there are found masses and lenticles of little-altered shale,
chert and limestone, associated in places with lava and serpentine. These are called the High-
land Boundary Rocks, and fossils show that they are either Cambrian or Ordovician in age.
South-east of the line of the Fault the county is floored by a belt of Lower Old Red Sandstone
rocks, some eight miles in width and trending from north-east to south-west, which extends
to the Lennox Hills and flanks their northern side. This is succeeded, on their lower slopes
by a belt of Upper Old Red Sandstone about two miles in width, which is in turn overlain by
Lower Carboniferous rocks known as the Cementstone series; these latter outcrop at the base
of the slopes of the Lennox and Kilpatrick Hills, which are themselves built up of lava flows
with necks and intrusions, all of Lower Carboniferous age. South and east of these basaltic
hills the Carboniferous Limestone group floors a large area, being overlain in places by
Millstone Grit and Coal Measures; but the continuity of the Carboniferous rocks is broken
for some miles southwards from Stirling by a massive intrusion of quartz dolerite, of which
Stirling Castle Rock and Sauchie Craigs form the most striking features. The lowest-lying
lands along the Forth - a narrow strip beside the river upstream from Stirling and a much
wider area fronting on the Firth from Cambuskenneth to the mouth of the Avon - are covered
by alluvial clay; while the parish of Logie, across the Forth from Stirling, is divided between
this alluvium and Old Red Sandstone lavas. Boulder Clay is widely spread, and ranges from a
stiff puddly clay at one end of the scale to a lighter sandy one at the other. The latter provides
a much more fertile soil. Although much material has been carried into the county by ice-
sheets travelling from the Grampians, the clay is mainly derived from local rocks and reflects
their qualities in respect of agricultural fertility. Raised beaches ² can be seen in many places,
and during the Atlantic climatic phase the sea must have reached a point sixteen miles above
Stirling. ³ This same transgression must have flooded much of the carse land south-east of
Stirling and between Airth and the mouth of the Avon.
1 For the geological data contained in this paragraph the Commissioners are indebted to Mr. R. Eckford. F.S.A.Scot., late of
the Geological Survey of Great Britain.
2 Described by Dinham, "The Geology of the District around Edinburgh: Stirling District", in the Proceedings of the
Geologists' Association, xxxviii (1927), 486 ff.
3 The levels of this beach decrease gradually from about 49 ft. at the head of the valley to 43 ft. near Stirling, and to 25 ft. or
less near Grangemouth (ibid.). See also p. 18 (infra.).
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INTRODUCTION : GENERAL
Ground classed ¹ as good general-purpose farm-land, well drained and with soils of good
depth, is found on the carse areas in the northern and eastern parts of the county, on the lower
Endrick Water, and in the south-western corner of Campsie parish. In places the well-drained
and easily workable land is bordered by good but heavy land, and in the neighbourhood of
Grangemouth it is mixed with a little first-class land though some of this is heavy and liable
to flooding. It should be remembered in this connection that parts of the alluvial carse have
only been made available in comparatively recent times, through the removal of overlying peat
or reclamation from the sea. ² All the foregoing lands are classed as arable. Medium-quality
farm-land, fairly productive but excluded from the first class by conditions of slope, climate or
soil, covers Slammanan parish in the south-east, the eastern part of the Lennox Hills, the
upper valley of the Endrick Water, and a small area south of Strathblane. Land of this quality
is used for both crops and grass. Poor-quality mountain land, with poor, stony soils and often
showing outcrops of rock and patches of peat, covers the higher-lying parts of the Lennox
Hills, and the whole of the Ben Lomond massif. These mountainous areas comprise acid
grass-lands, heather moors, peat moors, and sub-alpine moors, and at best provide rough
pasture.
As to what lands were under forest at any given period in the past little can be said with
confidence, though it is natural to suppose that much of the better farm-land has been converted
from forest at one time or another. The question is somewhat obscured by 15th-century
allusions to the so-called "Caledonian forest", ³ itself a legacy from Classical literature, which
Boece places, in one passage, in the Southern Uplands and, in another, in the Highlands, while
Lesley confuses it with Tor Wood. ⁴ It is probable, however, that such areas as the lower slopes
of the Ben Lomond massif, which seem naturally well-suited for tree-growth, probably once
carried much more extensive forests ⁵ than the existing oak-woods flanking Loch Lomond,
which are no doubt of natural origin though much modified by management in the 19th
century. ⁶ Tor Wood and Callendar Wood were evidently in existence in the middle of the
12th century, ₇ though their extent at that time is unknown. Six dozen large birch trees from
Callendar Wood were used for scaffolding at Linlithgow Palace in 1534. ⁸
The resources of the land must, however, be considered in conjunction with the local
climate. and of this some idea may be obtained from the local meteorological records. ⁹ The
mean annual rainfall (1921-50) ranges from less than 30 in. on the shores of the Forth to
between 60 in. and 100 in. or more in the Ben Lomond area, the figures for Grangemouth
being 30·9 in., for Stirling 35·9 in., and for a point in the Duchray valley 1500 ft. above sea
level 89·2 in. At Stirling the driest month is April (1·85 in.) and the wettest December (4·05 in.).
The mean annual temperature (1921-50) at Stirling is 48·0° F., the warmest month being
1 The facts quoted in this paragraph have been taken from the O.S. map of Great Britain, sheet 1, 1:625,000, Land Classification,
and ditto, Vegetation Reconnaissance Survey of Scotland, 1945 (explanatory text, 1950).
2 On the draining of Blairdrummond Moss, on the Perthshire bank of the Forth upstream from Drip, see Caddell, The Story
of the Forth, 262 ff.
3 This is discussed by Watson, Place Names, 20.
4 Reference may conveniently be made to Hume Brown, Scotland before 1700, 48 (for Major), 71 and 80 f. (for Boece), 130
(for Lesley).
5 In 1793 the whole north-eastern side of the loch was "one continued wood consisting of some ashes, alders, hazels, but mostly
oaks" (Stat. Acct., ix (1793), 17).
6 On this see General View, 213 ff.; Scottish Forestry, ix, No. 4 (Oct. 1955), 145 ff.
7 Cambuskenneth, No. 190; Newbattle, No. 163.
8 M. of W. Accts., i (1529-1615), 124.
9 For the data given here the Commissioners are indebted to the Meteorological Office, Air Ministry, Edinburgh.
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INTRODUCTION : GENERAL
July (59·6°) and the coldest January (38·1°). The average total sunshine for the year recorded
at Stirling is 1192 hours, ¹ the sunniest month being June (174 hours) and the dullest December
(29 hours). On the higher ground the mean annual sunshine is probably in the order of
1000 hours.
In addition to the wealth of its agricultural soil, the county posses a most valuable
resource in its minerals. A return will be made to this subject below, in the discussion of
industrial developments (pp. 7 f.).
Further natural features of great importance to the county's history are the lines of
communication that traverse this part of central Scotland. ² The lowland belt, in the first
place, must always have lent itself to movement between east and west, even when the actual
bottom-lands were covered with undrained marsh and encumbered with woods. Again,
movement between north and south was vitally influenced by the topography of the Forth
valley. At Stirling the breadth of the low-lying ground is only about a mile, but immediately
above the town it begins to widen into what must formerly have been a great wilderness of
moss, with no practicable crossing but the one by the Fords of Frew, where hard ground could
be found between the Blairdrummond and Flanders Mosses. The head of Flanders Moss lies
some seventeen miles to the west of Stirling Bridge, and the route that turned it was flanked
by a wild, mountainous region besides being inconvenient for access to the principal centres of
population. Travellers, and more particularly armies, even when coming from or bound for
places in the west, must generally have preferred, when possible, to make for the eastern
crossing. Thus Stirling, with its bridge and castle, has always possessed outstanding strategic
importance, as guarding the routes not only from north to south but also from east to west. ³
External communications likewise deserve to be mentioned here. Stirling, in virtue of its
position at the highest navigable point, must long have been a port for small vessels, and was
evidently established as such at least as early as 1150. ⁴ The harbour and business connected
therewith appear pretty often in the records, particularly from the 16th century onwards. ⁵
Larger ships were prevented from making the port by shallow "fords", actually bars of rock
or solid boulder-clay stretching across the bottom of the river, as well as by the twisty course
of the waterway, and their cargoes had consequently to be discharged into lighters lower down
the Firth, e.g. at Bo'ness, or brought thence to Stirling overland. When deep water was
needed for the large vessels of James IV's navy, a base, the Pool of Airth, was established near
Airth ⁶. Airth itself, which stands nearly a mile north of the mouth of the Pow, was used for the
export of coal probably as early as 1596 (cf. No. 564) and certainly by 1608 ⁷ ; it was the
principal port of the district in the early 18th century (cf. No. 557), but was superseded
successively by Carronshore and by Grangemouth - the last after the opening of the Forth
and Clyde Canal (No. 552). In 1792 harbours are also mentioned as existing at Dunmore and
Newmiln, near Airth. ⁸
1 This figure is regarded as too low, as the exposure of the sun-recorder results in a cut-off at least 5 per cent. in the year
as a whole.
2 Roads are discussed below on pp. 52 ff.
3 It is true that alternative routes to the north exist through the Ochil Hills, but their use entails the crossing of the Forth by
ferry. In 1303, when Stirling was held by the Scots, Edward I had timber bridges prepared at King's Lynn for shipment to the
Forth by sea, to enable him to cross the river east of Stirling (Cal. of Docts., ii (1272-1307), No. 1375).
4 Lawrie, Charters, CCIX.
5 On this see a paper by D. B. Morris on "Early Navigation of the River Forth" in T.S.N.H.A.S. (1919-20), 51 ff.
6 Accts. L.H.T., iv, xlvi ff.
7 R.P.C. (1607-10), p. 77.
8 Stat. Acct., iii (1792), 489.
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INTRODUCTION : GENERAL
2. THE PEOPLE
Of the origins and early tribal history of the people inhabiting this region little is known
though something may be inferred - on the one hand from the remains of their monuments
and on the other from linguistic survivals, particularly place-names. The testimony, such
as it is, of the monuments themselves will be dealt with in Part II below, but the linguistic
material is assessed in the following note which has been kindly contributed by Professor
K. H. Jackson, M.A., D.Litt., F.B.A.
Note by Professor Jackson
"The isthmus between the head-waters of the firths of Forth and Clyde, consisting of a
narrow neck largely blocked by ranges of high hills (apparently called Bannoc, 'peaky' in
Cumbric, whence Bannockburn) and by marshes, was made by nature to be a no-man's land
by the Damnonii and Votadini, peoples who were certainly British (Brittonic) and speakers
of P-Celtic, ancestors of the Cumbrians or 'Welsh' of southern Scotland, that is, of Strathclyde
and the Gododdin (Guotodin) country of Lothian and the Merse, as we know them in the
Dark Ages. In the post-Roman period Gododdin seems to have extended round the head of
the Firth, in the form of a small border province called Manau; the name survives in Clack-
mannan, and in Slamannan south-west of Falkirk.
"To the north, there are tribes in Ptolemv's map which were undoubtedly Pictish,
including notably the Caledonians; the Maeatae, whose name and probably whose central
stronghold survives in Dumyat at the west end of the Ochils, are mentioned by Dio Cassius.
Very little is known of the inhabitants of Scotland to the north-west of the 'Bannoc' hills in
the Roman period, but to the north-east these peoples appear in the Dark Ages as the Picts,
evidently speakers of P-Celtic of a kind perhaps somewhat different from that of the Britons
to the south. There is some reason to believe that remnants of an older, pre-Celtic, people
survived in Pictland, even into the Dark Ages, and that their non-Celtic language continued to
be spoken until perhaps the 9th century, analogous to the survival of Basque in Spain and
France. Traces of Pictish place-names are still to be found, including the numerous ones in
Pit- 'estate', like Pittenweem, or (in Stirlingshire) Petendreich, now Pendreich, north of
Bridge of Allan.
"This British-Pictish duality divided by the 'Bannoc' hills was radically altered in the
5th-6th centuries by the immigrations of two groups of foreign settlers. During the latter part
of the 5th century a colony of Gaelic-speaking Irishmen from north-east Ulster established
itself in Argyll; the supposed evidence sometimes quoted that such colonies had been entering
Scotland for centuries before rests on very slight foundations, and is probably worthless. This
new kingdom of Dál Riada grew rapidly in power, and was in constant conflict with its
neighbours. It extended itself eastward, beginning already in the late 6th-7th centuries, into
Pictland through Perthshire and across the low country to the north of the 'Bannoc' hills, until
the Gaelic Scots under Kenneth MacAlpine conquered and absorbed Pictland during the
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INTRODUCTION : GENERAL
years immediately before 850 and set up the kingdom of Scotia. In this way the Gaelic
language was spread over the whole of northern Scotland. An instance of a Gaelic name in
Stirlingshire (and there are many) is Cambuskenneth 'Kenneth's river-bend'.
"Meanwhile the Angles of Bernicia, having occupied the coast of Northumberland in the
middle of the 6th century, gradually absorbed the whole of southern Scotland except Strath-
clyde in the 7th and 8th centuries. The foundation of a bishopric at Abercorn in 681 seems to
represent an English border-outpost designed to minister to what it was hoped would be an
extension of the English church into Pictland. All south-east Scotland and a large part of the
south-west became thoroughly English at this time, especially in the east, as many place-
names like Haddington, Whittinghame, Athelstaneford, Symington, Whithorn, and, in
Stirlingshire, Falkirk, clearly show. The Anglians borrowed numerous Cumbric names like
Linlithgow and Din Eidyn (whence Edin-burgh) from the Britons. The Cumbrian kingdom
of Strathclyde remained independent under its own kings till the 11th century. There is some
evidence that its boundary with Scotia was the river Forth, Loch Lomond, and Loch Long;
but that between Strathclyde and Bernicia must have been vaguely the waste lands stretching
south of Falkirk towards Lanark and the upper Tweed. Cumbric probably continued to be
spoken in Strathclyde throughout this period, and names like Penpont 'the end of the bridge',
Lanark 'the grove', Ochiltree 'the high village', and so on are evidence of this. With the
expansion of Gaelic Scotia across the 'Bannoc' hills and all over southern Scotland early in
the 11th century, Gaelic came to be spoken for a short time almost throughout the whole of
Scotland, and names like Garvald 'the rough burn', Tarff 'the bull (river)', the Kips 'the
blocks', and, in Stirlingshire, Kilsyth 'the church of St. Syth', go back to this period.
"There must have been a time, in the 7th and 8th centuries, when the isthmus between
Forth and Clyde was a linguistic borderland, with Gaelic to the north-west, Pictish to the
north-east, Cumbric to the south-west, and Anglo-Saxon to the south-east. Evidence of a
confused situation is to be seen in Caerpentaloch, the early form of what is now Kirkintilloch,
south-west of Kilsyth. where caer 'stronghold' and pen 'end' are Cumbrian and taloch 'hillock'
is Gaelic, whereas in Kirkintilloch Gaelic kinn 'end' has been substituted later for Cumbric pen.
Similarly with Kinpont 'the end of the bridge', in West Lothian, with Gaelic kinn and Cumbric
pont. The notorious Peanfahel is probably another instance. Bede gives it as the Pictish name
of what is now Kinneil, near the end of the Antonine Wall; and it evidently consists of pen
'end' (in this case Pictish) and Gaelic fal 'wall'; Kinneil, really Kinnfheil, has substituted
Gaelic kinn for pen, but is otherwise unchanged. Such extraordinary hybrid names point to a
state of linguistic chaos all round this basic boundary-line, the central cross-roads of Scotland;
which is just what might be expected."
As regards the life of the community in later times, a few factors of importance deserve
to be mentioned here. For example, a first point arises from the position of the county on the
borders of the Highlands proper. Geikie has described Stirling as a brooch clasping Highlands
and Lowlands together. Moreover, the county includes within its boundaries a slice of High-
land territory, with the result that the community with which we have to deal is not really
homogeneous. To work out the contrast of the two cultures in detail would outrun the scope
of these notes, but the point should nevertheless be kept in mind and a modicum of truth
recognised under the romantic licence of Scott's Rob Roy. Another aspect of this same picture,
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INTRODUCTION : GENERAL
but one unmixed with romance, was given in 1795 by the minister of Campsie parish, ¹ who
stated that, "so late as the year 1744" his father had "paid black mail to McGrigor of Glengyle,
in order to prevent depredations being made upon his property; McGrigor engaging, upon his
part, to secure him, from suffering any hardship ["herschip", i.e. harrying], as it was termed;
and he faithfully fulfilled the contract, engaging to pay for all sheep which were carried away,
if abone the number seven, which he styled lifting; if below seven, he only considered it as a
piking ...."
A second point to be remembered is that, apart from the burghs, the economy was generally
rural until the middle of the 18th century. In this, of course, Stirlingshire does not differ from
the rest of the country, but the circumstance is worth mentioning here in view of the enormous
transformation now effected in the industrialised parts of the county, and of the fact that this
Inventory includes a large number of monuments of the 18th and 19th centuries. Pont's map,
prepared early in the 17th century, ² shows no towns but Stirling and Falkirk.
A third point concerns the industrial transformation mentioned in the preceding paragraph.
Before the middle of the 18th century such industries as existed were naturally in a primitive
condition, but they certainly included the mining of coal, ³ the spinning and weaving of various
materials, ⁴ quarrying, and the evaporation of salt. ⁵ These, however, fitted into the traditional
economy, and it was only in 1760 that industry on anything like a modern scale made its first
appearance in the county. In that year Carron Company, founded in 1759, began its operations
at the Carron Works, ⁶ for the purpose of exploiting the local deposits of ironstone and coal
while taking advantage of the Carron estuary for shipping (cf. No. 555); and this led the way
to the great subsequent developments of heavy industry and mining that now characterise
the eastern and south-eastern parts of the county and the Kilsyth and Campsie neighbourhoods.
A review of manufactures prepared at an early stage in the Industrial Revolution ⁷ lists the
following in addition to the iron of the Carron Works. (i) Spinning and weaving. Coarse
woollens and carpets were woven at Stirling, and serge in the neighbourhood; cotton was
spun and woven at Fintry and Balfron. Cotton was also spun in Dunipace parish ⁸ and muslin
was made in Stirling, Kippen and elsewhere. Weaving, in fact, seems to have been practised
very generally; Dr. Graham records ⁹ that the work was done for Glasgow manufacturers,
and that in Kilsyth alone there were between four and five hundred looms. (ii) Calico-printing.
In Denny, Balfron and Campsie parishes (cf. No. 276). (iii) Chemicals. Alum, copperas, soda,
Prussian blue, etc., at Lennoxtown. A minor industry which, like handloom weaving,
influenced the plan of the workers' cottages was that of nail-making; this was practised
particularly in Falkirk, Laurieston and St. Ninians.
The impact of industry on the local 18th-century scene may be judged from some con-
temporary comment on Carron Company's works. Thus Robert Burns likens them roundly
to Hell ¹⁰, while Nimmo, writing in 1777, at which time two thousand men were employed at
1 Stat. Acct., xv (1795), 379.
2 Blaeu, Theatrum Orbis Terrarum (1654), v, Sterlinensis praefectura.
3 On which see pp. 55 f. below.
4 E.g. "Campsie Gray" at Campsie and shalloons (woollen material for linings) at Stirling since the late 16th century; tartan
at Stirling and Bannockburn in the earlier 18th century (Stat. Acct., xv (1795), 357 n; viii (1793), 283 f.).
5 Geogr. Collections, i, 329. See also p. 56 below.
6 On this see History, 460 ff.; N.S.A., viii (Stirlingshire), 354.
7 General View, 342 ff.
8 Stat. Acct. iii (1792), 334.
9 General View, 343.
10 "At Carron Iron Works", in The Complete Writings of Robert Burns, ed. Henley and Henderson, London, 1927, ii, 243.
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INTRODUCTION : GENERAL
Carron, alludes ¹ to "two great furnaces frightful to behold ... blown with bellows of monstrous
size ... which expand and contract by the motion of wheels driven by water, and the sound
of their blast is most hideous". Nimmo also notes that the coming of the works "quite altered
the face of the country", as it led to the building of "several villages for the convenience of the
workmen", to the enclosure and improved cultivation of neighbouring lands, and to a con-
siderable increase in rents. Again, Faujas de St. Fond, who visited Carron in 1784, writes of
the heating of the air by an outdoor process used for making of coke, of the brilliance of
the coke-fires at night, of the "sheaves of flame, darting to a great height above the high
furnaces", and of "the noise of the heavy hammers as they strike on resounding anvils,
mingled with the sharp whistling of the blast-pumps". ² A cartoon of 1797 depicts an unpopular
local character as reduced to panic by the flaring Carron blast-furnaces. ³
In conclusion, something should be said about the divisions that arose among the
Presbyterian churches during the 18th and 19th centuries. It is true, or course, that these
affected the country as a whole, and not Stirlingshire in particular, but, as mention of one or
other of the seceding bodies is made fairly frequently in the Inventory, it will be well, while
dealing with the social background, to indicate briefly the course of the more important religious
movements. ⁴
The Revolution Settlement of 1690 re-established Presbytery in Scotland, reviving the
system of 1592; but there was dissatisfaction with a settlement in which the Covenants and
claims for ecclesiastical independence were set aside and Parliament continued to legislate
for the Church. Toleration, for example, was granted to Episcopalians by an Act of the Union
Parliament in 1712, and the rights of lay patrons in the appointment of ministers were
restored in the same year. The dominant trends in theology also caused dissatisfaction, for
"Moderate" ministers, concentrating on ethics, tending to ignore the supernatural and
condemning "enthusiasm", alienated the conservative "Evangelicals", who adhered to the
rigid Calvinism of the 17th century. Crisis was reached in 1732, and in 1733 the Rev. Eenezer
Erskine, of Stirling, and four other ministers, formed the Associate Presbytery in permanent
separation from the Church. They were deposed in 1740.
In 1747 the seceded body, now called the Associate Synod, was itself split in two. The
parties disagreed over the oath by which the burgesses of certain towns undertook to support
"the true religion presently professed within this realm, and authorised by the laws thereof",
and the sects formed by their separation were known respectively as Bughers, who admitted
the oath, and Anti-Burghers. who rejected it. Each of these in turn split into an "Auld Licht"
and a "New Licht" faction, the former in 1799 and the latter in 1806. In 1792 there were said
to be 1415 Burghers and 172 Anti-Burghers in Stirling parish, as against 2795 members of the
Establishes Church. ⁵ In 1820 most of the New Light Seceders reunited as the United
Original Secession Church.
Meanwhile a second Secession had taken place, more specifically as a result of disputes
1 History, 462.
2 Caddell, The Story of the Forth, 181, quoting St. Fond, Travels in England and Scotland, 1784, ed. Geikie, i, 177-86. Caddell
gives a short general history of Carron Company, ibid., 143-94; see also S.H.R., No. 124 (Oct 1958). 136 ff.
3 Reproduced from Kay's Original Portraits by Caddell, op. cit., facing p. 182.
4 The account here given follows, in general, W. Law Mathieson, Scotland and the Union, chs. V-VII, and G. D. Henderson,
The Church of Scotland, chs. XII-XV, XVII, XVIII.
5 Stat. Acct., viii (1793), 282.
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INTRODUCTION : GENERAL
over the operation of patronage. In 1761 the Rev. Thomas Gillespie formed the Presbytery
of Relief, a strongly Evangelical body; and by 1765 the Relief, Burgher and Anti-Burgher
congregations are said to have numbered jointly 100, 000 members. In 1847 the Relief and
United Secession Churches joined up, as the United Presbyterian Church.
The last and greatest secession took place in 1843, when controversy over the powers of
Church and State, again centring on the question of the appointment of ministers, led to what
is known as the Disruption. More than four hundred ministers, led by the Rev. Dr. Thomas
Chalmers, now broke away to form the Free Church of Scotland; this Church acquired a large
following and exerted great influence in the course of the 19th century, but in 1900 joined with
the United Presbyterian Church to form the United Free Church. This latter was in turn
reunited with the Established Church in 1929. A fragment of the Free Church, however,
survived the union of 1900 and a fragment of the United Free Church that of 1929.
3. SOCIAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE ORGANISATION
In mediaeval times the authority of the Crown in Stirlingshire was based on the Royal Castle
of Stirling. The king also possessed a considerable amount of land within the county, the bulk
of it lying fairly close to the Castle. Reference is made below (p. 180) to the formation in the
13th century of the Old and New Parks of Stirling, which stretched southwards from the
Castle Rock. Close by were the lands of Craigforth, Raploch and Skeoch, while to the west
and south other possessions included part of the lands of Touch, Sauchie, Auchenbowie and
the Tor Wood.
The Church too, held large grants of lands within the county, particularly on the fertile
soil of the carse of Falkirk. Considering its size and position, however, Stirlingshire was not
well endowed with religious houses, and most of the monastic properties were held by houses
which lay outside the county.
The only religious house of the first rank was the community of Augustinian canons at
Cambuskenneth, which was founded by David I before the middle of the 12th century (cf.
p. 38). In course of time the Abbey was endowed with many properties and rights within the
county. The lands of Cambuskenneth lie within a loop of the river Forth about a mile east of
the burgh of Stirling, and the Abbey was also in possession of a number of neighbouring
properties such as Muirton, Cockspow and part of St. Ninians, all on the south bank of the
river. The canons were also granted fishing-rights in the Forth, and payments from the rents
of the Crown lands about Stirling; other grants included the lands of Cowie, part of the lands
of Dunipace, the lands of Touch Mollar and the Church of St. Ninians.¹ At the Reformation
the lands of Cambuskenneth were erected into a temporal lordship and came into the hands of
the Earl of Mar.
A house of Cistercian nuns was founded before 1164 by Malcolm IV at Manuel, in the
parish of Muiravonside (cf. p. 38). The extent of its holdings within the county is not known,
but the house was not a wealthy one and its possessions were probably few. The lands of
Manuel lie at the extreme eastern limit of the county, on the west bank of the river Avon.
The only other houses of religious in Stirlingshire were two friaries in the burgh of Stirling,
1 Cambuskenneth, passim.
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INTRODUCTION : GENERAL
which belonged to the Dominicans and the Observant Franciscans respectively. ¹ There were
also at least two hospitals within the burgh of Stirling, ² as well as another at Strathblane of
which little is known. ³
Of the religious houses which, although lying outside the county, yet possessed property
within it, the most important was Holyrood Abbey. From the time of its foundation in the
reign of David I, Holyrood began to acquire property and rights within Stirlingshire, and was
soon in possession of very considerable grants of land in the eastern part of the county,
especially in the parishes of Grangemouth, Airth, Larbert and Falkirk. It also possessed the
churches of Airth and Falkirk. ⁴ The Cistercian house of Newbattle also held lands in the
carse of Falkirk together with a number of salt-pans; these possessions were not, however, as
extensive as those of Holyrood, and by an agreement of 1237 all the Newbattle properties
"In Carso de Kalentyr" (Callendar) were let in feu-ferme to the canons of Holyrood. ⁵ Newbattle
also held lands at Kinnaird and Stenhouse. ⁶ The Benedictine house of Dunfermline also had
interests within the county, among them grants of land at Cambusbarron and St. Ninians and
the possession of the Church of the Holy Rude, Stirling. ⁷ Finally, it may be noted that a
number of religious houses had tenements in the burgh of Stirling, while some possessed
salt-pans in the Forth estuary.
The greatest of the secular lordships, at least in early mediaeval times, was the earldom of
Lennox, ⁸ which embraced, besides most of Dunbartonshire, the Stirlingshire parishes of
Baldernock, Balfron, Buchanan, Campsie, Drymen, Fintry, Killearn, Kilsyth and Strathblane.
The chief stronghold of the earldom was the Royal Castle of Dumbarton, which the Earls of
Lennox held as Keepers for the Crown, while in Stirlingshire the earldom included the castles
of Mugdock and Ballagan (cf. Nos. 207 and 219); Mugdock, however, soon passed into the
hands of the Grahams. The fortunes of the house suffered a sharp reverse with the execution
of Duncan, 8th Earl of Lennox, by James I in 1425; Isabella, daughter of the 8th Earl and
Duchess of Albany by marriage, was allowed to retain possession of the Lennox estates, but
her death without heirs in 1458 led eventually to the partition of the earldom. One of the
co-heirs, Elizabeth Menteith, a great-granddaughter of the 8th Earl, brought considerable
estates in the parishes of Balfron and Drymen ⁹ into the possession of the Napier family by
her marriage to John Napier of Merchiston. Most of the remaining Stirlingshire property,
together with the title, fell to John Stewart of Darnley, another descendant of Duncan,
8th Earl of Lennox. Matthew Stewart, 4th (Stewart) Earl of Lennox, was assassinated in 1571,
and the earldom was later granted by James VI to his cousin Esmé Stewart, a grandson of
John, 3rd Earl of Lennox. This line became extinct in 1672 and the estates reverted to
Charles II, by whom they were granted to his illegitimate son, Charles, the ancestor of the
present Dukes of Richmond and Gordon. The Lennox estates, however, were sold in 1703
to James Graham, 4th Marquess of Montrose, the representative of a family which had been
increasing its influence in western Stirlingshire since the 13th century. Another branch of
the Lennox family, that of Balcorrach and Woodhead, is mentioned under No. 205.
1Easson, Religious Houses, 102 and 113.
2 Ibid., 157.
3 Ibid., 158.
4 Holyrood, passim, and especially Appendix II, No. 37.
5 Newbattle, No. 160.
6 Ibid., Nos. 211 to 219.
7 Dunfermline, passim.
8 On which see Fraser, The Lennox, passim.
9 Cf. also Lennox, xiv.
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INTRODUCTION : GENERAL
The first of the Grahams ¹ to hold lands in Stirlingshire seems to have been Sir David
de Graham, who received grants of the lands of Mukraw, Killearn and Strathblane from the
Earl of Lennox about the middle of the 13th century. This property was the nucleus of the
barony of Mugdock, and succeeding members of the family soon added to their possessions
in the this part of the county; the standing of the Grahams in the 14th century is well demonstrated
by their erection of the powerful castle of Mugdock at this time (cf. No. 207). Early in the
15th century Sir William de Graham acquired from Duncan, Earl of Lennox, the superiority
of Mugdock and of the other family estates in the Lennox, and these were erected into a barony
in 1458. The family retained its Stirlingshire estates until the forfeiture of the great Marquess
in 1645, when the barony of Mugdock was granted to the Marquess of Argyll. These losses
were made good at the Restoration, and the 2nd Marquess took up residence at Mugdock
Castle, which he enlarged and improved; his son, however, purchased the barony of Buchanan
in 1680 and this eventually became the principal seat of the family. By this time the Grahams
were the largest landholders in the western part of the county, filling the place that had been
occupied in mediaeval times by the Earls of Lennox; as we have seen, the pre-eminence of
the house of Montrose was shown by the purchase of the remaining Lennox estates and
superiorities in Stirlingshire by James, the 4th Marquess, in 1703. The 2nd Duke of Montrose
increased his possessions about Buchanan, laying out the grounds there and adding to the
house. Buchanan remained the principal family seat in Stirlingshire until the present century,
Buchanan Old House (No. 329) having been replaced by Buchanan Castle in 1857.
The family of Buchanan, ² of which the senior branch was that of Buchanan of Buchanan,
was established in Stirlingshire at a very early date. The first member of the family of whom
there is definite record appears to have been Alan de Buchanan, who is mentioned in 1274;
Maurice of Buchanan had a charter of the lands of Buchanan and Sallochy from the Earl of
Lennox early in the 14th century, and this property, together with Auchmar, formed the basis
of the family's holding within the county. The Buchanans continued in possession of their
estates for about four centuries, but on the death of John Buchanan of that Ilk they passed by
purchase, as has been said, to James, 3rd Marquess of Montrose. Of the many other branches
of the family, perhaps the most notable was that of Drumakill, the founder of which, Thomas
Buchanan, was in possession of Drumakill and of part of the lands of Gartincaber, Lettre and
Carbeth at the end of the 15th century. George Buchanan, the historian, who was born in 1506,
was of this line of the family, being a younger son of Thomas Buchanan, 3rd of Drumakill. In
1669, William Buchanan, 11th of Drumakill, sold the estate to his nephew, buying in its place
the neighbouring property of Craigivairn, which remained with the Buchanans until the
beginning of the 19th century.
Another old-established family in the west of Stirlingshire is that of Edmonstone of
Duntreath. ³ Duntreath, which lay within the earldom of Lennox, was granted to William
Edmonstone by the Earl of Lennox before 1434 and was erected into a barony in 1452. The
family maintained its position until about the end of the 16th century, when it declined some-
what in prosperity; advantage was therefore taken of the Plantation of Ulster to acquire the
estate of Broadisland in Co. Antrim, where William Edmonstone of Duntreath settled in 1609.
1 On whom see The Scots Peerage, vi, 191 ff.
2 Strathendrick, 283 ff.
3 Edmonstone, A., Genealogical Account of the Family of Edmonstone of Duntreath, passim.
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INTRODUCTION : GENERAL
The family resided chiefly in Ireland for several generations, but the Irish estate was gradually
reduced and then finally sold at the end of the 18th century. Meanwhile the barony of Dun-
treath had been mortgaged to Sir William Livingstone of Kilsyth in 1614, largely to raise
money for the purchase of the Irish properties; the greater part of the family estates in
Stirlingshire, however, were redeemed by Archibald Edmonstone in 1630. Sir Archibald
Edmonstone, 1st Baronet, who sold the remains of the Irish property, purchased the estate of
Kilsyth in 1783 and took up residence at Colzium (cf. No. 204). Duntreath Castle, which had
been allowed to fall into decay during the 18th century, was restored by Sir Archibald
Edmonstone, 3rd Baronet, in 1857 and has since been the principal residence of the family
(cf. No. 209).
The most powerful family in eastern Stirlingshire was that of Livingstone, the senior
branch of which was Livingstone of Callendar. ¹ The early history of the family is uncertain,
but the founder of the house of Callendar in 1345-6; his marriage to Christian, daughter of
Patrick of Callendar, strengthened his claim to the property. In 1362 William further acquired
the lands of Kilsyth, which he was granted by Royal charter; this property did not remain
with the senior branch of the family, however, but passed at the beginning of the 15th century
to William Livingstone, the founder of the house of Kilsyth. Sir Alexander Livingstone, who
played an important part in national affairs during the minority of James II, was forfeited in
1450, but the family regained its estates a few years later, and in 1455 James Livingstone was
created a peer with the title of Lord Livingstone of Callendar. In 1458 the family estates were
erected into the barony of Callender; the Stirlingshire property included the lands of
Callendar, Airth, Slamannan Moor, Kilsyth, Polmaise and Livilands. Alexander, 7th Lord
Livingstone, who stood high in the favour of James VI, was created Earl of Linlithgow in
1601; his youngest son, James, a soldier of distinction, was created Lord Livingstone of
Almond in 1633 and Earl of Callendar in 1641. A large proportion of the Livingstone estates
in Stirlingshire, including the baronies of Callendar and Falkirk, passed to this branch of the
family, and it was no doubt the Earls of Callendar who extended Callendar House (No. 311),
making it the largest mansion in the county at that time. The titles of Linlithgow and
Callendar were united in 1695 when James, 4th Earl of Callendar, succeeded his uncle, the
4th Earl of Linlithgow; but both estates and titles were forfeited after the 1715 rebellion, in
which the family supported the Pretender.
As already mentioned, the founder of the house of Livingstone of Kilsyth ² was William
Livingstone, who received a grant of part of the lands of Kilsyth from his father, Sir John
Livingstone of Callendar, early in the 15th century. In 1540 the family's estates in Stirlingshire
and Berwickshire were incorporated into the barony of Wester Kilsyth, while Easter Kilsyth,
which had previously remained with the senior branch of the family, was granted to Sir
William Livingstone by Alexander, 1st Earl of Linlithgow, early in the 17th century. During
the same period the family also increased its Stirlingshire estates by the acquisition of the
barony of Herbertshire, the lands of Kincaid and Birdston and the temporary possession of
the barony of Duntreath. Soon after the Restoration, Sir James Livingstone was created
1 The Scots Peerage, v, 421 ff.; ii, 360 ff.; Livingston, E. B., The Livingstons of Callendar, 5 ff.
2 The Scots Peerage, v, 183 ff.; Livingston, E. B., op. cit., 157 ff.
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INTRODUCTION : GENERAL
Viscount of Kilsyth and Lord Campsie; during the 1715 rebellion, however, the Livingstones
of Kilsyth followed the senior branch of the family in supporting the cause of the Pretender,
and their estates and titles were subsequently forfeited. Other branches of the family in
Stirlingshire included the Livingstones of Haining (cf. No. 202), of Westquarter (cf. No. 396)
and of Dunipace (cf. No. 397).
Another family of note in eastern Stirlingshire was that of Bruce, the senior branch of
which was Bruce of Airth. ¹ The founder of this line was Alexander Bruce, second son of
Sir Robert de Brus of Clackmannan, who died before 1406. The family seems at first to have
been styled indifferently "of Stenhouse" and "of Airth" and it is uncertain which of these two
estates formed their principal seat. In the second half of the 16th century Sir Alexander Bruce
alienated a considerable amount of family property, while his grandson John sold the remainder
of the estate to the Earl of Linlithgow before 1620; Stenhouse, however, passed to John's
brother William in 1611. Airth was regained in the middle of the 17th century. but in the
absence of male heirs soon passed to the families of Elphinstone of Calderhall and of Dundas.
William Bruce, the founder of the house of Stenhouse, ² was created a baronet of Nova Scotia
in 1629. He built the mansion of Stenhouse (No. 200), where the family continued to reside
until recent years. The founder of the house of Bruce of Kinnaird ³ was Edward Bruce, third
son of Alexander Bruce of Stenhouse and Airth, who received a charter of the lands of Kinnaird
from the Abbot of Newbattle in 1499. At the end of the 16th century, however, Edward Bruce,
3rd of Kinnaird, being in embarrassed circumstances, sold the property to Sir Alexander
Bruce of Airth, who granted it to his second son, Robert, the founder of the second family of
Kinnaird. Robert Bruce became a minister of the Reformed Church and played an important
part in the ecclesiastical affairs of his time. On the death of Alexander Bruce in 1711, without
male heirs, the estate passed to his daughter Helen, from whom was descended James Bruce of
Kinnaird, the Abyssinian traveller. Among the other branches of the Bruce family in Stirling-
shire were those of Auchenbowie (No. 296), of Powfoulis (No. 304) and of Newton (No. 306).
The connection of the Elphinstone family ⁴ with Stirlingshire goes back to the early 14th
century, when John of Elphinstone acquired some property near Airth by his marriage with
Marjorie, heiress of Little Airth. About 1397 the lands of Pendreich, near Bridge of Allan,
were granted to Sir William Elphinstone by William Lindsay of the Byres, but the principal
seat of the family was at Elphinstone in East Lothian. Following the death of Alexander
Elphinstone in 1435, however, a dispute arose as to the succession, and the family estates were
eventually divided, those in East Lothian going to Agnes Elphinstone, the ancestress of the
Johnstones of Elphinstone, while the Stirlingshire property fell to Henry Elphinstone, Sir
Alexander's brother. Henry Elphinstone styled himself "of Pendreich", but in 1504, Sir John
Elphinstone, his grandson and successor, received a charter by which his estates in Stirlingshire
and Perthshire were erected into the barony of Elphinstone; this included the barony of
Airth ⁵ and the lands of Craigorth, now Craigforth, which he had previously received from
Patrick, Lord Lindsay of the Byres. In the early 16th century, Alexander Elphinstone, besides
greatly extending the family estates by the acquisition of lands in Aberdeenshire, also increased
1 Armstrong, W. Bruce, The Bruces of Airth and their Cadets, 12 ff.; The Scots Peerage, iii, 469.
2 Armstrong, W. Bruce, op. cit., 93 ff.
3 Ibid., 67 ff.
4 Fraser, W., The Lords Elphinstone of Elphinstone, passim.
5 Part of the lands of Airth, however, together with Airth Castle, were in the possession of the Bruces of Airth (supra).
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INTRODUCTION : GENERAL
his holding in Stirlingshire to include parts of the lands of Carnock, Plean and Gargunnock.
In 1510 Alexander was created Lord Elphinstone on the occasion of the baptism of Prince
Arthur. During the 16th century the family built a castle on their Elphinstone estate (cf.
No. 198), while another evidence of their prosperity is the fine series of late 16th- and early
17th-century tombstones that remains in the Elphinstone aisle at the old parish church of
Airth (No. 137). By the middle of the 17th century, however, the financial position of the
family had become unstable and the estate began to break up, parts of the lands of Airth being
sold to Captain Alexander Bruce, who was seeking at that time to retrieve the fortunes of the
Bruces of Airth. At the end of the 17th century the barony of Elphinstone was sold to a cadet
of the family, Richard Elphinstone of Calderhall; Charles, 9th Lord Elphinstone, managed to
regain part of the property, but soon after the middle of the 18th century the lands and barony
of Elphinstone were acquired by the Earl of Dunmore, whose name they now bear.
The Stirling family was represented in the county by three main branches, those of
Craigbarnet,¹ Glorat ² and Garden. ³ John Stirling of Craigbarnet was in possession of lands
in the parish of Campsie about the middle of the 15th century; his son John, who was knighted,
was Comptroller of the Household to James IV and Keeper of Dumbarton Castle. Apart from
a short period in the 18th century when the property passed to another branch of the Stirlings,
Craigbarnet remained in the direct line of the family until the death of John Stirling, 9th of
Craigbarnet, in 1805. Sir John Stirling, 2nd of Craigbarnet, had acquired the lands of Glorat,
which lie about four miles east of Craigbarnet, in 1508, and these were almost immediately
granted to his son William, the founder of the house of Glorat. George Stirling, 8th of Glorat,
was created a baronet in 1666, and the family has retained its Stirlingshire estates up to the
present day. The Stirlings of Garden are a branch of the family of Stirling of Keir, Sir John
Stirling, 1st of Garden, having obtained the estate from his father, Sir Archibald Stirling of
Keir, in 1613. Before this the lands of Garden were in the possession of the Forrester (Forestar)
family. James Stirling, a younger son of Archibald Stirling, 3rd of Garden, was an eminent
mathematician; he also played an important part in the development, in the middle of the
18th century, of the Scots Mining Company at Leadhills. The family also possessed the
estate of Steuarthall (No. 293), a little to the east of Stirling, and frequently resided there;
the old tower of Garden was removed in the 18th century and a new house was built, which in
turn was greatly extended and altered by James Stirling, 6th of Garden, in the 19th century
(cf. No. 338). Another branch of this family in Stirlingshire is that of Stirling of Muiravonside
(cf. No. 316).
The Stirlingshire interests of the Napier ⁴ family originated in the marriage of John Napier
of Merchiston to Elizabeth, one of the heiresses of the Lennox earldom, some time after 1455.
Elizabeth's share of the Lennox estates included the lands of Gartness, Dalnair, Blairour,
Gartocharn, Ballochairn and Edinbelly, all of which were incorporated in the barony of
Edinbelly Napier in 1509. The most celebrated member of the family was John Napier, the
inventor of logarithms, who was born in 1550. After completing his studies he settled at
Gartness and devoted himself to the study of mathematics and the Scriptures; his Description
of the marvellous Canon of Logarithms was published in 1614. John Napier's eldest son
1 Fraser, W., The Stirlings of Keir, 127 ff.
2 Ibid., 137 ff.
3 Ibid., 83 ff.
4 The Scots Peerage, vi, 402 ff. Cf. also Strathendrick, 175 ff.
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INTRODUCTION : GENERAL
Archibald was created Lord Napier of Merchiston in 1627 and from him the present family of
Napier and Ettrick is descended in the female line. The Stirlingshire property did not, however,
remain in the hands of the senior branch of the family, some of it being alienated and some
passing to the Napiers of Culcreuch ¹ of which branch the founder was Robert Napier, second
son of John Napier the mathematician. This line continued in possession of Culcreuch until
the end of the 18th century.
Many other families, which cannot be discussed in detail here, were Stirlingshire land-
holders to a greater or lesser extent; a brief account of most of these families is given in the
text. Such were the Galbraiths of Balgair (cf. No. 333), of Culcreuch (cf. No. 213) and of
Craigmaddie (cf. No. 206), the Hamiltons of Bardowie (cf. No. 208), the McFarlanes of
Ballencleroch (cf. No. 325), the Kincaids of that Ilk (cf. No. 321), the Leckies of that Ilk
(cf. No. 343), the MacLachlans of Auchentroig (cf. No. 336), the Setons of Touch (cf. No. 345),
the Patersons of Bannockburn (cf. No. 295) and the Monros of Auchenbowie (cf. No. 296).
4. THE BURGHS
(i) The Burgh of Stirling. The proximity of Stirling Rock to an important river-crossing no
doubt encouraged settlement from the earliest times, and David I's foundation of the Burgh
of Stirling about 1125 ² should be regarded as the grant of a new status to an already existing
community. The geographical factors that contributed to the development of the Castle
(cf. p. 4) also favoured the rise of the burgh; in particular the importance of the possession
of a harbour is brought out in some of the earliest surviving charters that relate to the town. ³
In 1226 a charter of Alexander II granted to the burgesses the right to have a merchant guild
and to hold a weekly market, while in the following year they were given exemption from toll
and custom on their goods throughout the kingdom. ⁴ In 1386 the burgh received a charter of
feu-ferme, which allowed the burgesses to pay a fixed annual sum to the Exchequer instead of
accounting separately for the various burgh dues. ⁵ An annual trade fair was held in September,
and to this privilege there was added in 1447 the right of holding a second fair during the
octave of the Ascension. ⁶ Another important privilege was granted by a charter of James IV
in 1501, whereby the burgh was exempted from the jurisdiction of the sheriff and was erected
into a sheriffdom within itself. ⁷ In 1641 the burgh's privileges were confirmed by a charter of
Charles I and the town was re-erected into a free Royal burgh; ⁸ this charter mentions the
right to hold two weekly markets and four annual fairs, specifying, besides the two already
mentioned, a fair in July and another in October, of which the latter had been held since the
16th century ⁹.
Little information is available as to the nature or extent of the trade carried on in Stirling
in early mediaeval times. Apart from cloth, the principal items of export were probably wool,
hides and fish,¹⁰ and the burgh's fishing-rights in the Forth were a constant source of con-
1 Cf. Strathendrick, 179 ff.
2 Stirling Charters, No. I.
3 Ibid., Nos. II and V.
4 Ibid., Nos. VII and VIII.
5 Ibid., No. XVI.
6 Ibid., No. XX.
7 Ibid., No. XXXIII.
8 Ibid., No. LV.
9 Ibid., No. L.
10 Ibid., No. XII.
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INTRODUCTION : GENERAL
troversy with the Abbey of Cambuskenneth which possessed privileges of a similar sort. ¹ The
direct sea-going trade was hampered by the fact that the burgh lay at the extreme tidal limit
of the Forth, with the result that large boats could not reach the town. In the 17th century,
at least, it is said that "the shallownesse of the river, with the windeings thereof, makeing the
way long, and not permitting a boat of burthen to passe up soe high, all goods are entred first
and cleered belowe at Burrostonesse [Bo'ness], and thence afterward carryed up in small
boates, as the merchant hath occasion for them". ² Apart from the merchant guild, which
controlled the affairs of the burgh, the incorporated trades were those of Hammermen,
Weavers, Tailors, Cordiners, Fleshers, Skinners, Baxters and Maltmen. The annual sum of
£16 sterling, for which the burgh was set in feu-ferme in 1386, ³ suggests that, in economic
importance at least, Stirling then ranked only with such burghs as Montrose and Haddington,
rather than with Aberdeen, Berwick, Perth and Edinburgh, ⁴ though feu-ferme payments
are not infallible criteria of burghal prosperity, and it is also possible that the recent
burning of the town (infra) may have led to a rather lower assessment for the purpose of
feu-ferme than would otherwise have been the case; but that the prosperity of the burgh had
increased by the end of the following century is demonstrated by the numbers of wealthy
burgesses who were in a position to contribute to the erection of a New Parish Church, and to
endow chapels within it (cf. p. 130). Thus in 1477 the burgesses numbered upwards of a
hundred and twenty, ⁵ although this figure would have to be multiplied by about six or seven ⁶
to arrive at an estimate of the total population of the burgh, ⁷ and the evidence of the stent rolls,
which now become available for the first time, indicate that in economic importance Stirling
then ranked about eighth or ninth among Scottish burghs. ⁸
In late mediaeval times the principal items of export are said to have been shalloon, worsted
cloth, stockings, thread and serge, the bulk of the trade being with the Low Countries. ⁹ A
return of 1692 states that the entire extent of the town's foreign trade was less than 20, 000
merks per annum and that there was no inland trade at all ¹⁰ ; this estimate of the rather limited
importance of Stirling as a trading centre in the 17th century is confirmed by The Statistical
Account of Scotland. ¹¹ In the 18th century, however, the manufacture of tartan and of carpets
was begun, and these industries developed in the 19th century; cotton and woollen goods
were also produced at this period and there was a considerable trade in leather. ¹²
It was not, in fact, to its function as a trading centre but to its connection with the Castle
that the burgh of Stirling owed its position in mediaeval times. The importance of Stirling
Castle as a seat of the Court, and as an occasional meeting-place of Parliament, inevitably
increased the prestige of the burgh, and encouraged the nobility and gentry to build houses
within it. From the reign of Alexander I, who died there in 1124, the Castle served as a Royal
residence from time to time (cf. pp. 179 ff.); James III and his successors made it a principal
seat, and most of the buildings within the Castle were completed within the century following
1 Ibid., e.g. No. XXXII.
2 Hume Brown, P., Early Travellers in Scotland, 168.
3 Stirling Charters, No. XVI.
4 Cf. Dickinson, W. C., Early Records of the Burgh of Aberdeen, S.H.S., 1xxv.
5 Stirling Council Records, i, App. I, No. 32.
6 Cf. Dickinson, op. cit., xlv, on Aberdeen.
7 Stirling Council Records, i, 59. Cf. also Dickinson, op. cit., xlvi f.
8 Records of the Conventions of the Royal Burghs of Scotland, i, 514 f., 518 ff.
9 Stat. Acct., viii (1793), 283; Nimmo, History (1880 ed.), 369.
10 Miscellany of the Scottish Burgh Records Society, 67.
11 Vol. viii (1793), 283.
12 N.S.A., viii (Stirlingshire), 430 f.
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INTRODUCTION : GENERAL
James's accession in 1460. During the 16th century Stirling was the scene of the coronations
of James V and of Mary, of the baptism and coronation of James VI, and of the birth and
baptism of Prince Henry, as well as of many of the more important political events associated
with these reigns. Not much is known of conditions within the burgh at this period, but the
indications are that, just as the Court was most closely associated with the Castle in the late
15th and 16th centuries, so the status of the burgh was highest at this time.
After the Union of the Crowns in 1603 the Castle ceased to be a Royal residence, and in
consequence the political importance of the burgh declined and it became little more than a
county town with a modest reputation as a trading port. To Thomas Tucker, in 1655, it was
"a pretty burgh, famous for the strength of the castle and bridge", ¹ while John Ray, visiting
the town in about 1662, described it as "an indifferently handsome town", with "a good
market-place" and "two palaces". ² This last reference is evidently to Argyll's Lodging and
Mar's Work (cf. Nos. 227 and 230).
(ii) The Smaller Burghs. The only other burghs in Stirlingshire that are of any antiquity
are those of Airth (No. 251). Falkirk (No. 252) and Kilsyth (No. 254). Airth was erected into a
Royal burgh in the reign of William the Lion, but the foundation must have been a failure as
nothing is heard of the burgh in mediaeval times. ³ In 1597, however, it was erected into a
burgh of barony ⁴ and began to develop as a seaport. In consequence, the new town of Lower
Airth was founded, about the beginning of the 18th century, on a site adjacent to the harbour,
while the old town, which stood on the Hill of Airth, was gradually abandoned.
Falkirk's history ⁵ is complicated by the fact that, before 1606, part of it stood on Callendar
land and part on what had once been the property of Holyrood Abbey. In 1600 the Callendar
portion was erected into a burgh of barony, and in 1606 the Earl of Linlithgow, its superior
acquired some lands which included the former Holyrood portion of the town and had them
erected into the barony of Falkirk. Then in 1643 the Earl of Callendar obtained a charter
which erected the baronies of Callendar, Falkirk and Ogilface into a free regality, the effect of
which would seem to be that the Callendar portion of the town, already a burgh of barony
since 1600, became a burgh of regality. The town's rapid expansion as an industrial and
commercial centre in the late 18th and early 19th century was emphasised by its creation as a
Parliamentary burgh in 1832.
Kilsyth was the last burgh of barony to be established in Scotland, its foundation dating
only from the year 1826. ⁶
1 Hume, Brown, P., Early Travellers in Scotland, 168.
2 Ibid., 236.
3 Dickinson, op. cit., xxiii.
4 R.M.S., vi (1593-1608), No. 634.
5 This account follows P.F.A.N.H.S., ii (1936-7), 33 ff.
6 Mackenzie, W. M., The Scottish Burghs, 80.
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PART II. THE MONUMENTS
As more than half the total area of Stirlingshire is occupied by the inhospitable hilly
regions described in Part I, I, above, human habitation has been confined, from the
earliest times, to the intervening valleys or to the small plain that borders the right
bank of the lower reaches of the River Forth. Consequently, it is only in and around these
restricted areas that the monuments are to be found.
Many of the early monuments included in this Inventory are either recorded here for the
first time or have been re-discovered from obscure or forgotten sources. For example, of the
twelve hill-forts the remains of which are substantial enough to be worth planning, only three
were marked on the O.S. maps. Of the remaining nine, however, as many as six have at one
time or another been mentioned in various works but have subsequently been lost to view.
It has, in addition, been possible to re-classify several recorded monuments in the light of
recent research. Many of the new discoveries, such as the fort on Dunmore (No. 77), have been
due to the examination of air-photographs of the National Survey; while some crop-sites,
both native (e.g. No. 106) and Roman (e.g. Nos. 119-121), have been located and photographed
from the air by Dr. J. K. S. St. Joseph, Curator in Aerial Photography, University of
Cambridge.
1. THE MESOLITHIC PERIOD
The Mesolithic relics occurring in the northern part of Britain ¹ include a number from the
county of Stirling. They were found, in every case by chance, at various depths in the clay
in the valley of the River Forth. In this area pollen analysis and stratigraphical investigations
have shown that the lowest layers consist of a bedrock of sandstone covered by boulder clay,
on which a layer of Late Glacial marine beds deposited by an early incursion of the sea and,
above this, a layer of Boreal peat. In the lower part of the valley, as far up as a point somewhere
between the Blairdrummond and Flanders Mosses, the Boreal peat is in turn overlaid by
Atlantic clay, which provides an indication of the extent of the main local advance of the
marine transgression of the Atlantic period that led to the formation of the Late Post-Glacial
Sea. ² It was in the vicinity of the raised beach of this sea, or on its bed, that the Mesolithic
relics, together with others possibly attributable to the same period, were found. They can be
classed as follows:
(a) Implements of red-deer antler and of bone, which have been identified as blubber
mattocks, together with worked branches of antlers, have been discovered in close association
with bones of whales which, with other skeletal remains, have been found in the clay in several
places in the neighbourhood of Stirling.³ No precise date can be assigned to the antler
1 See, for example, P.P.S., new series xxi (1955), 13.
2 Lacaille, The Stone Age in Scotland (1954), 53 ff.; Proceedings of the Geological Association, xxxviii (1927), 486 ff.; The Scottish
Geographical Magazine, lxxiv, No. I (1958), 47.
3 P.R.I.A., lvi (1953-4), Section C, 90.
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INTRODUCTION : THE MESOLITHIC PERIOD
[Map inserted ]
Distribution Map of Mesolithic Relics
Fig. 1
implements in the total absence of any associated finds such as flint tools.¹ It has, however,
been observed that while antler adzes are characteristic of early Ertebølle types, antler axes -
and specifically the type with the perforation through the stump of the tine - belong among
the later ones. ² If the Meiklewood antler axe is a late Ertebølle type, it might well have been
in use in Sub-Boreal times, ³ the transition to which of the sub-Atlantic period has recently
been provisionally computed by the radio-carbon method at about 3000 B.C. ⁴ No Mesolithic
occupation has, however, yet been discovered in the vicinity of these finds. Several pieces of
the skeletons of whales have been found throughout the area unaccompanied by man-made
relics.
(b) Certain of the extensive shell-heaps that lie near the right bank of the estuary of the
River Forth may date from this period, ⁵ but as no dateable objects have been found within
them (cf. No. 1), their attribution must remain uncertain.
(c) Dug-out canoes have been excavated from considerable depths in the lower Carron and
Forth valleys. ⁶ It is possible that one or more of these may date from this period, although no
positive evidence has yet been adduced.
All the relics of the three classes referred to above are plotted on the distribution map
(Fig. 1) as follows:
1 Childe, V. G., The Prehistory of Scotland (1935), 18; Antiquity, xxi (1947), 92, 93, fig. 4; P.R.I.A., as cited, 100, where
consideration is given to the relationship between the culture of the whale hunters of the Stirlingshire carse and that of the
Argyll strand-loopers of the Obanian culture.
2 Danske Oldsager, i (1948), 62.
3 Cf. P.P.S., xvi (1950), 87 ff.
4 P.R.S., B, 147 (1957), 352 ff.; University of Cambridge, Botany, Sub-department of Quaternary Research, Twelfth Report,
3. The latter publication states that "The earliest elm decline, which corresponds with the beginning of Neolithic husbandry,
was identified palynologically ... in Flander's (sic) Moss, Stirlingshire, and was also proved by radio-carbon dating to have been
about 3000 B.C. This is the same age as the early Neolithic reported ... from the English Fenland".
5 P.S.A.S., lxxx (1945-6), 137.
6 Nichols, J., Bibliotheca Topographica Britannica, No. ii, Part iii (1782), 241; Forsyth, R., The Beauties of Scotland (1806), iii,
419.
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INTRODUCTION : THE NEOLITHIC PERIOD
NO. -- OBJECT -- LOCALITY -- REFERENCES
1 -- Bones of whale -- Cardross -- Antiquity, xxi (1947), 84 ff.
2 -- Bones of whale -- Ballinton -- Antiquity, xxi (1947), 84 ff.
3 -- Bones of whale, antler axe, wood handle -- Blair Drummond -- Antiquity, xxi (1947), 84 ff.
4 -- * Bones of whale, antler axe, wood handle -- Woodyett, Meiklewood -- Antiquity, xxi (1947), 84 ff.
5 -- Bones of whale -- West Carse -- Antiquity, xxi (1947), 84 ff.
6 -- Bones of whale, wood handle -- Cornton, Causewayhead -- Antiquity, xxi (1947), 84 ff.
7 -- Worked antler point -- Stirling Bridge -- Lacaille, The Stone Age in Scot-
land (1954) 172, fig. 65, 3.
8 -- Bones of whale, worked antler point -- Causewayhead -- Antiquity, xxi (1947), 84 ff.
9 -- Bones of whale -- Cow Park, Stirling -- Antiquity, xxi (1947), 84 ff.
10 -- Bones of whale -- Cow Park, Stirling -- Antiquity, xxi (1947), 84 ff.
11 -- Bones of whale -- Forthbank -- Antiquity, xxi (1947), 84 ff.
12 -- Bones of whale, antler axe -- Airthrey -- Antiquity, xxi (1947), 84 ff.
13 -- Bones of whale -- Dunmore -- Antiquity, xxi (1947), 84 ff.
14 -- Bones of whale -- Dunmore -- Antiquity, xxi (1947), 84 ff.
15 -- Bones of whale -- Dunmore -- Antiquity, xxi (1947), 84 ff.
16 -- Bones of whale -- Dunmore -- Antiquity, xxi (1947), 84 ff.
17 -- Bones of whale -- Falkirk -- N.S.A., viii (Stirlingshire), 12.
18 -- Bones of whale -- Grangemouth -- Antiquity, xxi (1947), 84 ff.
19 -- Bone axe -- Grangemouth -- Lacaille, The Stone Age in Scot-
land (1954), 173, fig. 66.
20 -- Shell-heap -- Mumrills -- P.S.A.S. lxxx (1945-6), 137.
21 -- Shell-heap -- Polmonthill -- Ibid., 135 ff.
22 -- Shell-heap -- Inveravon -- P.S.A.S., ix (1870-2) 45 ff.
* In the Anatomy Museum, University of Edinburgh.
2. THE NEOLITHIC PERIOD
West Stirlingshire lies on the north-east flank of the main area penetrated by the builders of
the Clyde-Carlingford chambered cairns, ¹ dateable not later than the middle of the third
millennium B.C.; and sufficient structures of this type have been located further north in Central
Scotland (Fig. 2) to show that the settlements of these peoples extended as far as upper
Strathtay. ² The ruinous cairn on Stockie Muir (No. 12), together with four others now largely
destroyed (cf. Nos. 32, 35, 36), are the Stirlingshire representatives of these settlements.
In addition to such monuments, the presence of these stone-using agricultural communities
is further attested by widely distributed small finds. Several sherds of Western Neolithic
pottery were excavated at Bantaskine, near Falkirk, and one of secondary Neolithic at
Mumrills ³ ; as no associated burials were recorded when these were found, it is possible that
they may mark domestic sites. Both places are a few mile north-west of the Neolithic
monument on Cairnpapple Hill, West Lothian. ⁴ In addition, numerous stone axe-heads have
1 P.S.A.S., lxxxiii (1948-9), 103 ff.
2 Ibid., lxxxviii, 112 ff. The Commissioners are indebted to the authors of this paper and to Mr. J. G. Scott for additional
information which has been incorporated in Fig. 2 and used in this section.
3 Ibid., l (1915-6), 255; lxiii (1928-9), 35, 56 f., 81 f., 544 and fig. 107.
4 Ibid., lxxxii (1947-8), 68 ff.
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INTRODUCTION : THE NEOLITHIC PERIOD
[Map inserted]
Fig. 2 Distribution map of Clyde-Carlingford chambered cairns in Central Scotland
been found in the county, and a ceremonial axe-blade made of a stone resembling jadeite
(Pl. 2B) was picked up at Stirling. ¹ Apart from the henge monument on Cairncapple Hill,
the nearest known Neolithic monument to east Stirlingshire is the henge at Balfarg, Fife, ²
distant thirty miles to the east-north-east of Stirling, while the nearest to the west may be the
earthwork, possibly a henge, at Shiels Farm, Govan, ³ which has been recorded as a crop-mark
but not, as yet, proved. These monuments, however, together with those at Weston in
Lanarkshire, Overhowden in Berwickshire ⁴ and at places further north, ⁵ attest the presence
throughout the whole region in Neolithic times of a widespread if small population such as is
suggested by the scatter of relics in Stirlingshire.
1 P.S.A.S., lxxxiii (1948-9), 137, 158.
2 Ibid., lxxxiv (1949-50), 58.
3 Discovery and Excavation, Scotland, 1957, 18.
4. Ibid., 59.
5 Ibid., 57.
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INTRODUCTION : THE BRONZE AGE
The Neolithic monuments and relics are plotted on the distribution map (Fig. 3) as
follows:
1. Clyde-Carlingford chambered cairn, Stockie Muir (No. 12).
2. Chambered cairn, remains of, Cameron Muir (No. 36).
3. Chambered cairn, approximate site of, Craigmaddie Muir (No. 32).
4. Chambered cairn, approximate site of, Craigmaddie Muir INo. 32).
5. Chambered cairn, approximate site of, Strathblane (No. 35).
6. Western Neolithic pottery find, Bantaskine.
7. Secondary Neolithic pottery find, Mumrills.
3. THE BRONZE AGE
The monuments and relics that date from the Bronze Age occur mostly in three areas within
the county. The largest of these assemblages, in the vicinity of Stirling, and the smallest, in
the lower Carron valley, suggest an extension of the colonisation from the east coast by means
of estuary and river highways that has been noted further to the south. ¹ The third group lies
in upper Strathblane and the adjacent part of the valley of the River Kelvin, ² and forms part
of a broad group of monuments and relics of the Bronze Age centred round the estuary and
the lower valley of the River Clyde. These three main concentrations indicate that in the
Bronze Age the population had increased and expanded beyond the areas occupied in
Neolithic times, while a thin spread of remains also appears in the upper reaches of the Rivers
Forth and Carron and of the Endrick Water, and in the lower part of the valley of the River
Avon. Crouched burials in cists are recorded from all these areas. Most of the cairns are on
open cultivable ground, and may have been close to or within areas of settlement.
Four Beakers have been found in Stirlingshire, one of Class B and three of Class C ³ : two
of them were found in cists in cairns, both probably in secondary burials (Nos. 2 and 6), one
at Shankhead farm (Pl. 2A), and the other (No. 270 in the P.S.A.S. reference just quoted),
a chance find, from the area between the village of Cambusbarron and the south-west
margin of the plateau of King's Park, Stirling. Imprecise records exist of the discovery of
numerous burials and relics of the Bronze Age in this ground, including, in addition to the
Beaker, at least 5 Food Vessels, five Cinerary Urns and five cists.
The exact circumstances in which four of the Food Vessels from the Cambusbarron site
and one from the Touch estate were found are not recorded; the fifth from Cambusbarron,
like one of the two from Camelon and the one from Glenorchard in the south-west of the
county, was in a cist. The other Food Vessel from Camelon was not in a cist. The Cinerary
Urns occur in both the north-east and the south-west concentrations. A battle-axe and a large
stone knife were recovered from the cairn-burial at Craigengelt (No. 9); but the gold objects,
now lost, that were found at the same time seem, from the description, to have been of much
later date.⁴ The only gold object recorded in Stirlingshire that can be assigned to the Bronze
Age is the armlet from Bonnyside (Pl. 4E). This is a massive article of round section, with
1 Inventory of Roxburghshire, p. 11.
2 P.S.A.S., lxix (1934-5), 352 ff.; T.G.A.S., ix (1940), Pt. IV, 309 ff.
3 P.S.A.S., lxviii (1933-4), 186, No. 250; ibid., 188, No. 270; T.S.N.H.A.S., xlix (1926-7), 91 ff., and unpublished.
4 Annals, i, 405 f.
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[Map Inserted]
DISTRIBUTION MAP OF NEOLITHIC & BRONZE AGE MONUMENTS & RELICS
Fig. 3 |
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| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_058 |
INTRODUCTION : THE BRONZE AGE
slight terminals expanded regularly all round; weighing 202·4 grammes, it is generally similar,
though undecorated, to the largest object in the Downpatrick gold find, ¹ a bracelet of Type 1
weighing 267·8 grammes. Among the very few bronze objects on record from Stirlingshire are
the blade of a flat riveted dagger from Blochairn, a decorated flanged axe from Bannockburn
and a socketed axe from Carronvale. Two Italian boat-shaped brooches (Pl. 4 A-D), from "near
Castlecary" and "near Falkirk" respectively, might possibly represent articles of trade dating
from the 9th or 8th centuries B.C. ²
Cup-and-ring markings are represented by two on living rock (Nos. 42, 43), and three on
blocks found among the fallen masonry of the broch in Tor Wood (No. 44 and Pl. 2C and D). ³
No stone circles are recorded in Stirlingshire, but standing stones occur either singly, as
for example the three in Logie parish (Nos. 46, 47, 48), or in a pair, as at Waterhead (No. 61),
or in a row, as at Dumgoyach (No. 58). Cists were recorded as having been found at the bases
of the Waterhead pair, but their contents, if any, were unfortunately not preserved.
A timber-framed house of Bronze-Age type was found to have preceded the Early Iron Age
house in the West Plean homestead (No. 104). No evidence is yet available from which the
date of any of the unenclosed hut-circles in Stirlingshire can be deduced with certainty, but
they too are likely for the most part to be of the Bronze Age.
The list that follows includes all the pottery as well as the gold and bronze objects of the
Bronze Age that have been found in the county. ⁴ It is regrettable that whereas four Beakers,
nine Food Vessels and eight Cinerary Urns - twenty-one vessels in all - can be identified
without question, as many as twelve other vessels are lost and have only been recorded as
"urns". But in view of the likelihood that in most if not all cases these were of Bronze Age
types, and in consideration of the proportion that they bear to the known specimens, they have
been included on the map as "urns, type unrecorded".
1 Proudfoot, V. B., Archaeological Research Publications (Northern Ireland), No. 3 (1955), 15 and pl. I, 9.
2 NMA Nos. FG 4 (Castlecary) and FG 5 (Falkirk). Dr. D.B. Harden, O.B.E., F.S.A., in a letter which anticipates a further
publication on such fibulae, states that more than eighty have now been listed from the British Isles and that, in individual cases,
the possibility exists that such a fibula might have been a genuine ancient import.
3 P.S.A.S., vi (1864-6), Appendix (1867), pl. xix, 1-3.
4 A number of faked bronze axes have been detected among specimens alleged to have been found in Stirlingshire. They include
(a) two flat axes (NMA No. DA 83; P.S.A.S., lvi (1921-2), 17; Smith Institute Catalogue No. AI 2); (b) five flanged axes (NMA
No. DC 100; P.S.A.S., loc. cit,; NMA Nos. DQ 120, 121, 122; P.S.A.S., xx (1885-6), 12; Falkirk Burgh Museum No. B 8):
(c) two socketed axes (NMA No. DE 86; P.S.A.S., lvi (1921-2), 17; Smith Institute Catalogue No. AK 3).The Commissioners are
indebted to Mr. R. B. K. Stevenson, Keeper of the National Museum of Antiquities of Scotland, for the foregoing information.
LIST OF POTTERY AND GOLD AND BRONZE OBJECTS OF THE BRONZE AGE
FOUND IN STIRLINGSHIRE
The following abbreviations are used: FBM - Falkirk Burgh Museum; GAM - Glasgow Art Gallery and Museum,
Kelvingrove, Glasgow; HM - Hunterian Museum, Glasgow; NMA - National Museum of Antiquities of Scotland,
Edinburgh; SIS - Smith Institute, Stirling.
NO. -- OBJECT -- LOCALITY -- REMARKS -- REFERENCES -- PRESERVED
1 -- Beaker -- Cambusbarron -- Sand-pit -- P.S.A.S., lxviii (1933-4),
188, No. 270 -- SIS
2 -- Beaker -- Hill of Airthrey -- In cist in cairn, probably secondary -- P.S.A.S., lxviii (1933-4),
186, No. 250 -- Lost
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INTRODUCTION : THE BRONZE AGE
NO. -- OBJECT -- LOCALITY -- REMARKS -- REFERENCES -- PRESERVED
3 -- Beaker -- Cuparlaw Wood -- In cist in cairn -- T.S.N.H.A.S., xlix (1926-1927), 91 -- SIS
4 -- Beaker -- Shankhead -- With cremation in gravel -- Information from Miss D. M. Hunter -- FBM
5 -- Food Vessel -- Camelon -- In cist -- P.S.A.S., lvii (1922-3), 243 -- NMA
6 -- Food Vessel -- Camelon -- Not in cist -- P.S.A.S., lxx (1935-6), 276 -- FBM
7 -- Food Vessel -- Glenorchard House -- In cist -- P.S.A.S., lxxxv (1950-1) 184 -- NMA
8 -- Food vessel -- Touch estate -- [No remarks] -- Smith Institute Catalogue, No. AP 10 -- SIS
9 -- Food Vessel -- Cambusbarron -- [No remarks] -- Smith Institute Catalogue, No. AP 1 -- SIS
10 -- Food Vessel -- Cambusbarron -- [No remarks] -- Smith Institute Catalogue, No. AP 2 -- SIS
11 -- Food Vessel -- Cambusbarron -- [No remarks] -- Smith Institute Catalogue, No. AP 8 -- SIS
12 -- Food Vessel -- Cambusbarron -- [No remarks] -- P.S.A.S., iii (1857-60), 245 -- NMA
13 -- Food Vessel -- Cambusbarron -- In cist, with flint knife -- P.S.A.S., xxi (1886-7), 265 -- NMA
14 -- Cinerary Urn -- Cambusbarron -- [No remarks] -- Smith Institute Catalogue, No. AP 5. -- SIS
15 -- Cinerary Urn -- Cambusbarron -- One of these four contained a mace-head, another a piece of bronze plate -- P.S.A.S., v (1862-4), 213. -- NMA
16 -- Cinerary Urn -- Cambusbarron -- One of these four contained a mace-head, another a piece of bronze plate -- P.S.A.S., v (1862-4), 213. -- NMA
17 -- Cinerary Urn -- Cambusbarron -- One of these four contained a mace-head, another a piece of bronze plate -- P.S.A.S., v (1862-4), 213. -- NMA
18 -- Cinerary Urn -- Cambusbarron -- One of these four contained a mace-head, another a piece of bronze plate -- P.S.A.S., v (1862-4), 213. -- NMA
19 -- Cinerary Urn -- Airthrey -- In cist -- None -- HM
20 -- Cinerary Urn -- Strathblane -- [No remarks] -- P.S.A.S., xxxvi (1901-2), 592 -- NMA
21 -- Cinerary Urn -- West Carlestoun -- In cairn -- T.G.A.S., NS xiv (1956), 20 ff. -- GAM
22 -- "Urn" -- Lochlands -- At 857814 -- Ordnance Survey 6-in. sheet Stirlingshire xxiv, 1st Edition -- Lost
23 -- "Urn" -- Law, Torrance -- Probably Cinerary Urn -- Ordnance Survey 6-in. sheet Stirlingshire xxxii, 1st Edition -- Lost
24 -- "Urn" -- Bridge of Allan -- In cist (No. 16) -- P.S.A.S., vii (1866-8), 523 -- Lost
25 -- "Urn" -- Kippen -- Probably Cinerary Urn -- Stat. Acct., xviii (1796), 329 -- Lost
26 -- "Urn" -- Denny -- In cist (No. 20) -- N.S.A., viii (Stirlingshire), 380 -- Lost
27 -- "Urn" -- Queenzieburn -- In cairn (No. 37) -- Stat. Acct., xviii (1796), 214, 295 -- Lost
28 -- "Urn" -- Blochairn -- In cairn -- See No. 11 (ii) -- Lost
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INTRODUCTION : THE BRONZE AGE
NO. -- OBJECT -- LOCALITY -- REMARKS -- REFERENCES -- PRESERVED
29 -- "Urn" -- Blochairn -- In cairn -- See No. 11 (v) -- Lost
30 -- "Urn" -- Blochairn -- In cairn -- See No. 11 (v) -- Lost
31 -- "Urn" -- Blochairn -- In barrow - probably Cinerary Urn -- See No. 11 (vi) -- Lost
32 -- "Urn" -- Blochairn -- In barrow - probably Cinerary Urn -- See No. 11 (vi) -- Lost
33 -- "Urn" -- Blochairn -- In barrow - probably Cinerary Urn -- See No. 11 (vi) -- Lost
34 -- Gold armlet -- Bonnyside -- [No remarks] -- P.S.A.S., i (1851-4), 73 -- NMA
35 -- Dagger, riveted -- Blochairn -- In barrow (1816) - T.G.A.S., i (1857-67), 504; No. 11 (vi) -- HM
36 -- Dagger, tanged -- Blochairn -- Found 1869 -- Information from Messrs. J. G. Scott and R. G. Livens -- GAM
37 -- Flanged axe -- Bannockburn -- [No remarks] -- P.S.A.S., lxxxix (1955-6), 459 -- NMA
38 -- Socketed axe -- Carronvale -- [No remarks] -- Falkirk Burgh Museum No. B 16 -- FBM
39 -- Sword -- Ballagan -- In cist in cairn -- Arch. Scot., iii (1831), Appendix II, 67 -- NMA
40 -- Sword -- Cambuskenneth --[No remarks] -- P.S.A.S., xviii (1883-4), 179 -- Lost
41 -- Spearhead -- Goshen Sandholes, Stenhousemuir -- [No remarks] -- J.B.A.A., xlv (1889), 289 -- Lost
42 -- Spearhead -- Bannockburn -- [No remarks] -- Evans, Sir J., The Ancient Bronze Implements, Weapons and Ornaments of Great Britain and Ireland (1881), 314 -- Lost
43 -- Spearhead -- Confluence of Rivers Teith and Forth -- 10 in. long -- Smith Institute Catalogue, No. AL 8 -- SIS
44 -- *Spearhead -- Near Falkirk -- [No remarks] -- P.S.A.S., xxiii (1888-9), 9 -- NMA
45 -- *Spearhead -- Near Stirling -- [No remarks] -- P.S.A.S., xiv (1879-80), 96 -- NMA
46 -- *Spearhead -- Stirlingshire -- -[No remarks] - P.S.A.S., ii (1854-7), 153 -- NMA
47 -- *Boat-shaped brooch -- Near Castlecary -- [No remarks] -- Catalogue of the National Museum of Antiquities of Scotland (1892), 214, NMA Number FG 4 -- NMA
48 -- *Boat-shaped brooch -- Near Falkirk -- [No remarks] -- P.S.A. London, 2nd ser., xxi (1906), 115. Munro, R., Prehistoric Scotland and its Place in European Civilization (1899), 260; NMA Number FG 5 -- NMA
* Not included in the distribution map (Fig. 3) as their provenance is not known with sufficient accuracy.
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INTRODUCTION : THE EARLY IRON AGE
The Bronze Age monuments listed below are plotted on the distribution map (Fig. 3).
The following standing stones are, however, omitted as they are either probably or certainly
not of prehistoric origin: Randolphfield (No. 49), Doghillock (Nos. 50 and 51), "Wallace's
Stone" (No. 52), Glen Ellrig (Nos. 53 and 54), Broadgate (No. 55), Craigmore Cottage
(No. 57), Balgair Muir (No. 59) and Ingliston (No. 62).
Cairn, Cuparlaw Wood (No. 2)
Cairn, Sheriffmuir Road (No. 3)
Cairn, Hill of Airthrey (No. 6)
Cairn, King's Yett (No. 8)
Cairn, Craigengelt (No. 9)
Cairn, West Carlestoun (No. 10)
Cairn, Blochairn i (No. 11)
Cairn, Blochairn ii (No. 11)
Cairn, Blochairn iii (No. 11)
Cairn, Blochairn iv (No. 11)
Cairn, Blochairn v (No. 11)
Barrow, Blochairn vi (No. 11)
Cairn, Cairnhall (No. 14)
Cairn, Todholes (No. 15)
Cairn, approximate site, Kirkland (No. 22)
Cairn, approximate site, Law (No. 30)
Cairn, approximate site, Ballagan (No. 33)
Cairn, approximate site, Queenzieburn (No. 37)
Cairn, approximate site, "Fairy Knowe",
Kippen (No. 41)
Mound, Sheriffmuir Road 1 (No. 4)
Mound, Sheriffmuir Road 2 (No. 5)
Mound, Touch (No. 7)
Mound, Meikle Caldon (No. 13)
Cist, site, Bridge of Allan (No. 16)
Cist, site, Airthrey (No. 17)
Cists, sites, Cambusbarron (No. 18)
Cist, site, Denny Bridge (No. 20)
Cist, site, Woodgate (No. 21)
Cist, site, Stenhousemuir (No. 23)
Cist, site, Camelon 1 (No. 24)
Cist, site, Camelon 2 (No. 25)
Cists, sites, Avonbank (No. 26)
Cist, site, Castle Hill (No. 27)
Cist, site, Manuelhaughs (No. 28)
Cist, site, Glenorchard House (No. 31)
Cist, site, Broadgate (No. 34)
Cists, sites, Waterhead (No. 39)
Cist, site, Mains of Buchlyvie (No. 40)
Cists, sites, Middleton (No. 63)
Standing stone, Sheriffmuir Road (No. 46)
Standing stone. Airthrey Castle West (No. 47)
Standing stone, Airthrey Castle East (No. 48)
Standing stone, Strathblane parish graveyard (No. 56)
Standing stones, Dumgoyach (No. 58)
Standing stone, Knockraich (No. 60)
Standing stones, Waterhead (No. 61)
Standing stones, sites, Middleton (No. 63)
4. THE EARLY IRON AGE
INTRODUCTORY
In Stirlingshire the number of monuments known or presumed to have been constructed
during the Early Iron Age is small. An interesting feature of their distribution (Fig. 4) is
the absence of structures or relics from the habitable areas of the western half of the county,
only one example of such remains (No. 79) having been located in the whole of Strathblane,
lower Strathendrick, and the not inhospitable land lying between the latter and the upper and
middle reaches of the River Forth. ¹ Such penetration as was effected by Early Iron Age people
1 Guthrie Smith refers (Strathendrick, 269) to a "circular fort" near Gartclach, but this has not been found.
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INTRODUCTION : THE EARLY IRON AGE
appears, therefore, to have been directed at the southern and eastern parts of the county, and
inferences as to the directions from which such movements may have come can only be drawn
from consideration of the positions and characteristics of the monuments concerned. Almost
all of these are hill-forts and duns, the rest consisting of a settlement, homesteads, a broch and
possibly some crannogs.
FORTS
The Inventory records fourteen small forts which are considered likely to have been founded
in the Early Iron Age. Among these, two structural classes can be recognised, namely the
stone-built forts, mostly of the contour type, which may exhibit vitrifaction, and the rampart-
and-ditch forts, which appear mainly on promontories and ridges. The first group comprises
Dumyat (No. 68), Abbey Craig (No. 69), Braes (No. 74), and Mote Hill, Stirling (No. 80),
at all of which vitrifaction has been reported, together with the unvitrified forts at Sauchie
Craig (No. 71), Myot Hill (No. 75), Meikle Reive (No. 78) and Craigmaddie (No. 79).
The second group includes Gillies Hill (No. 70), Cowie (No. 72), Langlands (No. 73), Coneypark
(No. 76) Camelon (No. 82), and probably Livilands (No. 81).
DUNS
The word "dun" is now commonly used to describe a type of stone structure which is
distinguished by comparatively small size and a disproportionately thick wall. It is smaller
than most hill-forts but seems to be built for defence in a way that the conventional farmstead
or homestead is not. Such works vary greatly in size and shape and, no doubt, in date of
construction and duration and frequency of occupation. Two groups of duns occur in
Stirlingshire, one in the hills around the upper reaches of the Bannock Burn and the other
centred on the watershed between the River Kelvin and the Bonny Water. These small
structures have proved to be convenient quarries for builders in modern times, and have
suffered extensive robbing; but it has nevertheless been possible to prepare plans from the
surface remains of five of the northern group, three others having proved too ruinous to be
planned and one having now been completely removed. The southern group, of seven duns,
has entirely disappeared in recent times, but the record of the one at Auchinloch (No. 93),
which was known as Cairn Faal, is so detailed that its identification is certain. The descriptions
of the others are less precise, but there can be little reasonable doubt that they belong to the
same class. The dun at Craigton (No. 89) differs from the rest in that it is enlarged and
strengthened by outer defensive walls. Parallels to this plan are commonly found among the
small forts and duns of Argyll.
SETTLEMENTS AND HOMESTEADS
The amount of land available in eastern Stirlingshire for growing crops and grazing beasts
may have been considerably less in the Early Iron Age than in modern times, even in proportion
to the demands made upon it, which must likewise have been smaller; and there can be no
doubt that the inhabitants of the small forts and duns that were established throughout the
area must have claimed a large share of it for their own requirements. That they were not the
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INTRODUCTION : THE EARLY IRON AGE
only farmers and graziers living in the district is, however, suggested by five structures which
most probably belong to the same period. One, at Wheatlands (No. 101), is a settlement con-
sisting of several circular buildings within enclosing defences; it is known only as a crop-mark
on an air-photograph, but the fact that the buildings show as dark circles indicates that they
were of the "ring-ditch" class and consequently that this settlement was of an Early Iron Age
type well known in south-eastern Scotland. ¹ This settlement, and the four homesteads of Logie
(No. 102), Woodside (No. 103), West Plean (No. 104) and Gargunnock (No. 105) are probably
survivors of a larger number, the rest of which have been destroyed by agricultural development
or obliterated by later buildings.
Mention may also be made here of the crop-mark of an enclosure at Bowhouse (No. 106),
which was probably a timber-framed homestead. It is likely to have been of Early Iron Age
date, ² but as yet no proof exists.
BROCH
Two brochs of the ten that form the Tay-Forth-Tweed group ³ occur in the neighbourhood
of Stirling, one on the north side of the valley of the River Forth at Coldoch, Perthshire, and
the other twelve miles away to the south-east, near the summit of the high ground now clothed
in the trees of Tor Wood (No. 100). The significance of these structures and their relationship
to the locality is discussed below.
CRANNOGS
The only crannogs in Scotland from which evidence of Early Iron Age occupation has so far
been obtained are those which lie south-west of the line of the Clyde and the Nith, while those
distributed over the rest of the country, many of which are in the Highlands, appear to have
been occupied in mediaeval times. ⁴ The Stirlingshire crannogs (Nos. 107 to 110) fall geograph-
ically between these groups, and at present there is no evidence which would enable them to
be associated with either, although the pre-Roman ring-headed pin from Clairinch ⁵ may have
belonged to the occupants of the crannog lying off the north end of that island (No. 108).
It has, however, been considered advisable to mark the crannogs on the Early Iron Age
distribution map (Fig. 4).
THE EVIDENCE OF THE STIRLINGSHIRE EARLY IRON AGE
Few as are the monuments of the Early Iron Age that still survive in Stirlingshire, there is no
reason to suppose that any class except possibly the timber-framed settlements and homesteads
was ever represented by significantly greater numbers. The amount of available archaeological
material is also slight, for though chance finds and the excavation of several monuments have
produced some relics, these are few in number and for the most part undistinguished in
character, and can do little more than furnish the mere proof of occupation.
It is notable that, with one exception, none of the hill-forts shows any certain signs of
1 Inventory of Roxburghshire, p. 20.
2 Cf. P.S.A.S., lxxxvii (1952-3), 151.
3 The Problem of the Picts (ed. Wainwright), 66 ff. Three of these were found during the Commission's survey of marginal
land - Craig Hill, Angus (NO 432358), Drumcarrow, Fife (NO 458134), and Calla, Lanarkshire (NS 991488).
4 P.S.A.S., lxxxvii (1952-3), 151.
5 Ibid., lxxxiv (1949-50), 130.
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[Map Inserted]
DISTRIBUTION MAP OF IRON AGE, ROMAN, & DARK AGE MONUMENTS & RELICS |
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INTRODUCTION : THE EARLY IRON AGE
reconstruction. The exception is the Meikle Reive (No. 78), but here the character and sequence
of the structural phases are obscure and the evidence for dating is negligible, with the result
that little can be deduced from them.
With the exception of the broch (No. 100), all the Early Iron Age structures are of familiar
types recognisable elsewhere in the Lowlands. Of the forts, apart from Craigmaddie (No. 79)
and the Meikle Reive (No. 78), which may be related to the forts situated mainly in an area
outside and south-west of the county on either side of the estuary of the River Clyde, all the
remaining thirteen forts in Stirlingshire, together with the nearby examples at Castle Hill
(Dunbartonshire detached) and Knock Hill (Perthshire), are found within an area about
fifteen miles square in the lower parts of the Forth and Carron valleys. It is notable that there
are very few forts indeed in the adjacent region to the north of this area, none in those to the
south and west, and only a very few to the east in West Lothian and Clackmannanshire. In
the absence of any relics from the Stirlingshire forts, the directions from which their builders
came can at present be only a matter of speculation. But the possibilities must include an
eastward expansion of the Damnonii, a westward expansion of the Votadini ¹ and a westward
and southward movement of Picts. ²
There is no evidence to show the status of the forts during the Roman occupation of the
area, though it is natural to suppose that such foci of potential resistance would not have
been allowed to continue in occupation. A similar question, of course, arises in the case of the
broch (No. 100), and this will be discussed below.
The duns may be thought to lend some colour to these hypotheses. The evidence obtained
in the excavation of Castlehill Wood dun (No. 86) in 1955 ³ suggested that it was occupied,
and probably built, in the 1st or early 2nd century A.D. If this is correct, it is likely to have been
the work either of people who had come to the area before the arrival of the Romans early in
the last quarter of the 1st century A.D., or else of settlers who entered it during the forty years
that elapsed between the first and second phases of the Roman occupation. ⁴ The general
distribution of duns as at present known points to their occurring chiefly south-west of the
Clyde, in an area which largely coincides with the territory assigned to the Damnonii, and also
in Argyll and Bute, probably that of the Epidii. ⁵ Duns are in addition scattered throughout
the insular and coastal regions of the north-west as far as Lewis and Sutherland and through
the Great Glen, while upward of thirty examples, probably built by settlers from the west
occur in the region of upper Strathtay. It is suggested that the occurrence of duns in Stirling-
shire constitutes evidence for the consolidation of the area of Damnonian settlement up to but
not across the River Forth. This conclusion would agree well enough with Ptolemy's record,
while it would not conflict with the occupation of "Manau" by the Votadini at a later date
(supra, p. 5). The dun at Craigton (No. 89), however, alone among those in the county, has
outworks of a kind which are commonly found among the small hill-forts and duns of Argyll,
but which have not been observed in any quantity elsewhere. It is therefore possible that this
structure may represent an outlier from that region. ⁶
1 Inventory of Roxburghshire, p. 2.
2 For a discussion of the probable nature of the proto-Pictish and Pictish peoples, see The Problem of the Picts (ed. Wainwright),
in particular 49 ff.
3 P.S.A.S., xc (1956-7), 24 ff.
4 Cf. Ibid., lxxxv (1950-1), 114.
5 Ibid., xc (1956-7), 42-5 and fig. 13; ibid., xxxviii (1903-4), 205 ff; Chadwick, H. M., Early Scotland (1949), 151 ff.
6 Chadwick, loc. cit.; The Problem of the Picts (ed. Wainwright), 47.
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INTRODUCTION : THE EARLY IRON AGE
The settlement at Wheatlands (No. 101) and the homesteads at West Plean (No. 104) and
Gargunnock (No. 105) are timber -framed structures of differing types. The discovery of a
stone cup at West Plean suggests that the builders may have come from north-east Scotland
and have established themselves before the arrival of the Romans in the vicinity. ¹ At
Gargunnock, an oval house produced relics of the 1st and 2nd centuries A.D. The homestead
at Logie (No. 102) appears to be a stone-walled Einzelhof homestead ² of a type spread
widely but thinly throughout the parts of Scotland lying south of the estuaries of the Rivers
Tay and Clyde, while that at Woodside (No. 103) is probably a larger version of the
same type. All these structures must have been broadly contemporary with the forts and
duns.
There is as yet no evidence from which to deduce how long the pre-Roman Iron Age
occupation of Stirlingshire lasted. Whatever the length may have been, the first Roman
occupation endured only for about twenty years, and there is no evidence that it led to any
wholesale eviction of natives. In parts of neighbouring British territories there is abundant
evidence that peaceful native occupation continued not only throughout the gap of forty years
that ensued before the arrival of the Antonine garrisons, but also also through the 2nd and into
the 3rd century. ³ While Stirlingshire contains no settlements or homesteads identifiable as
belonging to certain later types found in the Tweed basin, some of the recorded monuments
may well have continued in occupation for a long period. ⁴ The possibility of a prehistoric
occupation of the Castle Rock at Stirling is alluded to below (p. 37).
The presence of the broch at Tor Wood (No. 100) raises the same questions as the forts,
but in a more emphatic form. As already mentioned, it is the only structure of Early Iron Age
date that represents a locally unfamiliar type. The loose group of ten brochs known as the
Tay-Forth-Tweed group, to which the Tor Wood specimen belongs, is separated by great
distances from the nearest part of the main broch-area, namely eastern Sutherland, which,
apart from two outlying brochs on the River Beauly, ⁵ does not extend south of the shores of the
Dornoch Firth. It is also remote from the sparse scatter of brochs in the western and south-
western coastal and insular regions.
In view of the isolated positions in which the brochs of the Tay-Forth-Tweed group are
found, it seems necessary to ask by what route or routes, and why, their builders came; under
what circumstances could the laborious task of constructing a broch have been prosecuted in a
strange land and one which already carried a native population; and when and by whom such a
broch would have been destroyed. At first sight their distribution might suggest that their
builders arrived from the sea, though the proximity of Coldoch broch to a well-known later
route across the Forth mosses (cf. No. 524), as well as that of Tor Wood broch (No. 100) to a
main Roman road (No. 124), should also be borne in mind. But however this may be, their
presence in small numbers in territories far away from their native localities still demands
explanation. It is possible that their builders simply moved as colonists, seeking new lands for
settlement, as may perhaps be suggested by the overcrowding implied by the high con-
centration of brochs in the main broch-area; and in this case the absence of brochs from the
1 Inventory of Roxburghshire, p.20.
2 Ibid.
3 See, for example, P.S.A.S., lxxxii (1947-8), 193 ff.; lxxxix (1955-6), 284 ff.
4 Cf. ibid., lxxxi (1946-7), 138 ff.
5 Struy (NH 396396) and Castle Spynie (NH 542420).
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INTRODUCTION : THE EARLY IRON AGE
intervening country, between the River Beauly and the Sidlaw Hills, might be accounted for
by supposing that its inhabitants were at this time hostile to the broch-builders and strong
enough to keep them out, while those of the Tay-Forth-Tweed area either agreed to their
entry or were powerless to prevent it. The first of these alternatives is perhaps the more
probable, as the small number of the brochs is at variance with the idea of force. On the other
hand, during the 1st and 2nd centuries A.D. reports must have spread quickly to the most
remote parts of Britain that spoil was to be had in the civilised Roman province, and such
reports might well have led to raids presaging the larger and more frequent movements of
later years. On this showing the brochs might represent either the work of men coming south
for this purpose, but deciding to stay and settle down before reaching their goal rather than
to proceed towards uncertain riches and risks, or else of raiders returning with or without
spoil and deciding to establish themselves in more fertile and rewarding places than those from
which they originally came.
The relations of these people with the Romans is also largely a matter of conjecture. On
general grounds it seems likely that the infiltration of the broch-builders into the Tay-Forth-
Tweed area occurred at a time when the Romans were not in control of the Lowlands,
especially in view of the fact that the Tor Wood broch stands in a commanding position only
a stone's throw from the main Roman road to the north. If this is so, then the brochs in question
could in theory have been erected prior to the Roman invasion of Scotland in A.D. 79, or during
the forty years (c. A.D. 100-140) that elapsed between the Flavian and Antonine occupations,
or at the end of the 2nd century when Clodius Albinus withdrew the Roman garrisons from
Britain in an unsuccessful attempt to win the Imperial throne. The discovery of considerable
quantities of Roman pottery at Torwoodlee broch, ¹ apparently looted from the nearby fort
at Newstead during its temporary abandonment by Roman forces, seems to rule out the
first of these choices, while the last would be at variance with the fact that in the north
of Scotland brochs were already obsolete by the late 2nd and 3rd centuries. Thus a date
between A.D. 100 and 140 seems most likely for the construction of the Tay-Forth-Tweed
brochs.
The following Iron Age monuments are plotted on the distribution map (Fig. 4):
Fort. Dumyat (No. 68)
Fort, Abbey Craig (No. 69)
Fort, Gillies Hill (No. 70)
Fort, Sauchie Craig (No. 71)
Fort, Cowie (No. 72)
Fort, Langlands (No. 73)
Fort, Braes (No. 74)
Fort, Myot Hill (No. 75)
Fort, Coneypark (No. 76)
Fort, Meikle Reive (No. 78)
Fort, Craigmaddie (No. 79)
Fort, site, Mote Hill, Stirling (No. 80)
Fort, site, Livilands (No. 81)
Fort, site, Camelon (No. 82)
Dun, Baston Burn (No. 84)
Dun, Touch Muir (No. 85)
Dun, Castlehill Wood (No. 86)
Dun, Wester Craigend (No. 87)
Dun, Wallstale (No. 88)
Dun, Craigton (No. 89)
Dun, Brokencastle (No. 90)
Dun, site, Castlehill 1 (No.91)
Dun, site, Castlehill 2 (No. 92)
Dun, approximate site, Auchincloch (No. 93)
1 P.S.A.S.. lxxxv (1950-1), 92 ff.
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INTRODUCTION : THE ROMAN PERIOD
Dun, approximate site, West Bonnyfield (No.
94)
Dun, approximate site, West Auchincloch
(No. 95)
Dun, approximate site, Ruchill (No. 96)
Dun, approximate site, Auchinvalley (No. 97)
Dun approximate site, Townhead (No. 98)
Dun, approximate site, Colziumbea (No. 99)
Broch, Tor Wood (No. 100)
Settlement, site, Wheatlands (No. 101)
Homestead, Logie (No. 102)
Homestead, Woodside (No. 103)
Homestead, West Plean (No. 104)
Homestead, Keir Hill, Gargunnock (No. 105)
Homestead, site, Bowhouse (No. 106)
Crannog, Strathcashell Point (No. 107)
Crannog, "The Kitchen" (No. 108)
Crannog, Loch Laggan (No. 110)
5. THE ROMAN PERIOD
From the Roman standpoint, possession of the area known to us as Stirlingshire was vital to
any scheme for the occupation of Scotland, since it lies at the intersection of the two most
important natural routes in the country. The east-to-west route provided by the Forth-Clyde
isthmus not only offers the shortest link from coast to coast, but also, as Agricola was quick to
appreciate, ¹ forms an obvious base on which to establish a frontier-line; while the north-to-
south route, crossing the Forth in the vicinity of Stirling, constituted the only practicable line
of advance in Roman times against the tribes inhabiting the territories beyond the isthmus.
It is not surprising, therefore, that Stirlingshire is very rich in monuments of the Roman
period (cf. Fig. 4). More than ten of the thirty-seven miles of the Antonine Wall (No. 111,
and see Fig. 30), and five of the nineteen Wall forts - Mumrills (No. 112), Falkirk (No. 113),
Rough Castle (No. 115), Seabegs (No. 116) and Castlecary (No. 117) - lie within its boundaries;
while between the Wall and the crossing of the Forth the main arterial road to the north
(No. 124) was guarded by a fort at Camelon (No. 122), and probably by another at Stirling
itself (No. 123). Yet another fort may have been planted at the extreme western end of the
county, to prevent infiltration by northern tribesmen into Strath Blane and the Kilpatrick
Hills, but an intensive search in the neighbourhood of Drymen from both air and ground has
so far proved negative. ² Other types of Roman military works occurring in the area include a
small fortified post (No. 114) attached to the south side of the Antonine Wall at Watling Lodge,
and temporary camps of the kind used by troops engaged on campaigns or on engineering
operations at Little Kerse (No. 118), Milnquarter (No. 119), Dalnair (No. 120) and Camelon
(No. 122). Lastly, an interesting sidelight on the occupation is presented by the remarkable
temple known as Arthur's O'on ³ (No. 126) which formerly stood on the northern slopes of the
Carron valley some two miles north of Falkirk.
Of this abundant material, however, very little is visible at the present day. Arthur's O'on
was pulled down in 1743 to furnish material for repairing a mill-dam, and cultivation and
industrial development during the past two hundred years have wrought havoc with the rest.
Thus the only remains still traceable on the surface are several sectors of the Antonine Wall,
1 Tacitus, Agricola, 23.
2 It has not been possible to identify the quarry near the Endrick Water where gold coins of Nero and Trajan are reported to
have been found about 1771 (P.S.A.S., lii (1917-8), 245).
3 I.e., (King) Arthur's Oven. For the Arthurian Legend in Scotland, see P.S.A.S., lxxxix (1955-6), 1 ff.
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INTRODUCTION : THE ROMAN PERIOD
including the finest surviving stretch in the entire limes from the east end of Tentfield Plantation
to Bonnyside House, and the fort and annexe at Rough Castle.
The general history of the Roman occupation of Scotland, which forms the setting for
these monuments, has been described at some length in the Inventory of Roxburghshire ¹ and
need not be recapitulated here. Nor is the time yet ripe for a fresh appraisal of the precise role
played by the Antonine Wall in that occupation. It is true that a good deal of new information
has emerged since the second edition of Sir George Macdonald's classic survey, The Roman
Wall in Scotland, was published in 1934, and that in consequence some of Macdonald's
conclusions are no longer tenable. Nevertheless, much more excavation is required before
even the main outlines in the history of the Wall can be regarded as securely established, and
in the meantime it is profitless to indulge in speculation. In the following account of the purely
local aspects of the Roman occupation of Stirlingshire, reference will, however, be made to
some of the principal discoveries that have come to light on the Wall as a whole since 1934.
THE FLAVIAN PERIOD
The first contact between the Roman army and the native tribes dwelling in Stirlingshire
occurred in A.D. 79, when, following a lightning advance through the Lowlands, Agricola's
leading columns penetrated as far north as the Tay; and in the next year the ground overrun
was consolidated by the construction of a line of fortified posts (praesidia) across the isthmus
between the Firths of Forth and Clyde. ² Actual structural remains of two of these praesidia
are claimed to have been found beneath the Antonine forts at Croy Hill ³ and Bar Hill, ⁴ but
whether Macdonald was right in thinking that the sites chosen by Agricola were in every case
identical with those later occupied by the Antonine garrisons is not yet certain. As far as the
Stirlingshire forts are concerned, the amount of 1st-century pottery found at Castlecary
(No. 117) seems to point to an Agricolan occupation, although structural evidence is lacking;
the evidence previously cited for Rough Castle (No. 115) is unconvincing; and recent excavation
at Mumrills (No. 112) has shown that the supposed praesidium there must now be discounted.
Outside the county, it is worth noting that no evidence for pre-Antonine occupation was
found at the Wall fort at Duntocher ⁵ during the extensive excavations of 1948-51.
In Agricola's scheme of conquest, the Forth-Clyde line counted only as a temporary
halting-place, and it might be expected that the praesidia would be less substantial than the
permanent forts, one of which was established at Camelon (No. 122) in the Flavian period to
guard the point at which the main road to the north crossed the River Carron. This early fort
is not well known, and has been largely destroyed by industrial development, but it seems
probable that it was rebuilt about A.D. 90, when the northern defences as a whole were re-
organised, and continued in use until the Flavian occupation of Scotland ended in a general
withdrawal of the Roman garrisons soon after A.D.100.
1 Pp. 23-32. The article in question is reprinted in the Inventory of Selkirkshire, pp. 142 ff.
2 Tacitus, loc. cit.
3 R.W.S., 267 ff. and fig. 34.
4 Ibid., 272 f. and fig. 35.
5 Robertson, A. S., An Antonine Fort, Golden Hill, Duntocher, 89.
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INTRODUCTION : THE ROMAN PERIOD
THE ANTONINE PERIOD
After an interval of some forty years Roman troops again advanced into Scotland early in the
reign of Antoninus Pius, and re-occupied the Lowlands. The milecastles and turrets of Hadrian's
Wall were now left unmanned, and a new frontier barrier, the Antonine Wall (No. 111) was
erected between the Firths of Forth and Clyde. The new Wall (Fig. 30) was thirty-seven miles
in length and was built of turf on a stone foundation about 14 ft. in thickness. In front of it
there was a broad ditch, and a short distance behind there was a road, the Military Way, which
not only provided through communication across the isthmus, but also served to link together
the nineteen forts, spaced at intervals of about two miles, in which the garrison was housed.
Since 1934, air-photography and excavation have considerably advanced our knowledge of the
anatomy of the Wall and its supporting works. The long-lost terminal fort at the eastern end,
Carriden, has been located, ¹ and the chance discovery of an inscribed altar has enabled the site
to be identified with Veluniate, the first of the forts on the Antonine Wall named in the
Ravenna Cosmography, ² where it appears as Velunia. Further west, certain buried remains of
the forts at Auchendavy ³ and Castlehill ⁴ have been observed and recorded from the air in the
form of crop-markings, while excavation has recovered the plan, and much of the complicated
structural history, of the fort at Duntocher. ⁵ An apparent gap in the frontier system as a whole
has also been partly closed by the detection of an auxiliary fort at Whitemoss, ⁶ near Bishopton,
and of a small patrol-post on Lurg Moor, ⁷ behind Greenock - these two works being evidently
elements in a chain of fortifications designed to prevent the vulnerable western flank of the
Wall from being turned by sea. Equally important is the discovery of two small defensive
enclosures, or fortlets, which are attached to the south side of the Wall itself at Wilderness
Plantation ⁸ and Glasgow Bridge. ⁹ A post similar to these has long been known to have existed
at Watling Lodge (No. 114), and, as each of these three posts in question lies approximately
half way between a pair of forts, it may be that they are members of a series which extended
for the entire length of the Wall, and which, like the milecastles on Hadrian's Wall, housed
the patrolling garrison - the fighting garrison being accommodated in the forts. On the other
hand, no trace has so far been found on the Antonine Wall of any structure akin to the turrets
of Hadrian's limes. Excavation has endorsed Macdonald's opinion that the curious turf
platforms known as "expansions" (Figs. 31 and 32), which project from the rearward side
of the Wall in a few paces, are stances for beacons. ¹⁰ But such beacons appear never to have
been numerous, and their position suggests that they were intended for long-distance
communication with the forward and rearward areas rather than for local signalling along the
Wall. Lastly, temporary camps, which were previously unknown in the vicinity of the Wall,
have now been identified from the air in some numbers. Such camps, consisting of a simple
rampart and ditch, were normally constructed wherever troops were concentrated for short
periods, and it has been suggested that two of the Stirlingshire examples - Little Kerse
1 P.S.A.S., lxxxiii (1948-9), 167 ff.
2 Ibid., xc (1956-7), 1.
3 J.R.S., xli (1951), 61.
4 Ibid.
5 Robertson, op.cit.
6 P.S.A.S., lxxxiii (1948-9), 28 ff.
7 J.R.S., xliii (1953), 105.
8 Ibid., xli (1951), 61.
9 Ibid., xlv (1955), 86.
10 P.S.A.S., xc (1956-7), 161 ff.
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INTRODUCTION : THE ROMAN PERIOD
(No. 118) and Milnquarter (No. 119) - may have been used to accommodate the working
parties actually engaged on the construction of the frontier. ¹
Of the five Wall forts in Stirlingshire, that at Falkirk (No. 113) is buried beneath the
modern town, while Seabegs (No. 116) has not yet been located. The remaining three -
Mumrills (No. 112), Rough Castle (No. 115) and Castlecary (No. 117) - have all been
intensively explored, and they provide between them an admirable illustration of the lack of
uniformity that is one of the prime characteristics of the forts on the Antonine Wall. Thus
Mumrills is 6 1/2 acres in extent, Castlecary 3 1/2 acres, and Rough Castle only a little over 1 acre;
while their ramparts are built respectively of clay, stone and turf. In common with the rest
of the Wall forts, however, all of them had stone central buildings, timber-framed barracks
of wattle-and-daub, and strongly defended annexes almost as large as the forts themselves.
Such annexes sometimes contained public buildings, like the bath-house at Rough Castle, but
were probably mainly occupied by the dwellings of the civilians attached to the fort, and who,
at Carriden at least, were accorded official status as a vicus or village community. ²
According to the Historia Augusta, ³ the construction of the Antonine Wall was associated
with a campaign in which the Britons were defeated and driven back, and it is possible that the
little structure known as "Arthur's O'on", which stood in front of the eastern end of the Wall,
was built at the same time, and was a tropaeum, or victory-monument. The structure itself is
of unique design, a circular stone chamber being capped by a corbelled dome. but neither its
Roman date nor its predominantly religious nature are in doubt, while the high degree of skill
displayed in its construction is more appropriate to an official than to a private monument.
Although technically outside the frontier-line, the O'on was not unprotected, since the main
road to the north was reopened in the Antonine period at least as far as the Tay crossing at
Bertha, where a 2nd-century dedication to Discipline, emanating from the sacellum of the
fort, has recently been found. In Stirlingshire, a new fort, some 6 acres in extent, was built at
Camelon (No. 122) to guard this road, and it is reasonable to assume that the hypothetical fort
at Stirling (No. 123) would also have been constructed at this time.
As has been stated above, the history of the Antonine frontier is still obscure in many
respects, the main difficulty being that whereas only two periods of occupation have been
detected in Antonine forts behind the Wall, the forts on the Wall itself have been thought to
exhibit three periods. Likewise the date of the final evacuation of Roman troops from Scotland
has not yet been established. All are agreed, however, that the occupation cannot have outlasted
the withdrawal of troops from Britain by Clodius Albinus in 196, and that thereafter, apart from
a few occasions where punitive expeditions may have operated in the area, Stirlingshire remained
outside the sphere of direct Roman control.
In a previous section it has been shown that during the Early Iron Age Stirlingshire was
virtually a no-man's land, sparsely inhabited by peripheral groups of peoples from the
surrounding regions. Lacking any common material culture, or tribal strongholds in this
locality corresponding to the oppida at Birrenswark ⁴ or at Eildon Hill North, ⁵ these people
are unlikely to have offered any effective resistance to the Roman forces, and it was not until
1 P.S.A.S., lxxxix (1955-6), 329 ff. The camp at Dalnair (No. 120) may have been another member of the same series.
2. Ibid., xc (1956-7), 3.
3 Vita Antonini Pii, 5, 4.
4 Inventory of Dumfriesshire, No. 272.
5 Inventory of Roxburghshire, No. 597.
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INTRODUCTION : THE DARK AGE
he crossed the Tay that Agricola appears in fact to have met with any serious opposition from
the Scottish tribes. The details of the picture will not be clear until more excavation has been
done on the native sites themselves, but it is reasonable to suppose that the different groups
reacted in different ways to the new circumstances of the Roman occupation. At West Plean
(cf. No. 104), for example, one homestead seems to have been abandoned by its owner shortly
before the Romans arrived on the scene, and it is in the highest degree unlikely that the native
fort at Camelon (No. 82) would still be tenanted when a Roman fort was planted in its
immediate vicinity. In contrast, however, the dun at Castlehill Wood (No. 86) and the
homestead at Gargunnock (No. 105) were both occupied during the late 1st or 2nd century
A.D., and their inhabitants were sufficiently in touch with the Romans to acquire small
quantities of Roman pottery and glass. During the comparatively lengthy Antonine occupation
there would be a natural tendency for the earlier distinctions between the native groups dwelling
in the region of the Wall to become blurred, and for a new consciousness of unity to supervene.
A further impetus in the same direction was provided by the Severan re-organisation in the
early 3rd century, which made the Lowland tribesmen responsible, under Roman supervision,
for their own defence. This no doubt explains why, some two hundred years later, the district
at the head of the Forth emerges as a separate geographical unit, Manau Guotodin, which is
linked by name with the philo-Roman tribe of Votadini and ruled by a native dynasty
whose pedigree contains names and an epithet suggestive of Roman investiture.
Isolated finds of Roman objects in Stirlingshire are few in number, and apart from a fine
brass fibula found at Polmaise (Pl. 9A, B) and a bronze statuette of Mercury from Throsk
(Pl. 9 C), ¹ are comparatively undistinguished. An inscription on Gowan Hill, Stirling (No.
403), which was once considered to be Roman, is now adjudged to be of more recent
origin. On the other hand, a fragment of a building inscription mentioning the Twenty-second
Legion Primigenia, which is now at Abbotsford and is stated in the Inventory of Roxburghshire ²
to have come from Old Penrith, must now be assigned to the neighbourhood of Falkirk. The
supposition that the stone derives from Old Penrith rests solely on Bruce's conjecture, ³ which
he claimed was supported by a recollection of the local inhabitants in 1870. Unknown to
Bruce, however, the stone had already been reported in the Statistical Account ⁴, of 1797, where
it is said to have been found on the Antonine Wall and to be at that time at Callendar House.
Despite Madonald's reluctance to accept it, ⁵ this testimony is still the earliest in the field and
remains unshaken. ⁶
6. THE DARK AGE
For present purposes, the Dark Age is understood as lasting until the beginning of the 2nd
millennium of our era, and thus as including the Early Christian period. Only one monument
in Stirlingshire can be related to its early part, the fort at Dunmore (No. 77), near Fintry. It is
impossible to say with certainty whether the outer works on Dumyat (No. 68) are coeval with
the citadel or whether, as appears more likely, they represent an earlier, vitrified, fort ⁷ ; but
1 Both objects are in the National Museum of Antiquities in Edinburgh, and are described in P.S.A.S., lxvi (1931-2), 385.
2 Vol. ii, p. 301.
3 Lapidarium Septentrionale, 804.
4 Vol. xix, 110.
5 R.W.S., 406, note 3.
6 For a similar confusion regarding the origin of a Birdoswald tombstone, see C.W., new series xxiii (1923), 13 ff.
7 The Problem of the Picts (ed. Wainwright, F. T.), 74 ff.
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INTRODUCTION : THE DARK AGE
even if they do, the "citadel" may be no more than a dun, and not a structure of Dark Age date.
At Dunmore the Dark Age attribution rests on the character of a wall which is closely parallel
in design to one forming part of the post-Roman fort on Rubers Law, Roxburghshire.¹ While
this is the only fort for which an early Dark Age date can be suggested with any confidence, it
must not be forgotten that the rock now occupied by Stirling Castle (No. 192) is likely to have
been occupied in both Early Iron Age and Dark Age times. The site is ideal for primitive
fortification, and may be compared with Din Eidyn (Edinburgh), Alcud (Dumbarton),
Dundurn, Dunadd, or King's Seat (Dunkeld; in fact, it has recently been identified with
Bede'a "urbs Giudi". ²
Although, as has been said, there are good archaeological grounds for placing the Damnonii
in Stirlingshire in pre-Roman times, it would seem that they were subsequently displaced by
the Votadini as it was from "Manau Guotodin" - Manaw ³ of the Votadini - that Cunedda
is held to have migrated to North Wales.⁴ There is reason to infer that this migration weakened
the barrier against pressure by more northerly peoples, and that invasion from Pictland
followed; Gildas, in fact, states that the Picts now penetrated to Hadrian's Wall, ⁵ and there
can be little doubt that this corridor region saw much warfare and tribal movement in the
disturbed centuries that followed.
The monuments assignable to Early Christian times consist only of two cashels, Knock-
inhaglish (No. 160) and Strathcashell (No. 164). These differ in character and situation but
both fall into the general category of small establishments of the Celtic church ⁶ and as such
are likely to date from before the introduction of Canons Regular, which began in the latter
part of the 11th century. It is possible too, that the association of Celtic saints with some of the
wells (e.g. Nos. 542, 544, 545, 550) may represent a real survival of ancient beliefs ⁷ to be
compared with the legendary connections of St. Kentigerna with Inchcailleach (No. 163), of
St. Machan with Campsie (No. 157), or St. Kentigern with the Stirling district on both
banks of the Forth. ⁸ Caution is required, however, in the matter of Celtic dedications, in view
of the return of native saints to favour in the course of the Middle Ages. ⁹ A hand-bell of Celtic
pattern, 9 3/4 in. high to the top of the handle, which is now preserved in the Art Gallery and
Museum, Kelvingrove, is said ¹⁰ to have been dredged from the Forth near Stirling; this is
evidently an ecclesiastical relic of period, but it cannot be associated with any particular
person or place.
The only other Dark Age relic that deserves mention is a silver pin from Dunipace
(Pl. 10), now in the National Museum of Antiquities (FC 10). ¹¹ This has a gilt, loose-ring
head which reproduces in outline the form of the Tara type of brooch. On the back a crude
interlaced pattern has been executed partly by scratches and partly by prick-marks (see
Pl. 10 D). Although most examples of this type come from Ireland, two others have been
found in Scotland, and since the use of silver for such ornaments is comparatively rare in
1 Inventory of Roxburghshire, No. 145.
2. Antiquity, xxxiii, 63 ff.; Bede, Hist. Eccles., i, cap. xii.
3 On Manaw see p. 5 above.
4 Nennius, Historia Brittonum, cap. 62. For the date of this
movement, the weight of most recent opinion favours the
middle of the 5th century A.D.
5 De Excidio Britanniae, cap. 19.
6 Cf. P.S.A.S., lxxxv (1950-1), 79.
7 Forbes, A. P., Kalendars of Scottish Saints, xxii.
8 Discussed by Jackson in Studies in the Early British
Church, ed. Chadwick, 273 ff.
9 Forbes, op. cit., xxiii ff.
10 T.G.A.S., N.S. viii (1933), pt. iii, and fig. 144,
facing 146.
11 Annals, ii, 311 f. and pl. xviii, fig. 159.
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INTRODUCTION : THE MIDDLE AGES AND LATER
Ireland and comparatively common in Scotland it is possible that this pin may be of Scottish
manufacture. Typological indications suggest a date about the middle of the 9th century. ¹
The following Dark Age monuments are plotted on the distribution map (Fig. 4):
Fort, Dunmore (No. 77)
Cashel, Knockinhaglish (No. 160)
Cashel, Strathcashell Point (No. 164)
7. THE MIDDLE AGES AND LATER
ECCLESIASTICAL MONUMENTS
The paucity of religious foundations in Stirlingshire has already been remarked (supra, p. 9),
while of the few monastic houses that did originally exist little remains today. At Cambus-
kenneth (No. 130), where a community of Augustinian canons was founded in the middle of
the 12th century, the most important of the surviving buildings is the fine free-standing
bell-tower, the only example of its kind in Scotland. The tower, which stands to the north of
the church close to the west end of the nave, may be ascribed to the late 13th or early 14th
century. The church and the claustral buildings were largely demolished after the dissolution
of the Abbey, but part of their foundations was exposed in the middle of the 19th century and
is now laid out for inspection. Apart from the rather small size of the cloister the plan is
unremarkable; the church, which consisted of a nave with a north aisle, transepts with eastern
chapels, and a short presbytery, seems to have been built early in the 13th century, but there
is evidence to suggest that it was altered in late mediaeval times. The church of the small
Cistercian nunnery of Manuel (No. 144) survived, though roofless, at least until 1739, but
was almost entirely destroyed later in the 18th century by the encroachment of the River Avon.
Nothing more than a fragment of the west gable of the church survives today; this dates from
the late 12th or early 13th century, and its design shows that the nave originally incorporated a
west Galilee. There is now no trace of the Dominican and Franciscan friaries that formerly
stood within the burgh of Stirling.
Nor, with the notable exception of the Church of the Holy Rude, Stirling (No. 131), does
very much now remain of the mediaeval parish churches of the county. On the island of
Inchcailleach, in Loch Lomond, there may be seen the foundations of the church (No. 163)
which, until the 17th century, served the parish now called Buchanan. The building, which
has been tentatively dated to the late 12th or early 13th century, appears to have been a simple
rectangular structure with internal measurements of about 64 ft. by about 19 ft. At Airth
(No. 137) there remain some interesting fragments of another church of this period, while at
St. Ninians (No. 133) there is evidence to show that in late mediaeval times the church
comprised a west tower and a considerable nave with north and south aisles, together with the
small square-ended chancel that alone remains today.
1 The Commissioners are indebted to Dr. Liam de Paor for a detailed report on this pin, of which the statement here given
is a summary.
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INTRODUCTION: THE MIDDLE AGES AND LATER
The Church of the Holy Rude stands apart from the other mediaeval churches of the
county not simply because it is the only one to have remained intact but also because, as the
parish kirk of an important burgh, it was intended to be a building of unusual dignity and
splendour. In some respects the church was a symbol of the prosperity of Stirling in late
mediaeval times, and it is perhaps not surprising that the building rivals in size the great
burgh kirks of St. John, Perth, and St. Giles, Edinburgh. About the middle of the 15th
century, work was begun on the west tower and nave, the latter being of five bays with north
and south aisles. The choir, which also has north and south aisles together with a polygonal
apse, was erected early in the 16th century, and there is evidence to show that the design was
intended to include a second tower over the crossing. The junction between nave and choir
was not completed, however, nor was the crossing-tower built. The fabric was severely
mutilated in the centuries following its erection, but within recent years it has been brought
to a condition which in large measure approaches the original conception of its designers.
The most interesting of the post-Reformation ecclesiastical buildings is undoubtedly the
Chapel Royal at Stirling Castle (pp. 211 ff.), which was erected for the celebration of the baptism
of Prince Henry in 1594. The chapel is rectangular on plan, and the S. façade contains a
central entrance-doorway flanked by double columns which support an entablature; on either
side of the doorway there is a range of three double-light windows with semicircular heads,
each pair being set within a segmental-arched outer order. The original internal arrangements
of the chapel are to a large extent uncertain, and the most interesting feature of the interior
today is some well-preserved mural decoration of the early 17th century. Most of the later
parish churches in the county were designed either as simple rectangles or on a T-plan. Among
those in the former group may be mentioned St. Ninians (1750, No. 134), Buckieburn (1750,
No. 152), Blairlogie (1761, No. 129) and Falkirk (No. 140) as reconstructed in 1810. The
North Church, Buchlyvie (1751, No. 170), one of the older secession churches in Stirlingshire,
is a particularly attractive example of a church of this type, while Gargunnock (1774, No. 172)
is a good example of a church built on a T-plan. Other T-plan churches include Logie (1684,
No. 127), Polmont (1732, No. 142), Killearn (1734, No. 161) and Edinbellie (1742, No. 168).
Most of the early 19th-century churches are treated in the Gothic manner and are "hall
churches", ¹ that is to say they comprise a rectangular hall with a gallery, the pulpit being
placed at one end of the building and the entrance-doorway and stairs at the other. The North
Church, Airth (No. 136), which was built in 1820, is perhaps the finest church of this class in
the county, another interesting example being the High Church of Campsie (No. 156), which
was erected to a design of David Hamilton in 1828. Among the other churches of this group
may be mentioned Larbert (1820, No. 146), Fintry (1823, No. 169) and Dunipace (1834, No.
148). The anti-Burgher chapel in Falkirk (1806, No. 141), a plain hexagonal building now
known as the "Tattie Kirk", is the only example of a centrally planned church noted in this
Inventory.
Bell-towers, which form an attractive feature of so many Scottish churches of the 17th
and 18th centuries, are represented in Stirlingshire by examples at Airth (1647), St Ninians
(1734) and Bothkennar (1792). The belfry at Airth (No. 137) has a pyramidal, slated roof with
dormer lights in each side, while at Bothkennar (No. 139) the pyramidal roof is of ashlar and
1 Cf. Post-Reformation Churches, 130 ff.
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INTRODUCTION : THE MIDDLE AGES AND LATER
has concave sides. In contrast to the simplicity and conservatism of design exemplified at Airth
and Bothkennar, the elegant steeple at St. Ninians (No. 133), with its ashlar cupola and urn
finials, reflects the demands of Classical taste.
The oldest graveyard-monuments found in the county are the hog-backed stones - one
complete and one fragmentary - at Logie (p. 119). They are not of the earliest type, and may
date from the 11th or 12th century. Coped stones in a later stage of development, with
longitudinal mouldings and/or other decoration, occur at Inchcailleach (No. 163), a single
example, and at Cambuskenneth Abbey (No. 130), a series. These last probably come down
to the 14th century. Other mediaeval pieces, apart from the effigies (infra), are a wheel-cross
headstone at St. Ninians (p. 141) and a fragment of a Norman cross-head at Falkirk (p. 151),
both probably of the 12th century; recumbent cross-slabs at Inchcailleach (p. 167) and
Cambuskenneth (pp. 126 ff.); and slabs at Airth (p. 145), Balfron (p. 168), Cambuskenneth
(p. 128), and Fintry (p. 169) bearing crude representations of cross-hilted swords, in
some cases fragmentary. Effigies occur at Airth, where there is a female figure, probably
of 14th-century date (pp. 146 f.), and at Falkirk, where the one now incorporated in Sir
John de Graham's tomb is too much wasted for its character or date to be determined;
while the others, two pairs, have been allocated dates in the 15th and 16th centuries respectively.
There is also a fragment of a 15th-century effigy at Cambuskenneth (p. 126). After the
Reformation there begins a series of large, well-carved slabs which continues until the early
18th century; the inscriptions, which are often marginal, may be in Latin or Scots, and in
relief or incised lettering, and many bear shields, often flanked or enclosed by initials and dates.
Fine examples of such heraldic slabs are to be seen at Airth (pp. 147 f.), Campsie (p. 162),
Inchcailleach (p. 167), Larbert (pp. 156f.), Stirling (pp. 138 f.), Strathblane (p. 162) and Falkirk
(pp. 151 f.) ; among the Falkirk examples are the later elements in the composite tomb of Sir
John de Graham (pp. 152 f.). Another kind of memorial particularly fashionable in the 17th
century is the large wall-monument; the Sconce monument at Stirling (p. 139) belongs to this
class, as probably did also the original structure now rebuilt as the Logan monument at
Airth (p. 148). A habit very prevalent in Stirlingshire at the end of the 17th century was that of
identifying tombstones by initials only, not by names in full; at Logie (pp. 119 f.), in particular,
very large numbers of stones have been treated in this way.
Tombstones of later date than 1707 have not, as a general rule, been included in this
survey, but a few such later monuments have been recorded when they possessed some
feature of more than usual interest. Thus, for example, there were noted at Falkirk (p. 154)
and Strathblane (p. 163) particularly large and fine Classical structures; again at Falkirk
(p. 153) the Murehead wall monument; at Bothkennar (p. 150) and at Larbert (p. 157)
headstones showing ships under sail, which commemorate seamen sailing from the local ports
(cf. p. 4); and at Larbert (pp. 157 f.) some monuments made of cast iron, of the late
18th and early 19th centuries, evidently representing experiments in the use of a new
material.
MOTTES
Three types of structure occur in the county which, though differing in outward appearance,
can all be described as mottes. Round or oval works consisting of steep-sided mounds, partly
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or wholly artificial and surrounded by a ditch, have been recorded at Slamannan (No. 179),
Colzium (No. 181), Garmore (No. 183) and Fintry (No. 185), while another example, Catter
Law, lies just outside the western boundary of the county (NS 472871). Ditched rectangular
works which probably fulfilled the same purpose occur at Bonnybridge (No. 180) and Sir
John de Graham's Castle (No. 186), while another structure of the same type formerly existed
at Watling Lodge (No. 188). The third type, which can be described as the promontory motte,
was formed by cutting a ditch to isolate the head of a promontory or ridge from the neighbour-
ing ground. Three examples of this type of structure are recorded, and excavations carried out
at one of them, The Keir Knowe of Drum (No. 187), revealed the remains of a stockade round
the perimeter of the mound and nine post-holes, which probably supported the foundations of
a wooden tower, near the centre.
The round or oval mottes are certainly examples of a class of earthwork which has been
dated elsewhere in Scotland to the 12th and 13th centuries, ¹ and sherds of pottery of this period
were found at Slamannan motte. ² That the rectangular mottes were probably contemporary
with them is shown by the discovery of pottery of the same period at Bonnybridge. No evidence
exists for dating the promontory mottes, but the tower revealed at Keir Know of Drum
bore a close resemblance on plan to that which crowned the round motte at Abinger, ³ and,
like it, was probably built during the 12th century.
On the north side of the Forth valley there are several other promontory works which may
be mottes ⁴ and which, like many of the Stirlingshire examples, bear the name "Keir". This
word represents an anglicised form of the British word "caer", a castle. ⁵
HOMESTEAD MOATS
The Peel of Gartfarren (No. 189) is the best-preserved example of a homestead moat remaining
in Stirlingshire, but another, similar in size and equally well preserved, lies just outside the
county at Ballangrew (NS 617988). Two other works, now obliterated but probably belonging
to the same class, are recorded at Garchell (No. 190) and Gargunnock (No. 191). The majority
of such works were made between the 13th and 15th centuries, and a piece of pottery found in a
molehill at Gartfarren has been identified as part of the rim of a jug dating from the turn of
the 13th and 14th centuries. ⁶ Ditches without ramparts forming rectangular enclosures occur
at Castle Rankine ⁷ (No. 217), and also at Manor ⁸ (No. 194); but in spite of a superficial
resemblance on plan these are not homestead moats.
CASTLES AND TOWER-HOUSES
Stirling Castle (No. 192), as an important Royal stronghold from the 12th century onwards
and a frequent residence of the Scottish court in late mediaeval times, stands apart from the
1 Cf. Inventory of Roxburghshire, No. 233.
2 Information from Miss D. M. Hunter.
3 Arch. J., cvii (1950), 15 ff.
4 E.g. O.S. 6-inch sheet, Perthshire cxxxi N.W.; Littlemill
Burn, Mid Borland, Easter Tarr.
5 Place Names, 370 f.
6 The Commissioners are indebted to Mr. E. M. Jope,
F.S.A., for a report on this sherd.
7 P.F.A.N.H.S., iv (1946-9), 47.
8 Geogr. Collections, i, 136; N.S.A., viii (Stirlingshire), 222.
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other castles and towers noted in this Inventory. Very little survives of the early defences of
the castle, and in the sphere of military architecture the most notable structures are the fine,
early 16th-century Forework and the early 18th-century fortifications and batteries that form
respectively the inner and outer defensive barriers on its south-east side. Of greater interest
are the Great Hall and the Palace, two buildings of outstanding importance in the history of
Scottish domestic architecture, which demonstrate the degree of imagination and skill in
design to which the architects of the Royal Works attained in the reigns of James IV and
James V.
The Great Hall, which seems to have been completed by the early years of the 16th century,
measures 126 ft. 6 in. from north to south by 36 ft. 6 in. from east to west within the walls,
and rose to a height of approximately 54 ft. It is thus considerably larger than either
Edward IV's Great Hall at Eltham (101 ft. 6 in. by 36 ft.) or Henry VIII's hall at Hampton
Court (97 ft. by 40 ft.), and in its original condition may well have outmatched these buildings
in splendour as it did in scale.The main elements of the plan are traditional, the hall, which
is set over a vaulted basement, having the dais at one end and the screens and entrance-doorway
at the other. The gallery that ran along the west façade of the hall is, however, an unusual
feature, as is also the staircase-tower that rises in the centre of the east façade; while the open
rounds that crowned the angles, together with the ornamental ridge-finials, gave distinction
to the roof-line. As at Eltham the dais was lit by large bay-windows roofed with rib-vaults, but
the bay design at Stirling, in which two pairs of mullioned and transomed windows are framed
by flanking shafts, is characteristic of contemporary French rather than of English taste.
Unhappily the exterior of the building was mutilated at the end of the 18th century when the
hall was converted for use as soldiers' barracks; while at the same time the interior was
subdivided, all original features, including the hammerbeam roof, being either destroyed or
concealed. It is in this condition that the Great Hall remains today, all attempts to secure its
restoration have failed.
In contrast to the Great Hall, which is perhaps the finest achievement of late-Gothic
domestic architecture in Scotland, the Palace is an essay in the new manner of Renaissance.
Like the Royal Palace of Falkland, with which it is approximately contemporary, James V's
Palace at Stirling is a fruit of the Franco-Scottish alliance, for there is ample evidence to show
the influence of French ideas on the designers of the Royal Works at this period, some of the
master-craftsmen themselves having been Frenchmen. The Palace was built between about
1539 and 1542, and on plan is a hollow square, originally comprising four ranges of buildings,
or "quarters", grouped round a rectangular courtyard. The west quarter was destroyed in the
17th century, but the north, south and east quarters remain and contain the State Apartments
on the first floor. The façades of the three surviving quarters are more or less symmetrical,
being boldly articulated by a series of recessed bays each of which contains a sculptured figure
set upon an ornamental baluster-shaft; these bays alternate with the large square-headed
windows that light the State Apartments. The design lacks the refinement exhibited in the
south façade at Falkland, but the details, especially the figure sculpture, are of very considerable
interest. The iconography of the sculpture is very varied, but some at least of the figures
represent the Planetary Deities; there is also a remarkable portrait of James V. Little now
remains of the original fittings of the State Apartments except for some handsome, carved-stone
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fireplaces and a number of finely executed wooden medallions known as the "Stirling Heads",
the survivors of those which originally formed the decoration of a remarkable compartmented
ceiling in the King's Presence Chamber (cf. p. 202).
There are no visible remains in the county of any stone castle which appears to be
older than the 14th century, and it seems likely that in early mediaeval times the usual type of
fortified dwelling was the motte (cf. pp. 40 f.). At Castle Rankine (No. 217), however, although
nothing remains above ground, excavations undertaken in 1938 revealed the foundations of a
curtain wall which apparently enclosed an approximately square courtyard measuring some
90 ft. across. Outside the curtain wall there was a ditch, and the main entrance-doorway was
contained within a barbican which projected to the lip of the ditch from the centre of the
north curtain. Despite the relative thinness of the curtain walls, the plan suggests that this
castle may have been of 13th-century date. Edward I had planned to build a castle on each bank
of the Forth a little below Stirling, one at Tullibody and the other at Polmaise, and sites were
obtained for this purpose in 1304-5; ¹ but neither castle was completed, although some work at
least is known to have been carried out at Tullibody in 1306. ² It is uncertain how much
progress was made at Polmaise, but, with the possible exception of an otherwise unexplained
ditch at Lower Polmaise, ³ no visible remains of any castle exist there today.
The most important castle in the county, after Stirling, is Mugdock (No. 207), which
was built by the Grahams in the 14th and 15th centuries. The structure is by no means
complete, but the principal features of the plan, insofar as they can be traced, suggest that in
the earliest period of construction a stout curtain-wall strengthened by rectangular towers at
the angles enclosed a roughly oblong courtyard, which was entered from the south by a
portcullis gateway. Apart from the gatehouse, the towers do not project beyond the curtain
wall, a feature which is paralleled at the contemporary castle of St. Andrews, ⁴ the plan of which
somewhat resembles that of Mugdock. In the 15th century the castle was greatly extended in
size, an outer bailey being added to the north and west of the original one. Little remains of
the outer bailey today, however, apart from some fragments of the curtain wall together with a
ruinous garderobe-tower, which stands at the north extremity of the enceinte.
The typical baronial dwelling of the 15th, 16th and early 17th centuries was the tower-
house, and Stirlingshire contains many structures of this class. Among the 15th-century
towers, Bruce's Castle (No. 196), Plean (No. 197) and Duntreath (No. 209) may be cited as
examples of simple rectangular keeps, while Almond Castle (No. 202) and Castle Cary
(No. 203) exemplify the L-plan in which a wing projects at right angles from the main block
of the tower. At Castle Cary, however, the wing has now disappeared. Culcreuch (No. 213),
another simple rectangular tower, dates from the turn of the 15th and 16th centuries, while
the most notable of the later 16th-century tower-houses are Old Sauchie (No. 195) and
Bardowie (No. 208). Bardowie was erected in 1566; the plan presents one or two unusual
features, the most important of which is the provision of a gallery or upper hall on the top
floor. The gallery has a fine timber roof, now open, but originally ceiled with boards which
1 Cal. of Docts., ii (1272-1307), No. 1722.
2 The Commissioners are indebted for this information to Mr. Howard Colvin.
3 This ditch, which has a width of about 30 ft. and a maximum depth of 3 ft. 6 in., runs across the NE. end of the former
walled garden of Old Polmaise, beyond which it extends for a distance of some 80 yds. in a north-westerly direction.
4 Inventory of Fife, Kinross and Clackmannan, No. 465.
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may well have been painted. At the same level a covered parapet-walk runs along two sides
of the tower. The reluctance with which designers abandoned the concept of the tower-house
is demonstrated by Stenhouse (No. 200), which was erected in 1622 and is the latest structure
in the county that may be placed in this class. The building is L-shaped, the plan being
fundamentally the same as that found in the older towers.
The accommodation afforded by towers such as these naturally proved inadequate in later
times, and additional buildings were erected. Thus the original tower at Airth, which dates
from the late 15th century, was extended in two stages to form two sides of a courtyard, and to
the south side of the tower at Plean there was added in the 16th century a courtyard with an
east range, which provided kitchens and cellarage on the ground floor and extra living-space
above. At Duntreath, too, additional buildings were grouped round a courtyard, which was
entered from the west by a gatehouse. Often a tower was simply extended laterally by the
erection of a wing, as for example at Castle Cary , Culcreuch and Bardowie, but sometimes, as
at Gargunnock (No. 215) and Callendar House (No. 311), the additions were so extensive as to
engulf the original tower and thus completely change the character of the house.
HOUSES OF THE 16TH to 19TH CENTURIES (BURGHS)
As no mediaeval houses have survived in any of the burghs, the record of the urban buildings
can go back no further than the 16th century at earliest, and much material of post-mediaeval
times has been destroyed in the course of the last hundred years or so. Nevertheless, Stirling
still contains some good representative examples of Scottish domestic architecture of the 16th
and 17th centuries. Mar's Work (No. 230), the despoiled remains of a former town-house of
the Earls of Mar, is a fragment of a once substantial mansion designed on a courtyard plan.
The most interesting portion of the fabric that survives today is the east façade, which
incorporates a central gatehouse comprising a vaulted pend with octagonal flanking-towers.
The structure was erected between 1570 and 1572 and the façade, although somewhat
cumbered by a curious assemblage of ornamental detail, is a well-balanced Renaissance design.
Argyll's Lodging (No. 227) is perhaps the finest remaining town-house of any Scottish burgh.
The building is grouped round three sides of a courtyard, the fourth side comprising a screen
wall which contains an entrance-gateway. This arrangement, although apparently a homo-
geneous one, is in fact the result of construction at successive periods extending from the late
16th century to 1674. Much of the detail, such as the strap-worked window-pediments of the
east range and the handsome carved fireplaces that adorn the interior, is in the Netherlandish
taste that was in vogue in Scotland in the middle of the 17th century. In the oldest part of the
building the main apartments are set over a vaulted basement, but in the later portion some
of the principal rooms are placed on the ground floor.
The courtyard plan was adopted only for the most substantial town-houses, the less
important dwellings being for the most part tall, narrow buildings of considerable depth but
with a restricted street-frontage. Of these, the most notable is the house in Broad Street
(No. 233) that was built by James Norrie, Town Clerk of Stirling, in 1671. The building was
entirely reconstructed in 1958, but the attractive street-façade has been perpetuated; it is of
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ashlar and incorporates three ranges of windows above each of which there is a triangular
pediment inscribed with initials or a motto.
Two public buildings within the burgh also call for mention here. Cowane's Hospital
(No. 231) was erected between 1637 and 1649, as an almshouse for the accommodation of
twelve "decayed" brethren of the merchant guild, in virtue of a benefaction by John Cowane,
a prosperous merchant. The original internal arrangements of the building were unfortunately
destroyed when it was remodelled as a Guild Hall in 1852, but much of the exterior remains
unaltered. The building is E-shaped on plan, the wings that project from each end of the main
block flanking a small courtyard. In the centre of the principal façade there is a projecting
bell-tower, which rises to an ogival leaded roof and incorporates in its second storey a statue
of the founder, carved by John Mylne, the King's Master-Mason, who was also the designer
of the building. The Town House (No. 232) was erected between 1703 and 1705 to a design
of Sir William Bruce and, with the contemporary tolbooth of Dumfries, to which it bears a
strong resemblance, is one of the first Town Houses in Scotland to be conceived on strictly
Classical lines. Both at Stirling and at Dumfries, however, the bell-tower finishes in a timber
superstructure topped by an ogival leaded roof in the traditional Scottish manner.
The only other burgh that contains any notable examples of domestic architecture is
Airth (No. 251), in which a few houses of 18th-century sea-captains and merchants remain to
attest its one-time prosperity as a trading port. In contrast to a compact mediaeval burgh like
Stirling, in which most of the houses present their gable-ends to the street, Airth is both more
loosely planned and more spacious in its lay-out and the houses have long street-frontages. In
size and general appearance the buildings resemble the typical small laird's house of the period
(cf. p. 46), and this similarity no doubt originally extended to the internal arrangements as
well, although these have for the most part been obscured by later alterations and subdivision.
HOUSES OF THE 16TH TO 19TH CENTURIES (GENERAL)
In Stirlingshire, as elsewhere in Scotland, the transition form the mediaeval tower-house to
the typical laird's residence of the 17th century was a gradual one, and it is impossible to draw
a sharp dividing-line between castellated architecture on the one hand and domestic
architecture on the other. Torwood (No. 299), for example, was built in 1566. The vertical
lines of the elevations, the vaulted basement and the provision of gun-loops for defence all
demonstrate its affinity to the tower-house. But the accommodation is more spacious than
that of a tower, and the additional living-space has been provided by extending the building
horizontally rather than vertically, while at the same time a certain degree of symmetry has
been given to the long south façade thus formed. At Old Leckie (No. 343) which is of late
16th-century date, there is an elaborately guarded main entrance, equipped with an iron yett
and machicolations, but otherwise the building retains no defensive features whatsoever. The
structure is designed on a T-plan, the wing having originally contained in its lower part a
scale-and-platt stair which rose to the first floor. Part only of the basement is vaulted. As at
Torwood, the length of the main block allows a spacious withdrawing-room to be placed on
the same floor as the hall. The T-plan is also found in two 17th-century houses of more modest
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size, Ballencleroch (1665, No. 325) and Dalnair (1682, No. 328); while at Broomhole (No. 384)
there are the remains of an extremely simple house of this type in which the wing is nothing
more than a small semicircular projection housing a turnpike-stair.
A more common 17th-century plan, and one which derives more closely from the tower-
house, is the L-plan, of which Auchenbowie (No. 296), Kersie Mains (No. 300), Orchardhead
(No. 305) and Newton (No. 306) are good examples. In all these buildings the design
incorporates a feature which appears in some of the later tower-houses, such as Stenhouse
(No. 200) and Gargunnock (No. 215), the stair-tower being extruded in the re-entrant angle
between main block and wing. The entrance-doorway is placed at the foot of the stair-tower
from which access may most conveniently be obtained to both main block and wing at all
levels. Another feature derived from the tower-house tradition is the emphasis that is placed
on vertical planning, all the examples mentioned being tall, upright buildings occupying a
comparatively small ground-area. Only at Auchenbowie does the ground floor appear to have
been vaulted, but the traditional practice of placing the principal apartments on the first floor,
and of reserving the ground floor for cellerage and kitchens, is followed at Auchenbowie
and at Kersie Mains. At Orchardhead, and perhaps also at Newton, which is so much resembles,
the kitchen occupied the ground floor of the wing but the main block contained living-rooms
at this level. Although probably a little earlier in date than the other three examples mentioned,
Kersie Mains is in some respects more advanced in design as its staircase is of the scale-and-
platt variety and not a turnpike, while the windows of the principal façade are all symmetrically
disposed. Perhaps the most remarkable 17th-century house in the county is Bannockburn
House (No. 295), a substantial mansion built on an H-plan. The design is a symmetrical one
and is notable for the generous scale of accommodation that it provides, while the provision
of two main stairs makes circulation easy. The house contains some fine plaster ceilings of the
Restoration period.
While the majority of 17th-century houses derived their characteristic features from the
tower-house, the same cannot be said of the type of dwelling-house introduced about 1700,
which retained its popularity as a small laird's residence for more than a century. The typical
18th-century house of this class is a plain rectangular block, two storeys and an attic in height.
The plan, which is symmetrical, comprises a central staircase on either side of which there is a
single large room on each floor. The symmetry of the plan is reflected in the elevations in
which the windows are regularly disposed, the principal façade invariably containing a
centrally-placed entrance-doorway on the ground floor. The kitchen occupies one of the
ground-floor rooms, while the other is utilised as a parlour, or, where there is a separate
drawing-room on the first floor, as a dining-room. Examples of this type include Borrow-
meadow (No. 292), Braes (No. 297), Dalquhairn (1711, No. 318), Middle Ballewan (1702,
No. 326), Auchentroig (1702, No. 336) and Gartinstarry (1789, No. 337). At Old Ballikinrain
(No. 332) and Craigivairn (No. 330), which may be ascribed respectively to the first and second
halves of the 18th century, the same layout was adopted, but a wing was added to give extra
accommodation, the resulting plan being T-shaped. A better method of providing additional
accommodation, however, was to increase the depth of the house, making it capable of
accommodating four main rooms on each floor. Plans of this type were adopted at Birdston
(No. 322), at Mains of Glins (1743, No. 334) and at Arnprior (No. 339).
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The finest of the more substantial 18th-century mansions is undoubtedly Touch (c. 1750
No. 345), the design of which may be ascribed with some probability to William Adam. The
south façade is a dignified composition notable both for its good proportions and for the careful
execution of the ornamental detail. At Wrightpark (No. 335), a house of 1750, a comparable
design has been handled with much less success. Some of the carved detail at Wrightpark
appears to have been left unfinished, and this contributes to the somewhat bleak appearance
of the principal façade. Powis House (c. 1746, No. 288) is less ambitious in conception
than Touch and Wrightpark; nearly square on plan and three storeys high, it is somewhat box-like
in appearance, but the careful spacing of the windows and the discreet use of ornamental
detail give interest to the elevations. At the Old Place of Balgair, near Fintry, are the ruins of a
house (No. 333) of quite modest size to which the architect has nevertheless attempted to give
something of the grand manner of the larger Georgian mansions. The attempt was not, perhaps,
altogether successful, but the house is interesting because of its comparatively early date, its
erection being ascribed to the year 1721.
Among the later 18th-century mansions of conventional Classical design may be mentioned
Laurelhill (No. 291), Quarter (No. 298) and Parkhill (No. 313), and also the south façade of
Gargunnock (No. 215), which has been skilfully incorporated with the older buildings that lie
behind it. Airthrey Castle (1791, No. 287) is an example of Robert Adam's castellated style,
while the north front of Airth Castle (1807), No. 199) and Lennox Castle (1837-41, No. 324)
were both designed by David Hamilton, the first in castellated Gothic and the second in
castellated Romanesque. Dunmore Park (No. 301), a substantial mansion in the Tudor Gothic
style by William Wilkins, dates from the same period.
Finally, mention should be made of the great stone Pineapple (No. 302) erected by the
4th Earl of Dunmore in 1761. Its bizarre design and ingenious construction make the Pine-
apple one of the most remarkable follies in Britain.
SMALL HOUSES AND COTTAGES
The Rev. Patrick Graham, writing apparently of the later 18th century, states ¹ that "the
houses of the peasantry" - i.e. tenants of farms who were under the necessity of providing
their own houses and offices- "were wretched huts, thatched with fern or straw; having two
apartments only, the one a kitchen -- the other a sort of room -- where strangers were
occasionally received, and where the heads of the family generally slept. The byre and stable
were generally under the same roof, and separated from the kitchen by a partition of osiers,
wrought upon slender wooden posts, and plastered with clay. A glass window and a chimney
were esteemed a luxury, and were seldom to be met with." By the date of his writing (1812),
however, these conditions had been improved by the general introduction of the farmyard, ²
with the lay-out of farm-buildings that is familiar everywhere today. The introduction, at the
turn of the 18th and 19th centuries, of the mechanical threshing-mill ³ produced a characteristic
feature of many or most of these farms - the shed, adjoining the barn, in which a horse walked
round and round to turn the machinery. These sheds are typically circular or octagonal on
plan, with open sides and a pointed roof (Pl. 205B).
1 General View, 77.
2 Ibid., 79.
3 Ibid., 114.
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Another very useful account of the older working-class housing is given in a description of
Larbert parish written in 1841. ¹ This reads: "The houses of the country people generally
consist of a ground floor, without any upper floor -- This ground floor is about 30 feet by 15,
divided by a transverse wall into two rooms of about 15 feet square each. The entrance is in
the middle of one of the 30 feet sides. The outer door enters into a small lobby. From this lobby
there is on one hand a door into the kitchen, and on the other hand a door into the other room.
In the old dwellings -- the outer door was near one end of the house, and gave entrance to
the first room; from this first room there was a door which led to the inner room. The house
consisted of a but and a ben in the language of the country -- A few of the present dwelling-
houses -- have -- a ground floor and an upper floor. The roofs -- are most commonly
covered with pan tile, and many of the new ones are covered with slate." In many cases,
however, it could be seen that the original roofs were of thatch, and the same passage goes on
to describe various methods of thatching - with straw, lint, bracken and divots. Lime mortar
seems to have been in fairly general use.
Though described specifically as the dwellings of the "country people", cottages of these
types can be seen very commonly in most parts of the county, and when strung out in con-
tinuous rows they are typical of the streets of the small towns and villages that were built in
the later 18th and earlier 19th centuries. Examples have been noted at Kilsyth (No. 254),
Laurieston (No. 267), Polmont (No. 268) and elsewhere, and the old "miner's raws" at the
collieries, now everywhere demolished or improved beyond recognition, must have been
essentially similar. ² A constant feature of houses of this type is the provision of crooks for
outside shutters, but the shutters themselves have almost all disappeared, and only two
examples of original shutters have been found for inclusion in the Inventory (Nos. 152 and
268). It is difficult to say when cottages of this kind were first built, but some examples
at Gargunnock (No. 286) probably go back to the middle of the 18th century, and others at
Cambusbarron (No. 258) and Beancross (No. 400) may well be older. The industrial flats
at Lennoxtown (No. 276) and Fintry (No. 282), and houses with forestairs such as are seen at
Airth (p. 309) and elsewhere, seem to have been evolved through the placing of one pair of
but-and-ben units on top of another and providing separate access; though these buildings
must not be confused with better-class, two-storeyed houses which have been divided into
working-class tenements after suffering a decline in status. Another type of industrial dwelling
is seen at Bannockburn (No. 264). None of the factory buildings with which the early industrial
flats and houses were associated has survived in anything like pristine condition; those
which have not been demolished or gone to ruin have been so greatly altered that no suitable
example could be found for detailed description in the Inventory. Brief notice, however, is
given of hand-loom mills at Bannockburn (No. 264) and Cambusbarron (No. 258), of a cotton-
mill at Fintry (No. 282), of an engineering shop at Carron (No. 265) and of nail-making under
No. 263.
The country cottages at Larbert, mentioned above, are described as being "more roomy
and more convenient, - better built and better roofed, - the walls and the doors higher, and the
1 N.S.A., viii (Stirlingshire), 378 n.
2 An unexpected tribute to the colliery row is paid by the minister of Denny parish (N.S.A., viii (Stirlingshire), 122). He
writes, "The most remarkable erection at Hags is a handsome row of collier cottages, amounting to twelve in number, terminated
on the east with a large building as a store for the workers at the colliery. These were built in 1836."
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windows larger than they were in the old houses". ¹ Of the older cottages which were in process
of replacement in the later 18th century, it is impossible now to find an unaltered example in
the more populous parts of the county, and even an altered on is difficult enough to identify
through the disguising efforts of improvement.
Some of these older cottages had walls of turf, set upon a foundation-course of rubble, and a
description of a building of this type, which stood until about 1920 at Torbrex, near St.
Ninians, is given under No. 259. Turf-walled houses were noted about 1860 on Redding Muir
and at Marchend, Polmont, ² but none appears to remain within the county today. Turf
houses of an unusual type, in which the dwelling space was scooped out of the solid moss,
existed in the Carse of Stirling until the end of the 18th century. A good idea of their appearance
is given by drawings made by Joseph Farington in 1792 ³ (Pls. 11 and 12); by this time the
draining of the moss had begun, and it is recorded that the "moss-houses" were replaced by
brick-built houses as the work proceeded. ⁴ The drawings bear out the remarks of a con-
temporary writer who, in describing this type of house, notes, "For the rudeness of the fabric
nature in some measure compensates, by overspreading the outside with a luxuriant coating
of heath and other moorish plants, which has a very picturesque appearance." ⁵
The house at Torbrex, already mentioned, had a cruck framework, and Farington's
sketches suggest that the moss houses were of similar construction. But in these latter the
crucks appear to have comprised two members, the upper member being scarfed to the lower
vertical member at the level of the wall-head. Stone-built as well as turf-built houses were often
constructed upon a cruck framework, however, and a number of examples built either in
dry-stone masonry or of rubble laid in clay mortar remain in the more remote parts of
Stirlingshire. At Hallquarter, near Denny (No. 362), and at Stronmacnair in Glen Dubh
(No. 377), there are examples of cruck-framed buildings of this sort, in which the crucks
are of two members, being scarfed at the wall-head in the manner just described. The date at
which any of these buildings was erected is not known, but there is nothing to suggest that
they are older than the 18th century; a cruck-framed "long house" at Leys, near Denny
(No. 360), in which the crucks appear to have been of the orthodox type, consisting of a single
member only, can be ascribed to the later part of the 17th century.
Finally, mention should be made of a number of small settlements, the remains of which
are preserved in the north-western or Highland area of the county. The most interesting
examples are Big Bruach-caoruinn and Little Bruach-caoruinn (Nos. 379 and 380), situated
in Glen Dubh on the south-eastern slopes of Ben Lomond. Although both these settlements
must have been abandoned a century or more ago, the houses, which were cruck-framed, are
fairly well preserved and are of the "long house" type - dwelling accommodation, byre and
other farm-buildings being combined under the same roof. They measure up to about 100 ft.
in length. The outlines of the associated areas of cultivated ground are still clearly discernible
at Big Bruach-caoruinn, and it is interesting to find that each community possessed its own
corn-drying kiln.
1 N.S.A., viii (Stirlingshire), 378 n.
2 Ordnance Survey Name Book, Polmont parish.
3 British Museum, Print Room, Farington Albums.
4 Robertson, G., General View of the Agriculture in the
County of Perth, 512 f.
5 Ibid.
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INTRODUCTION : THE MIDDLE AGES AND LATER
DOVECOTS
Only two Stirlingshire dovecots seem to be of 17th-century origin, and both these have been
rebuilt. Thus the one at Westquarter (No. 396), though incorporating a panel dated 1647, is
substantially of the 18th century; while the one at Bannockburn House (No. 392) bears what
is probably the date of its reconstruction (1768) as well as that of its origin (1698). All but the
ones at Polmaise (No. 391) and Carron House (No. 393) are rectangular on plan, with pent-
house roofs, and the one at Sauchie (No. 390) which is dated by a panel to 1700, is double.
Other good examples are to be seen at Drumquhassle (1711, Np. 398), where, as at Polmaise,
the potence is still in place, at Touch (1736, No. 389) and at Laraben (No. 399). The Carron
House example (No. 393) is an octagonal structure in brick, in keeping with the brick walls
of the kitchen-garden; it has lost its roof.
MARKET-CROSSES, SUNDIALS AND CARVED STONES
Only a single market-cross, that at Airth (No. 412), survives complete; it bears heraldic
decoration and a sundial, and was set up in 1697. What may have been the shaft of another
(No. 413), with a cubical sundial on its top, stands near Airth Castle and may have belonged to
the older village. The Stirling example (No. 401) is Victorian, but its unicorn finial comes from
an earlier cross.
Sundials of the ornate obelisk type, fashionable in the 17th and early 18th centuries, seem
once to have been fairly numerous; only four complete examples survive today, at Ballen-
cleroch (p. 360), Ballindalloch (No. 444) and Sauchieburn House (pp. 401f.), where there are
two; but imperfect examples may be seen at Auchenbowie (p. 334), Stirling Castle (p. 218)
and Leckie (p. 376), and fragments at Ballencleroch (p. 360) and Drumquhassle (p. 408). What
must have been a fine example, formerly existing at Orchard (No. 430), has disappeared and
cannot be traced. Horizontal dials mounted on shafts also occur, of which a typical example
may be seen at Howkerse (No. 419). Cubical sundials are common.
The important statuary remains at Stirling Castle, as well as the "Stirling Heads", are
dealt with elsewhere (pp. 196ff.), but some other examples of 16th- and 17th-century carving
also deserved to be mentioned. Among these are the figures and the fine Royal Arms on Mar's
Work (pp. 287ff.), the statuette of John Cowane that stands over the entrance to his
Hospital (p. 290), decorative window-pediments, particularly at Argyll's Lodging (pp. 279ff).)
and Airth Castle (p. 234), the doorway reset in Stirling High School (p. 304), the panels in
Dunmore Church (No. 411) and the carved oak chest at Cowane's Hospital (p. 292). An elabor-
ate reversing monogram is to be seen on a panel at Bardowie Castle (p. 256), and another at
Garrel Mill (No. 432).
Among minor carved details should be mentioned a large number of lintels, inscribed with
dates and initials; a few heads, rather reminiscent of tombstone cherubs (e.g. No. 448); an
occasional statuette (e.g. p. 407); and the small human figures incised on the Bruce Aisle at
Airth (p. 146). With these last should perhaps be compared the figure on the standing stone at
Knockraich (No. 60), as their similarity makes it hard to regard the latter as prehistoric.
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INTRODUCTION: THE MIDDLE AGES AND LATER
BRIDGES
The only mediaeval bridges in the county are those at Stirling (No. 455) and at Bannockburn
(No. 457). The former is a fine structure with four semicircular arches and a 15 ft. roadway;
it dates from the late 15th or early 16th century, but earlier bridges had certainly existed here
for centuries. The latter, though widened and partially rebuilt, retains a good deal of its
original 16th-century masonry. The only other bridges that antedate the era of improvements
beginning in the 18th century are those at Leckie (No. 453), of 1673, which is too narrow for
wheeled traffic, and at Carronbridge (No. 466), of 1695; the latter has evidently undergone a
good deal of reconstruction. Chartershall Bridge (No. 456) is virtually a structure of 1747,
though some work of 1696 remains in one of the abutments. Several bridges on main roads
date from the middle or later years of the 18th century, for example Drip (No. 454), Cardross
(No. 452), Larbert (No. 462), Gonachan (No. 467), and the later bridge at Leckie; Abbeytown
Bridge (No. 460) was also reconstructed at this time. In a different class are some early railway-
viaducts (Nos. 471, 472, 473, 475, 476) and the aqueduct-bridge of the Union Canal (No. 474),
most of which possess considerable architectural merit.
MISCELLANEOUS EARTHWORKS AND ENCLOSURES
Bank-and-ditch earthworks which do not fall into any recognised category of prehistoric
structure occur throughout the county. While no information exists from which the date or
purpose of any of these can yet be determined, it is probable that some or all of them were
defensive works which originally surrounded mediaeval buildings, all surface traces of which
have been obliterated. Likewise a few simple enclosures which, though obviously not of recent
construction, are nevertheless of no great age can be ascribed to mediaeval times.
OLD CULTIVATIONS
There are a few groups of cultivation terraces in Stirlingshire, but no large and spectacular
sets such are seen in the Border districts.¹ The best examples are probably those on the
Buckie Burn (No. 501), and there are three groups in Muiravonside parish of which one
(No. 505) is easily visible from the Edinburgh-Falkirk highway. Those at Campsie (No. 506)
have plough-rigs running along their length, but the other groups show no features of interest.
It seems clear that the Muiravonside and Buckie Burn groups, as well as a rather indistinct
group at Troughstone (No. 507), owe their survival to their situation on ground which was
unsuitable for later cultivation by other methods. No evidence has been found in Stirlingshire
to confirm or correct the tentative conclusion reached in the case of Roxburghshire, ² that
"while terrace cultivations -- cannot be allotted with certainty to a historical period, their
dates - in view of the facts at present known - are probably to be found in the long span of the
Middle Ages".
Traces of rig-cultivation have not been recorded in the survey, but can be seen in all parts
of the county where land of marginal quality has reverted to pasture. Some comments on
1 E.g. Inventory of Roxburghshire, Nos. 351, 352, 486, 727, 728.
2 Ibid., p. 49, q.v. for more detailed discussion.
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INTRODUCTION : THE MIDDLE AGES AND LATER
the older agriculture by the Rev. Patrick Graham are worth reproducing here, as his experience
evidently went back to a time before "improvement" had become general. Thus he says , in
one passage ¹ : "The pernicious system of distinguishing the lands into infield and outfield, the
former receiving all the manure of the farm, whilst the latter was cropped from time to time,
without any other amelioration than it might receive from resting, or from the urine of cattle
pastured on it, is now very nearly abolished in Stirlingshire; though the marks of ridges,
extending nearly to one fourth of the height of the mountains of Campsie, Kilsyth and
Gargunnock, show how this practice prevailed in former times." The following, too, is of
interest: ² "In the ancient practice of this county, little attention was paid to the direction or
construction of the ridges; they were generally winding in a semicircular form; too many
specimens of which may still be observed, even in the lower and richer districts of this county.
They were besides raised high in the middle, so that the most fertile parts of the soil accumulated
there, whilst the sides of the ridge were left bare and thin." Dr. Graham also notes ³ that, in
contrast to these curved rigs, the ones just mentioned as existing on the Gargunnock, Campsie
and Kilsyth hills were "perfectly straight and equal". He regards the rigs as of great antiquity.
ROADS
Road-improvement seems to have begun in Stirlingshire in the later 18th century, an Act ⁴
for the repair of highways and bridges in the county having been passed in 1778. The state of
affairs at a rather earlier date is described in a record referring to about 1746 ⁵ ; this reads :
"Indeed, the roads were at that time so steep, narrow and rugged, that wheel carriages must
have been almost useless. The line of the roads was generally straight, or nearly so, over hill
and dale; or if they deviated from this course at any time, it was only to avoid some marsh,
or to find a firm bottom. They seem to have thought of little else, at least they never dreamed
of a level road." Country roads were still bad at the end of the 18th century, or even later. ⁶
Improvements and new construction, combined with the intensive cultivation of much of
the adjoining land, have obliterated the remains of most of the bad old roads, while maps of
practical value date only from the middle of the 18th century or later, ⁷ and consequently any
picture of the road-system of the Middle Ages or of the centuries immediately following must
be based largely on inference. It seems clear, however, that Stirling itself was the point of
principal importance, as through routes converged from all directions on the town and bridge.
Whether or no a successor to the Roman road had always come from the north along the line
of the Allan Water, in the manner of the "King's Road to Crieff" marked by Edgar in
1777, the Sheriffmuir road (No. 508) is on record as the old route from Perth. ⁸ The military
road from the west (No. 510), though built as a strategic link between Stirling and Dumbarton
Castles, seems to have taken the same course as an older country road, in its eastern portion at
least. From the south-west came two roads - the first from the Endrick Water (p. 432), which
1 General View, 85.
2 Ibid., 129.
3 Ibid., n.
4 18 George III, cap. 69.
5 Stat. Acct., xviii (1796), 309.
6 General View, 317.
7 Roy's map of Scotland was prepared between 1747 and 1755, but his plan of Central Scotland (Military Antiquities, pl. xxxv)
seems to have been revised between 1760 and 1773. Edgar's map of Stirlingshire was based on a survey made in 1745, but, as it
was brought up to date for publication with Nimmo's History in 1777, is cannot safely be used as evidence for any period earlier
than the second date.
8 Ordnance Survey Name Book, Logie parish, 37.
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INTRODUCTION : THE MIDDLE AGES AND LATER
itself gave access to Loch Lomond and the western Highlands, and the second from Glasgow
by Kilsyth and Carron Bridge (No. 511). From the south came a route along the line of the
Roman road (pp. 115 f.), connecting in turn with the Edinburgh road at Falkirk; while the
record of an old bridge at Denny (No. 479) agrees with Edgar's map in indicating that other
north-south traffic crossed the Carron there. Falkirk, too, was evidently a meeting-place of
roads; in 1723 four roads from Falkirk, leading respectively to Airth, Bo'ness, Linlithgow and
the Kirk of Shotts, are on record ¹ in addition to the one to Stirling that has just been mentioned.
Roy's plan of the Antonine Wall ² shows quite a network of roads and lanes round Falkirk in
or soon after 1755, including and Edinburgh-Stirling highway with a bridge over the Carron at
Larbert. A main route from east to west by the Midland Valley must have existed from early
times, and this would have passed through Falkirk; its existence as early as 1298 seems to be
implied by the movement of the English army from Linlithgow. Another east-west route of
1723 was the "muir road" from Linlithgow Bridge to Glasgow, which crossed the Avon at
Dalquhairn and passed south of Black Loch. ³ The roads that made use of the Endrick-Carron
gap are discussed on pp. 431 f., and further roads are marked by Roy in the Strathblane gap ⁴
and between Drymen and Glasgow along the line of A 809. By the end of the 18th century this
part of the county was well provided with roads, including some turnpikes. ⁵ A route from
Kippen to Glasgow is described under No. 516, and under No. 524 attention us drawn to the
importance of the Fords of Frew as a crossing of the Forth alternative to Stirling Bridge.
DROVE ROADS ⁶ AND TRYSTS
The cattle-market that came to be known as Falkirk Tryst was originally held on Reddingrig
Muir and Whitesiderig Muir (No. 535), south-east of Falkirk; it seems to have dated
from the years immediately following the Union of 1707, and it finally replaced the older
Crieff Tryst after 1770. About 1772, after the division of the commonties in question, the
Tryst was moved to Rough Castle, ⁷ near Bonnybridge, a few miles further to the west; but
in 1785 it was again moved, this time to Stenhousemuir (No. 534), in Larbert parish, where it
remained until the extinction of the droving trade at the end of the 19th century. Several
important droving routes consequently pass through the county on their way to Falkirk - two,
which coalesce on the Endrick Water, from Argyll, and two others, from the northern and
north-western Highlands respectively. These routes have been discussed very fully by Dr.
Haldane, ⁸ and it is consequently unnecessary here to give more than their general lines.
The first of the western routes crossed over from Glen Fyne to Glen Falloch at the head
of Loch Lomond, entered Stirlingshire by Glen Gyle, flanked the south side of Loch Katrine,
and reached the Endrick valley at Balfron by way of Aberfoyle and Gartmore. No actual
remains have been found in the course of this survey, but the tradition of cattle-thieves at work
1 Geogr. Collections, i, 317 f., 329 f.
2 Military Antiquities, pl. xxxv.
3 Geogr. Collections, i, 317 f.
4 Cf.also Stat. Acct., xv (1795), 351.
5 Ibid., 276, 350 ff.
6 The historical matter contained in this section has been taken from Haldane, A. R. B., The Drove Roads of Scotland, pp. 83,
99 ff., 113 f., 138 f., 153. This work embodies a map of all the main drove roads, and quotes original authorities.
7 History, 457. Edgar's map, published with Nimmo's work, shows the tryst-ground as still on Redding Muir", but this is
probably a point on which his original survey, made in 1745, had not been brought up to date.
8 Op. cit. See also Cregeen, "Recollections", 152 ff.
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INTRODUCTION : THE MIDDLE AGES AND LATER
in Glen Gyle is noted under No. 374, and it is recorded ¹ that Black Rig, three miles nearly due
south of Gartmore, was on the course of a drove road. The second of the western routes, again
coming from Loch Fyne, made its way by Arrochar and the west side of Loch Lomond either
to Balloch or Bonhill, and reached the Endrick valley by Gartocharn in the former case or by
Cameron Muir in the latter for its final stage to Falkirk. Something is said about these routes
under Nos. 519, 520, 528 and 529. The main route from the north led over Sheriff Muir
(No. 508), which was a favourite stance-ground until the division of the common land there
in 1771, and crossed the Forth by Stirling Bridge (No. 455); it was partly duplicated by an
alternative route through the Ochils to the Kincardine-Higginsneuk ferry. The droves from
Skye and the Outer Islands converged on Doune, and likewise crossed the Forth at Stirling
or, if conditions were suitable, by the Fords of Frew (No. 524). What may be a branch of this
route, connecting the Fords of Frew with the Carron valley, is noted under No. 525.
From the Trysts the southbound droves headed for the pass through the Pentland Hills
that is known as the Cauldstane Slap. crossing the river Avon out of Stirlingshire at
Dalquhairn ² (Avonbridge) or Linlithgow. Only one short length of drove road (No. 535) has
been identified south of Falkirk, but the main routes followed through the Borders have been
or will be described in other Inventories. ³
CANALS AND WATERWAYS
The Forth and Clyde Canal (No. 552) has its eastern terminal at Grangemouth, and runs
through Stirlingshire for approximately a quarter of its length. Begun in 1768, under John
Smeaton's direction, but not opened from sea to sea until 1790, it was an ambitious under-
taking for its time and well deserved to be called "the Great Canal". There is a terminal basin
at Grangemouth and nineteen locks within Stirlingshire, but no bridges or other points of
architectural interest as roads were carried across the waterway by movable bridges of timber.
The Union Canal (No. 553), on the other hand, which was projected in 1818 and opened in
1822, and which links the Great Canal with Edinburgh, is carried over the Avon by an
aqueduct-bridge (No. 474) which combines a distinguished appearance with some interesting
structural features (Pl. 228 A and B); while the road-bridges spanning it, which are of
stone construction, are plain and dignified. The tunnel that carries the canal through the
ridge of high ground between Glen village and the upper part of Falkirk also deserves to be
noticed; being earlier than the railway tunnels, and larger than the haulage-ways constructed
in mines at that time, it possesses a certain pioneering quality, at any rate for Scotland. All
the eleven locks on this canal were concentrated in a single series, which raised the waterway
directly from its western terminal at Camelon to the elevation required for a level course to
Edinburgh; these locks have been demolished, and the canal is no longer in use. In their
heyday both these canals provided a remarkably good service for passengers. About 1816 the
"swift boats" of the Forth and Clyde Canal covered the distance from Port Dundas (Glasgow)
to Camelon in three hours and a half; they were drawn by two horses, harnessed tandem, which
galloped all the way and were changed every two miles. ⁴ The Union Canal advertised three
1 Ordnance Survey Name Book, Drymen parish, 49.
2 Geogr. Collections, i, 317.
3 Inventory of Roxburghshire, App. C; Inventory of Selkirkshire, No. 92; Inventory of Peeblesshire (in preparation).
4 Pratt, E. A., Scottish Canals and Waterways, 120 f.
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INTRODUCTION : THE MIDDLE AGES AND LATER
sailings a day from Edinburgh to Glasgow, with connections by coach for Stirling, Bridge of
Allan, Dunblane, Crieff and Perth. A rate of nine miles per hour was claimed for the boats. ¹
Mention should also be made of the works (No. 555) carried out on the River Carron to
improve the navigability of its lowermost reaches, together with the private canal leading to
the navigable water from the Carron Iron Works; and with these may be classed the channel
by which Airth harbour was approached (No. 557). Embankments for the control of flooding
on the River Kelvin are noted under No. 554; others for the reclamation of saltings under
No. 556; and large artificial lades on pp. 438ff.
RAILWAYS
The development of the system of railways throughout the county is outlined under No. 558,
and it will suffice to draw attention here to the two earliest examples - the Slamannan Railway,
authorised in 1835, and the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway, authorised in 1838. Their most
interesting structural features are the viaducts mentioned on p. 51, and the terminal yard
on the Union Canal (No. 559); while the stone blocks, used for carrying the rails before the
introduction of wooden sleepers, are noted on pp. 404 and 441. A colliery railway dating from
before the invention of steam locomotives is mentioned under No. 560, and others are known
from record. ²
MINES AND QUARRIES ³
Coal was exploited in the Lothians at least as early as the beginning of the 13th century ⁴ and,
as the Stirlingshire seams would have been easy to recognise where they outcropped to the
surface, there is no reason to suppose that they were not similarly known and worked. ⁵ In
general, the earliest workings were simply dug in along seams exposed in the sides of burns
or gullies. This method was later improved upon by the sinking, from the surface, of vertical
shafts, the lower ends of which were expanded into bell-shaped cavities; and when each
cavity reached its largest practicable size it was disused and a new shaft was sunk near by.
Drainage and roof-support were permanent difficulties. Between 1450 and 1550 the demand
for coal, originally very small, began to show some increase; and between 1550 and 1700
production expanded very much, various technical improvements being introduced. Much of
the coal was no doubt used fairly close to the pits, ⁶ if only on account of the lack of good
roads, though it was also exported where access could be got to the sea. ⁷ The exploitation, and
export overseas, of coal by Bruce of Airth at the end of the 16th century is mentioned under
No. 564, and Sibbald, in 1707, mentions coal at Quarrel, Kinnaird, Bannockburn, Airth,
Auchenbowie and Callendar. ⁸ The parish minister of Campsie believed that coal had been
1 Ibid., 163 ff., where a time-table and fares are quoted.
2 Dott, G., Early Scottish Colliery Wagonways, St. Margaret's Technical Press, 1947, 30 f.
3 Except as otherwise stated, the facts given here about the early mining of coal are taken from the National Coal Board,
Scottish Division, A Short History of the Scottish Coal-Mining Industry, 34 ff.
4 Newbattle, Nos. 66, 68 (pp. 53 f.); Innes, C., Sketches of Early Scotch History, 132.
5 For the use of coal in Roman forts on the Antonine Wall see Antiquaries Journal, xxxv (1955), 205. The forts in question
were from three to four miles distant from the nearest outcrops of the Coal Measures.
6 E.g. Callendar in 1723, "In this wood are very good coal-pits, which serves the village and countrey about at very reasonable
prices" (Geogr. Collections, i, 319).
7 Ibid., 330.8 Sibbald, History, 47-9, 55.
8 Sibbald, History, 47-9, 55.
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INTRODUCTION : THE MIDDLE AGES AND LATER
mined in his district "for several centuries" before 1795, and he has left an interesting
description of the "very awkward and irregular manner" in which the work was done in earlier
times. ¹ No remains of "creeping heughs", which he describes as "large excavations on the
surface", have been found in the course of this survey, and only one set of workings (No. 564)
for which even a moderate degree of antiquity can be claimed; it is probable that in most cases
later and larger-scale operations have obliterated the early traces. With the 18th century
steam-power was introduced into coal-mines, and at Elphinstone "a fire-engine to work the
coal" - actually a Newcomen engine, the first of its kind in Scotland - was in use in 1723 ²;
but formidable difficulties of drainage and ventilation were still encountered, and many
Scottish pits closed between 1700 and 1750, after which date Watt's improved steam-
engine permitted the industry to revive. The improvement effected in blast-furnaces in the
middle of the 18th century made possible the use of coke for smelting instead of wood-
charcoal, the change having been made at Carron about 1770.
Other minerals were of very much less importance. Copper was mind in the Airthrey
district, together with some gold and silver, in the reign of James V, ³ and copper was again
produced intermittently at several later periods, ⁴ but the remains of the workings now visible
at Bridge of Allan (No. 561) presumably belong to their most recent phase.
In the case of quarries, signs of earlier working must generally have been obliterated as, for
example, at Kilsyth, where limestone quarries were very heavily exploited in the 19th century.
There is good reason to suppose that the quarry at Airth (No. 565) supplied material for the
church in the 13th century, but it was still in use in 1723. ⁵ Two millstone quarries have been
noted in the western part of the county, and, while one (Spittal, No. 568) consist only of the
hollows from which two stones have been removed, the other (No. 567) ranges extensively
over the outcrops of Craigmaddie Muir and shows millstones in almost every stage of
manufacture (Pl. 158).
A salt-pan on the lands of Callendar is mentioned in a charter of about 1142 ⁶ and again in
the reign of Malcolm IV ⁷; the second grant covers fuel for the salt-pan to be taken from the
wood of Callendar. Salt-pans are also on record in 1707. ⁸ No remains of any pans have been
found in the course of this survey.
BLOOMERIES
Bloomeries are so plentiful in parts of the area north-east of Loch Lomond that it has seemed
unnecessary to do more than note a few typical examples, under Nos. 569 and 570. They
consist of larger or smaller mounds of slag, cinders and charcoal, and result from the reduction
of iron ore by a well-known primitive process. ⁹ This requires no more than the heating of the
1 Stat. Acct. xv (1795), 330. This section of the account of Campsie parish deserves perusal in full.
2 Geogr. Collections, i, 329.
3 Cochran-Patrick, R. W., Early Records relating to Mining in Scotland, xxii, xxv.
4 Ibid., lvi f. For the history and technical aspects of all mineral exploitation and prospecting in this area see Wilson, G. V.,
The Lead, Zinc, Copper and Nickel Ores of Scotland (Memoirs of the Geological Survey of Scotland; Special Reports on the
Mineral Resources of Great Britain), xvii, 142.
5 Geogr. Collections, i, 329.
6 Newbattle, No. 162.
7 Ibid., No. 163.
8 Sibbald, History, 48, 61. Cf. also Geogr. Collections, i, 329.
9 This is described by Fell, A., The Early Iron Industry of Furness and District, 164 ff. The Commissioners are indebted to
Miss Clare I. Fell, F.S.A., for all the references here quoted to the iron industry of Lancashire. In P.S.A.S., xxi (1886-7), 92,
Macadam quotes the description of an Indian bloomery-furnace from Ure, Dictionary of the Arts, Manufactures and Mines.
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INTRODUCTION : THE MIDDLE AGES AND LATER
ore for a few hours in a charcoal fire, well surrounded by or bedded into the fuel, and the metal
thus obtained by its reduction can be easily forged at red heat into a bar or iron. No direct
evidence is available for the dating of these remains, and virtually no light has been thrown on
them by studies carried out in the Lake District, where a number of apparently similar sites
have been explored. Thus Collingwood believed that the small bloomeries of that region were
probably mediaeval, ¹ and that, in particular, the older examples near Coniston went back to
a date well before the beginning of the 16th century ²; but an alternative suggestion is that they
may have originated after a Royal decree had put an end, in 1564, to the large organised
"bloomsmithies" of Furness, ³ and there is also some evidence that they may have continued in
use sporadically as late as the 19th century. ⁴ Historical considerations, however, lead to the
conclusion that many or most of the Stirlingshire bloomeries may date from the 17th or earlier
18th century, as this seems to have been the period when the iron industry was prosecuted
most actively in the Highlands. The earliest recorded iron-works in the Highlands were
those set up at Letterewe, in western Ross, in 1607, ⁵ while after the middle of the 18th century
improvements in metallurgical technique led to the progressive replacement of charcoal as the
smelting fuel by coke (supra). The heyday of Highland iron-smelting evidently began in the
second-quarter of the 18th century, when English iron-masters took to shipping their ore to
districts where fuel was available in the form of standing woods, and smelting it there; ⁶ the
earliest furnace of this class was opened at Invergarry in 1727 ⁷ and, though it survived only
until 1736, ⁸ some others having a similar origin continued in operation until well into the 19th
century. ⁹
1 Collingwood, W. G., Lake District History, 122.
2 C.W., old series, xv, 227.
3 Ibid., 216, 221.
4 Ibid., new series, xxii, 90 ff.
5 P.S.A.S., xxi (1886-7), 89.
6 For an account of the Furness ironmasters' operations in Scotland, see Fell, op. cit., 343 ff.
7 Ibid., 347.
8 Ibid., 387.
9 E.g. Goatfield, Loch Fyne, until 1813; Bonawe, Loch Etive, until 1866 (P.S.A.S., xxi (1886-7), 130, 124).
-- 57 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_094 |
INVENTORY
of the Ancient and Historical Monuments
of Stirlingshire
SHELL-HEAP
1. Shell-heap, Polmonthill (Site). This shell-heap
was situated at a height of 50 ft. O.D. on the slope that
forms part of the S. border of the Carse of Kinneil, at a
distance of 250 yds. NNW. of Polmonthill farmhouse.
The heap was one of several which have been identified
in the vicinity, ¹ but it was destroyed in 1940 and the
following account has been prepared from the published
report. ²
The heap measured about 25 yds. in width from N. to
S. by about 170 yds. transversely; it lay along the slope,
and was covered by earth, from 2 to 3 ft. in depth, which
had been washed down from the hillside above. The
layer of shells was generally from 3 to 4 ft. in depth, and
rested on undisturbed boulder-clay which represented
the old beach of the Firth of Forth at a time when the
level of the sea was some 30 ft. higher than it is today.
Most of the shells were oysters, of which, it was
estimated the heap contained some six or seven million
valves. There were also present mussels, winkles, cockles
and whelks. The heap was entirely composed of shells,
except for a very few isolated stones, a single thin streak
of sand, layers of burnt material which contained
charcoal and burnt stones, and some hearths which
measured several feet in width and were composed of
flat stones. Beyond the E. and W. limits of the heap, and
to a slight extent above it on the S., there were layers of
burnt matter more than 1 ft. in depth which contained
numerous burnt stones.
Samples of the charcoal from the hearths and burnt
layers all proved to be of oak. No dateable relics were
found, but the position of the shell-heap and the presence
of oak charcoal were considered to be in keeping with the
conditions prevailing during the Atlantic climate-phase,
and the midden was therefore referred to the Mesolithic
period (see Introduction, pp. 18f.).
948796 -- NS 97 NW (unnoted)
CAIRNS, CISTS, ETC.
2. Cairn, Cuparlaw Wood. This cairn is situated on
the summit of a low knoll within a felled wood, 170 yds.
ENE. of Pendreich farmhouse and at a height of 600 ft.
O.D. It consists of a low grass-covered mound which
measures 40 ft. in diameter and stands to a maximum
height of 1 ft. 6 in. The surface is disfigured by pits
caused in 1926 when the cairn was opened and three cists
were uncovered. ³ Two of these contained no relics; in
the third there were fragments of bones and a broken
Beaker, some sherds of which are preserved in the Smith
Institute, Stirling. ⁴
804991 -- NS 89 NW (unnoted) -- 14 February 1954
3. Cairn, Sheriffmuir Road. On a low ridge, 800 yds.
WSW. of spot-level 776 on the Sheriffmuir Road, and
at a height of 800 ft. O.D., there is a round cairn
measuring 40 ft. in diameter and 2ft. 8 in. in maximum
height. For the most part it is covered with grass, but a
shallow depression in the centre, which may have been
caused by excavation, reveals a few boulders.
812992 -- NS 89 NW (unnoted) -- 20 April 1954
4. Mound, Sheriffmuir Road 1. Another possible
Bronze Age cairn is situated on a low ridge, 200 yds. N.
of No. 3, and at a height of a little over 800 ft. O.D. It is
a grass-covered, stony mound which measures 20 ft. in
diameter and stands to a height of 9 in. above ground
level.
812994 -- NS 89 NW (unnoted) -- 20 April 1954
5. Mound, Sheriffmuir Road 2. This mound lies
50 yds. SE. of the cairn recorded under No. 3. It
measures 24 ft. in diameter and 6 in. in height, and may
represent the remains of a Bronze Age cairn.
812992 -- NS 89 NW (unnoted) -- 20 April 1954
6. Cairn, "Fairy Knowe", Hill of Airthrey. On a
shoulder of the Hill of Airthrey, a quarter of a mile SE.
of Sunnylaw farmhouse and at a height of 480 ft. O.D.,
1 P.S.A.S., ix (1870-2), 45 ff.; lxiii (1928-9), 314 ff.
2 Ibid., lxxx (1945-6), 135 ff.
3 T.S.N.H.A.S., xlix (1926-7), 91.
4 Smith Institute Catalogue, 64, AP I1.
-- 59 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_095 |
No. 7 -- CAIRNS, CISTS, ETC. -- No. 10
there is a round cairn known as "Fairy Knowe"; it was
excavated in 1868, when a trench 12 ft. wide was driven
through the centre. ¹ Before excavation the cairn is said
to have measured 78 ft. in diameter and 21 ft. in height,
but it now measures about 60 ft. in diameter at the base
and only 7 ft. 6 in. in height. The top is flat (Pl. 7A) and
is 18 ft. in diameter.
The excavation revealed a cist in the centre of the
cairn, laid on the original surface of the ground and
measuring 2 ft. 6 in. in the length, 1 ft. 6 in. in breadth and
3 ft. in depth. Its walls were formed partly of upright
slabs and partly of small stones laid horizontally, while
the floor and the roof each consisted of a single slab.
Within it there was a deposit, 6 in. in depth, of black
earth, charcoal and fragments of human bone among
which pieces of a skull were conspicuous. The cist was
covered by a heap of large stones, 8 ft. in diameter and
13 ft. in height, and this in turn was covered with earth,
in which there were charcoal, blackened stones, frag-
ments of human and animal bones and unctuous black
earth, Among these remains were found six flint arrow-
heads, a fragment of what was thought to be a stone
spear-head, and a piece of pine which, it was suggested,
might have formed part of a spear-shaft.
In addition to the burial in the cist, the excavators
found a Beaker ² at a depth of 2 ft. from the top of the
cairn. Fragments of another vessel, of unspecified type,
were also recovered.
796981 -- NS 79 NE -- 17 August 1952
7. Mound, Touch. This mound is situated beside the
farm road running S. from the former West Lodge of
Touch, at a distance of 300 yds. from the lodge and on
the highest point of a low, rocky ridge. It is circular on
plan, measures 65 ft. in diameter at the base and stands
to a height of 2 ft. 6 in. Now covered with fine pasture,
it appears to have been formerly under cultivation, and
the flat top measures 50 ft. in diameter. The mound may
represent a denuded cairn, and three earthfast boulders
which protrude through the turf near the W. edge may
be the remains of a peristalith. The largest stone has a
bench-mark carved on it (125·9).
A Food Vessel in the Smiths Institute, Stirling ³, is
recorded as having come from the Touch estate.
750931 -- NS 79 SE (unnoted) -- 21 November 1956
8. Cairn, King's Yett. This cairn is situated on open
moorland, a quarter of a mile W. of King's Yett, at an
elevation of 950 ft. O.D. It consists of a grass-covered,
stony mound which measures about 30 ft. in diameter
and stands to a height of 4 ft. 6 in. A rectangular boulder
which lies in the S. arc of the base of the cairn, and which
appears to be in situ, may have formed part of a
peristalith.
735891 -- NS 78 NW (unnoted) -- 23 March 1954
9. Cairn, Craigengelt. A low mound, 340 yds. ESE. of
Craigengelt farmhouse, is all that remains of the cairn
formerly known as "Ghost's Knowe". ⁴ It lies 70 yds.
from the right bank of the Buckie Burn at an elevation
of a little under 700 ft. O.D. It is reported that the cairn
was circular on plan, measured 300 ft. in circumference
and 12 ft. in height, and "was flanked around by twelve
very large stones, placed at equal distances". When the
cairn was demolished, various internal features were
observed. "About 6 feet from the centre, there stood
four upright stones, each about 5 feet in height, describ-
ing an oblong figure like a bed. Within this a coffin was
found, the length of which was about 7 feet, 3 1/2 broad,
and 3 1/2 deep." The cist, or chamber, contained a skeleton
wrapped in decayed material. Among an unknown
number of relics were, on the one hand, a stone battle-
axe and a stone knife and, on the other, a "golden horn
or cup, weighing fourteen ounces, and ornamented with
chased or embossed figures", together with a gold ring
that "had had a jewel in it, but the jewel was out; and it
was what is called chased". ⁵ The axe, the knife and the
ring were reported by Wilson to be in the possession of
the proprietor, Mr. J. Dick of Craigengelt, Provost of
Stirling, but neither these nor any of the other relics
can now be traced. The divergence between the stone
relics and the gold ones suggests that whereas the cairn
originally contained a battle-axe burial, a secondary
deposit, probably of Roman or mediaeval date, had been
made in it at a very much later time.
747857 -- NS 78 NW ("Ghost's Knowe")
-- 20 February 1952
10. Cairn, West Carlestoun. This cairn is situated in
a small plantation 200 yds. NW. of West Carlestoun
farmhouse, at a height of a little over 200 ft. O.D. An
excavation carried out in 1953 ⁶ established that the cairn
was made of earth plentifully mixed with small boulders,
and that it measured about 50 ft. in diameter and 1 ft.
6 in. in height. In the centre, on the original ground level,
there was an irregular depression with traces of fire; and
a few fragments of burnt bone and of a vessel which was
probably a Cinerary Urn were recovered. The 1864
edition of the O.S. 6-in. map states that an "urn
containing human bones" had been found at this site.
This cairn may be the structure mentioned in a note
by Pont ⁷ under the name "Carestoun", and in another
note, ⁸ by an unknown author, who writes "Carrestoun".
1 P.S.A.S., vii (1866-8), 519 ff.
2 Ibid., xxxviii (1903-4), 338 and 394, No. 105.
3 Smith Institute Catalogue, 64, AP 10.
4 N.S.A., viii (Stirlingshire), 324 footnote.
5 De Bonstetten, Essai sur les Dolmens (Geneva, 1865), 67
and pl. II, 8: pl. IV, 1; Annals, i, 405; N.S.A., loc cit.; Uni-
versity of London, Institute of Archaeology, 12th Annual Report
(1956), 53 ff.
6 T.G.A.S., new series, xiv (1956), 20 ff.
7 Geogr. Collections, ii, 369.
8 Ibid., iii, 125.
-- 60 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_096 |
No. 11 -- CAIRNS, CISTS, ETC. -- No.12
Gordon ¹ also refers to an "artificial Tumulus or Mount"
at Carlestown".
623746] -- NS 67 SW (unnoted) -- 19 June 1954
11. Cairns and Barrow, Blochairn. (i) A denuded
round cairn (Fig. 5, no. 1), erroneously marked on the
O.S. map as a "Long Cairn", occupies two-thirds of an
oval, rocky outcrop a quarter of a mile WNW. of Low
Blochairn farmhouse. It consists of an uneven, stony
mound 60 ft. in diameter. Numerous boulders lie on the
surface of the cairn and on the exposed part of the out-
crop lying immediately E. of it.
577755 -- NS 57 NE ("Long Cairn") -- 18 June 1952
[Map inserted]
Fig. 5. Cairns and barrow, Blochairn (No. 11)
(ii) Very little now remains of the cairn (Fig. 5, no. 2)
situated 340 yds. WSW. of North Blochairn farmhouse
at an elevation of a little over 400 ft. O.D. It lies on a
piece of ground now used as a midden. The O.S. 6-inch
map ² records the discovery of an urn in this cairn.
578760 -- NS 57 NE (unnoted) -- 18 June 19532
(iii) A third cairn (Fig. 5, no. 3) is situated on a small
bluff 370 yds. NW. of Low Blochairn farmhouse at a
height of about 360 ft. O.D. Circular on plan, it measures
about 55 ft. in diameter at the base, has a flat top 14 ft.
in diameter, and stands to a height of 7 ft.
579755 -- NS 57 NE -- 18 June 1952
(iv) A fourth cairn (Fig. 5, no. 4), which lies within a
walled enclosure 260 yds. SSE. of High Blochairn farm-
house, has been almost entirely destroyed, but several
stone slabs which remain appear to have been parts of a
large cist.
582754 -- NS 57 NE -- 18 June 1952
(v) A fifth cairn (Fig. 5, no. 5) has almost disappeared,
its position being marked only by a slight swelling in the
ground at a point 230 yds. SE. of High Blochairn farm-
house. The O.S. 6-inch map ³ records the discovery of
two urns in this cairn.
582755 -- NS 57 NE -- 18 June 1952
(vi) When the road was being widened in the 19th
century, at a point 330 yds. ESE. of Low Blochairn
farmhouse, an earthen barrow (Fig. 5, no. 6) was removed
and in it were found three urns, a riveted bronze dagger
and some bones. ⁴ The urns were about one foot apart
and stood upon a flagstone but not within a cist. One urn
was described as measuring 7 in. in diameter and 8 in.
in depth, narrowing at the mouth and very slightly
ornamented with scratches and a small bead-moulding.
The dagger is now in the Hunterian Museum. ⁵
584752 -- NS 57 NE -- 18 June 1952
12. Chambered Cairn, Stockie Muir. This cairn is
situated on almost level, open ground between the steep-
sided channels of two small streams which run for three-
quarters of a mile NW. and W. across Stockie Muir. It
lies 140 yds. S. of the more northerly stream, which is
nameless, and 60 yds. N. of the other, the Cairn Burn,
at a point 300 yds. ENE. of its confluence with Burn
Crooks at White Haughs.
The cairn, which has been disturbed and mutilated by
the collapse of internal chambers or cists and by the
construction of huts or shelters along its flanks, is now
reduced to a disorderly heap of boulders and stones. Its
long axis lies a little N. of E. and S. of W., but for
convenience of description is regarded as lying E. and W.
Originally the cairn may have measured about 60 ft.
in length from E. to W., and about 30 ft. and 22 ft. in
width respectively near its E. and W. ends. Near the E.
end of the cairn, two earthfast columnar stones can be
seen in the debris; one of them is broken off while the
other leans at a considerable angle. A few feet further W.
the remains of a narrow, straight-sided chamber can be
distinguished. This is about 13 ft. long from E. to W.,
measured from the earthfast stones referred to above,
and 3 ft. wide. One or two fallen lintel-stones are visible
among the blocking of the chamber, while another
1 Itin. Septent., 21.
2 Edition of 1923, N xxvii S.W.
3 Edition of 1923, N. xxxii N.W.
4 T.G.A.S., i (1868), 227.
5 P.S.A.S., xxii (1887-8), 350.
-- 61 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_097 |
No. 13 -- CAIRNS, CISTS, ETC. -- No. 18
remains in situ over the NW. corner. Along much of the
rest of the cairn there are numerous depressions, three
being particularly conspicuous. The first of these lies
some 5 ft. W. of the W. end-wall of the chamber already
described, the next some 13 ft. further W., and the third
as far again. In the last there appear what may be parts
of the side walls of a chamber about 3 ft. in width.
Without excavation it is impossible to tell how the
interior of the cairn is arranged. The comparable cairn
at Kindrochat, Perthshire was found to contain three
separate segmented cists, ¹ one corresponding in position
to the chamber near the E. end of the Stockie Muir cairn
and the others to two of the depressions W. of this. On
the other hand, the descriptions of two neighbouring
cairns (Nos. 32 and 35) suggest that the arrangement
might be a single long, segmented chamber. Much of the
disturbance of the exterior of the cairn may be recent,
but that the cairn might have provided both material
and a site for an Iron Age dwelling is suggested by the
discovery of the broken upper stone of a rotary quern in
the debris at the E. end. ²
479812 -- NS 48 SE ("Cairn") -- 5 July 1955
13. Mound, Meikle Caldon. The conspicuous summit
of the isolated hill known as Meikle Caldon, 790 yds.
ESE. of Aucheneck House, attains an elevation of
602 ft. O.D. It is crowned by a grass-covered mound,
about 30 ft. in diameter and 2 ft. 6 in. high, which may
be a dilapidated Bronze Age cairn.
493830 -- NS 48 SE (unnoted) -- 24 March 1954
14. Cairn, Cairnhall. This cairn is situated at an
elevation of 480 ft. O.D. in the rickyard of Cairnhall
farm, half a mile NE. of Balfron. It measures 30 ft. in
diameter, stands to a height of 5 ft., and is covered with
grass through which a few boulders protrude.
554899 -- NS 58 NE ("Cairn", in ordinary type)
8 October 1952
15. Cairn, Todholes. This cairn is situated on open
moorland (850 ft. O.D.) 1100 yds. NNE. of Todholes
farmhouse and 200 yds. SE. of the SE. corner of a large
sheepfold. It consists of a grass-covered mound of stones
which stands to a height of 8 ft. and measures about 55 ft.
in diameter. Two large boulders which lie at the foot of
the mound to the S. may represent the remains of a
peristalith. Three small holes caused by quarrying or by
excavation appear on the surface of the cairn.
677870 -- NS 68 NE (unnoted) -- 15 September 1952
16. Cist, Bridge of Allan (Site). It is recorded ³ that a
cist containing a skeleton and an urn was found during
the digging of foundations for a house then known as
Annfield, but now renamed Lentran, ⁴ in Kenilworth
Road, Bridge of Allan.
798973 -- NS 79 NE (unnoted) -- 28 October 1957
17. Cist, Airthrey (Site). Three fragments of a Cinerary
Urn, which are now in the Hunterian Museum, are
there labelled as having come from a cist at Airthrey in
1896.
c. 8096/8196 -- NS 89 NW (unnoted)
18. Cists, Cambusbarron (Sites). The discovery is
recorded above (Introduction, p. 22) of a Beaker, Food
Vessels and Cinerary Urns in the area lying between
the village of Cambusbarron and the King's Park. The
following five cists have been recorded from this region.
(i) In Coneypark Nursery. This cist was situated
+within a gravel mound and contained a skeleton. ⁵
c. 783926 -- NS 79 SE (unnoted)
(ii) In the garden of Birkhill House. This cist contained
bones and an urn which measured 5 in. in height and
6 in. in diameter, and was ornamented with zig-zag lines.
The description suggests that it may have been a Food
Vessel. ⁶
c. 780926 -- NS 79 SE (unnoted)
(iii) In a "rising ground on the west side of" Birkhill
House. No details were published. ⁷
c. 779926 -- NS 79 SE (unnoted)
(i++++v) In a sand-pit adjoining Douglas Terrace. An urn
from this cist was taken to the Smith Institute, Stirling,
in a broken condition. ⁸
c.782929 -- NS 79 SE (unnoted)
(v) In Birkhill Sand-Pit. A partially destroyed cist was
found in the pit; no relics were reported. ⁹
c. 779925 -- NS 79 SE (unnoted)
1 P.S.A.S., lxv (1930-1), 281.
2 Information from Mr. J. G. Scott, Glasgow Museums
and Art Galleries, who found the stone and has deposited it at
Kelvingrove.
3 P.S.A.S., vii (1866-8). 523.
4 Information from Mr. R. Swift, Bridge of Allan.
5 T.S.N.H.A.S., i (1878-9), 13.
6 Ibid., ii (1879-80), 48.
7 Ibid.
8 Ibid., xxix (1906-7), 81.
9 Ibid., 80.
-- 62 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_098 |
No. 19 -- CAIRNS, CISTS, ETC. -- No.27
19. Cairn, Sauchie (Site). Nothing now remains of the
cairn that once existed "on the lands of Sauchie", about
3 miles SSW. of Stirling. ¹ It was examined in the early
19th century and is said to have measured more than
20 ft. in height and 90 ft. in diameter, to have been made
of stones, and to have contained two cists, one somewhat
larger than the other. It is possible that Wilson ² is
referring to this cairn when he mentions a quantity of
"silver coins recently found in a cist exposed on the
demolition of a cairn on the lands of Sauchie". The
coins were very thin, and were described as having been
"struck through from the back", with "figures" on one
side only. Some of them had loops for suspension, and
there can be little doubt that they were silver bracteates.
All have been dispersed and lost.
NS 78 NE (unnoted)
20. Cist, Denny Bridge (Site). In the vicinity of Denny
and Dunipace the valley of the River Carron contains
numerous natural mounds which vary very greatly in
size (cf. No. 575). One of these, which stood near the
highway bridge-site (No. 479) and was removed in
1839 ³ to provide material for road-making, rose to a
height of 40 ft. and covered an area of nearly three-
quarters of an acre. At a depth of 3 ft. below the top a
cist was discovered, containing a skeleton and an urn.
c. 808830 -- NS 88 SW (unnoted)
21. Cist, Woodgate (Site). Nimmo records ⁴ that "in
digging at Woodgate -- a rude stone coffin, made of
flags, about two-thirds of the ordinary length, placed
nearly perpendicular, and containing the bones of an
adult person, was found". This "coffin" was probably a
Bronze Age cist; but the account goes on to state that
"it is dated, as we have learned, 1301". No further
details are recorded. It is assumed that Nimmo's
Woodgate is the farm now known as Woodyett.
c. 824824 -- NS 88 SW (unnoted)
22. Cairn, Kirkland (Site). The structure that once
stood on the summit of a low hill 230 yds. NW. of
Kirkland farmhouse, and at a height of 200 ft. O.D., has
now vanished. The site is indicated at the present time
by a low, flat-topped, stony mound measuring about
45 ft. in diameter, on the perimeter of which a few
boulders protrude through the turf. In an 18th-century
record ⁵ the hill is called Lawhill, and the remains are
described as being "very considerable". This suggests a
cairn rather than a dun.
826830 -- NS 88 SW (unnoted) -- 21 January 1954
23. Cist, Stenhousemuir (Site). It is recorded that a
short cist containing bones was discovered in the sand-
hills a quarter of a mile S. of Stenhousemuir. ⁶ The site
is probably that shown on the second edition of the
O.S. 6-inch map (1899) as "Sand Pits", a quarter of a
mile W. of Carron Grange.
A bronze spear-head and a bronze brooch are reported ⁷
to have been found at Goshen Sandholes, in the same
vicinity.
870823 -- NS 88 SE (unnoted) -- 21 January 1954
24. Cist, Camelon 1 (Site). In 1922 a cist was dis-
covered about 30 yds. S. of Camelon railway-station
and at a depth of 2 ft. 6 in. below ground level. ⁸ It was
oriented NNE. and SSW., measured internally 3 ft. in
length, 19 in. in width and 18 in. in depth, and was
covered with an overlapping slab. Inside there was a
Food Vessel ⁹ and fragments of the cremated remains of
an adult and of the unburnt remains of a young woman.
870806 -- NS 88 SE (unnoted)
25. Cist, Camelon 2 (Site). This cist was discovered
in 1921¹⁰ near the S. side of Brown Street opposite the
end of Hamilton Street. It lay at a depth of 2 ft. below
ground level and was oriented ESE. and WNW. It
measured internally 2 ft. 3 in. in length, 11 in. in width
and 12 in. in depth, and was covered with an overlapping
slab. Inside there was a flint scraper and fragments of
the cremated bones of an adult.
866804 -- NS 88 SE (unnoted)
26. Cists, Avonbank (Sites). A number of stone cists
containing human bones were found during the years
1838-52 on the N. side of the main road from Falkirk
to Linlithgow, 700 yds. WSW. of Avonbank farmhouse. ¹¹
The site of the discoveries is marked on the latest edition
of the O.S. 6-inch map, but the name Sighthill, originally
connected with it, has been omitted.
959784 -- NS 97 NE ("Stone Coffins found A.D. 1838-52")
27. Cist, Castle Hill (Site). The New Statistical Account
records the discovery of a cist at Castle Hill. ¹²
c. 973781 -- NS 97 NE (unnoted)
1 N.S.A., viii (Stirlingshire, 324.
2 Annals, ii, 261.
3 N.S.A., viii (Stirlingshire), 379
4 History (1817 ed.), ii, 741.
5 Geogr. Collections, i, 332.
6 T.S.N.H.A.S., iv (1881-2), 35.
7 J.B.A.A., xlv (1889), 289.
8 P.S.A.S., lvii (1922-3), 243 and fig. 1, Site B.
9 Ibid., 247, fig. 2.
10 Ibid., lvi (1921-2), 65; lvii (1922-3), 243 and fig. 1, Site A.
11 N.S.A., viii (Stirlingshire), 210; Ordnance Survey Name
Book, Muiravonside parish, p. 20.
12 Vol. viii (Stirlingshire), 210.
-- 63 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_099 |
No. 28 --CAIRNS, CISTS, ETC. -- No. 35
28. Cist, Manuelhaughs (Site). The O.S. 6-inch map ¹
records the discovery in 1840 of a cist at the W. end of
the Avon Viaduct (No. 472). a quarter of a mile NE. of
Manuelhaughs farmhouse.
979770 -- NS 97 NE (unnoted)
29. Cist, Brakes (Site). The New Statistical Account
records the discovery of a cist at Brakes, ² in Muiravon-
side parish. This place-name has disappeared and the
site cannot now be identified.
30. Cairn Law (Site). Gordon ³ reports the existence
of a cairn at some point between the probable Roman
temporary camp at Tower (No. 121) and the cairn at
West Carlestoun (No. 10). No trace of it now remains,
although a recollection of it may be preserved in the
name "Law". An "urn containing human bones" was
found hereabouts ⁴ and may have come from the cairn in
question.
c. 618743 -- NS 67 SW (unnoted) -- 19 June 1954
31. Cist, Glenorchard House (Site). It is recorded ⁵
that in 1874 a cist containing a Food Vessel was unearthed
during the digging of gravel at a point about 300 yds.
NNE. of Glenorchard House, one mile and a quarter W.
of Torrance.
598744 -- NS 57 SE (unnoted)
32. Chambered Cairns, Craigmaddie Muir (Sites).
Two structures which, from published descriptions,
seem to have been chambered cairns were reported in
1793 ⁶ to have existed not far from the Auld Wives Lift
(No. 576), but out of sight of that feature. The larger
cairn was said to have measured 60 yds. in length by
10 yds. in breadth, and to have contained "through the
whole length of it -- two rows of broad stones, set on
edge on the ground, at the distance of about 4 feet from
each other. Between these rows the dead were buried,
having flag stones laid over them. The heap raised above
them was mostly of pretty large stones, quarried from
the adjoining rock." This structure was then (1793)
"almost entirely carried away." Another account ⁷ adds
that the passage formed by the parallel walls of flags and
lintels was "divided by partitions into cells of 6 or 7 feet
long." A similar arrangement is recorded at Cuff Hill,
Ayrshire, though at that site there were two rows of cists,
one on either side of a passage. ⁸
Remains which may be those of this cairn are situated
about 90 yds. NW. of the cottage, now demolished,
named Craigmaddie Muir on the 1923 edition of the
O.S. 6-inch map (Fig. 5, no. 7). They consist of a row of
earthfast boulders forming a slight arc about 27 ft. in
length, surrounded and partly covered by rubble. At the
middle point of the arc there is a gap, from one side of
which two earthfast boulders run out radially from the
convex side of the arc. These might have formed part of
one side of the chamber. At a distance of about 54 ft. to
the SE. there is a pile of rubble which may represent part
of the debris of the demolished cairn.
The second cairn was opened in 1792, ⁹ and was
reported to be similar in construction to the first but
not so large. Bones and urns were discovered within it.
One of the sherds is said to have been ornamented, near
the mouth, with two shallow grooves, and to have
belonged to a vessel at least 20 in. in diameter. An
urn of such proportions must have been either a
Neolithic vessel or a Cinerary Urn. In view of the method
of construction of the chamber it may be assumed that
both cairns were related to the Arran or Clyde-
Carlingford types.
c. 5876 -- NS 57 NE (unnoted) -- 19 June 1954
33. Cairn, Ballagan (Site). It is recorded ¹⁰ that when a
cairn on the estate of Ballagan was opened, a cist con-
taining ashes and a piece of a bronze sword was found
within it. The exact site of the cairn is not known, but
the sword fragment was presented to the National
Museum of Antiquities in 1788. ¹¹
c. 5779 -- NS 57 NE (unnoted)
34. Cist, Broadgate (Site). In 1953 a trial excavation
was carried out upon a mound 220 yds. S. of Broadgate
farmhouse, which it was thought might prove to be a
chambered cairn. The excavation did not succeed in
determining whether the mound was an artificial or a
natural feature, but a short cist of Bronze Age type was
found near the N. end about 2 ft. below the surface.
Owing to lack of time the cist was covered up again
without having been opened. ¹²
567792 -- NS 57 NE (unnoted)
35. Chambered Cairn, Strathblane (Site). Nothing
now remains of the cairn that once existed between
Broadgate farm and Strathblane parish church. ¹³ It is
1 Edition of 1865, sheet xxxi.
2 Vol. viii (Stirlingshire), 210.
3 Itin. Septent., 21.
4 O.S. 6-inch map, ed. 1864, sheet xxxii.
5 P.S.A.S., lxxxv (1950-1), 184.
6 Ure, D., The History of Rutherglen and East Kilbride
(1793), 87.
7 Stat. Acct., xv (1795), 279.
8 P.S.A.S., ix (1870-2), 231. Cf. also Nos. 12 and 35.
9 Ure, Loc. cit.
10 Arch. Scot., iii (1831), App. ii, 67.
11 P.S.A.S., xiii (1878-9), 329; Museum number DL 29.
12 Scottish Regional Group, Council for British Archaeology,
Eighth Report (1953), 16.
13 Ure, D., op. cit. 222.
-- 64 |
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| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_100 |
No. 36 -- CUP-AND-RING MARKINGS -- No. 43
said that it was made of gravel and measured 60 yds. in
length from E. to W. by 14 ft. in height. Under it there
were found a great many "coffins of stone", placed in a
row and separated from one another by single slabs.
Each coffin contained an urn filled with earth and
cremated bones.
This cairn seems to have been similar to the pair
described under No. 32.
c. 5679 -- NS 57 NE (unnoted) -- 10 November 1955
36. Chambered Cairn, Cameron Muir. The site of
this cairn is marked on the O.S. map nearly one mile
ESE. of Wester Cameron farmhouse, at a height of
450 ft. O.D. The only recognisable part of the structure
that now remains is a large, flat boulder protruding
through the turf. Descriptions appear in the New
Statistical Account and in the Ordnance Survey Name
Book. ¹ The latter states that a cairn "was removed about
30 years ago by Mr. Buchanan who found within it 2
stone coffins containing some human bones". The date of
demolition was about 1830. It is also recorded ² that the
cairn was originally a heap of large stones which
measured about 20 paces in length by about 10 in breadth,
and that a row of cists was found in it. The dimensions
given accord closely with those of the cairn on Stockie
Muir (No. 12), one mile to the SE., while a third such
structure lies on Gallangad Muir, Dunbartonshire, one
mile to the SW. The description of the interior recalls
those of the cairns at Strathblane (No. 35) and Craig-
maddie Muir (No. 32).
469827 -- NS 48 SE -- 5 July 1955
37. Cairn, Queenzieburn (Site). The cairn that
formerly stood about 600 yds. E. of Chapelgreen has
now vanished. ³ This name does not appear on the latest
edition of the O.S. map, but the site must have been
near Queenzieburn. An urn and ashes are said to have
been found in the cairn.
c. 700775 -- NS 77 NW -- 21 May 1953
38. Cairn, Muir of Killearn (Site). It is recorded ⁴ that
a large cairn containing a cist, situated on the Muir of
Killearn, was demolished in the 18th century. The
location of this monument is unknown.
39. Cists, Waterhead (Sites). No traces now remain of
the cists that are reported to have been discovered ⁵ near
the standing stones described under No. 61.
c. 657839 -- NS 68 SE (unnoted) -- 21 April 1954
40. Cist, Mains of Buchlyvie (Site). Close to the S.
side of the road from Kippen to Buchlyvie (A811),
200 yds. S. of Mains of Buchlyvie farmhouse, there is a
natural mound which measures 180 ft. in length from
E. to W., 120 ft. in breadth, and 18 ft. in height. It is
recorded ⁶ that a stone cist containing human bones was
found in it.
585942 -- NS 59 SE (unnoted) -- 14 October 1952
41. Cairn, "Fairy Knowe", Kippen (Site). It was
recorded in 1870 that "a tumulus near to the railway
line was lately opened, and in it was found 'an auld can'
and some coins". ⁷ In another account, ⁸ the tumulus is
said to have been locally known as the "Fairy Knowe",
but it has not been possible to obtain more precise
information about its location.
NS 69 NW or NE (unnoted)
CUP-AND-RING MARKINGS
42. Cup-and-ring Marking, King's Park, Stirling.
This marking ⁹ occurs on a natural rock near the crest
of the steep craggy slope that borders the King's Park
along its SW. side. It is situated 45 yds. E. of a seat
which overlooks Douglas Terrace to the SSE. The rock
is now completely overgrown with turf except for an
area measuring 2 ft. 6 in. by 1 ft. 6 in. On this flat surface
there is a cup 1 1/2 in. in diameter and half an inch deep
surrounded by a ring 5 in. in diameter, one inch wide and
a quarter of an inch deep. There has been a second outer
ring, measuring about 9 in. in diameter, but it has
suffered more severely than the rest from weathering and
its outline is now only faintly visible.
783930 -- NS 79 SE (unnoted) -- 22 February 1958
43. Cup-and-ring Markings, Castleton. It has not
been possible to identify the sandstone rock in the
"Gosham Park", on the estate of Carnock, which is said
to have borne "a few much weathered cups with con-
centric rings". ¹⁰ The park in question lies about a
quarter of a mile E. of Castleton farmhouse, but a
careful search of the many rock outcrops which it
contains has proved fruitless.
c. 8588 -- NS 88 NE (unnoted) -- 30 August 1955
1 Vol. viii (Stirlingshire), 106; Drymen parish, 108.
2 History (1880 ed.), i, 57.
3 Stat. Acct., xviii (1796), 214, 295.
4 Ibid., xvi (1795), 122.
5 Strathendrick, 259.
6 Stat. Acct. xviii (1796), 329.
7 P.S.A.S., ix (1870-2), 36.
8 T.S.N.H.A.S., vi (1883-4), 20.
9 Ibid., xxiii (1900-1), 91.
10 P.S.A.S., xxx (1895-6), 209.
-- 65 |
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| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_101 |
No. 44 -- STANDING STONES -- No.50
44. Cup-and-ring Markings from Tor Wood Broch.
Three large sandstone blocks bearing cup-and-ring
markings were discovered ¹ among the debris by the
excavator of the Tor Wood Broch (No. 100), and are
now preserved in the National Museum of Antiquities
(GM 36, 37, 38). One, which is 2 ft. long, 1 ft. 2 in.
broad and 8 in. deep, has two markings, each of which
consists of two concentric rings with a central cup
(Pl. 2 C). The outer rings measure 5 1/2 in. and 4 1/2 in. in
diameter respectively, the inner ones both 3 1/4 in., and
the cups 1 1/4 in. Another block, measuring 1 ft. 7 in. in
length, 1 ft. 5 in. in breadth and 9 in. in depth, has one
similar marking and one simple ring 3 1/2 in. in diameter.
The third (Pl. 2 D) bears two concentric rings of
diameter 5 in. and 2 1/2 in. joined by a radial groove
which protrudes for 1/2 in. beyond the outer ring. This
marking has no central cup. The third block also bears
a simple ring, apparently in an unfinished condition,
which measures 2 in. in diameter.
The fact that some of the markings are cut through by
the broken edges of the blocks, together with the uneven,
rough appearance of the sides and undersides, suggests
that these blocks have been hewn from larger stones,
or from living rock, on which the markings had been
previously inscribed.
833849 -- NS 88 SW (unnoted)
45. Cup-marked Boulder, North Blochairn (Site).
This boulder, on which there are said to have been six
cup-marks, ² is reported to have been situated on Craig-
maddie Muir at a distance of 120 yds. NE. of North
Blochairn farmhouse, but no trace of it could be found
on the date of visit. Numerous natural depressions
caused by the weathering-out of small pebbles were,
however, observed on rock outcrops in the vicinity, and
it is possible that the marks recorded may have been of
this nature.
c. 580762 -- NS 57 NE (unnoted) -- 19 June 1954
STANDING STONES
46. Standing Stone, Sheriffmuir Road. This stone is
situated at a height of 896 ft. O.D. on the highest point
of Pendreich Muir, 670 yds. WNW. of the Sheriffmuir
Road (No. 508) at spot-level 776. Lying recumbent on
a grassy patch among the heather, it is a four-sided
pillar measuring 13 ft. in length, a maximum of 4 ft. 6 in.
across the wider side, and a maximum of 1 ft. 6 in. across
the narrower side.
813997 -- NS 89 NW (unnoted) -- 20 April 1954
47. Standing Stone, Airthrey Castle (W.). Thus stone
stands 700 yds. WNW. of Airthrey Castle (No. 287),
just outside the wood that borders this part of the
policies, at an elevation of about 140 ft. O.D. Many
years ago the stone, which is of dark grey dolerite, fell
down and was broken, and the basal portion, now
re-erected (Pl. 3 A), is only 3 ft. 10 in. high; two large
fragments, however, still lie beside the base, and the
original stone is said ³ to have stood to a height of 9 ft. 4 in.
Of a more or less oblong section throughout, the
re-erected stone measures 2 ft. 10 in. by 1 ft. 10 in. at
ground level, swells to its greatest dimensions (3 ft. 2 in.
by 1 ft. 9 in.) at a height of 1 ft. 4 in., and diminishes at
the top to 2 ft. 2 in. by 1 ft. 3 in. Its major axis lies
approximately ENE. and WSW.
Since the date of visit this stone has been removed.
806968 -- NS 89 NW -- 23 August 1952
48. Standing Stone, Airthrey Castle (E.). This stone
(Pl. 3 B) stands about 300 yds. SE. of Airthrey Castle
(No. 287), at an elevation of about 110 ft. O.D. Like
its neighbour (No. 47), it is a pillar of dark grey dolerite.
It is oblong in section, leans slightly south-westwards
(i.e. along the line of its main axis), and measures 9 ft. in
height and 5 ft. by 2 ft. 4 in. at ground level. It increases
to a maximum of 5 ft. 4 in. by 2 ft. 10 in. at a height of
5 ft. 9 in.
814964 -- NS 89 NW -- 12 August 1952
49. Standing Stones, Randolphfield. Two standing
stones are situated in the grounds of Randolphfield
House, on the W. side of the St. Ninians road in the
S. outskirts of Stirling. One, which stands beside the
drive 40 yds. N. of the entrance-lodge, is an upright
pillar of rectangular section, 3 ft. 8 in. high and 1 ft. 5 in.
by 1 ft. at ground level. The other stands 20 ft. N. of the
boundary wall between Randolphfield and Cliffordpark
at a point 40 yds. SW. of the lodge; it is an upright,
rectangular pillar, 4 ft. high and measuring 2 ft. by 1 ft.
6 in. at ground level.
While these stones may not be of prehistoric origin,
there is no reason to accept Nimmo's statement ⁴ that
they were set up to commemorate the action fought on
23rd June 1314, by the Scots under Thomas Randolph,
Earl of Murray, against an English reconnaissance force.
794924 -- NS 79 SE -- 14 February 1954
50. Standing Stone, W. of Doghillock. This stone,
540 yds. W. of Doghillock farmhouse, is situated on the
1 P.S.A.S., vi (1864-6), Appendix, 42.
2 Ibid., xl (1905-6), 325 and fig. 24.
3 T.S.N.H.A.S., xv (1892-3), 119 and pl. III. An illustration
of the stone before it was broken is given by Fergusson,
R. Menzies, Logie, A Parish History, ii, facing p. 244.
4 History, 84, 193.
-- 66 |
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| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_102 |
No. 51 -- STANDING STONES -- No. 58
summit of a low ridge at a height of a little over 200 ft.
O.D. It is a rectangular pillar measuring 4 ft. 9 in. in
height and 1 ft. 9 in. by 1 ft. at ground level, and is
probably not a prehistoric monument.
815839 -- NS 88 SW (unnoted) -- 14 February 1954
51. Standing Stone, SW. of Doghillock. This stone
stands at a height of 250 ft. O.D. on the summit of
Toptowie Hill, a quarter of a mile SW. of Doghillock
farmhouse. It is an upright rectangular pillar, measuring
4 ft. 4 in. in height and 1 ft. 6 in. by 1 ft. at ground level,
and may have been erected in comparatively recent
times.
817836 -- NS 88 SW ("Standing Stone" in ordinary type)
14 February 1954
52. Standing Stone, "Wallace's Stone", Wallace-
stone. According to Nimmo's editor, ¹ the original
"Wallace's Stone" was a slab 3 ft. high, 18 in. wide and
3 in. thick; but the monument that now occupies the
site is an ornamental stone pillar, erected in 1810 in
honour of Sir William Wallace, and is of no archaeological
interest.
918770 -- NS 97 NW (unnoted) -- 9 December 1952
53. Standing Stone, Glen Ellrig 1. In the lower part
of the field that lies immediately S. of the ruined house
of Glen Ellrig there is a standing stone measuring
3 ft. 3 in. in height, 1 ft. 3 in. in breadth and 9 in. in
thickness. It is probably not a prehistoric monument.
884739 -- NS 87 SE (unnoted) -- 16 April 1954
54. Standing Stone, Glen Ellrig 2. This stone stands
on a knoll overlooking the River Avon, in the centre of
a small wood enclosed by a drystone dyke, and 320 yds.
nearly due S. of the ruined house of Glen Ellrig. It
is a slab of freestone with one upper corner broken off,
and measures 4 ft. 6 in. in height, 1 ft. 8 in. in width,
and 6 1/2 in. in thickness. Like its neighbour (No. 53), this
stone is probably not a prehistoric monument.
885738 -- NS 87 SE (unnoted -- 16 April 1954
55. Standing Stone, Broadgate. This stone stands
just N. of the road from Campsie to Strathblane, 140
yds. E. of Broadgate farmhouse. It is 4 ft. high and
measures 2 ft. 3 in. by 3 ft. at ground level. It may well
be the stone referred to in the New Statistical Account
as marking the spot where Mr. Stirling of Ballagan was
murdered in the 17th century, ² and should therefore
not necessarily be accepted as of prehistoric origin.
569793 -- NS 57 NE (unnoted) -- 18 June 1954
56. Standing Stone, Parish Graveyard, Strathblane.
A few yards within the entrance to the graveyard of
Strathblane Parish Church (No. 158) a standing stone
appears among the monuments. It is a five-sided pillar,
3 ft. 9 in. high, with an uneven but flattish top. At
ground level the sides range from 1 ft. 9 in. to 2 ft. 3 in.
in width. A standing stone occurs similarly in a grave-
yard at Struan, near Blair Atholl, Perthshire.
563793 -- NS 57 NE (unnoted) -- 10 November 1955
57. Standing Stone, Craigmore Cottage. In the front
garden of Craigmore Cottage there is a standing stone
of local lava measuring 3 ft. 2 in. in height. It tapers
towards the top but is otherwise irregular in shape. It
seems very doubtful whether this stone is an ancient
monument as has been suggested. ³
523799 -- NS 57 NW (unnoted) -- 17 February 1958
58. Standing Stones, Dumgoyach. On the highest part
of a broad ridge which runs SE. from Dumgoyach, ⁴
700 yds. SE. of Dumgoyach farmhouse and at a height
of 250 ft. O.D., there are five standing stones arranged
in a straight line from NW. to SE. (Fig. 6, A-E). Three
[Drawing Inserted]
Fig. 6. Standing stones, Dumgoyach (No. 58)
of the stones (A, B and C) are earthfast, while the other
two (D and E) are recumbent. Stone A is of irregular
shape and leans steeply towards the N. The exposed
portion measures 4 ft. in height, 2 ft. 6 in. in breadth
and 1 ft. 2 in. in thickness. Stone B stands upright at a
distance of 6 ft. NE. of A. It is a pillar of roughly rect-
angular section with an irregularly pointed top, and
measures 5 ft. in height by about 2 ft. 6 in. in thickness.
Stone C, also irregular in shape, is 11 ft. 6 in. NE. of B,
1 History (1817 ed.), i, 197.
2 N.S.A., viii (Stirlingshire), 82.
3 Discovery and Excavation, Scotland 1957, Scottish
Regional Group, Council for British Archaeology, 36.
4 There is no sign of the artificial levelling of the summit of
Dumgoyach mentioned by Smith (Strathblane, 73) and no
reason to suppose that it was ever occupied by a fort.
-- 67 |
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| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_103 |
No. 59 -- STANDING STONES -- No. 63
and is inclined so steeply to the NNE. that it is almost
recumbent. It measures 4 ft. 4 in. in height, 2 ft. 6 in.
in breadth and 1 ft. in thickness. The remaining two
stones lie on the ground between B and C. Stone D
measures 5 ft. 5 in. in length, 3 ft. in breadth and 1 ft.
6 in. in thickness while stone E, which rests partly on D,
measures 7 ft. 10 in. in length, 3 ft. 9 in. in breadth and
3 ft. in thickness.
A similar short alinement of standing stones is
recorded under No. 63, and other examples are known
from Argyll and Northumberland.
532807 -- NS 58 SW -- 5 September 1956
59. Standing Stone, Balgair Muir. This stone stands
about 180 yds. NW. of a gate which opens off the Fintry-
Kippen highway, 340 yds. N. of its crossing of the
Lernock Burn. It is triangular in profile and wedge-
shaped in section, and measures 3 ft. 3 in.; both in height
and in breadth along its base, by 1 ft. 7 in. in greatest
thickness. It may well have been a boundary stone as
it is near the corner of some ground which is enclosed
by a turf dyke and has evidently been under cultivation.
607904 -- NS 69 SW (unnoted) -- 2 October 1952
60. Standing Stone, Knockraich. This stone (Pl. 3 C)
stands 350 yds. NW. of Knockraich farmhouse, on a low
hummock which just raises it above the flood-plain of
the Endrick Water. It is 3 ft. 6 in. high and squarish in
section, measuring 1 ft. 7 in. from NE. to SW. by
1 ft. 4 in. from NW. to SE. On the top, which has been
brought to an irregularly rounded point, there is an
almost circular hollow, measuring 5 1/2 in. to 6 in. across
and 2 1/2 in. in depth; it is difficult to suppose that this is
other than artificial, although its bottom shows differential
weathering. The SE. side of the stone shows several
natural cavities, and a deep and wide vertical groove
which is also presumably natural. The NW. face seems to
have been flattened to a certain extent, a slight ridge
which is visible along part of either margin probably
representing a survival of the original surface. On this
face, 12 in. above the ground, a human figure has
been outlined in pocked technique. It is in full-face,
the features being indicated by pocked marks; the arms
are extended just below the level of the shoulders and
the legs are widely spread with the feet turned outwards.
The lower edge of a tunic or short kilt seems to be
indicated by a single line between the legs. The figure
is 8 in. high and measures 7 in. in breadth between the
hands and 7 1/2 in. between the feet. This face of the stone
also shows a number of small natural cavities, together
with a shallow cup which has a somewhat artificial
appearance; this cup is in the centre of the face and
2 ft. 4 1/2 in. above ground level, apparently at the upper
margin of the flattened area. The figure lacks any
distinctive characteristics which might afford evidence
of date, but it may be relatively modern since a
19th-century observer refers to cup-marks, incised lines
and other markings "some of which give evidence of
recent sculpture". ¹ Two somewhat similar figures carved
on the Bruce Aisle at Airth Church (p. 146) are later
than 1614.
608876 -- NS 68 NW (unnoted) -- 2 October 1952
61. Standing Stones, Waterhead. These two stones
stand on a slight eminence in open moorland, half a
mile ENE. of Waterhead farmhouse and at an elevation
of 850 ft. O.D. Described by Nimmo's editor as "a
Druidical remain", ² they have also been known as
the Machar Stones. ³ The more northerly stone, a four-sided
pillar of irregular section, has fallen almost prostrate
and its whole length, 7 ft. 6 in., is revealed. At the centre
it measures 3 ft. in width by 2 ft. 6 in. in breadth. The
other stone stands 4 ft. 6 in. further S. It is slab shaped
as shown in Pl. 3D, standing to a height of 5 ft. and
measuring about 2 ft. in thickness. Its width is 2 ft. 8 in.
at ground level, 3 ft. 8 in. at a point 2 ft. above this, and
2 ft.at the top.
The excavations in the vicinity that revealed the cists
(No. 39) may be responsible for the overthrow of the
more northerly stone, and may also account for the
presence in the immediate area of numerous small loose
stones.
657839 -- NS 68 SE (unnoted) -- 21 April 1954
62. Standing Stone. Ingliston (Site). The 1899 edition
of the O.S. 6-inch map ⁴ marks a "Standing Stone", in
ordinary type, on the S. slope of a low ridge 300 yds.
ENE. of Ingliston farmhouse, and at a height of about
160 ft. O.D. The stone has since been removed and it
has not been possible to trace a description of it.
807839 -- NS 88 SW (unnoted) -- 14 February 1954
63. Standing Stones and Cists, Middleton (Sites).
On the side of the road about a quarter of a mile SSE.
of Middleton farmhouse there was formerly a row of
standing stones, alined NW. and SE., the largest of which,
at the NW. end of the row, was a huge block of freestone
locally known as the "Law Stone of Mugdock", ⁵ The
stones were broken up and carried away for building
purposes, and it is reported that when the field in which
they has stood was levelled, a number of "stone coffins"
were discovered close by. ⁶ No trace of the stones, or
of the cists, can now be seen.
c. 561766 -- NS 57 NE (unnoted) -- 24 November 1956
1 T.S.N.H.A.S., xv (1892-3), 132.
2 History (1817 ed.), 633.
3 T.S.N.H.A.S., xv (1892-3), 132 and pl. xxiii.
4 xxiii S.E.
5 Strathblane, 256.
6 Ibid., footnote.
-- 68 |
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| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_104 |
No. 64 -- FORTS -- No. 68
64. Stone Setting, Blairessan, Spouthead (Site). An
entry in the Statistical Account of Scotland ¹ refers to
"several stones set on edge" at the source of the small
burn above Blairessan Spout, but nothing of the kind
can now be seen.
c. 527867 -- NS 58 NW (unnoted) -- 3 September 1952
HUT CIRCLES
65. Hut-circle, Double Craigs. This hut-circle is
situated at an elevation of 1250 ft. O.D. in rough pasture
110 yds. NW. of spot-level 1232 and about 300 yds. NE.
of the crest of Double Craigs. It consists of a low turf
ring, from which a few boulders protrude, and measures
about 28 ft. in diameter internally. There is a gap 6 ft. in
width in the S. arc.
634873 -- NS 68 NW ("Hut Circle" in ordinary type)
15 September 1952
66. Hut-circle, Waterhead. A hut-circle, consisting
of a low ring of turf from which a few boulders protrude,
lies in rough pasture 700 yds. NE. of Waterhead farm-
house. The position is at a height of about 810 ft. O.D.
on a slight rise near the left bank of the River Carron.
The hut measures about 40 ft. in diameter internally.
654841 -- NS 68 SE (unnoted) -- 15 September 1952
67. Hut-circle, Todholes. The following three hut-
circles, each of which is defined by a low, grass-covered,
stony bank, are situated in the vicinity of Todholes
farmhouse. (1) In rough pasture three-quarters of a
mile N. of the farmhouse and 260 yds. NW. of the
northernmost angle of a large rectangular sheepfold. It
stands on a knoll, at a height of about 1100 ft. O.D., and
measures 45 ft. in internal diameter. (2) At a height of
780 ft. O.D., half a mile NNE. of the farmhouse and
360 yds. SSE. of the sheepfold referred to above. It
measures about 30 ft. in internal diameter and has at
some time been under the plough. (3) On a little knoll
(750 ft. O.D.) on the left bank of the aqueduct between
the Endrick Water and Loch Walton, 610 yds. N. of the
farmhouse. It measures about 45 ft. in diameter internally
and there is a gap some 15 ft. in width in the N. arc.
1 674873
2 676868 -- NS 68 NE (all unnoted) -- 15 September 1952
3 673866
FORTS
68. Fort, Dumyat. The Ochil Hills stretch from the
Firth of Tay WSW. for a distance of 30 miles, for the
last twelve of which they are bounded to N. and W. by
Strathallan and to S. and E. by the River Devon. This
section of the hills is up to seven miles in breadth and
is crossed by no pass. The southwesternmost of the
major heights, Dumyat, rising to a height of 1375 ft. O.D.,
stands three and a half miles NE. of the confluence of
the Allan Water and the River Forth. Its summit peak
is steep and inhospitable, rising abruptly from the
shoulders of the hill which reach heights of between
900 ft. and 1100 ft. O.D. To the N. the shoulders slope
gently down to the valley of the Loss Burn, some 400 ft.
below and one mile distant, but to the S. there is a very
steep descent of 1000 ft. to the plain in which the River
Devon joins the River Forth.
The fort (Fig. 7, Pl. 7 B) is situated near the brink
of this descent at a height of a little over 1000 ft. O.D.,
on an unnamed part of the shoulder some 500 yds. SW.
of the summit of the hill and 400 yds. ESE. of the name
"Castle Law" on the O.S. 6-inch map. The innermost
feature is an oval enclosure which occupies the highest
part of the site and measures 90 ft. in length by 55 ft. in
breadth within the massive debris of a ruined stone
wall (A). No stones of either face can be distinguished
among the rubble, which is spread to an average width
of about 15 ft. The entrance is not distinguishable with
certainty but was probably in the W. arc. The interior is
featureless. A shallow depression with a slight external
upcast-mound, which borders the E. arc of the debris,
may be a result of the robbing of the outer face of the
wall.
A ragged band of rubble (B) appears on the steep slope
35 ft. NE. of the NE. arc of wall A, and runs thence
through S. and SW. at about the same interval for about
90 ft. Towards its end it bends more sharply and runs W.
to merge with the debris of wall A. Another line of
rubble (C) branches from the SW. arc of wall A and
runs WNW.for 110 ft. to reach the debris of the outer
walls described below. The fragmentary nature of B
and C renders speculation about the original character
and purpose difficult, but clearly the possibility exists
that they might represent the ruin of a single wall which
has been partly overlaid by wall A.
The outer walls (D and E) have been designed to cut
off the nose of the hill from the landward approach, and
are drawn across what is in effect the neck of a pro-
montory. To S. and E. the steep faces of the hill form
adequate defences, while to NE. an equally effective
natural obstacle is provided by the precipitous sides of a
rocky defile in which a stream called Burnwarroch runs
off the hill. The inner of the two walls (D), a mass of
rubble about 18 ft. in width among which some vitrified
material was found, appears first on the steep N. part
of the site and runs thence W. and S. to the entrance,
which is 20 ft. in width. It continues thereafter along
the crest of a broad, grass-covered, rocky knoll for 130 ft.
and ends where the flank of this begins to slope steeply S.
The outer wall (E), of similar appearance to D, starts
on the lip of a rocky gully which continues SE. to join
the Burnwarroch defile; the wall runs at distances varying
1 Vol. xvi (1795), 122.
-- 69 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_105 |
No. 68 -- FORTS -- No. 68
[Plan Inserted]
Fig. 7. Fort, Dumyat (No. 68)
between 40 ft. and 65 ft. from D to the N. side of the
entrance. where it is 40 ft. outside the similar point in D.
It resumes on the S. side of the entrance only 22 ft. from
D, however, and continues thence at about the same
interval, past the end of the latter, to die out 60 ft. further
on, on the crest of a natural rocky slope. On each side of
the entrance the walls D and E are linked by lines of
rubble which probably represent ruined walls. Attached
to the outside of wall E there are two enclosures, one
on either side of the entrance, bounded partly by natural
slopes and partly by ruined walls (F and G) only 3 ft. 6 in.
in thickness. The northernmost enclosure is itself sub-
divided by a similar wall.
The chronological relationship between the two main
elements present in this fort - the enclosure defined by
wall A, and the double walls D and E - is not apparent
from the superficial remains and can only be established
by excavation. When the plan of the fort was first
published, ¹ it was assumed that the work was a unitary
one, walls D and E being the contemporary outer
defences of a "citadel" formed by wall A. The sub-
sequent discovery in Stirlingshire of large numbers of
duns, similar in plan to the "citadel", suggests however
1 Feachem, R. W., "Fortifications", in The Problem of the
Picts, ed. Wainwright, F. T. (1955), 77.
-- 70 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_106 |
No. 69 -- FORTS -- No. 70
that the latter may be an independent structure of the
dun class which was built in the interior of an older, and
presumably abandoned, fort represented by walls D and
E. For convenience in obtaining building material,
brochs and ring-forts were occasionally erected inside
earlier, ruined fortifications, ¹ and, if the "citadel" is
abstracted, Dumyat is not essentially different from a
number of neighbouring Early Iron Age forts whose
walls contain vitrified material (e.g. Nos. 69 and 74).
The name Dumyat was considered by Watson ² to
represent Dun Myat, the fortress of the Maeatae,
probably the Miathi of Adamnan, ³ and this view is
generally held today. ⁴ The spelling in the Statistical
Account of Scotland is Dunmyatt, ⁵ but neither this nor
subsequent variations need be regarded as significant.
A small cup-shaped object of stone from"above
Blairlogie" ⁶ may have originated at the fort.
832973 -- NS 89 NW (unnoted) -- 19 June 1952
69. Fort, Abbey Craig. Abbey Craig is an isolated rocky
hill which rises abruptly for some 300 ft. from the
Carse of Stirling a quarter of a mile E. of Causewayhead.
The summit of the hill is level, and near the N. end there
is a fort (Fig. 8) which has been damaged by the
[Plan Inserted]
Fig. 8 Fort, Abbey Craig (No. 69)
construction within it of the Wallace Monument, All
that remains is a substantial turf-covered bank, crescentic
on plan and 260 ft. in length, the ends of which lie close
to the brink of the precipice that forms the W. face of the
hill. The bank stands to a maximum height of 5 ft. above
the level of the interior and presumably represents a
ruined timber-laced wall since numerous pieces of
vitrified stones have been found on the slopes immedi-
ately below it.
The entrance to the fort presumably lay between one
end of the bank and the lip of the precipice, but both
the areas concerned have been disturbed by the con-
struction of modern approaches. The interior of the fort
measures about 175 ft. from N. to S. by about 125 ft.
transversely and the interior is featureless. Nimmo's
editor reports that "eleven brazen spears" were dis-
covered on Abbey Craig in 1784. ⁷
809956 -- NS 89 NW (unnoted) -- 17 June 1952
70. Fort, Gillies Hill. This fort, half a mile W. of
Polmaise Castle, is situated at a height of about 450 ft.
O.D. on the top of the steep crags that form the W. face
of Gillies Hill, and at a point where the line of the crags
is interrupted by a transverse gully. The remains lie
within a coniferous plantation and were partly concealed
by lopped branches at the date of visit; an accurate
survey was therefore impossible, but the accompanying
sketch-plan (Fig. 9) illustrates the main features of the
[Plan Inserted]
Fig. 9. Fort, Gillies Hill (No. 70)
site. The angle formed with the crags by the N. side of
the gully is cut off from the rest of the hill by three
ramparts, which enclose an area measuring about 240 ft.
1 E.g. Torwoodlee broch (P.S.A.S., lxxxv (1950-1), 92 ff);
Dunearn Hill, ring-fort (Feachem, op. cit., 75).
2 Place Names, 59, 100.
3 Anderson, A, O., Early Sources of Scottish History, 90, 96 f.
4 Wainwright, F. T., "The Picts and the Problem", in The
Problem of the Picts, 24, etc.
5 Vol. iii (1792), 288.
6 T.S.N.H.A.S., xlvi (1923-4), 142; Smith Institute Catalogue,
61, No. 4706, AH 21.
7 History (1880 ed.), i, 373.
-- 71 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_107 |
No. 71 -- FORTS -- No. 73
from N. to S. by 180 ft. transversely. The ramparts are
greatly wasted and consist of low banks spread to a
maximum width of 15 ft. A few earthfast boulders
protruding from the banks probably represent wall-faces.
The ramparts are pierced at two points by a winding
forest-track, but it seems likely that another gap, on the
NE. arc, marks the position of the original entrance.
768917 -- NS 79 SE (unnoted) -- 22 February 1957
71. Fort, Sauchie Craig. This fort occupies a rocky
knoll on the brink of the cliff that overlooks the mouth
of Windy Yet Glen from the S. It is 1200 yds. due W. of
Sauchieburn House and at an elevation of just under
800 ft. O.D.The fort is roughly oval on plan (Fig. 10)
[Plan Inserted]
Fig. 10. Fort, Sauchie Craig (No. 71)
and measures internally 215 ft. in length from E. to W.
by 110 ft. in greatest width. Except on the N. side, where
the steep cliff probably constituted a sufficient defence
in itself, it was enclosed by triple fortifications consisting
of an inner wall and two earthen ramparts separated by
a ditch. All these remains are in a much dilapidated
condition at the present time. The wall has been heavily
robbed, and its original thickness cannot be estimated
with any accuracy since no facing-stones are visible and
the core is partly obscured by vegetation. The ramparts
have been similarly reduced almost to vanishing point
and are nowhere more than a few inches in height; the
inner one is little more than a crest-line, while the outer
one has been largely destroyed by a plantation fence and
only survives for a short-distance on the E. The entrance
appears to have been situated at the E. end of the fort,
where there is a gap in the wall 15 ft. in width. The
interior is rocky and shows no sign of structures.
763893 -- NS 78 NE (unnoted) -- 25 June 1952
72. Fort, Cowie. This fort is situated at a height of
200 ft. O.D. on the summit of Berry Hills, immedi-
[Plan Inserted]
Fig. 11 Fort, Cowie (No.72)
ately W. of Cowie village. It is pear-shaped on plan
(Fig. 11) and measures 150 ft. from N. to S. by 170 ft.
transversely within triple defences. The fort has been
under cultivation, and this has had the effect of reducing
the ramparts to mere scarps. On the W., where they are
well preserved, the scarps representing the inner, medial
and outer ramparts rise to heights of 3 ft., 6 ft. and
7 ft. 9 in. respectively. The ground between the ramparts
has been ploughed into level terraces which vary in
width from 15 ft. to 30 ft. except to S. and SE., where
the terrace between the inner and medial ramparts
narrows to about 3 ft. at it crosses the steep hillside. The
outer rampart was not taken across this slope. The
entrance, which is on the E., has been mutilated by
ploughing, and the interior is featureless.
Two quarries have encroached upon the fort. One,
shown on the O.S. map as "Polmaise Quarry (Disused)",
has removed the SW. extremity of the outer rampart
where this merged into the steep hillside and has also
cut into the SW. arc of the medial rampart. The other,
to NW. of the fort, was being worked on the date of the visit;
it had already removed a stretch of 150 ft. of the NW. arc
of the outer rampart.
836892 -- NS 88 NW (unnoted) -- 12 March 1952
73. Fort, Langlands. This fort (Fig. 12) is situated at a
height of 300 ft. O.D. on a rocky knoll locally known as
Carr's Hill,a quarter of a mile NW. of Langlands farm-
house. The knoll rises to a height of only a few feet above
the level of the broad ridge of which it forms the NW.
termination, to to W., N. and NE. its flanks fall steeply
for a distance of as much as 40 ft. to the right bank of the
Tor Burn.
-- 72 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_108 |
No. 73 -- FORTS -- No. 73
The structure has suffered considerably from quarry-
ing, and stones have been removed from it to build walls
and houses near by. The central feature of the surviving
remains surrounds the highest point of the knoll and
consists of a dilapidated stony bank (A on the plan),
covered with heather, which probably represents a
ruined wall. It measures about 12 ft. in width, and
encloses a roughly circular area measuring about 75 ft.
in diameter internally. Externally, the surface of the
bank slopes gently down from a ragged crest which
stands to a maximum height of 4 ft. 6 in. above the
ground outside, but internally the entire circumference
is cut and pitted in the same manner as is the whole of
the area that it encloses. This promiscuous damage is
probably in part the result of excavation, which is dis-
cussed below. The bank appears to be continuous except
for a gap about 10 ft. in width in the S. arc which prob-
ably represents the original entrance.
[Plan Inserted]
Fig. 12. Fort, Langlands (No. 73)
This central feature is surrounded, at a distance which
varies from 15 ft. to 35 ft., by the remains of a rampart
(B), oval on plan and measuring internally 145 ft. in
length from NW. to SE. by 120 ft. transversely. Where
the SE. arc of this rampart crosses the junction of the
knoll and the ridge it is accompanied by an external
ditch. The rampart is spread to a thickness of 20 ft. and
stands to a height of 6 ft. above the level of the bottom
of the ditch but only to a few inches above the interior,
The ditch measures 18 ft. in width and the outer lip
rises to a height of 2 ft. 6 in. above the bottom. On the
NE., the rampart runs along the crest of the steep flank
of the knoll and merges with the natural slope below,
but as it continues NW. it turns away from the flank to run
across the surface of the knoll, which here extends NW.
for a further 80 ft. before dropping to the burn. This arc
is again accompanied by a shallow external ditch 18 ft.
in width. Here the crest of the rampart stands to a
height of 10 ft. above the ditch and to 2ft. 6 in. above
the level of the interior. A length of about 30 ft. of the E.
extremity of the ditch has been obliterated, probably by
excavation, and the disturbance has run in to breach the
N. arc of the wall. The W. arc of the rampart originally
lay on the crest of the very steep W. flank of the knoll,
but a stretch measuring nearly 100 ft. in length has been
undermined and destroyed by a quarry. The S. arc
includes a gap about 25 ft. in width which probably
marks the position of the original entrance.
The outer lip of the SE. arc of the external ditch rests
on a rocky spine which here runs athwart the ridge from
NE. to SW. At a distance of 20 ft. SE. of and parallel
to the lip of the ditch the spine is bordered by a scarp
which stands to a height of some 2 ft. 6 in. above the
level of the ground outside. This might be the vestige
of some now unrecognisable continuation of the system
of defence, but is more probably merely the result of
ploughing the land immediately SW. of the spine. The
W. ends of both the ditch and the spine have been
mutilated by quarrying, and also by what may be the
foundations of buildings, while a now disused field-
boundary crosses them from NE. to SW. as shown on
the plan. What appear to be the ruined foundations of
small buildings lie among the quarry-pits and field
banks on the SW. slope of the knoll, while the ruin of a
rectangular building and the grounders of a stone dyke
can be seen on the level ground NW. and W. of the base
of the knoll.
CORN-DRYING KILN. The excavations referred to
above form the subject of a note which is attached
to the report of the excavation of the broch in Tor Wood
(No. 100). ¹ This consists of a brief account of work done
at Langlands and an announcement of the intention to
carry out more work and then to report fully on the
whole. Although the disturbed state of the ground inside
the fort suggests that the excavations may have been
continued, no further report on the work is known. Three
drawings, however, were published ² which throw con-
siderable light on the results of the initial excavation.
Of these, Fig. 8 shows a stone-lined pit which measures
6 ft. in diameter at the bottom and 8 ft. at the open top,
and is 7 ft. 6 in. deep. The pit is joined at base-level by a
stone-lined passage, a length of 9 ft. of which still bore
large lintel-stones when unearthed. As illustrated, the
passage measures 13 ft. in length, and reaches a height
of 2 ft. 6 in. where it joins the pit and 3 ft. 6 in. at the
other end. Fig. 7 shows that it measured 3 ft. in width.
These dimensions coincide reasonably well with those
given in a brief note on the structure which was published
16 years after the excavation. ³ This states that "on the
N. side of the knoll" there was a drystone structure
which measured 12 ft. in depth, 10 ft. in diameter at the
top and 6 ft. at the bottom, to which was connected a
1 P.S.A.S., vi (1864-6), 265.
2 Ibid., pl. xv. figs. 6, 7, 8.
3 History (1880 ed). i. 54.
-- 73 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_109 |
No. 74 -- FORTS -- No. 74
[Plan Inserted]
Fig. 13. Fort, Braes (No. 74)
passage 2 ft. 6 in. in width and 30 ft. in length, over a
stretch of 8 ft. of which was the "original roof".
The structure formed by the funnel-shaped pit and
the low passage is identical with the type of corn-drying
kiln which was in use until recent times in Scotland and
elsewhere. ¹ The kiln is situated some 60 ft. N. of the
N. arc of the outer wall of the fort on the NE. slope of
the knoll. At the date of visit it was much overgrown with
rank vegetation, but enough of the structure was visible
to confirm the earlier descriptions.
The excavation of the kiln naturally threw no light
on the nature of the fort. And as the latter would be
likely to contain few relics or recognisable structures, it
may be supposed that the extensive excavation of the
interior, which is suggested by the mutilated surface of
the ground, led to no further discovery and so seemed
not to justify the projected further report.
822854 -- NS 88 NW ("Ancient Earthwork")
22 February 1954
74. Fort, Braes. This fort is situated at a distance of
140 yds. WNW. of Braes farmhouse on an isolated rocky
knoll, the summit of which is at a height of 400 ft. O.D.
and commands a wide view to SW., S. and SE. over the
valley of the River Carron. The W. slope of the knoll,
which rises steeply to an elevation of 55 ft. above the
level ground below, is marked by intermittent stretches
of vertical rock-face, but the other flanks are shorter and
less steep, that to the E. attaining a height of only 26 ft.
above the ground below. The fort is subrectangular on
plan (Fig. 13) and measures about 150 ft. in length from
N. to S. by about 85 ft. transversely within a ruinous
stone wall. The wall has been heavily damaged in the
course of planting and felling trees on the knoll, and has
been completely obliterated for a distance of 50 ft. on
the S. side; elsewhere, however, the circuit can still be
traced by means of the rubble core which in places forms
a low mound. Nothing can now be seen of the inner face,
but two stretches of the outer face appear in the SE.
sector embedded in the flank of the knoll. The more
northerly of these measures 14 ft. in length and stands
four courses in height; it has apparently been exposed
by a fall of the loamy earth which, with some tumbled
rubble, covers the upper levels of the the slopes of the knoll.
The stones are laid on bed and measure from 2 ft. to
2 ft. 6 in. in length and from 9 in. to 15 in. in height.
The height from the bottom of this exposed face to the
level of the present crest of the rubble core is 10 ft. in a
horizontal distance of 7 ft. 6 in. The steepness of the
remains at this point, and at some other points on the
1 P.S.A.S., xc (1956-7), 49.
-- 74 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_110 |
No. 75 -- FORTS -- No. 76
perimeter where no outer face is actually exposed, is
difficult to account for in a drystone wall unless either
the core or the inner face is vitrified, and this supposition
is strengthened by the discovery, at the point marked V
on the plan, of a mass of vitrified material, now in Falkirk
Burgh Museum. This lay in an area which had been
disturbed by timber-hauling operations. That part, at
least, of the lower levels of the rubble core of the wall
is not vitrified can be seen in the gap where one stone of
the outer face has fallen away. This suggests that
vitrifaction may be confined to the inner face, as, for
example, at Duntroon ¹ or Lochan an Gour. ² The thick-
ness of the wall appears to have been about 10 ft. to 12 ft.
The other visible stretch of the outer face lies 14 ft. S. of
the stretch already described; it measures 12 ft. in length
and is represented by only one course of stones. The
entrance to the fort is on the NW., close to the crest of the
steep W. flank of the knoll. The interior is featureless.
In addition to the remains already described, some
slight traces of a second wall can be seen branching off
the main wall at the SW. corner of the fort and following
the outer margin of a terrace which interrupts the flanks of
the knoll on the N., S. and E. sides. This wall exhibits
no facing-stones at the present time, and its thickness is
uncertain.
The bare mention of a "Danish fort or observatory"
at Braes is made in the Statistical Account of Scotland; ³
while further evidence that it has been recognised since
that time appears incidentally in a note published in
1859. ⁴
797847 -- NS 78 SE (unnoted) -- 22 December 1953
75. Fort, Myot Hill. This fort is situated on the summit
of Myot Hill, which rises abruptly to a height of 696 ft.
above sea-level from the plain to the E. of Denny Muir.
It commands wide views in all directions, including a
stretch of the Antonine Wall from Bar Hill on the SW.
to beyond Rough Castle (No. 115) on the SE. The Hill
falls sharply away from the summit area to N., W. and S.,
but to the E. a gentle slope runs evenly down to the plain.
The fort (Fig. 14), which has been almost obliterated
by stone-robbing and weathering, is oval on plan and
measures 215 ft. in length from E. to W. by 140 ft.
transversely. No traces of defences can be seen along the
crests of the steep slopes to N., W. and S., but the slope
to the E. is traversed by the mutilated remains of two
ramparts. The inner one, a low, slightly curved mound
spread to a maximum width of 13 ft., runs S. from the
crest of the N. slope for a distance of 105 ft. After being
broken by a gap 11 ft. wide, which must represent the
site of the original entrance, it resumes to continue in
the form of a low scarp for some 25 ft. before merging
into the crest of the S. slope of the hill. The outer
rampart, which is only represented by a low scarp, takes
a similar course to the inner one, running from a point
on the N. crest of the hill at a distance of 38 ft. E. of the
beginning of the latter to finish 28 ft. E. of the N. side
of the entrance-gap. After a break of 22 ft. it resumes in
the form of a slight terrace, which runs SW. and W. for a
distance of 42 ft. before fading away on the S. slopes of
the hill. Apart from a small modern building, the interior
is featureless.
The possible connection of the place-name Myot Hill
with the tribal name Maeatae is noted by Watson. ⁵
781825 -- NS 78 SE (unnoted) -- 7 May 1953
[Plan Inserted]
Fig. 14. Fort, Myot Hill (No. 75)
76. Fort, Coneypark. This fort is situated on a ridge at
a height of 300 ft. O.D., 300 yds. NW. of Coneypark
farmhouse. It overlooks from the N. the low-lying land
that forms the marshy watershed between the River
Kelvin and the Bonny Water, and commands an
extensive view of the Antonine Wall from Rough Castle
to Bar Hill. The fort is oblong on plan (Fig. 15) and
measures internally 260 ft. in length from E, to W. by
110 ft. in maximum width. On both E. and W. it
is defended by double ramparts which lie athwart the
ridge, but no trace of defences can be seen along the
crests of the ridge to N. and S. The ramparts have been
severely mutilated by cultivation, the inner one being
reduced to a mere scarp while all that remains of the
outer rampart in each case is a low and fragmentary bank.
It is possible that each pair of ramparts was originally
accompanied by a medial ditch, and what appears to be
the counterscarp of an external ditch can be seen beyond
the dyke at the W. end of the fort.
The farm-track that crosses the site does not seem to
utilise an original entrance, and it is possible that this
occupied the gap between the E. defences and the N.
crest of the ridge.
1 P.S.A.S., xxxix (1904-5), 275 f.
2 Ibid., xliii (1908-9), 37 f.
3 Vol. iii (1792), 335 f.
4 P.S.A.S., iii (1857-60), 246.
5 Place Names, 59.
-- 75 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_111 |
No. 77 -- FORTS -- No. 77
Much of the interior of the fort has been under the
plough, and the higher parts have been quarried; it
contains no recognisable features.
The fort, which seems to belong to the Early Iron Age,
is probably the structure at "Cunny park" that was
described in 1796 ¹ as being less entire than the motte at
Balcastle (No. 182) and so "scarcely deserves to be
mentioned".
770792 -- NS 77 NE (unnoted) -- 15 April 1954
[Plan Inserted]
Fig. 15. Fort, Coneypark (No. 76)
77. Fort, Dunmore. Dunmore, rising to a height of
1126 ft. above sea-level, is the northernmost hill-top of
the Campsie Fells. It is situated half a mile W. of Fintry
and dominates the narrow mouth of the Upper Endrick
valley opposite the point where the Fintry Hills give
way to the broad plain that stretches thence westwards
to Loch Lomond. The rocky eminence forming the hill-
top rises sharply from the high plateau to the S., across
which the approaches are comparatively level, while to
the N. the ground falls steeply to the river nearly 900 ft.
below.
The summit of the hill consists in the main of an oval
area measuring about 530 ft. from E. to W. by a
maximum of 170 ft. transversely (Fig. 16). It is girt on
all sides by steep, and in places precipitous, rocky slopes.
Most of this area is comparatively level and covered in
coarse pasture and heather, but the surface of the SW.
quarter consists of bare rock. The remains of a stone
wall (A in Fig. 16) are visible round much of the margin
of the summit area. Judging by the amount and position
of the debris, the wall seems to have been about 12 ft. in
thickness at the base, and the lowest courses of the outer
face appear to have been set into the rocky slopes of the
hill, a few feet below the crest-line. No trace of wall
debris can be seen along the SW. margin of the summit
area, where the presumed line of the wall lies on a bare
rocky cliff; but as soon as this gives way to the less severe
W. and WNW. slopes a considerable amount of rubble
remains to mark the course of the wall. After running
NNE. for about 100 ft. the line of debris turns ESE. to
follow the margin of the summit area for about 200 ft.,
when it is interrupted by a gully. This presumably
formed the entrance to the fortified summit from an
outer defensive area described below. The debris can
be followed thereafter for about 60 ft., but beyond this
point it is lost in coarse grass and heather until it
reappears 200 ft. further on. From here it turns S. and
SW. to round the E. extremity of the summit area,
finally running W. for 200 ft. before meeting and dying
out upon the rocky SW. crest-line.
The ESE. arc of the wall is covered by a horn-work
(B) which runs along a subsidiary crest about 11 ft.
below it for 150 ft.before dying out on the ever-
steepening slopes of the rock at a distance of 30ft.
outside the main wall.
The rocky N. flank of the summit area falls only 36 ft.
before reaching a broad ridge, the central spine of which
increases in height as it runs ESE. To NW. the ridge
is bounded by a steep, rocky slope which is a continuation
of the NW. flank of the summit area. As this continues
N. and NE. it becomes increasingly precipitous until,
at the NE. corner of the ridge, it includes sheer rock-faces.
A gully of ever-increasing breadth and depth starts at
about the central point on the line of union between the
summit and the ridge to the N. of it, running ESE. to
merge eventually into the gentler rock-strewn slopes
ESE. of both summit and ridge. Except to the ESE.,
therefore, the ridge is bordered by slopes and cliffs so
precipitous as probably to render a defensive wall
superfluous. From the NE. angle of the ridge, however,
a wall 12 ft. in thickness (C) runs SSW. along the crest
of the ESE. slope; on reaching the lip of the gully, which
here, near the mouth, is 140 ft. in width and 20 ft. in
depth, it descends into the gully, crosses the bottom, and
ascends a little way up the opposite slope towards wall A.
This feature recalls very precisely a wall which forms part
of the fort on Rubers Law in Roxburghshire. ²
A gap about 4 ft. in width, which can be seen among
the debris of wall C at the point where this crosses the
bottom of the gully, presumably represents the entrance
to this part of the fort, and from it the way is clear to
the gap, mentioned above, which occurs in the N. sector
of wall A.
A ruinous circular foundation (E) lies outside the fort
on the slope 50 ft. ESE. of the entrance in the mouth of
the gully. It consists of a ring of tumbled stones which
measures 20 ft. in internal diameter and is presumably a
hut-circle later in date than the fort.
A low rocky terrace, measuring about 400 ft. in length
from E. to W. by about 120 ft. transversely, lies immedi-
ately S. of, and 38 ft. below, the E. half of the summit
area and separates this from the moorland to the S. A
ruinous stone wall (D) about 5 ft. 6 in. in thickness starts
at the W. end of the terrace and runs E. along the middle
1 Stat. Acct., xviii (1796), 292.
2 Inventory of Roxburghshire, No. 145 (wall B, SE. of the
summit).
-- 76 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_112 |
[Plan Inserted]
Fig. 16. Fort, Dunmore (No. 77)
-- 77 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_113 |
No. 77 -- FORTS -- No. 78
of it, at first upon a line of outcropping rock, to die out
among the rocks near the E. end. At a point 70 ft. from
the W. end of this wall, a branch 20 ft. in length runs N.
from it to the foot of the rocky slope here flanking the
summit area. The little enclosure thus formed lies at the
bottom of a narrow, natural crevice which runs NE.
obliquely up the slope to the line of the main wall of the
fort and which could have formed a subsidiary entrance
to it. A gap about 6 ft. in width occurs about half-way
along wall D on the terrace. This wall might be con-
temporary with the fort.
At a point a few yards W. of the entrance in wall D a
small rectangular hut, measuring 14 ft. by 9 ft., within a
wall 2 ft. in thickness, has been built partly upon and
partly within the ruin of the wall. This hut is comparable
in size and appearance with the four that lie on the slopes
of Dungoil (No. 586), two and a half miles to the SE.
A modern cairn 6ft. in height and 18 ft. in diameter,
built from stones taken from the debris of the main wall,
stands close to the SE. extremity of the summit area.
extremity of the summit area.
605865 -- NS 68 NW (unnoted) -- 19 May 1953
78. Fort, Meikle Reive. This fort is situated on
the S. face of the Campsie Fells, 1100 yds. NE. of Bencloich
[Plan Inserted]
Fig. 17. Fort, Meikle Reive (No. 78)
-- 78 |
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| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_114 |
No. 79 -- FORTS -- No. 80
farmhouse, and at a height of a little over 700 ft. O.D.
It occupies a knoll which protrudes from the face of the
hillside and may thus be overlooked from the N. The
fort is roughly oval on plan (Fig. 17), measuring 145 ft.
from E. to W. by 120 ft. transversely within the ruins of
a stone wall which are spread to a width of between 15 ft.
and 20 ft. Excavation ¹ has shown that this wall originally
measured 12 ft. in thickness. Outside the wall there is a
terrace about 14 ft. in width, from the outer margin of
which a few earthfast boulders protrude. Immediately
to N. and NW. easy access is offered to the fort from the
hillside by a broad neck of land, and this is barred by a
series of ramparts and ditches which extend in depth for
more than 100 ft. The fort has two entrances; the larger
one, which was probably the main entrance, lies on the
E. and the smaller one on the W. The interior is grass-
grown and featureless. About 100 ft. E. of the E. entrance
there is a circular depression, 30 ft. in diameter, which is
often full of water; it may have been a pond used by the
occupants of the fort. A modern cairn stands on the NE.
arc of the wall.
As seen on the surface the structure appears to be an
Early Iron Age fort of conventional type, and the small
finds from the excavation seem to confirm this; they
included a number of pieces of hand-made pottery, a
stone ball, a sandstone disc, and fragments of a shale
armlet and a stone ring. The excavators reported traces
of part of what might have been an earlier rampart close
to the inner face of the N. arc of the main wall, but as
the latter was not sectioned the certain existence and true
nature of the supposed earlier remains were not proved;
they were thought, however, to consist of post-holes
belonging to the inner revetment of a core of earth and
brushwood. No positive evidence of a post-Roman
occupation was found, although, as only about one-
fourteenth of the interior of the fort was examined, this
negative evidence cannot be regarded as conclusive.
639789 -- NS 67 NW -- 26 June 1953
79. Fort, Craigmaddie. This fort, 100 yds. E. of
Craigmaddie House, is situated in woodland at a height
of 500 ft. O.D., Craigmaddie Castle (No. 206) occupying
its interior. To N. and E. the adjoining ground is level,
but to the S. and W. it falls steeply towards the Craigmaddie
Burn. The fort is D-shaped on plan (Fig. 18) and
measures internally 135 ft. from E. to W. by 110 ft.
transversely. The chord is defined by the crest of the
steep, rocky descent to the S., and the arc by the remains
of two ramparts, now represented only by low, grass-
covered, stony mounds. In the E. arc of the inner
rampart a stretch of outer facing-stones, 15 ft. in length,
together with a few stones which probably represent the
inner face, indicates that this was probably a dry-built,
rubble-cored stone wall some 12 ft. in thickness, but no
similar remains of masonry can be seen in the outer
rampart. Both ramparts being at the brink of the rocky
slope on the W. and run round to stop short of it on the
E., and it is probable that originally entrance to the
interior was gained through the resulting gap at the
latter point. Both ramparts have been severely robbed;
the only internal feature, other than the mediaeval castle,
is a length of scarp in the W. sector, but this is probably
natural.
575765 -- NS 57 NE (unnoted) -- 17 March 1958
[Plan Inserted]
Fig. 18. Fort, Craigmaddie (No. 79), also showing
Craigmaddie Castle (No. 206)
80. Fort, Mote Hill, Stirling (Site). Mote Hill, the
northernmost feature of Gowanhill consists of a rocky
knoll which attains an elevation of about 160 ft. O.D.
To the NW. a precipitous cliff falls from the summit to
level ground 110 ft. below, but on all other sides the
flanks of the knoll are only gently inclined and vary in
height from 20 ft. on the N. to 40 ft. on the S. The summit
is irregular on plan, measuring 90 ft. in length from N.
to S. by 60 ft. from E. to W., and it is probable that the
low bank, about 20 ft. in width, that borders it represents
the ruin of a wall, although nothing can now be seen to
confirm this. An account published in 1794 ² states that
a ruinous wall was then visible and that the stones had
the appearance of vitrifaction. A piece of vitrified material
from the site is preserved in the Hunterian Museum,
University of Glasgow. A later account mentions that
the structure was known as Murdoch's Knowe or Hurly
Haaky, ³ and claims that a second wall lay some 25 ft.
outside the first. A vestige of this may be represented by
a terrace, 8 ft. in width and 50 ft. in length, which runs
across the N. face of the knoll at a level 7 ft. below that
1 T.G.A.S., new series, xiv (1956), 64 ff.
2 Randall, A General History of Stirling (1794), 19.
3 T.S.N.H.A.S., vi (1883-4), 18. Cf. P.S.A.S., vi (1864-6),
210 ff., where this structure is referred to as "Hurly Hackit"
and the meaning of the name is discussed.
-- 79 |
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| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_115 |
No. 81 -- DUNS -- No. 85
of the summit. A pathway climbs gradually up the E.
flank of the knoll to reach the summit by way of a sunken
gap in the bank. This might mark the position of the
original entrance, but it has certainly been used in modern
times as the summit now accommodates two iron cannon,
a flagstaff, two seats and a boulder fancifully named the
"Beheading Stone" ¹ mounted on a column.
793944 -- NS 79 SE ("Mote") -- 16 February 1954
81. Fort, Livilands (Site). It is recorded ² that "at a
mansionhouse called Livilands", there was formerly a
fort with three concentric walls about 20 ft. apart, the
innermost enclosing an area about 50 ft. in diameter.
No traces of this structure can now be seen, and its
precise position is uncertain.
c. 800916 -- NS 89 SW (unnoted) -- 14 February 1954
82. Fort, Camelon (Site). Air-photographs taken by
Dr. St, Joseph ³ reveal the crop-markings of a native
fort (Fig. 46, K) in the N. corner of the plateau on which
stand the Roman forts of Camelon (No. 122). The
markings comprise four dark, narrow, parallel lines,
presumably representing ploughed-down ditches or
palisade-trenches, which run in a curve from the NW.
edge of the plateau to within about 50 ft. of the NE. edge,
where there may have been an entrance. The innermost
and third lines appear to be somewhat broader than the
other two. Within the interior, which measures about
150 ft. from N. to S. by about 200 ft. from E. to W., the
same photographs distinctly show the crop-mark of an
enclosure, probably a hut, bounded by a single ditch or
palisade-trench. Oval on plan, the enclosure measures
about 50 ft. by 40 ft. and appears to have an entrance
facing towards the S.
863811 -- NS 88 SE (unnoted) -- 6 December 1953
83. Crop-Marks, Mumrills. Crop-marks suggestive of
a native fort, which appear on air-photographs ⁴ of the
spur at the extreme eastern end of the plateau on which
stands the Roman fort at Mumrills (No. 112), were
tested by excavation in 1960, and no remains of ditches
were found. It can therefore be assumed that they derive
from ploughed-out rig-and-furrow cultivation and a
cart-track and not from an eroded system of defensive
banks and ditches.
921794 -- NS 97 NW (unnoted) -- 28 September 1960
DUNS
84. Dun, Baston Burn. This dun is situated, at a height
of 220 ft. O.D., on a broad ridge which lies N. of
Craigbrock Hill and is separated from it by the valley of
the Baston Burn. The sire is a quarter of a mile SSW. of
the junction between the road from Cambusbarron and
the Stirling to Dumbarton highway (A 811). On the N.
side of the dun the flank of the ridge falls away for 170 ft.
to the level carse-lands below, while to the S. there is a
more gradual descent of some 40 ft. to the burn. The
structure is now greatly dilapidated, and consists simply
of a ring of boulders and small stones which measures
about 12 ft. in thickness and has an external diameter
of some 50 ft. No facing-stones can be seen through the
rough vegetation which covers the remains, and the
position of the entrance, though it may be in the E. arc,
cannot be located with certainty.
739936 -- NS 79 SW (unnoted) -- 10 March 1954
85. Dun, Touch Muir. This dun is situated at a height
of 840 ft. O.D. on open moorland which descends very
gradually southwards to the left bank of the uppermost
reaches of the West Burn, 30 yds. distant. It is 770 yds.
NNW. by N. of the boat-house on the W. shore of
Reservoir No.4. Circular on plan (Fig. 19), the dun
[Plan Inserted]
Fig. 19. Dun, Touch Muir (No. 85)
measures 42 ft. in diameter within a ruined stone wall
8 ft. to 12 ft. in thickness. For the most part the wall now
appears simply as a grass-grown bank standing to a
maximum height of 2 ft. 6 in., but both inner and outer
facing-stones are visible at a number of points as shown
on the plan. The entrance, in the E. arc, is well-defined
and is 6 ft. in width.
The interior of the dun is on two levels, a central space,
26 ft. in diameter, and a passage which links it to the
1 T.S.N.H.A.S., ix (1886-7), 59.
2 P.S.A.S., ix (1870-2), 33.
3 Nos. DH 022-4 in the C.U.C.A.P.
4 Nos. DH 32 and 33 in the C.U.C.A.P.
-- 80 |
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No. 86 -- DUNS -- No. 86
[Plan Inserted]
Fig. 20. Dun, Castlehill Wood (No. 86)
entrance, being a few inches lower than the rest of the
enclosed area. In the absence of excavation the purpose
of this arrangement is obscure.
724919 -- NS 79 SW (unnoted) -- 4 July 1955
86. Dun, Castlehill Wood. This dun is situated at a
height of 650 ft. O.D. on a small crag of dolerite 1100 yds.
WSW. of the ruins of Castlehill farmhouse. It was
excavated in 1955 ¹ and the following account is based
on the published report.
The dun is oval on plan (Fig. 20) and measures 75 ft.
from NE. to SW. by 50 ft. transversely within a drystone
wall 16 ft. thick. The faces of the wall are composed of
large, angular blocks, and the core of boulders, small
rubble and earth. The entrance, in the E. arc, is provided
with door-checks. Within these, the passage measures
4 ft. 6 in. in width, and outside them 3 ft. 9 in. A few
paving-stones were laid to level the rough rock-surface
of the passage floor. Traces of what might have been the
bottom step of a stair, rising up the inner face of the wall,
were found at a point 8 ft. N. of the entrance. The
dun has no mural stair or galleries, but two sets of mural
chambers of unfamiliar design were located, one in the
W. and the other in the S. arc of the wall. The former
consisted of an entrance-passage, 6 ft. in length, which
varied in width from 2 ft. at the outer to 3 ft. at the inner
end, where it opened into a circular chamber 4 ft. in
diameter. From either side of the passage a narrow duct
or flue, about 19 ft. in length and 1 ft. 6 in. in width, led
off obliquely through the core of the wall to debouch into
the interior of the dun. The construction in the S. arc
consisted of a similar passage, one flue and a smaller
chamber. Ash and clinker of very light weight were
found in the form of deposits in both passages and all the
flues. While no parallel could be found for such systems
of chambers and flues, the excavator suggested that they
might have been corn-drying installations.
Much of the interior of the dun is now bare rock, but
excavation was possible in the shallow humus between
this and the wall. No structures were found and no
formal hearths, but remains of fires and various small
artifacts showed that the occupants had lived in this area,
possibly in wattle-and-daub shelters. The finds, though
few, included Roman glass and quern-fragments, and
suggested that the dun was occupied in the 1st or early
2nd century A.D.
751908 -- NS 79 SE (unnoted) -- 20 August 1955
1 P.S.A.S., xc (1956-7), 24 ff
-- 81 |
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No. 87 -- DUNS -- No. 89
87. Dun, Wester Craigend. The northern face of
Sauchie Craig is a cliff which, for a distance of a little
over half a mile, borders a narrow haugh on the right
bank of the Bannock Burn between Wester Craigend
farmhouse to the E. and the old limekilns near Touch-
adam Quarry to the W. From its W. extremity eastwards
for a distance of 740 yds. the cliff rises uniformly to a level
of about 100 ft. above that of the haugh, but beyond this
it begins to lose height and finally dies out altogether at
a point near the farmhouse. The dun (Fig. 21) is
situated on a low rocky knoll close to the brink of the
cliff at a height of 400 ft. O.D. and at a distance of
360 yds. W. of the farmhouse, just at the point where the
cliff begins to decrease in height.
The remains consist of a ruinous and fragmentary
stone wall, from 8 ft. to 10 ft. in thickness, which encloses
the surface of the rocky knoll. Numerous facing-stones
still in situ to heights of one or two courses indicate that
the wall ran in a straight line SE. for a distance of 45 ft.
from a point close to the cliff-edge and then turned
through E. and NE., in an arc about 50 ft. in length, to
[Plan Inserted]
Fig. 21. Dun, Wester Craigend (No. 87)
reach the entrance. The original width of the entrance
cannot now be measured because its S. side is lost, but
both corner-stones of the N. side remain. North of
the entrance the wall runs N. and W. in an arc which
follows the contour of the knoll and can be traced by
intermittent facing-stones for a distance of 30ft. Beyond
this point only tumbled stones appear, but the contour
of the knoll suggests that the wall ran thence in a straight
line for 55 ft. to join the W. sector, at an acute angle,
close to the cliff-edge. If this was so, the maximum internal
dimension of the dun was 61 ft., from WNW. to ESE.,
and the maximum transverse dimension 47 ft.
The facing-stones that are visible are well laid,
measuring up to 3 ft. in length by up to 2 ft. in breadth,
and the core of the wall appears to have been composed
of rubble. The interior is featureless.
767906 -- NS 79 SE (unnoted) -- 7 May 1953
88. Dun, Wallstale. This dun is situated 160 yds. N. of
Wallstale farmhouse, on a spur which projects south-
wards from Gillies Hill and at a height of a little over
400 ft. O.D. It is almost circular on plan (Fig. 22),
measuring about 45 ft. in diameter within a ruined stone
wall some 11 ft. in thickness. Except on the ESE. side,
where the entrance was probably situated, the wall can be
[Plan Inserted]
Fig. 22. Dun, Wallstale (No. 88)
traced continuously by patches of rubble core, and round
the E. half outer facing-stones are visible up to a
maximum height of four courses. In contrast, the inner
face is only exposed for a short distance on the ENE.
The interior of the dun is featureless.
On the NW. side of the dun is protected by a rock-cut
ditch of substantial proportions which traverses the spur;
it measures 26 ft. in width at the top and the scarp is
5 ft. 6 in. in depth.
774909 -- NS 79 SE (unnoted) -- 7 May 1953
89. Dun, Craigton. This structure, 540 yds. N. of the
site of Craigton House, is situated at a height of 850 ft.
O.D. on an isolated rocky knoll which protrudes from
the slope leading up from the valley of the Endrick
Water to Double Craigs. The main feature (Fig. 23)
is a subrectangular enclosure which measures 48 ft.
from NW. to SE. by 42 ft. transversely within a ruined
stone wall originally about 10 ft. in thickness. A few
large outer facing-stones remain in situ, most of them in
the NW. sector where they form a continuous stretch
33 ft. in length. Two stones which are probably authentic
-- 82 |
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| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_118 |
No. 90. -- DUNS -- No. 91
[Plan Inserted]
Fig. 23. Dun, Craigton (No. 89)
inner facing-stones can be seen, one in the NW. and the
other in the SW. sector. A depression about 10 ft. in
width in the SE. side probably marks the site of the
original entrance.
The remains of an outer wall lie on the NW. and SE.
flanks of the knoll at distances varying between 25 ft.
and 38 ft. from the main wall, but no traces occur on the
steeper SW. and NE. flanks. A sloping shelf situated
below the outer wall on the NW. was probably also
bounded by a wall originally, but all that now survives
is a single earthfast block.
628872 -- NS 68 NW -- 16 October 1952
90. Dun, Brokencastle. The last vestiges of this dun
can be seen on a low rocky knoll 640 yds. NE. of Dasher
farmhouse and at a height of 200 ft. O.D. The N. flank
of the knoll is steep, rocky, and about 20 ft. in height;
but the other three sides are only some 10 ft. in height;
the summit area measures 90 ft. from E. to W. by 85 ft.
transversely.
The remains of the wall consist of a few earthfast
boulders situated near the margin of the summit area,
and a patch of rubble core which is partly exposed
through the turf. In 1878 the work was described ¹ as a
circular fortification. At the date of visit part of the upper
stone of a rotary quern, probably of Early Iron Age date,
was recovered from the debris of the core of the wall.
666944 -- NS 69 SE ("Brokencastle" in ordinary type)
14 October 1952
91. Dun, Castlehill 1 (Site). This structure stood just
within the 300 ft. contour on a rocky outcrop 760 yds.
SE. of the ruins of Castlehill farmhouse. The site is
similar to that chosen by the builders of the dun at
Castlehill Wood (No. 86) one mile to the W. It is easily
approached from the NW., but in all other directions the
flanks of the outcrop become increasingly steep and
1 "Kippen", 4.
-- 83 |
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| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_119 |
No. 92 -- DUNS -- No. 99
precipitous until, to the SE., a maximum height above
the land below of 40 ft. is reached.
At some time more than seventy years ago ¹ all the
facing-stones were removed from the wall, but traces of
the core still remain and measurement across the robber-
trenches suggests that originally the wall was about 12 ft.
in thickness and enclosed a circular area roughly 35ft.
in diameter. The entrance appears to have been on
the NW.
766908 -- NS 79 SE (unnoted) -- 7 May 1953
92. Dun, Castlehill 2 (Site). On a low rocky knoll a
quarter of a mile S. of the ruins of Castlehill farmhouse,
and at a height of 380 ft. O.D., there is a grass-grown,
stony bank which encloses an oval area measuring about
50 Ft. by 45 ft. along the axes. The bank is probably a
ruined stone wall, and a few earthfast boulders on its S.
and E. arcs may be isolated facing-stones. On the S. the
bank is spread to a width of 12 ft., but elsewhere it is
tenuous and irregular. The size, shape and situation of
the structure suggest that it may have been a dun.
760909 -- NS 79 SE (unnoted) -- 6 February 1958
93. Dun, Auchincloch (Site). Gordon's illustrated
account ² of a stone-walled structure known as "Cairn-
faal", situated on a hill called the Forebrae "above the
Village of Achincloich", leaves no doubt that, in his time,
a dun existed here and was in an excellent state of
preservation. The circular stone wall, showing eight or
nine courses of masonry and measuring 12 ft. in height
by 16 ft. in thickness, enclosed an area about 80 ft. in
diameter. There was an entrance on the E. An outwork
is shown on Roy's plan, ³ but of this Gordon says that
it was "so embarrassed and confused, that I hardly dare
offer to describe it".
c. 7679 -- NS 77 NE (unnoted) -- 19 June 1954
94. Dun (probable), West Bonnyfield (Site). At a
distance of 80 paces E. of the site at Chapel Hill (No. 594),
Gordon noted ⁴ a round stone structure which measured
about 90 ft. in diameter. The hollow, flat interior that
he describes suggests that this may have been another
dun comparable with several in Kilsyth parish, though
it may perhaps have been in a more ruinous condition
as Gordon, at first view, thought that it was a tumulus.
The exact location of this structure is not known, but it
was probably in the vicinity of West Bonnyfield farm-
house.
c. 8180 -- NS 88 SW (unnoted) -- 19 June 1954
95. Dun (probable), West Auchincloch (Site).
Gordon ⁵ describes in some detail a structure called "The
Chesters" which he encountered between "Rough-Hill"
(Ruchill) and Auchincloch. It was oval on plan and had
a drystone wall some 18 ft. thick which was standing to
a height of 7 ft. to 8 ft. There was an entrance on the E.
The structure has now disappeared and its exact size
is unknown, but it seems probable that it was a dun.
c. 7578 -- NS 77 NE (unnoted) -- 19 June 1954
96. Dun (probable), Ruchill (Site). The ancient
structure situated at a place called "Rochhill" by Pont, ⁶
"Roche hill" by an unknown author, ⁷ "Roah hill" by
Sibbald, ⁸ and "Rough Hill" by Gordon, ⁹ cannot now be
located, but the site is presumably the prominent eleva-
tion occupied by Ruchhill farmhouse. Gordon's reference
to vestiges of stone walls suggest that the structure was
probably a dun.
754785 -- NS 77 NE (unnoted) -- 19 June 1954
97. Dun (probable), Auchinvalley (Site). The parish
minister of Kilsyth in 1796 states ¹⁰ that one of several
circular stone fortifications in the neighbourhood was
situated at "Auchinvillie", but no trace of such a work
has been found.
c. 7479 -- NS 77 NW (unnoted) -- 19 June 1954
98. Dun (probable), Townhead (Site). The parish
minister of Kilsyth in 1796 states ¹¹ that one of several
circular stone fortifications in the neighbourhood was
situated at Townhead, but all traces of this structure
have now disappeared.
c. 7478 -- NS 77 NW (unnoted) -- 19 June 1954
99. Dun (probable), Colziumbea (Site). Gordon ¹²
describes the "Vestiges of a small Fort" near
"Columbee"; it had a drystone wall about 14 ft. in width
and no ditch, and the circumference measured "very
nearly 500 Foot". The description suggests that the work
was probably a dun, but there is no reason to assume that
it was necessarily circular on plan, as Gordon habitually
recorded the circumference of a structure whatever may
1 T.S.N.H.A.S., viii (1885-6), 68 ff.
2 Itin. Septent., 22 and pl. III, 1.
3 Military Antiquities, pl. xxxv, where the dun is named
"Cairn Faulds".
4 Itin. Septent., 23.
5 Ibid., 22.
6 Geogr. Collections, ii, 369.
7 Ibid., iii, 125.
8 Historical Inquiries (1707), map facing p. iii.
9 Itin. Septent., 21.
10 Stat. Acct., xviii (1796), 292.
11 Ibid.
12 Itin. Septent., 21.
-- 84 |
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| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_120 |
No. 100 -- BROCH -- No. 100
be its shape. Although no remains are now visible, the
site may be represented by a rocky knoll, measuring
about 200 ft. from E. to W. by about 50 ft. transversely,
within Colziumbea plantation.
739777 -- NS 77 NW (unnoted) -- 19 June 1954
BROCH
100. Broch, The Tappoch, Tor Wood. This broch
(Fig. 24) is situated at a height of 380 ft. O.D. near
the centre of Tor Wood, 700 yds. WSW. of spot-level
214 on the by-road that runs from Larbert to Stirling
by West Plean. It can be seen on the skyline from this
point. Its position is a typical one for a Lowland broch;
it stands on the brink of a broken rocky slope so that in
one direction it commands wide views - in this case the
slope falls to the W. and the views extend from WSW.
through N. to ENE. - while in the opposite direction
the approaches are gentle and include some ground
slightly higher than that on which the broch stands.
Before the structure was excavated in 1864 ¹ it appeared
simply as a mound, the only indication that it might not
be natural being provided by laid stones appearing in its
SE. sector. It is plain that the excavators, even when they
had cleared the interior, remained under the impression
that the structure was simply a chamber sunk into a
natural knoll. In the course of their exploration they
removed a mass of boulders and debris, which they
estimated to weigh upwards of 200 tons, laid bare the
inner wall-faces and an inclined floor formed by the
natural rock, and opened the entrance-passage, stair-
lobby and stair. On the floor they found a central
hearth and a number of relics described below. As was
natural in view of their belief that they were dealing with
a chambered mound, they made no attempt to find the
outer face of the wall; and this is now almost wholly
concealed by earth and debris, including that resulting
from the clearance of 1864. Portions of the outer face
which appear on the W., NW. and N. give wall-
thicknesses of from 17 ft. to 24 ft; these are not, however,
at ground level but slightly above that of the scarcement,
the thickness at present ground level, as measured along
the entrance-passage, being 20 ft. 6 in. At the entrance
it can be seen that the outer wall-face is battered to the
extent of 9 in. in five courses.
The entrance is in the SE. and is 2 ft. 7 in. wide. It is
today approached by a sunken pathway made through
the debris that surrounds the outside of the broch, and
the stonework and kerbing seen along the sides of this
pathway probably represent revetments inserted in 1864
to retain the debris. The outer portion of the entrance-
passage increases in breadth by one foot as it penetrates
the wall, and at 9 ft. 9 in. from the outside it is checked
for a door and widens to 4 ft. 6 in. Nine inches within
the checks there is the usual bar-hole (Pl. 6 C) on the
N. side, with a recess opposite to receive the end of the
bar; these openings are both 9 in. square, the former
being at least 5 ft. 9 in. and the latter 1 ft. 3 in. deep.
Within the checks the N. wall of the passage maintains
its original alinement, but the S. wall diverges slightly
and gives the passage a breadth of nearly 5 ft. at 3 ft. 5 in.
behind the checks. At its inner end, 10 ft. 8 in. from the
checks, the passage narrows to 2 ft. 6 in. Two passage-
lintels remain in situ (Pl. 6 B), and the broken ends of
others can be seen in the inner portion of the passage;
the apparent headroom at the checks is now 5 ft. 3 in.,
but the true depth to the base of the passage wall was
found to be 8 ft., with the result that the bar-hole is seen
to have been placed at a normal height above the threshold
and not, as previously appeared, within a few inches of
the ground.
The shape of the interior (Pl. 5) is irregularly cir-
cular, showing a bulge where the passage enters, while
the W. half is noticeably flattened. The rock floor found
by the excavators has now been covered up with debris,
earth and vegetation, and the surface of the court con-
sequently stands higher than it did in 1864. It now falls
3 ft. 5 in. from W. to E. and the wall-face stands above
it to a height of about 8 ft., while it measures 35 ft. 6 in.
from N. to S. by 32 ft. transversely. ² The masonry
consists of large, rough blocks, probably quarried from
the neighbouring cliffs and outcrops, pinned with smaller
material. The wall-face contains numerous small
recesses (Pl. 6 A) about a foot or less in height and
breadth and from 1 ft. to 3 ft. in depth. Their purpose is
obscure, and the excavators of 1864 reported that
nothing was found in them "except some white clay
peculiar to Torwood" ³ ; on the other hand one of the
two similar recesses at Coldoch broch, Perthshire, was
represented in a sketch made about 1870 as divided in
two by a shelf. ⁴ Their number is difficult to calculate,
as in some places rather similar cavities have resulted
accidentally from the dislodgement of facing-stones,
but at least thirteen may be regarded as true construc-
tional features. At heights above the present level of the
interior which vary between 4 ft. 5 in. on the W. and
about 7 ft. on the E., a scarcement, 1 ft. to 1 ft. 6 in. wide
and suffering from dilapidation, runs all round the internal
wall-face. It can be seen that the innermost lintels of the
entrance-passage and of the stair-lobby, both now
vanished, formed parts of the scarcement ledge. The
stair-lobby (Pl. 6 A), which retains a double lintel,
enters from the court 12 ft. 3 in. to the left, or SW., of the
mouth of the entrance-passage, its own entrance being
2 ft. 7 in. wide and, at present, 4 ft. 9 in. high. It extends
11 ft. into the wall, showing a recess at the SE. corner
and what may be another just inside the entrance, and
at its inner end returns W., widens to 4 ft. 1 in., and
gives on to the foot of the stair which rises clockwise in
1 P.S.A.S., vi (1864-6), 259 ff.
2 The excavators recorded a height of 11 ft. 4 in. on the N.
and 8 ft. 6 in. on the S., the difference from today's measure-
ments being accounted for by the wasting of the upper courses
and by the rise in the level of the floor.
3 P.S.A.S., vi (1864-6), 261.
4 Ibid., lxxxiii (1948-9), 14, n. 1.
-- 85 |
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| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_121 |
[Plan Inserted]
Fig. 24. Broch, Tor Wood (No. 100)
-- 86 |
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| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_122 |
No. 101 -- HOMESTEADS -- No. 103
the thickness of the wall. Eight steps now remain of the
eleven reported in 1864; they are about 2 ft. 4 in. wide
by 9 in. deep, and each rises about 5 in. The uppermost
courses of the wall-faces flanking the steps show signs
of incipient corbelling.
To N., E. and S. the broch is encircled by two wasted
concentric banks the ends of which were evidently
designed to rest on the brink of the rock-slopes to the W.
They were examined in 1948-9 ¹ and were found to
represent the ruins of rubble-cored, boulder-faced walls.
The inner bank now rises to a maximum height of
6 ft. 6 in., and the outer one to 3 ft. Gaps occur in both
banks on a line with the entrance of the broch. The
"third wall", of which traces were mentioned by the
excavators of 1864 as "extending along the face of the
cliff", can be identified with some fragmentary footings
seen at a point about 40 yds. S. of the SW. end of the
outer enclosing-wall. The lip of the slope dips somewhat
at this point, and the slope itself is less steep than to
N. and S.; a wall may consequently have been built
across the dip to render access more difficult.
The small finds made in the course of the excavations
include three boulders carved with cup-and-ring
markings (No. 44); saddle and rotary querns ² ; three
hollowed pebbles, one of which resembles a crude version
of a stone cup of the kind found at West Plean
(No. 104); stone balls, one a pecked sphere with an
equatorial band in low relief; whorls and other small
stone objects; several sherds of hand-made coarse pot-
tery, and two of finer wares which might be mediaeval. ³
The coarse pottery includes one sherd with finger-tip
ornament under a thin everted rim such as has been
found in other brochs, ⁴ and two sherds of an Early
Iron Age native ware of a type found in SE. Scotland at
such places as Craigs Quarry, East Lothian. ⁵ No Roman
relics were recorded. Some of the finds are preserved in
the National Museum of Antiquities of Scotland and
others in the Falkirk Burgh Museum.
833849 -- NS 88 SW -- 15 July 1953
SETTLEMENT
101. Settlement, Wheatlands (Site). National Survey
air-photographs ⁶ reveal the buried remains of a settle-
ment, in the form of crop-markings, in a cultivated field
150 yds. SSW. of Wheatlands Home Farm. The site is
at a height of about 220 ft. O.D., on a broad ridge that
forms part of the NW. slopes of the valley of the Bonny
Water. The settlement was bounded by a bank and ditch
which enclosed an oval area measuring about 200 ft. in
length from NE. to SW. by about 150 ft. transversely.
The entrance appears to have been in the NE. arc.
Within the interior there are indications of five or six
round structures, presumably huts, each measuring
between 20 ft. and 30 ft. in diameter.
816807 -- NS 88 SW (unnoted) -- 11 September 1952
HOMESTEADS
102. Homestead, Logie. This homestead. 460 yds.
NE. of Broomhill Cottage, is situated at a height of
600 ft. O.D. on the SW. slope of an unnamed ridge
which adjoins Dumyat on the W. Oval on plan (Fig. 25),
it measures 50 ft. in length from WNW. to ESE. by
40 ft. transversely within a ruinous stone wall about 7 ft.
in thickness. The entrance, 5 ft. in width, is in the S. arc.
The interior slopes down from NW. to SE., and a shelf
in the highest part provides a suitable site for a hut.
[Plan Inserted]
Fig. 25.Homestead, Logie (No. 102)
A spring rises 30 yds. W. of the homestead, and the
whole of the hillside in the vicinity bears signs of
cultivation in the form of short irregular terraces, which
appear wherever the slope is not too steep and rocky. A
track which passes close to the S. of the homestead runs
from a point on the Sheriffmuir Road near the Highland-
man's Well (No. 546), 700 yds. to the NW., to a ruined
farmstead 400 yds. to the SE.
818976 -- NS 89 NW (unnoted) -- 15 October 1953
103. Homestead, Woodside. This homestead is
situated at a height of 450 ft. O.D. in the uppermost of
the cultivated fields 650 yds. SW. of Woodside farm-
house. It is D-shaped on plan (Fig. 26), the chord
running approximately E. and W. along the contour
and the arc lying below it to the N., and measures 170 ft.
1 P.F.A.N.H.S., iv (1946-9), 89 ff.
2 P.S.A.S., xc (1956-7), 38, fig. 11.
3 P.F.A.N.H.S., loc. cit., fig. 11, and National Museum of
Antiquities No. GM 27.
4 P.F.A.N.H.S., loc. cit., fig. 19, bottom right.
5 One illustrated, ibid., bottom left; P.S.A.S., lxxxvi
(1951-2), 195, fig. 6.
6 CPE/SCOT/UK 256, 5330-1.
-- 87 |
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| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_123 |
No. 104 -- HOMESTEADS -- No. 104
[Plan Inserted]
Fig. 26 Homestead, Woodside (No. 103)
from E. to W. by 120 ft. transversely within a single
ruinous wall. The latter consists for the most part of a
substantial grass-grown, rubble bank from which pro-
trude numerous boulders which once formed parts of
the faces, and the wall may originally have been about
5 ft. or 6 ft. thick. The part of the wall that forms the
chord runs on the brink of a scarp some 4 ft. in height,
but in the absence of excavation it is impossible to tell
whether this scarp is of natural or artificial origin. The
entrance, 10 ft. in width, lies in the centre of the N. arc,
and on the inside it is flanked by two roughly circular
huts bounded by stone-faced, rubble walls about 4 ft.
in thickness, and measuring respectively 40 ft. and 35 ft.
in diameter internally. Both huts incorporate portions
of the main wall of the homestead and appear to be
contemporary with it. Several curved, stony banks lie in
the SW. and SE. parts of the interior.
Immediately outside the homestead to the E. there
are two lines of earthfast boulders, the uppermost of
which is linked by a scarp to a lightly walled enclosure,
now ruined, measuring 50 ft. by 45 ft. internally. The
relationship of this enclosure to the homestead is
uncertain.
That part of the modern field which lies SE. of the
homestead has been cleared of boulders and ploughed,
but the part to the NW. has not been so thoroughly
cleared and the plough-rigs are fewer in number. In this
part, some stone field-walls, probably not as old as the
homestead but now long disused, still survive.
753912 -- NS 79 SE -- 21 November 1956
104. Homestead, West Plean. On the crest of Common
Hill, 150 yds. NW. of the mansion of West Plean, there
is a nearly circular enclosure measuring about 90 ft. in
diameter within a ditch varying from 7 ft. to 12 ft. in
width. Outside the ditch, particularly round the SW.
half of the circuit, there are some slight traces of a bank.
On account of the wide view obtainable from this
enclosure, and its proximity to the Roman road from
York to Stirling and beyond (No. 124), it was once con-
sidered that the work was a Roman signal-station of the
type found on the Gask ridge, near Perth, where a
wooden tower was surrounded by a circular earthwork. ¹
Excavations conducted by the Commission in the years
1953-5 showed, however, that the remains were those
of a native homestead of Early Iron Age date (Fig. 27).
The following description is a summary of the published
report. ²
The principal feature of the homestead was the farm-
house which stood in the centre of the enclosure and
exhibited two periods of construction. The first house
(Fig. 28, I) was a simple round hut, 23 ft. in diameter,
consisting of a ring of eleven evenly spaced wooden posts,
with an additional post in the centre to support the roof.
The wall was probably formed of wicker-work covered
with clay or skins, and the roof thatched with straw or
rushes. Subsequently this house was taken down, and a
new one built on the same site to a radically different
plan. The later house (Fig. 28, II) was 38 ft. in diameter
and had a framework consisting of two concentric
settings of wooden posts, the outermost setting being
bedded in a continuous trench. The entrance, on the
ENE. side, was protected by a porch, and sunk into the
centre of the floor there was a flagged hearth. In spite
of the differences between the two houses, there was
evidence to suggest that they were built by the same
1 Crawford, Topography of Roman Scotland, 18. For the
Gask signal-stations, cf. P.S.A.S., xxxv (1900-1), 25-31; and
Collingwood, The Archaeology of Roman Britain, 58-9 and
fig. 14.
2 P.S.A.S., lxxxix (1955-6), 227 ff.
-- 88 |
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| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_124 |
[Plan Inserted]
Fig. 27. Homestead, West Plean (No. 104); general plan
-- 89 |
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| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_125 |
[Plan Inserted]
By courtesy of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland
Fig. 28. Homestead, West Plean (No. 104); the two houses
-- 90 |
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| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_126 |
No. 105 -- HOMESTEADS -- No. 106
people during a single, continuous occupation of the
site.
The only other building inside the enclosure stood
immediately to the E. of the farmhouse, and was probably
a barn or byre - the equivalent in timber of the stone-
walled rectangular steadings that accompany the round
farmhouses at such Early Iron Age sites as The Allasdale ¹
and Clettraval ² in the Outer Hebrides. Its plan cannot
be reconstructed with certainty from the maze of post-
holes found in the area, but it was probably rectangular
rather than circular. Round the N. half of the compound
there was a sunken cobbled yard which may have been
fenced off from the house, and which probably served
the dual purpose of enclosing stock and of improving the
drainage of the house site. The ditch surrounding the
compound was not defensive, being not more than 3 ft.
in depth, and can only have been intended to drain off
surface water from the interior. It had two entrances,
one on the NE. being 7 ft. 6 in. wide, while the other,
some 40 ft. further S., was no less than 19 ft. wide and
was flanked by four short lengths of palisading, two of
which projected inwards from the ditch terminals, and
the other two outwards, as shown in Fig. 27. The
purpose of these flanking strips of palisading is unknown,
but it is thought that they may have been connected with
a ring fence which preceded the ditch and followed the
same line. For both the ditch and an external wall closely
associated with it, and similarly non-defensive in
character, seem to have been comparatively late features
of the site, the wall being apparently unfinished when the
homestead was abandoned.
The relics from the excavations included a cup or lamp
of sandstone, whetstones, stone discs, whorls, part of a
small, ornamental stone ring, pieces of other perforated
objects of stone and lignite of uncertain use, a stone
bearing a cup-shaped hollow on one surface, and part of
the upper stone of a bun-shaped rotary quern. The single
piece of native pottery found was of indeterminate age,
and only one bone, that of an ox, was discovered. There
were no Roman relics. Consideration of the finds, most
of which can be paralleled from the vitrified fort at
Dunagoil (Bute), and of the structural affinities of the
two house types, suggest that the homestead was occupied
within the period between the Late Bronze Age and the
arrival of the Romans in A.D. 80.
810876 -- NS 88 NW ("Farmstead") -- 31 May 1956
105. Homestead, Keir Hill, Gargunnock (Site).
This homestead, of which no trace remains visible on
the surface, occupies the summit of Keir Hill, a pro-
minent grassy knoll situated near the E. end of
Gargunnock village, 100 yds. SW. of the Parish Church
(No. 172) and immediately N. of Mill Farm. The knoll
rises steeply to a height of 25 ft. and is bordered on the E.
by the Gargunnock Burn. The top is ovoid on plan
(Fig. 29) and measures 95 ft. from NE. to SW. by 56 ft.
transversely. and at its NE. end a flattish circular area,
measuring about 56 ft. in diameter, is slightly raised
above the remainder, which slopes gently to the SW. In
1957, an excavation of the raised area, carried out by the
Commission's officers, revealed the remains of a home-
stead of the Early Iron Age. The following account is a
summary of the published report. ³
The site was found to have been very severely dis-
turbed, but sufficient evidence remained to indicate a
roughly circular hut, 29 ft. in diameter, consisting of two
concentric rings of posts 6 ft. apart. The area enclosed
by the inner ring was paved and contained a rectangular
hearth, while the space between the two settings of posts
bore traces of a clay floor. One of the post-holes of the
outer ring was set against the face of a ruinous stretch of
walling which had probably formed part of an outer
revetment. The entrance faced S., and three post-holes
which lay outside the circumference of the outer ring
may have belonged to an entrance porch. A heavy layer
of ash and burnt material, which covered the whole area
occupied by the hut, indicated that it had been destroyed
by fire, and the absence of any accumulation of occupa-
tion debris suggested that it had not been occupied for
long before its destruction. There was some evidence
that a stone wall had been built round the crest-line of the
summit surrounding the hut. Only the intermittent
traces of a heavily robbed outer face remained, together
with quantities of tumbled debris. On the N., W. and S.
this ruinous wall overlay an earlier palisade-trench,
measuring 1 ft. 6 in. in width and varying from 1 ft. 3 in.
to 2 ft. 6 in. in depth, which was tightly packed with
stones. The few finds from the excavation included a
melon bead, one sherd of pottery and fragments of glass,
all of which were of Roman manufacture and suggested
a date for the homestead within the latter half of the first
or the beginning of the 2nd century A.D.
A complex of banks and terracing is also to be seen on
the knoll, but these features are probably secondary to
the homestead and may, in fact, be of no great age.
706942 -- NS 79 SW ("Keir Hill") -- 28 September 1957
106. Homestead (probable), Bowhouse (Site). This
structure was located from the air as a crop-mark and
photographed by Dr. St. Joseph. ⁴ It is situated at a
height of about 20 ft. O.D. on carse-land between the
Grange Burn and the River Avon at a point half a mile
SSW. of Bowhouse farmhouse. The crop-marks appear
to be those of an approximately circular enclosure
measuring about 100 ft. in diameter within two con-
centric ditches about 15 ft. apart. The actual markings
are only about 6 ft. in width, and may therefore represent
the heels of ditches of which the upper levels have been
ploughed away. The entrance, about 12 ft. wide, is on
the W., and the terminals of both ditches are out-turned
for short distances on either side of it as if defining a
1 P.S.A.S., lxxxvii (1952-3), 80-105.
2 P.P.S., xiv (1948), 46-68).
3 P.S.A.S., xci (1957-8), 78 ff.
4 No. DH 34 in the C.U.C.A.P.
-- 91 |
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| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_127 |
[Plan Inserted]
By courtesy of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland
Fig. 29. Homestead, Keir Hill, Gargunnock (No. 105)
-- 92 |
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| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_128 |
no. 107 -- ROMAN MONUMENTS -- No.111
passage. Within the interior the photograph shows a thin
dark line enclosing an oval space which measures about
70 ft. from NE. to SW. by about 50 ft. transversely. This
line may represent the course of a palisade, possibly
forming the outer wall of a house.
No close parallel to such a structure occurs in the
vicinity, but a general resemblance to the Early Iron Age
homestead at West Plean (No. 104) may be noted.
927797 -- NS 97 NW (unnoted) -- 20 December 1955
CRANNOGS
107. Crannog, Strathcashell Point. This crannog is
situated in Loch Lomond at a point 450 ft. E. of the
cashel at Strathcashell Point (No. 164) and 30 yds. off
shore. It consists of an artificial mound formed by
dumping large boulders, the level top of which measures
about 85 ft. from E. to W. by about 65 ft. transversely.
The sides slope down for some 8 ft. to the bottom of the
loch. At the date of the visit most of the mound lay just
below the water level, but an area roughly 15 ft. in
diameter, located a little NE. of the central point, was
protruding to a height of about 1 ft. Part of a beam, laid
horizontally from NW. to SE., could also be seen
embedded in the boulders in the SW. sector at a distance
of 15 ft. S. of the centre of the crannog.
It was recorded in 1724 ¹ that the crannog then had
"large square joysts of oak firmly mortis'd in one
another, two of which of a prodigious bigness, in each
of which were three large mortises, were disjoyn'd from
the ffloat in the year 1714 and made use of by a gentleman
in that country, who was then building a house".
395930 -- N xiii (unnoted) -- 7 July 1955
108. Crannog (probable), "The Kitchen", Loch
Lomond. The islet known as "The Kitchen", lies
100 yds. off the NE. point of Clairinch (cf. No. 584).
Though featureless, it is probably a crannog as it consists
of stones and boulders, not of solid rock like a natural
islet such as Ceardach (No. 583). Nimmo refers to what
is evidently this islet as the "ruins of a castle" lying
below the surface of the loch. ²
414901 -- N xiii (unnoted) -- 30 July 1957
109. Crannogs, Loch Lomond (Sites). The following
crannogs are recorded in the Stirlingshire portion of
Loch Lomond, ³ but have not been located. (1) "The
Mill Cairn", Ross Bay; 366966, N vii S.W. (unnoted).
(2) Two crannogs S. of Inchcruin; 385908, N xiii (un-
noted). (3) An unspecified number immediately S. of
the point called Rowchoish; NN 3303, N iv S.E. (unnoted).
110. Crannog, Loch Laggan (Site). The somewhat
vague record ⁴ of an artificial island in Loch Laggan
cannot now be verified, as the surface of the water has
been raised by a dam. More recently, however, a record
has been made ⁵ of a stony causeway, 7 ft. wide, which
could once be seen to run "in a south-westerly direction,
which causeway is lost in the loch and lost in the soil".
This too, is now submerged.
625925 -- NS 69 SW (unnoted) -- 29 August 1952
ROMAN MONUMENTS
111. The Antonine Wall. One of the earliest acts of
frontier policy in the principate of Antoninus Pius was
the appointment of a new governor of Britain. Q. Lollius
Urbicus, whose task it was to erect a new frontier barrier
between the Firths of Forth and Clyde and to win the
associated northern victory. His governorship had already
begun in A.D. 139, and the acclamation which marked
the victory, itself figured upon the dedication-tablets of
the Wall, came in A.D. 142. The Antonine Wall, as it is
commonly termed, was laid along the brink of the almost
continuous scarp that borders the trough-like valley of
the isthmus on the S., and extended from Bridgeness on
the Forth to Old Kilpatrick on the Clyde, a distance of
just over 37 miles (Fig. 30). It comprised the following
four main elements:
(i) The Rampart. This was set on a heavy stone
foundation, some 14 ft. in breadth, and for the greater
part of its length was constructed, as the Historia
Augusta says, ⁶ of turf. From the Forth to a little beyond
Falkirk, however, it has been thought that adequate
supplies of good quality turf were not available, and that
in this sector the Rampart was accordingly built either
wholly of clay, brought from the Carse, or of earth
sheathed in clay. ⁷ The original height of the Rampart is
not likely to have been less than 10 ft., and it was no
doubt crowned by a wooden breastwork.
(ii) The Ditch. At an average distance of 20 ft. in front
of the Rampart there was a ditch. It was V-shaped in
section and generally about 40 ft. wide and 12 ft. deep
in the centre. The upcast from the ditch was deposited
on its northern margin and was either spread out to avoid
giving cover when the ground is flat, or was heaped up in
a ridge to form a counterscarp when ground level at the
N. side of the ditch is by nature lower than that at the S.
(iii) The Forts. As on Hadrian's Wall, the garrison of
the Antonine Wall was housed in a series of forts which
1 Geogr. Collections, i, 346.
2 History (1817 ed.), ii, 747.
3 P.S.A.S., xlvii (1912-3), 265 f. Crannogs in both Stirling-
shire and Dunbartonshire are recorded in this paper, though all
under the heading Stirlingshire.
4 Stat. Acct., xviii (1796), 327.
5 "Kippen", 8.
6 Vita Antonini Pii, 5, 4.
7 R.W.S., 87. On the other hand, no trace of clay was
observed in a section cut 100 yds. to the W. of the fort of
Mumrills (No. 112) in 1958.
-- 93 |
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| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_129 |
No. 111 -- ROMAN MONUMENTS -- No. 111
were normally attached to the S. side of the Rampart.
These were probably 19 in number and were
planted at intervals of about 2 miles. Between each pair
of forts there may have been a smaller post, or block-
house, similar to those discovered by air-photography
at Wilderness Plantation and Glasgow Bridge, and by
excavation at Watling Lodge (No. 114).
(iv) The Military Way. Communication between the
forts was maintained by a well-built road, the so-called
Military Way, which generally ran parallel to the Rampart
and within 50 ft. to the S. of it. It was about 18 ft. wide
and had a cambered surface of rammed cobbles covered
with fine gravel and resting on a foundation of large
stones set in clay.
[Plan Inserted]
Fig. 30
The Wall enters Stirlingshire on the W. bank of the
River Avon, opposite Inveravon farm (950796), and
leaves the county again at Castlecary (787782), 10 miles
further W. For much of the distance it is now no longer
visible on the surface, but its course is marked with great
precision on the O.S. 6-inch maps, and the condition of
the surviving remains has undergone little material
change since the entire work was fully described in the
second edition of The Roman Wall in Scotland by
Sir George Macdonald in 1934. In these circumstances
it will suffice to state here the points where changes have
occurred since 1934, and also to indicate the places
where the Wall can still be seen to best advantage.
Following the practice adopted in the Inventory of
Midlothian and West Lothian, the Wall-forts, of which
there were probably five in Stirlingshire, are described
in separate articles (Nos. 112, 113, 115-117).
The only portions of the Wall in Stirlingshire which
have totally disappeared since 1934 are a stretch of
300 yds. on the W. side of Falkirk, between Blinkbonny
Road (871799) and the entrance to Glenfuir House
(869798), and another stretch of the same length behind
Allandale Cottages (803788-800787). midway between
Seabegs amd Castlecary. Elsewhere the remains have for
the most part been either obliterated by cultivation long
ago, or are still comparatively well preserved in woods or
in parkland. The best-preserved sectors, enumerated
from E. to W., are as follows:
(i) Although the Rampart is no longer visible, the
Ditch is still conspicuous for a distance of some 600 yds.
in Callendar Park (901795 - 897796). It measures 40 ft. in
width and in places is still as much as 9 ft. in depth
(Pl. 8B).
(ii) From the point where it emerges from the network
of roads and railways in the neighbourhood of Lock
Sixteen (866798) to Watling Lodge (862798), a distance
of 350 yds., the Ditch is in remarkably fine preservation
(Pl. 8 A). It is 40 ft. broad, and scarp and counterscarp
measure up to 15 ft. and 11 ft. in height respectively.
There are now no surface indications of the Rampart in
this sector, but the outer lip of the Ditch is heightened
by a bold upcast-mound. Watling Lodge itself is built
on the site of an opening in the Wall through which
passed the Roman trunk road (No. 124) that led to the
fort at Camelon (No. 122), three-quarters of a mile away,
and thence northwards into Perthshire. The exit was
protected by a fortlet ¹ which abutted against the S. side
of the Rampart and measured about 130 ft. by 100 ft.
within a wall or rampart some 15 ft. in thickness. It was
here, too, that the change in the structure of the Rampart
has been thought to have taken place, turf being un-
questionably used W. of this point, whatever materials
were used further E.
(iii) The finest surviving stretch of the entire Wall is
from the E. end of Tentfield Plantation (857798) to
Bonnyside House (834798), a distance of nearly 1 1/2 miles.
Throughout this sector, which includes the fort of
Rough Castle (No. 115), both Rampart and Ditch are
traceable with only minor interruptions, the former
standing to a height of 5-6 ft. in some places. The Ditch
is uniformly 40 ft. in width, and at Woodside Cottage its
depth is 11 ft.: elsewhere, however, it is for the most part
filled with water. Former cultivation and the dumping of
refuse from abandoned pits have obliterated nearly all
traces of the Military Way, but a short stretch, hitherto
unnoticed, can be seen in a fine state of preservation
600 yds. E. of Rough Castle, emerging from the W. side
of the mineral railway cutting and running thence west-
1 R.W.S., 345 and fig. 51.
-- 94 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_130 |
No. 111 -- ROMAN MONUMENTS -- No. 111
wards for a distance of 100 ft. Hereabouts the road
evidently cut directly across the base of the salient
formed by the Wall, since the newly discovered portion
lies no less than 280 ft. SW. of the Rampart - the
measurement being taken along the fence that borders
the W. side of the railway. The road is 24 ft. in width at
this point, and has a well-cambered surface, now largely
bare of vegetation, consisting of rammed cobbles
averaging about 5 in. in diameter: at the W. end the
heavy bottoming is exposed in a few places where the
'EXPANSIONS' ON THE ANTONINE WALL
[Plan Inserted]
Fig. 31
metalling has been eroded away. To the W. of Rough
Castle the Military Way is also visible between the
Rowan Tree Burn and Woodside Cottage in the form of
a low, turf-covered mound, 18 ft. wide, which exhibits
occasional loose stones on the surface. It lies more or less
parallel to the Rampart and 30 - 40 yds. behind it (i.e. to
the N. of the line tentatively assigned to it by Macdonald
in R.W.S., pl. xix), and is last seen, as a small patch of
cobbling, at the SW. corner of the garden in front of
Woodside Cottage. From here to Bonnyside House the
Roman road is overlaid initially by a dyke and then by
the modern road, but an interesting feature of this sector
is the presence of a number of quarry-pits situated
immediately behind the Rampart. Three of these pits,
from which the gravel used as a top-dressing for the
Military Way was obtained, occur in the vicinity of
the Bonnyside East expansion referred to below, while
another group of somewhat larger pits, measuring up to
20 ft. across, straddles the E. boundary of the policies
of Bonnyside House. Between the two main groups,
small isolated patches of rushes no doubt indicate the
existence of similar pits which have completely
silted up.
A further notable feature of this sector is the occurrence
of four turf platforms, or "expansions" as they are usually
termed, projecting at irregular intervals from the S. face
of the Rampart (Fig. 31). Three of these expansions -
Tentfield East (855798), ¹ Bonnyside East (838798) ² and
Bonnyside West (834798) appear as roughly semicircular
on plan at the present time and measure about 35 ft.
from E. to W. at the Rampart face by some 20 ft. from
N. to S. The fourth expansion, Tentfield West, which lies
40 yds. E. of the mineral railway line ³ (850799), is barely
discernible today, but would seem to be identical with
the "Gilmor-seat castellum or watch-tower" mentioned
by Roy, and represented in one of his plans as a small
square earthwork abutting on the S. face of the Rampart
and measuring about 18 ft.each way. ⁴
Excavation by the Commission of Bonnyside East
expansion in 1957, ⁵ and cuttings made at the end of last
century through the only other known expansions on
the Wall, ⁶ have shown that these structures were built
simultaneously with, or very shortly after, the Rampart,
and that they were all similar in size to Tentfield West
and had the same square ground-plan, the present semi-
circular appearance of the surviving examples being
simply due to the collapse of the weathered turfwork.
At Bonnyside East the turf platform was supported round
the edges by a stone foundation, and, allowing for the
sloping sides that would be needed to give the structure
stability, it was calculated that the top would have
measured approximately 19 ft. from N. to S. by 10 ft.
transversely at a height of 10 ft. above the ground -
the estimated height of the Rampart (Fig. 32). Considera-
tions of siting and the discovery of burnt deposits of
wood, turfwork and Roman pottery in the immediate
vicinity of Bonnyside East indicate that these expansions
were stances for beacons which formed elements in a
long-range emergency warning-system, the eastern group
linking the Wall with the forward area, particularly the
region of the Stirling gap, and the western group on Croy
Hill communicating with the garrisons of Clydesdale to
the rear.
(iv) Rampart, Ditch and Outer Mound are all very
distinct for a distance of a quarter of a mile in Seabegs
Wood (815793 - 811792), the Rampart standing to a
height of 4 ft. in some places. The Ditch is again about
40 ft. in width throughout, but is waterlogged and choked
with moss and rushes. The Military Way is also visible
in this sector at a distance of 50-150 ft. S. of the Rampart.
It appears as a cambered mound, now turf-covered,
16-18 ft. in width and not more than 18 in. in height.
Traces of the heavy stone bottoming can be seen in situ
1 R.W.S., 128 and pl. lix, 2.
2 Ibid., 130 and pl. lix, 1.
3 Not "100 yards" as is stated in R.W.S., 352.
4 Military Antiquities, 163 and pl. xxxv.
5 P.S.A.S., xc (1956-7), 161 ff.
6 I.e. the pair on the western end of Croy Hill (A.W.R.,
section 11, 77-9; section 12A, 84-5). Superficial appearances
do not support the suggestion (A.W.R., 107) that there may
have been another expansion about 140 yds. E. of Bonnyside
West.
-- 95 |
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| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_131 |
No. 111 -- ROMAN MONUMENTS -- No. 112
at one or two points in sections cut by watercourses, and
a number of stones dislodged from the foundations of
the road are lying loose on the surface.
NS 77 NE, NS 87 NW, NS 87 NE, NS 88 SW, NS 97 NW
7 to 14 November 1956
[Plan Inserted]
By courtesy of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland
Fig. 32. The Antonine Wall (No. 111); plan of
Bonnyside East Expansion
112. Roman Fort, Mumrills (Site). No structural
remains of the Roman fort at Mumrills can be seen on
the surface of the ground at the present time, but a great
deal has been learned about it from extensive excavations
directed by Macdonald during the years 1923-8, and
also from an emergency excavation conducted by the
Commission in 1958 in association with the
Ancient Monuments Inspectorate of the
Ministry of Works. ¹ The site lies on a lofty
plateau on the eastern outskirts of Laurieston,
less than a quarter of a mile W. of the
point where the Antonine Wall crossed the
Westquarter Burn. Apart from the W. side,
where the approach to the site is almost level,
the position is a strong one, being protected
by steep scarps on the S. and E. and by the
low-lying land of the Carse to the N. As far
as is known, Mumrills is the largest of the
stations on the Antonine Wall, and, in order
to accommodate it on the plateau to the best
possible advantage, a pronounced local devia-
tion has been introduced in the line of the
Wall as shown on Fig. 33.
THE FORT (Fig. 34). Although the defences
have been partly destroyed by modern roads,
Macdonald was able to establish that the
fort had been oblong on plan and enclosed
an area of over 6 1/2 acres, the internal dimen-
sions being about 557 ft. from E. to W. by
about 492 ft. from N. to S. The size of the
fort suggests that it was originally designed
for a cavalry regiment, the Ala I Tungrorum,
which has left an inscription in the neigh-
bourhood (see below), although an infantry
regiment, the Cohors II Thracum, is also
associated with the site. The two southern
corners of the fort were rounded while the
northern corners, which abutted on to the
Antonine Wall, were square. The rampart
was built of clay resting on a stone foundation
and measured 15 ft. in thickness on the N.,
and from 12 ft. 6 in. to 13 ft. on the other
three sides. Immediately in front of it there
were two ditches to the E., one to the S. and
four to the W., while the Ditch of the
Antonine Wall formed the outer defence on
the N. side, where however it was not much
more than half its normal width. The arrange-
ment of the four gates shows that the fort
faced N., but no remains of the gates them-
selves survived; it was thought that those on
the E. and W. had been arched with stone
and that in the other two cases the frame-
work had been of timber. Within the fort the
plans of five stone buildings were recovered
1 Macdonald's report is in P.S.A.S., lxiii (1928-
1929), 396-575, and the subsequent excavation
will be described in a forthcoming number of
P.S.A.S.
-- 96 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_132 |
No. 112 -- ROMAN MONUMENTS -- No. 112
[Plan inserted]
Fig. 33. Roman fort, Mumrills (No. 112); outline plan
although they had all been reduced practically to their
foundations. Four of these were situated on the via
principalis and comprised a large headquarters building
or principia (II on Fig. 34); two granaries (I and III),
one on each side of the principia; and an unusually
elaborate commandant's house or praetorium (IV) with
a private bathing establishment as at Camelon. The
other stone building, a separate bathhouse for the use
of the soldiers (VI), lay in the NE. quarter of the fort,
close to the N. rampart. As elsewhere on the Antonine
Wall the barracks were built of timber with wattle-and-
daub walls, but only in one case (V) was it found possible
to produce an intelligible plan, while search for the
corner-towers was equally unrewarding. It was clear,
however, that the fort had had a long and complicated
history, and from the evidence of structural changes,
notably in the principia and the praetorium, Macdonald
concluded that it had been twice destroyed and twice
rebuilt before it was finally abandoned towards the end
of the second century.
THE ANNEXE (Fig. 33). On the SW. side of the fort
there was a fortified annexe some 4 acres in extent
which housed an extensive civil settlement (vicus).
Nothing is known in detail about the lay-out of the vicus,
although widely scattered traces of wattle-and-daub
buildings, refuse-pits and ovens have been observed
from time to time. The excavations of 1958 showed that
on one occasion the buildings had been burnt down by
the retreating inhabitants when the fort was temporarily
evacuated; and that when re-occupation took place, the
debris, including much pottery and iron-work, was
dumped into the outermost of the four ditches on the W.
side of the fort. The other three ditches on this side of
the fort were also deliberately filled at this time, after
they had first been wrecked by gravel-digging, and were
never subsequently re-cut. Macdonald believed that the
site of the annexe had previously been occupied by a
6-acre temporary fort built by Agricola as one of the chain
of praesidia which he established on the Forth-Clyde
isthmus in A.D. 80 or 81, but the excavations of 1958
showed conclusively that this hypothesis can no longer
be sustained. If a temporary Agricolan post ever existed
at Mumrills, it is more ikely to have lain beneath the
Antonine fort. Further to the E. crop-markings on air-
photographs taken by Dr. J. K. S. St. Joseph (Nos.
DH 32 and DH 33 in the C.U.C.A.P.) have revealed
the presence of a rectilinear enclosure with rounded
corners (Fig. 33). The precise dimensions of the en-
closure cannot now be determined since the whole of
the S. side has been destroyed by erosion of the edge of
the steep escarpment overlooking the Westquarter Burn,
but it measured approximately 140 ft. from E. to W.
by at least 90 ft. from N. to S. and had an entrance in
the centre of the N. side. ¹ Traces of what may have
been a Roman building were found very close to, if
1 Excavation undertaken while this volume was in the press
has shown that the enclosure is of Antonine date.
-- 97 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_133 |
[Plan Inserted]
Fig. 34. Roman fort, Mumrills (No. 112)
-- 98 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_134 |
No. 112 -- ROMAN MONUMENTS -- No. 113
not actually within, this enclosure in 1937, ¹ and about
100 yds. to the NE. a Roman kiln for making tiles or
bricks was discovered in 1913 immediately behind the
Antonine Wall. ²
INSCRIBED STONES. The following inscribed stones,
all of which are now in the National Museum of
Antiquities in Edinburgh, have been found in the
vicinity of Mumrills:
(i) An altar (Fig. 35) found in 1841 "near the Bridge
[Illustration Inserted]
Fig. 35. Roman fort, Mumrills (No. 112); inscribed altar i
(1/10)
at Brightons", about a mile SE. of the fort. The text
reads Herculi Magusan(o) sacrum Val(erius) Nigrinus
dupli(carius) alae Tungrorum. "Sacred to Hercules
Magusanus. Valerius Nigrinus, Duplicarius of the
Tungrian Cavalry Regiment (was the dedicator)." See
C.I.L., vii, No. 1090; R.W.S., 417-8 and pl. lxxiv.
(ii) A tombstone (Fig. 36) the lettering of which
shows traces of having been picked out originally in
cinnabar. The text reads Dis M(anibus) Nectovelius
f(ilius) Vindicis an(norum) XXX stip(endiorum) VIIII
nationis Brigans militavit in coh(orte) II Thr(acum). "To
the Spirits of the Departed. Nectovelius, son of Vindex,
aged thirty, a Brigantian by tribe, he served for nine
years in the Second Cohort of Thracians." See C.I.L.,
vii, No. 1091; Ephemeris Epigraphica, ix, p. 623; R.W.S.,
435-6 and pl. xxxi.
(iii) The upper part of an altar (Fig. 37) which was
found to the E. of the fort in 1937. The text is incomplete
and reads Cassius sign(ifer) Matribus -- "Cassius, a
standard-bearer, (dedicated this altar) to the Matres --"
See P.S.A.S., lxxiii (1938-9), 245-6 and pl. lxxx.
918794 -- NS 97 NW -- 10 December 1958
[Illustration Inserted]
Fig. 36. Roman fort, Mumrills (No. 112); tombstone ii
(1/10)
[Illustration Inserted]
Fig. 37. Roman fort, Mumrills (No. 112); inscribed altar
iii (1/10)
113. Roman Fort, Falkirk (Site). The distance between
the forts of Mumrills and Rough Castle, nearly 5 miles,
is twice the normal distance between the forts on the
Antonine Wall, so that the existence of an intermediate
station in the neighbourhood of Falkirk can be safely
assumed. No remains of such a fort have survived, but
chance finds of pottery, worked stones and hearths suggest
that it was situated on high ground in the district known
as the Pleasance, overlooking the hollow through which
the now concealed West Burn once ran. ³
The hoard of nearly 2000 Roman coins which was
discovered in Falkirk in 1933 ⁴ has no bearing on the site
of the fort in question, since the find was made a quarter
of a mile N. of the Antonine Wall.
c. 886798 -- NS 87 NE (unnoted) -- 20 March 1957
1 P.S.A.S., lxxiii (1938-9), 319-324.
2 P.S.A.S., xlix (1914-5), 123-8.
3 The evidence is conveniently summarised in R.W.S.,
215-6.
4 P.S.A.S., lxviii (1933-4), 32-40; lxxiii (1938-9), 244-5.
For the piece of tartan cloth found with the hoard, see P.S.A.S.,
lxxxii (1947-8), 227-30.
-- 99 |
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| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_135 |
No. 114 -- ROMAN MONUMENTS -- No. 115
114. Roman Fortlet, Watling Lodge (Site). At the
villa known as Watling Lodge, roughly half-way between
the forts at Falkirk (No. 113) and Rough Castle (No. 115),
a gap in the Antonine Wall gave passage to the main
Roman road (No. 124) that led to Camelon and beyond.
Protecting the gap there was a small fort or block-house
which was discovered in 1894 but is now completely
buried beneath the garden of the villa. It was attached
to the S. side of the Antonine Rampart, and appears
to have measured about 130 ft. from E. to W. by about
100 ft. from N. to S. within a rampart which had a stone
foundation some 15 ft. in thickness. ¹ Similar fortlets
have since been found elsewhere on the Wall, and it may
well be that the series extended, at regular intervals, for
the whole length of the barrier (Introduction, p. 34).
862798 -- NS 87 NE (unnoted) -- 29 October 1958
115. Roman Fort, Rough Castle. Rough Castle, the
best preserved of the forts on the Antonine Wall, is
situated one mile E. of Bonnybridge, in a belt of rough
moorland which is now largely overgrown with trees
and bracken. Guarding the point where the Rowan Tree
Burn breaks through the ridge on which the Wall stands,
the fort is protected by the deep ravine of the burn on
the W., by a longer and more gentle descent to the floor
of the Carron Valley on the N., and by a shallow trough
of marshy ground to the S. Thus the only easy access
is from the E., where a level space immediately outside
the defences is occupied by a relatively large annexe.
In 1903 extensive excavations were undertaken in both
the fort and the annexe, ² and in 1932-3 the defences of
both works were re-examined by Sir George Macdonald. ³
Inevitably these excavations left a number of problems
unsolved, and now that the site has been placed under
the guardianship of the Ministry of Works it is being
systematically explored afresh as part of a planned
programme of conservation. ⁴
The fort is square on plan (Fig. 38), and, apart from
Duntocher, is the smallest known fort on the Antonine
Wall: it measures only 215 ft. each way within the rampart
and has an internal area of a little over one acre. The
northern defence was formed by the Wall itself and its
Ditch, while about 30 yds. beyond the Ditch a unique
series of defensive pits, or lilia, was found in 1903.
The pits, some of which are still visible at the present
time, were arranged in ten parallel rows, each pit
being about 7 ft. long by 3 ft. broad at the top and
2 1/2 ft. deep. On the other three sides the fort rampart was
built of turf, laid on a stone foundation 20 ft. in thick-
ness, and was fronted by two ditches. A short length of a
third ditch, with an upcast mound on the outer lip, was
added near the foot of the slope on the W. side. There
were four gates, the N. one being double, and their
arrangement shows that the fort faced N. Initially the
Military Way appears to have run from E. to W. directly
through the fort, serving as the via principalis, but
subsequently a by-pass was constructed to skirt the
defences on the S., as shown in Fig. 38. Inside the fort
the remains of three stone buildings were uncovered in
1903. On these, the headquarters building (Fig. 38, I),
in the centre of the fort, measured 75 ft. by 44 ft. over
the walls: it seems to have had only three rooms at the
back instead of the usual five, and beneath the floor of
the central room (sacellum) there was a small cellar
which served as the strong-room for the regimental
funds. From the ruins of the principia came three
fragments of an inscribed tablet (Number i infra)
commemorating the erection of the building by the Sixth
Cohort of Nervii. Immediately to the W. of the head-
quarters building there was a granary (II) with a loading-
platform at the N. end, and beyond this again lay the
commandant's house (III), a large, rectangular structure
consisting of a series of rooms ranged round an open
courtyard. No other buildings were recognised inside the
fort in 1903, but during the current excavations post-
holes of timber-framed buildings, presumably barracks,
have been found in the NW. quarter.
The annexe was slightly larger than the fort and was
defended on the exposed sides by a rampart 15 ft. in
thickness, in front of which there were three ditches on
the E. and a single ditch on the S. As originally designed,
it had a gateway in the E. side to admit the Military Way,
but Macdonald thought that this had subsequently been
closed and replaced by an entrance at the SW. corner.
The only structures which have been identified in the
annexe are a bath-house (IV), and, in the NW. corner,
an oblong, cobbled enclosure, bounded on the S. and E.
by a small ditch and measuring about 130 ft. by 60 ft.
Macdonald suggested that this enclosure might have been
used in the first instance as a barrack-yard and later for
storage, but its purpose is obscure, and it is difficult to
understand why it should have been considered necessary
to protect it by a ditch if it was already contained within
the annexe defences. Without more specific evidence it
would, however, be rash to conclude that the enclosure
is analogous to the small fortified post which immediately
preceded the fort at Duntocher, and which remained in
use when the fort was built alongside it. ⁵
That the fort at Rough Castle did not enjoy an un-
broken occupation is suggested by structural changes
present in the stone buildings examined in 1903.
Whether there were, in fact, three separate Antonine
occupations, as Macdonald believed, is however an open
question, since re-examination of the rampart on the
N. and W. sides of the fort has not confirmed his
hypothesis that it was thickened on two successive
occasions, and his analysis of the structural sequence
represented by the annexe defences is largely conjectural.
Recent research has also materially weakened the case
1 R.W.S., 344-5 and fig. 51.
2 P.S.A.S., xxxix (1904-5), 442-99.
3 Ibid., lxvii (1932-3), 243 ff.
4 The Commissioners are indebted to the Ancient Monu-
ments Inspectorate, through Mr. Iain MacIvor for information
about these latest excavations in advance of publication.
5 Robertson, A. S., An Antonine Fort, Golden Hill, Duntocher,
fig. 4.
-- 100 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_136 |
[Plan Inserted]
Fig. 38. Roman fort, Rough Castle (No. 115)
-- 101 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_137 |
No. 115 -- ROMAN MONUMENTS -- No. 116
[Illustration Inserted]
Fig. 39. Roman fort, Rough Castle (No. 115); building-inscription i (1/10)
which he presented ¹ for an Agricolan occupation of the
site. The latest excavations in the NW. quarter of the
fort have produced no evidence, whether structural or
otherwise, for such an occupation, and a fresh study of
the pottery from the earlier excavations has shown a
complete absence of Flavian wares. ² Moreover, neither
the defensive pits in front of the Wall, nor the fragmentary
ditches found in 1932-3 a short distance E. of the cobbled
enclosure, ³ are necessarily pre-Antonine. ⁴ The work now
in progress will doubtless resolve this problem in due
course, and in the meantime conjecture would be
profitless.
INSCRIBED STONES. Amongst the relics from the site
which are housed in the National Museum of Antiquities,
Edinburgh, there are the following two inscribed stones:
(i) Three fragments of a building inscription (Fig. 39)
which were found in the principia of the fort in 1903, in
[Illustration Inserted]
Fig. 40. Roman fort, Rough Castle (No. 115); inscribed
altar ii (1/10)
what may have been a well. The inscription reads
[Imp(eratori) Ca]esari Tito [Aelio] Hadriano [Anto]nino
Aug(usto) [Pio] P(atri) P(atriae) coh(ors) VI [Ner] viorum
pri[ncip]ia fecit. "The Sixth Cohort of the Nervii erected
the headquarters building for the Emperor Caesar Titus
Aelius Hadrianus Antoninus Augustus Pius, Father of
his country." See P.S.A.S., xxxix (1904-5), 470-2;
R.W.S., 410-12 and pl. xl, 2.
(ii) An altar (Fig. 40) which was discovered a short
distance to the S. of the fort in 1843. It reads Victoriae
coh(ors) VI Nerviorum c(ui) c(urat) Fl(avius) Betto
c(enturio) leg(ionis) XX V(aleriae V(ictricis) v(otum)
s(olvit) l(ibens) l(aetus) m(erito). "To Victory, the Sixth
Cohort of Nervii under the charge of Flavius Betto, a
centurion of the Twentieth Legion, Valeria Victrix, has
paid its vow willingly, gladly and deservedly." See C.I.L.,
vii, 1092; R.W.S., 418-9 and pl. xl, 1.
843798 -- NS 87 NW -- 1 December 1958
116. Roman Fort, Seabegs (Site). Between Rough
Castle and Castlecary, which is 3 1/2 miles further W.,
there are no superficial indications of a fort. But as this
gap is nearly twice as long as the normal interval between
the forts on the Antonine Wall, there can be no doubt
that it was once bridged by an intermediate station
situated somewhere in the vicinity of Seabegs. The most
likely position for such a fort is at the E. end of Seabegs
1 R.W.S., 234-8.
2 The Commissioners are indebted to Mr. and Mrs. B. R.
Hartley for information on this point. The Flavian mortarium
rim cited by Macdonald (R.W.S., 238) has evidently been
wrongly labelled. Although marked "Rough Castle", it is
unquestionably part of the mortarium from Camelon, stamped
Q. Valerius Veranius, with which Macdonald compares it.
3 P.S.A.S., lxvii (1932-3), 262-3 and fig. 7.
4 It is worth noting that the filling of the pit which was
examined in 1920 contained only Antonine sherds (Ibid., lix
(1924-5), 285-7).
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No. 117 -- ROMAN MONUMENTS -- No. 117
Wood where some remains of fortifications are, in fact,
said to have been visible at the end of the 17th century. ¹
Here, between the wood and the farm of Seabegs Place,
there is an elevated plateau which is admirably adapted
for the purpose, having a steep scarp to the N., and
commanding a wide view northwards across the Bonny
Water and eastwards and westwards along the Wall.
Horsley, on the other hand, ignores this site, and refers
instead to "some ruins that possibly may be the remains
of a station" ² at Dick's House, a village long since
demolished, which was situated a quarter of a mile E. of
Seabegs Place. The latter site is, however, inferior from
the tactical point of view since it lies in a hollow, while
considerations of spacing are also entirely in favour of
Seabegs. ³
c. 817794 -- NS 87 NW (unnoted) -- 20 March 1957
117. Roman Fort, Castlecary. The Roman fort at
Castlecary (Fig. 41) stands rather less than 2 miles
beyond Seabegs and immediately to the E. of the little
glen through which the Red Burn makes its way to the
Bonny Water. ⁴ It occupies a rounded knoll at the W.
end of a low ridge, and is protected by the valley of the
Bonny Water on the N., the ravine of the Red Burn on
the W., and also by a tract of low-lying land, which was
formerly marshy, along nearly the whole of the S. front.
The only easy approach to the site in Roman times was
thus from the E. where the ground is nearly level and
free from natural obstacles. Periodically raided for
building materials from at least as early as the 15th
century, ⁵ the fort was grievously mutilated in 1841 when
the line of the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway was
carried diagonally across it, and further damage was no
doubt done when the modern road was laid along the N.
front. At the present time the portion of the site that lies
to the N. of the railway is in permanent pasture, while
the portion S. of the railway is cultivated.
Excavations conducted in 1902 ⁶ showed that the fort
was oblong on plan and enclosed an area of 3 1/2 acres, the
internal dimensions being 455 ft. from N. to S. by 350 ft.
from E. to W. As at Balmuildy, the main defence
consisted of a stone wall which was carried round all
four sides of the fort, the Rampart of the Antonine
Wall abutting against the NW. and NE. corners. The
fort wall was built of stones quarried from the outcrop
of rock immediately to the W. of the site: it was 6 ft. 6 in.
thick and was set on a massive foundation-course which
in turn rested on a bottoming of clay and cobbles. The
N. wall, however, differed from the others in that it was
thickened at either end to bring it more nearly into
conformity with the thickness of the Antonine Rampart,
while it may have had a rampart bank against the inner
face. The Ditch of the Antonine Wall formed the outer
defence of the fort on the N. side, although to the W. of
the causeway opposite the N. gate it was reduced to
about half its normal width. The other three sides each
had two ditches, both 14 ft. wide and 7 ft. deep, except
for about half the length of the E. side where there were
three. The four gates were of uniform design, and their
arrangement shows that the fort faced N.: each had only
a single passageway, 10 ft. wide and 14 ft. long, the fort
wall returning inwards for a distance of 7 ft. 6 in. on either
side of the entrance. An internal tower, 15 ft. square, was
found at the SW. corner, and it may be assumed that a
similar tower was provided at the SE. corner.
The lay-out of the interior of the fort was only partially
recovered, and scarcely anything was done in the way
of distinguishing between the work of different periods
of occupation. In the centre, looking down the via
praetoria, was the headquarters building which measured
98 ft. by 85 ft. over all and consisted of an outer and an
inner courtyard, both paved, with a row of three rooms
at the end furthest from the entrance. On the E. side of
the headquarters there was a granary - a long, narrow
buttressed building, measuring 83 ft. by 15 ft., whose
floor had been supported, for purposes of ventilation, on
pillars formed of large boulders. Some slight traces of
two other buildings, one of which was presumably the
commandant's house, were observed in the same range
fronting on to the via principalis, and the internal bath-
house which had been discovered in 1769, and planned
by General Roy, ⁷ was located near the SE. corner. The
excavations also revealed a latrine in the NE. corner of
the fort, a rubbish-pit, 24 ft. deep, behind the head-
quarters building, and part of the internal drainage
system, but nothing was learned about the number, or
method of construction, of the barracks. Nevertheless,
it is worth noting that there does not appear to be
sufficient room in the praetentura and retentura for more
than eight of the ten barrack-blocks (centuriae) which
would be required if the milliary garrisons which have
left records of their presence at Castlecary at different
times (see below) were up to strength.
One of the most important results of the excavations
of 1902 was the discovery of a fortified annexe on the E.
side of the fort (Fig. 41). An irregular pentagon in shape
it covered an area of 2 3/4 acres and was defended on the
exposed sides by a rampart of earth or turf and a ditch.
It had a gate in the E. side and was traversed by the
Military Way which ran parallel to the via principalis
of the fort but slightly to the N. of it. Traces of another
street were observed in the annexe, but owing to farming
reasons it was not possible to undertake a systematic
search for buildings. Stuart, however, was presumably
referring to this area when he remarked that so many
foundations had been discovered in the neighbourhood
1 Sibbald, Historical Inquiries, 30.
2 Britannia Romana, 171.
3 R.W.S., 239-40.
4 A temporary camp which may have been used to house the
labour force employed on the construction of the fort has been
discovered by crop-markings seen from the air on the W. side
of the Red Burn, in the fields of Garnhall farm, Dunbartonshire
(J.R.S., xlv (1955), 86).
5 Cf. No. 203.
6 P.S.A.S., xxxvii (1902-3), 271-346.
7 Military Antiquities, pl. xxxix.
-- 103 |
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| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_139 |
[Plan Inserted]
Fig. 41. Roman fort, Castlecary (No. 117)
-- 104 |
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| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_140 |
No. 117 -- ROMAN MONUMENTS -- No. 117
of Castlecary that a "Roman colony" must have existed
under the protection of the fort. ¹
The majority of the relics from the excavations of 1902
were deposited in the National Museum of Antiquities
in Edinburgh, which also houses a few earlier finds,
including a number of inscribed and sculptured stones
described below. Three more inscribed stones and a
number of other relics from the site are in the Hunterian
Museum, Glasgow. Although the great majority of the
relics are Antonine in date, there is, as Macdonald noted, ²
a sufficient number of 1st-century sherds, including not
only Samian and coarse wares, but also examples of the
so-called "Belgic" ware, to make it quite certain that
Castlecary was the site of one of the praesidia established
by Agricola between the Forth and Clyde in A.D. 80 or
81. But the excavations furnished no clue as to the
precise location or nature of this early fort.
INSCRIBED AND SCULPTURED STONES. The fort has
produced the following inscribed and sculptures stones:
(i) An altar (Fig. 42) found inside the bath-house of
[Illustration Inserted]
Fig. 42. Roman fort, Castlecary (No. 117); inscribed altar i
(1/10)
the fort about 1769, and now in the Hunterian Museum,
Glasgow. It reads Fortunae vexillationes leg(ionis)
II Aug(ustae) leg(ionis) VI Vic(tricis) p( -- ) s( -- )
p( -- ) l( -- ) l( -- ). "To Fortune, detachments of
the Second Legion Augusta, and the Sixth Legion
Victrix [set this up] --" It is not certain how the
contractions p s l p l l in the last line should be expanded,
but they clearly indicate nothing more than a mere
formula of dedication: p(ecunia) s(ua) p(osuerunt)
l(ibentes) l(aeti) or p(ro) s(alute) p(osuerunt) l(ibentes)
l(aeti) are the likeliest readings, and it is impossible to
decide between them. The goddess Fortune was the
tutelary deity of Roman bathing-establishments, and her
altar always seems to have stood in the dressing-room.
A little statuette of the same goddess (Pl. 9 D), standing
in a niche and holding a rudder and cornucopia, was
also found in the bath-house at Castlecary, and is now
in the Hunterian Museum, Glasgow. See C.I.L., vii,
No. 1093 and p. 313; R.W.S., 419 and pl. lxxiv, 2.
(ii) A small altar (Fig. 43) found between the fort
and the Red Burn, and now in the National Museum
of Antiquities, Edinburgh. It reads Deo Mercurio
milites leg(ionis) VI Victricis Pie F(idelis) (a)ed(iculam)
et sigillum cives Italici et Norici v(otum) s(olverunt)
l(ibentes) l(aeti) m(erito). "Soldiers of the Sixth Legion
[Illustration Inserted]
Fig. 43. Roman fort, Castlecary (No. 117); inscribed altar ii
(1/10)
Victrix, the Dutiful, the Loyal, citizens from Italy and
from Noricum [dedicated] a shrine and a statuette to
the god Mercury. Willingly, gladly, and deservedly have
they performed their vow." E. Birley, Festschrift für
Rudolf Egger, I Beiträge zur älteren Europäischen
Kulturgeschichte, Band I (Klagenfurt, 1952), "Noricum,
Britain and the Roman army", comments on the
recruiting area of the drafts here revealed. See C.I.L.,
vii, No. 1095; R.W.S., 420 and pl. lxxiv, 3.
(iii) An altar found not far from number (ii) above,
and now in the National Museum of Antiquities,
Edinburgh. The inscription is difficult to decipher, but
the following version has generally been accepted.
Deo Neptuno cohors I Fid(a) Vardul(lorum) C(ivium)
R(omanorum) Eq(uitatae) ꚙ (milliariae) cui prae(e)st
Trebius Verus praef(ectus). "The First loyal Cohort of
Vardulli, Roman citizens, 1,000 strong with a contingent
of cavalry, under the command of Trebius Verus,
prefect, [set this up] to the god Neptune." See C.I.L.,
vii, No. 1096; R.W.S., 421-2.
(iv) A building inscription (Fig. 44) found in 1764
and now in the Hunterian Museum, Glasgow. It reads
Imp(eratori) Caes(ari) T(ito) Ael(io) Ant(onino) Aug(usto)
Pio P(atri) P(atriae) coh(ors) I Tungrorum fecit ꚙ
1 Caledonia Romana, 2nd ed., 344.
2 R.W.S., 250-2.
-- 105 |
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No. 117 -- ROMAN MONUMENTS -- No. 118
[Illustration Inserted]
Fig. 44. Roman fort, Castlecary (No. 117); building-inscription iv (1/10)
(milliaria). "The First Cohort of Tungrians, 1,000
strong, erected [this] for the Emperor Caesar, Titus
Aelius Antoninus Augustus Pius, Father of his Country."
See C.I.L., vii, No. 1099; R.W.S., 412-3, and pl. iii, 1.
(v) A building inscription (Fig. 45) found inside the
fort in 1841, and now in the National Museum of
Antiquities, Edinburgh. It reads C(o)ho(rtis) VI
c(enturia) Anto(ni) Ararti. "The Sixth Cohort, century
of Antonius Arartus [built this]." See C.I.L., vii,
No. 1100; R.W.S., 401 and pl. lxxxi, 1.
[Illustration Inserted]
Fig. 45. Roman fort, Castlecary (No. 117); building-
inscription v (1/10)
(vi) A fragment of the upper part of an altar found
about 1770, when the canal was being made, and now in
the Hunterian Museum, Glasgow. All that remains of
the inscription is the first word Deae, "To the goddess".
See C.I.L., vii, No. 1097; R.W.S., 422 and pl. lxxiv, 4.
(vii) A fragment of the lower part of a small altar
formerly in the National Museum of Antiquities,
Edinburgh, but temporarily mislaid. Only the last line
v(otum) s(olvit) l(ibens) m(erito), " -- paid a vow willingly
and deservedly", could be read with certainty. See
C.I.L., vii, 1098; R.W.S., 422.
(viii) A fragment of an inscription, now lost, on which
the letters H BAT are said to have been visible. It has
been suggested that the inscription may have referred
to the First Cohort of Batavians which has left inscriptions
at Carrawburgh and Carvoran on Hadrian's Wall, and
this is reasonable on the assumption that the figure I was
ligatured with the H of Coh(ors) as at Carrawburgh
(J.R.S., xl (1950), 114 no. 1). See C.I.L., vii, 1101;
R.W.S., 413-4.
(ix) A squared stone with XX incised on it, found in
1902 in the innermost ditch of the fort on the E. side.
See P.S.A.S., xxxvii (1902-3), 301.
(x) Fragments of two altars formerly at Cumbernauld
House, Dunbartonshire, but now lost. All that can be
said with certainty is that one of them was dedicated to
the Matres. See C.I.L., vii, 1094; R.W.S., 420.
(xi) A rectangular stone which was once thought to
have perished, ¹ but which has recently come to light in
the National Museum of Antiquities. It seems to have
been built originally into the wall of a building, most
probably a shrine, and measures 2 ft. 3 in. by 9 in. The
carving depicts two stags butting one another in a forest
glade, while on the left a hunter, perhaps Silvanus,
dressed in a short tunic and pointed cap, trains his bow
on the combatants. On the right there is a second figure,
dressed in similar fashion to the first but too much worn
to be clearly distinguished. See Stuart, Caledonia Romana
(2nd edition, 1852), 351 and pl. xiv, 11.
(xii) Part of the leg of a marble statuette found in
1841 (R.W.S., 445).
(xiii) A stone with a phallus built into the W. wall of
the garden at Castle Cary (No. 203).
(xiv) Part of the shaft of a column, also at Castle
Cary.
789782 -- NS 77 NE -- 5 December 1958
118. Roman Temporary Camp, Little Kerse (Site).
This camp is situated a quarter of a mile S. of the
Antonine Wall and half a mile SE. of Little Kerse farm-
house. No trace of the structure remains on the surface
of the ground, and its presence was only revealed when
almost the complete outline, in the form of crop-marks,
1 R.W.S., 448.
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No. 119 -- ROMAN MONUMENTS -- No. 122
was seen from the air and photographed by Dr. St.
Joseph. ¹ The course of the ditch was located by probing,
and the resulting survey showed that the camp was
rectangular on plan and measured 500 ft. in length from
N. to S. by 470 ft. transversely. The W., S. and E. gates
with their tutuli were located by the probe, but the N.
gate could not be found with certainty as the subsoil at
this part of the field was uniformly soft, owing to the
presence of an extensive shallow depression.
The camp, which must originally have extended to
about 5·4 acres, lies on level ground except at the SE.
corner, where it occupies the lower part of the NW. slope
of a knoll 30 ft. in height. The knoll was included within
an annexe attached to the SW. part of the camp. As the
land immediately W. of the camp provides an extensive
level site upon which the camp might have been built,
it must be assumed that the site beside the knoll was
chosen deliberately, possibly so that the summit of the
knoll could be used as a position for watching or signalling
clear of surrounding woods.
This camp, the one at Milnquarter (No. 119), and two
other similar works outside Stirlingshire, have been
described and their purpose discussed elsewhere. ²
943788 -- NS 97 NW (unnoted) -- 4 February 1955
119. Roman Temporary Camp, Milnquarter (Site).
This camp is situated on comparatively level ground
270 yds. SE. of Milnquarter farmhouse and a quarter
of a mile S. of the Antonine Wall. No trace of the
structure can now be seen on the surface, and its presence
was only revealed when part of the outline, in the form
of a crop-marking, was observed from the air and photo-
graphed by Dr. St. Joseph. ³ An adjacent corner appeared
on a pair of National Survey air-photographs, ⁴ and with
these aids the exact position of the camp was located on
the ground by means of probing. The camp is rectangular
on plan and measures 540 ft. in length from NW. to
SE. by 420 ft. transversely, the internal area being
about 5·2 acres. The NW., NE. and SE. gates, with
tutuli, were found by probing, but the SW. gate lies
under a railway embankment. This camp, a similar one
at Little Kerse (No. 118), and two others outside Stirling-
shire have been described and their purpose discussed
elsewhere. ⁵
825794 -- NS 87 NW (unnoted) -- 27 January 1955
120. Roman Temporary Camp, Dalnair (Site). This
camp is situated in the field between Dalnair farmhouse
and the cottages marked as Cheapside on the O.S. map,
at a distance of half a mile SW. of Seabegs Place and
70 yds. S. of the Antonine Wall. No traces remain on
the ground, but the NW. side of the camp, including an
entrance with a tutulus, the N. and W. rounded angles,
and stretches of the SW. and NE. sides were observed
from the air and photographed by Dr St. Joseph in
1957. ⁶ The camp measures about 400 ft. in width, but
its length cannot yet be determined as the SE. side
does not appear on the photographs: it may have been
comparable in size to those at Tollpark, ⁷ Milnquarter
(No. 119) and Camelon (F on Fig. 46).
810790 -- NS 87 NW (unnoted) -- 10 December 1957
121. Roman Temporary Camp (probable), Tower
(Site). The remains of this structure were observed by
Gordon ⁸ "at a place called The broken Tower" which
was situated "opposite to the Kirktown of Calder" and
two miles from the Roman fort at Balmuildy on the
opposite side of the River Kelvin. The identification
of this place with the farmhouse now called Tower
(No. 323), half a mile W. of Torrance, is confirmed by
Edgar's map, ⁹ on which the full name "Brokentower"
appears. The structure is described by Gordon as a
"large square Encampment" consisting of a single
rampart measuring about 11 ft. in width and a ditch
measuring "somewhat more". It "measured about
1500 Foot", probably in length, though it is not clear
to which dimension Gordon is here referring. The large
size and rectangular shape of the structure, combined
with the fact that "Though in some Places it is much
demolished and flat, 'tis however very analagous with
that of Burnswork", suggest very strongly that, at Tower,
Gordon recognised the characteristics of a Roman
temporary camp similar to those in Annandale which he
had been the first to notice. ¹⁰ No trace of the structure
can now be distinguished on the ground.
c. 6174 -- NS 67 SW (unnoted) -- 19 June 1954
122. Roman Forts and Temporary Camps, Camelon
(Sites). The Roman forts at Camelon (Fig. 46, A and B)
lie three-quarters of a mile N. of the Antonine Wall, on
the line of the Roman road that ran through what is now
Stirlingshire to Ardoch and beyond. Occupying the
corner of a plateau composed of glacial sand and gravel,
the site faces almost level ground on the S. and W., but
on the N. and E. it is protected by a steep scarp which
falls 50-60 ft. to the flat carseland of the River Carron.
At some time in the past the river had meandered round
the foot of the scarp, but its present bed is at a distance
of a quarter of a mile to the N. Precisely where its course
lay in Roman times is not known, nor has the position
of the Roman bridge been determined ¹¹ : there can, how-
1 Nos. D 22, Q 39, Q 40, DH 36 in the C.U.C.A.P.
2 P.S.A.S., lxxxix (1955-6), 329 ff. and fig. 3.
3 Nos. MP 66, 68, 70 and MT 12 in the C.U.C.A.P.
4 CPE/SCOT/UK 256, 5331-2.
5 P.S.A.S., lxxxix (1955-6), 329 ff, and fig. 2.
6 Nos. VY 17 and WB 82 in the C.U.C.A.P.
7 P.S.A.S. , lxxxix (1955-6), 329 and fig. 1.
8 Itin. Septent., 21.
9 Published in Nimmo's History, ed. 1777.
10 P.S.A.S., xxxiii (1898-9), 201.
11 For a discussion of the problem see No. 124.
-- 107 |
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No. 122 -- ROMAN MONUMENTS -- No. 122
[Plan Inserted]
Fig. 46. Camelon: Roman forts (A and B), temporary camps (C-G) and burials (H and J) (all No. 122);
K native fort (No. 82)
ever, be no doubt that the primary function of each of
the successive forts at Camelon was to guard the river
crossing, and thereby to control the southern end of the
narrow corridor between the Campsie-Gargunnock hills
and the Forth estuary which, in early times, constituted
the only practicable land route between the S. of Scotland
and Strathmore. The strategic importance of the bridge-
head is strikingly illustrated by the fact that the Romans
found it necessary to establish a garrison here not only
under the fluid conditions of the Flavian occupation,
but also during the Antonine period, in spite of the
proximity of the site to the Antonine Wall.
The forts themselves have suffered severely from
the construction of a railway-line, and the erection of
foundries, as well as from cultivation, and today virtually
no remains are visible on the surface. Nevertheless, much
has been learned about them from extensive excavations
carried out in 1899-1900, ¹ while air-photographs taken
within recent years for the Cambridge University
Committee for Aerial Photography have furnished
additional details, and have also disclosed the presence,
in the immediate vicinity, of the three temporary camps
described below, and of a native fort which is the subject
of a separate article (No. 82).
THE FORTS (Figs. 46 and 47). The plan produced
by the excavators of 1899-1900 (Fig. 47) shows
two adjacent enclosures lying N. and S. and termed
respectively "North Camp" and "South Camp". The
northernmost enclosure, which, apart from its SW.
corner, is still in open ground, is patently an auxiliary
fort. Almost square on plan, it measures internally 530 ft.
from E. to W. by 490 ft. from N. to S. and contains an
area of nearly 6 acres. Excavation revealed that the
rampart, 41 ft. in thickness, was composed of turf, sand,
gravel and clay, and in many cases was underpinned with
stone at both the front and the back. It is reported to
have been faced externally with puddled clay. On the
S. and W. sides there were two ditches, and on the
W. half of the N. side one only: no ditches were found
round the remainder of the circuit. The four gates were
of timber, but their plans were not determined: three
1 P.S.A.S., xxxv (1900-1), 329-417.
-- 108 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_144 |
[Plan Inserted]
PLAN OF ROMAN STATION
AT CAMELON,
STIRLINGSHIRE.
By courtesy of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland
Fig. 47. Roman forts, Camelon (No. 122)
-- 109 |
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| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_145 |
No. 122 -- ROMAN MONUMENTS -- No. 122
of them were about 20 ft. wide, while the fourth gate, in
the E. side, was only half as wide. This implies three
double passageways and one single. Inside the fort,
which faced E., the buildings re known in some detail.
The praetentura contained eight buildings (I-VIII on
Fig. 47), all 170 ft. in length but varying from 26 to
31 ft. in width, with the possible addition of two narrower
buildings placed one on either side of the via praetoria.
No trace of the internal arrangements was found in any
of these buildings, nor any evidence as to their purpose,
but the existence of a wider room at one end (the
centurion's quarters) immediately identifies Numbers
III and IV as barrack-blocks, while the rest may have
been barracks, stables or storehouses. The principal
buildings comprise a headquarters building (XI) with
a colonnaded front courtyard, cross-hall and regimental
shrine ¹ flanked by administrative offices; the command-
ant's house (XIII) with a private suite of baths as at
Mumrills; a granary (X); and two buildings of uncertain
purpose (IX and XII). In the retentura the only recognis-
able building was another barrack-block (XIV), in this
case lying transversely to the main axis of the fort. The
type of garrison for which this fort was designed is not
obvious from the plan, nor is there any evidence from
inscriptions, but if the praetentura in fact housed four
barracks (III, IV, V and VI) and six stables, then
sufficient room is available in the retentura for the remain-
ing four barracks and two stables which would be
required to make up the accommodation for a cavalry
unit 500 strong (ala quingenaria). Outside the fort the
level ground to the N. was converted into a fortified
annexe by prolonging the W. ditches of the fort north-
wards as far as the edge of the plateau, and by erecting a
rampart, 20 ft. thick, behind them. Access to this annexe
was provided by an entrance, 15 ft. in width, situated
about half-way along the rampart. Trenching in the area
in 1899-1900 failed to reveal the native fort (No. 82) in
the NE. corner of the plateau, and only brought to light
the ends of three roads which met at the N. gate of the
fort, and the triple ditches shown on the plan opposite
the same gate. In his re-interpretation of the excavation
report, Macdonald maintained that these ditches must
belong to some entirely different defensive system from
that represented by the fort. ² On the other hand, the
possibility that they defined the E. side of the annexe
cannot lightly be dismissed, since they lie parallel to the
W. defences of the annexe and terminate on the S. in
a manner which suggests that they were deliberately
designed to give passage to one of the branch roads
issuing from the N. gate of the fort. This problem is one
of many which can only be resolved by further explora-
tion. But the fact that the barracks were built of stone
and not of timber, and the abundance of Antonine
pottery from the site, leave no room for doubt that the
North Fort, as it may best be termed, was of Antonine
date.
In contrast to the North Fort, the southernmost
enclosure, or "South Camp" (Fig. 47, B), was only
partially excavated in 1899-1900 and has now been
largely destroyed by the railway and the foundries, only
the NE. angle standing free at the present time.
Unfortunately the published plan of this enclosure is
not to be trusted, as the surveyor himself admitted, ³ for
reasons which are at once apparent when Fig. 47 is
compared with the original survey now preserved in
Dollar Park Museum, Falkirk. The lines of the defences
were by no means so thoroughly investigated as might be
supposed from Fig. 47, not all the hachured portions
being actually verified, while the same plan fails to
record another series of ditches, believed to be of earlier
date, which was discovered running in a different
direction from those surrounding the enclosure. As
Macdonald observed, ⁴ it seems probable that, as it
stands, the plan of the "South Camp" embodies two
distinct elements, namely another annexe of the North
(Antonine) Fort superimposed on an earlier fort, and
that there was yet a third work, not represented on the
plan, on a different orientation from these. ⁵ Within the
"South Camp" there were found a bath-building which
exhibited at least two structural periods (Fig. 47,
XVII); a considerable portion of another stone building
containing a hypocaust-chamber (XVIII); and frag
mentary remains of other structures of stone (XV and
XVI) or of wattle-and-daub. Buildings XVII and XVIII
were in a very much better state of preservation than
any of the buildings of the North Fort, one wall of
XVIII being 70 ft. in length and 3-6 ft. in height, and
Macdonald assigned them both to the Agricolan period
on the grounds that they "lay at a much lower level than
the admittedly Antonine structures", and that amongst
the relics from the "South Camp" there was much
1st-century Samian ware. He also suggested that the
orientation of building XVIII, which is out of alinement
with anything else, probably corresponded to that of the
set of ditches omitted from the plan. These inferences,
however, do not rest on any very solid foundation. In
the first place it is inconceivable that the ground level
can have risen appreciably between the Agricolan and
Antonine periods, and some other explanation must
therefore be sought for the difference in level to which
Macdonald refers, and which in some places amounted
to more than 6 ft. Nor is the true explanation difficult
to find. For the presence of hypocaust pillars, and
indications of an external flight of steps, show that what
actually survived of buildings XVII and XVIII were
simply the heated basements which in both cases had
1 Aerial photographs (Nos. DH 20-1 in the C.U.C.A.P.)
clearly show that the back wall of this shrine was not flush with
the W. wall of the principia, as it appears in Fig. 47, but
projected several feet beyond it.
2 J.R.S., ix (1919), 126-38.
3 Ibid., 129, note 2.
4 Ibid., 129.
5 At the NW. corner the two inner ditches of the "South
Camp" unite with the outer ditch of the Antonine fort in a
manner which suggests that they are both annexe ditches. The
third and fourth ditches, on the other hand, do not conform
to the inner pair and clearly belong to a different, and pre-
sumably earlier, system. Macdonald's assumption that an
annexe would not possess more than a single ditch is invalid,
as the Glenlochar and Newstead annexes show.
-- 110 |
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No. 122 -- ROMAN MONUMENTS -- No. 122
been sunk below Roman ground level at the time of
construction. ¹ This accounts for the comparatively good
state of preservation of the remains, but also makes it no
longer possible to argue that the buildings in question
must necessarily be pre-Antonine, although the fact
that they are alined differently suggests that they belong
to different periods. Secondly, none of the 1st-century
relics from Camelon was specifically associated, as far
as we know, with any of the stone buildings in the "South
Camp". ² And thirdly, although the lines of the oblique
ditches are only tentatively sketched in on the original
survey, running across the SW. corner of the "South
Camp", they are not in alinement with building XVIII.
Most of Macdonald's difficulties can in fact be avoided
if it is assumed that the stone buildings in the "South
Camp" are not Agricolan, but represent extra-mural
buildings associated with one or more Antonine forts.
In this way the principal structural remains uncovered
in 1899-1900 could be plausibly interpreted as follows.
(i) An early work, probably an Agricolan fort, denoted
by the ditches which were believed to have run across
the SW. corner of the "South Camp". (ii) A later Flavian
fort having the general outline of the "South Camp" and
not less than 8 acres in extent. The third and fourth
ditches on the E. and S. sides of the "South Camp" and
the two streets shown on the plan may be tentatively
assigned to this fort. (iii) An Antonine fort, partly over-
lying the Flavian fort ³ and having two annexes, the
southernmost of which incorporated the rest of the
Flavian fort. To the latter annexe may be ascribed a
number of stone buildings found in the area including
a bath-house (XVII) lying athwart a Flavian street, ⁴ and
another building which may have been the bath-house
of a different Antonine period or perhaps a rest-house
(mansio) for official travellers. ⁵ Whether the wattle-and-
daub structures recorded from the same area represent
the huts of the Antonine canabae or the internal buildings
of the Flavian fort is, however, quite uncertain. In
conclusion, it must be emphasised that the foregoing
interpretation is entirely inferential, since the excavators
of 1899-1900 kept no record of the precise find-spots of
the many relics from the site. Amongst these relics may be
mentioned a great deal of pottery of both the Flavian
and Antonine periods, several enamelled fibulae and a
fragment of a votive lantern. ⁶ The latest of the 56
identified coins found on the site is a first brass of
Faustina II, ⁷ and the only inscribed stone of any
significance is a building stone of the Twentieth Legion
reading XX V(aleria) V(ictrix) F(ecit) ⁸ which was
discovered in the bath-house (XVII). ⁹
THE TEMPORARY CAMPS (Fig. 46). In addition to the
permanent forts at Camelon, traces have been observed
on air-photographs of the buried remains of five
temporary camps, each defended by a slight ditch and
rampart, in which troops were quartered in leather
tents for short periods when engaged in campaigning or
on engineering works in the district. The remains are as
follows: (i) An almost rectangular camp (C) measuring
1560 ft. by 1250 ft. on level ground immediately SW. of
Lochlands farmhouse (856815). Aerial photography ¹⁰
shows three of the four rounded corners of the ditch
together with a gateway defended by a traverse (tutulus)
in the NW. side: several other portions of the ditch were
located by probing on the date of visit. ¹¹ (ii) A consider-
able portion of a smaller camp (D) measuring 290 ft.
from N. to S. by a minimum of 480 ft. from E. to W.,
within the triangle of railway lines immediately W. of
Carmuirs East Junction (858810). ¹² The work has been
subdivided at some time, probably to make a smaller
camp, by drawing a rampart and ditch across it from N.
to S. at a distance of about 230 ft. from the W. side. ¹³
The crop-marks are not sufficiently distinct to show
the positions of any entrances into this camp. (iii) The
NW. corner of a camp (E) in Field 1859. immediately
to the S. of Camp D (857810). ¹⁴ Traces of what may have
been the N. side of this camp can be seen intermittently
in Field 1832 on other National Survey prints, ¹⁵ and
C.U.C.A.P. photographs ¹⁶ reveal faint indications of a
possible continuation of the W. side of the camp, and
of the beginning of the SW. corner, in Field 1800 on the
S. side of the Glasgow Road. If these markings all belong
to the same work, as has been assumed on the plan, it
would appear to have been comparable in size to Camp C,
measuring 1450 ft. from N. to S. by not less than 1200 ft.
transversely. (iv) A smaller camp (F) on the S. side of
the Glasgow Road which has now been entirely covered
by a housing estate (858806). The photographs ¹⁷ show
clearly the whole of the W. side, with a medial gateway
protected by a tutulus, together with stretches of the
adjacent N. and S. sides, each with a gate and tutulus.
1 This interpretation was confirmed on 29th April 1958,
when it was discovered that in a bunker of the Falkirk Golf
Course, situated 30 yds. NE. of building XVII and well
within the so-called Agricolan fort, the undisturbed subsoil is
only 2 ft. below the present surface.
2 It is perhaps worth noting in this connection that a coin
of Hadrian was found with one of Nero in disturbed soil outside
the N. wall of building XVIII (P.S.A.S., loc. cit., 373).
3 A close analogy is provided by Birrens where the later fort
impinges on the Flavian forts (J.R.S., xli (1951), 57).
4 It is significant that the excavators found no trace of a
bath-house inside the North (Antonine) Fort.
5 It is impossible to subscribe to Macdonald's identification
of this structure as the commandant's house (praetorium) of an
Agricolan fort. An extra-mural building, on the other hand,
need not necessarily be alined with the contemporary buildings
within the fort.
6 P.S.A.S., lxx (1935-6), 390.
7 P.S.A.S., lxxxiv (1949-50), list II facing p. 160.
8 P.S.A.S., xxxv (1900-1, 376; Ephemeris Epigraphica, ix,
1246.
9 The sculptured stone described in P.S.A.S., xxxvi (1901-
1902), 606-10, is a modern forgery.
10 Nos. DN 16-22 in the C.U.C.A.P.
11 See P.S.A.S., lxxxix (1955-6), 336-9 and fig. 7.
12 National Survey air-photographs CPE/SCOT/UK 256,
5227-8 and 540/801, 3044-5.
13 Compare Bagraw Camp, Northumberland (History of
Northumberland, xv, 120 and fig. 32).
14 National Survey air-photographs CPR/SCOT/UK 256,
5227-8.
15 540/801, 3044-5.
16 Nos. DH 25-8.
17 Nos. DH 25-8 in the C.U.C.A.P.
-- 111 |
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No. 122 -- ROMAN MONUMENTS -- No. 124
At the time when the photographs were taken the E.
side of the camp lay in another field where the conditions
were not so responsive to crop-markings. It is possible,
however, to see what appears to be the start of the
rounded NE. corner of the ditch, and if this interpreta-
tion is correct the camp will have measured about 530 ft.
in length from N. to S. by about 420 ft. transversely,
and will have enclosed an area of 5 acres. The camp is
comparable with those at Milnquarter (No. 119) and
Little Kerse (No. 118), and with two others outside
Stirlingshire; the purpose of the group has been dis-
cussed in detail elsewhere, ¹ 1 and is briefly considered in
the Introduction (pp. 34 f.). (v) The fifth camp (G) is
situated on a slight eminence 700 yds. SE. of the farm
of Carmuirs (851805). The S. corner and parts of the
adjacent sides were photographed by Dr. St. Joseph, ²
while National Survey air-photographs ³ show an addi-
tional short stretch of the SE. side, almost the whole
of the SW. side, and a mark which probably represents
a stretch of the NW. side. If this mark is valid, the camp
will have measured 690 ft. in width by at least 800 ft. in
length.
BURIALS. In 1921 a Flavian coarse pot was found
together with three bronze discs, two small fragments of
bronze, some corroded fragments of iron and particles
of wood in a sand-pit 90 yds. SSW. of Camelon railway-
station (869806]. ⁴ The site of the discovery is marked on
the accompanying plan (Fig. 46, H). The sand above
the deposit had been disturbed, and although no human
remains were observed there can be no doubt that the
objects accompanied a burial, probably by cremation.
A second Roman burial was found in the same sand-pit,
270 yds. SE. of the railway-station in 1922 ⁵ (871805)
and is marked on Fig. 46 (J). It consisted of a cist
measuring 4 ft. in length, 18 in. in width and 2 ft. in
depth, the walls of which were formed of two courses
of large stones, mostly boulders, while the cover was
composed of three contiguous slabs. Inside there were
the fragmentary remains of an extended skeleton and
part of a Roman sword.
It is worth noting that a line joining the two burials,
if prolonged westwards, would intersect the E. side of
the "South Camp" at Camelon; and in view of the Roman
practice of burying the dead alongside main roads, it
seems possible, therefore, that these burials, one of which
is firmly dated on the ceramic evidence to the Flavian
period, give an indication of the route originally taken
by the Roman trunk road from York to the Tay in the
vicinity of Camelon. For the Roman road which is
marked on the O.S. map as branching off the Military
Way at Watling Lodge, and approaching Camelon from
the S., ⁶ is clearly a product of the Antonine re-
organisation, and there can be hardly any doubt that a
more direct route to the fort, avoiding the awkward
corner at Watling Lodge, was in use in the 1st century.
Such a route may well be perpetuated in part by the
present Nailer Road which borders the sand-pit in which
the burials were found.
863810 -- NS 88 SE -- 13 May 1958
123. Roman Fort, Stirling (Site). The Roman road
running northwards from the Antonine Wall to Strath-
more crossed the river Forth in the neighbourhood of
Stirling (cf. pp. 114 f.), and it may be regarded as certain
that a fort would be established here to guard the
crossing, and to provide an intermediate staging-point
in the 22-mile stretch of road between Camelon and
Ardoch. No remains of this fort are visible, however,
and its site has not been located. The traces of a "Roman
station" referred to by Maitland" ⁷ are probably nothing
more than the earthwork on the SE. side of the King's
Knot (p. 220), which, whatever its purpose, is clearly
not of Roman origin. The inscription on Gowan Hill
(No. 403), once considered to be Roman, is a forgery.
NS 79 SE (unnoted) -- 20 March 1957
124. The Roman Road running northwards from
the Antonine Wall. In Roman times the main road
from York to the Tay traversed the county, entering it
possibly in the vicinity of Linlithgow, where Roman
pottery has been found, and leaving it again at the Forth
crossing somewhere near Stirling. Apart from some
vestiges in Tor Wood, which are described in their
proper sequence below, this road has now been totally
lost, and between the point of entry into the county
and the fort of Camelon (No. 122) even its approximate
course is unknown. All that can be said is that Roman
burials found near Camelon (supra) suggest that in the
1st century the road approached that fort from the ESE.,
whereas in the Antonine period it would appear to have
joined the Military Way at some point as yet undeter-
mined, and branched off it again at Watling Lodge
(No. 114), thus approaching Camelon from the S.
To the N. of the Antonine Wall the road is better
documented, since much of it survived until the middle
of the 18th-century when land improvements for farming
began to take their toll. Thus Edgar, who made the
survey for his county map in 1745, was able to mark the
whole road in this sector, including an extension into
Perthshire beyond the Forth ⁸ ; Nimmo, some thirty
years later, still knew the line of the road but said that
in many places it had lately been dug up and demolished,
and had evidently seen parts of it actually undergoing
demolition ⁹ ; in 1792 it was "still entire in many parts" -
and thus, by implication, not in all parts - in Larbert
1 P.S.A.S., lxxxix (1955-6), 336 and fig. 6.
2 Nos. VY 9 and WB 72 in the C.U.C.A.P.
3 540/801. 3044-5.
4 P.S.A.S., lvii (1922-3), 246 and figs. 1(D), 4, and 5.
5 Ibid., 246, figs. 1(C) and 3.
6 See p. 113.
7 Maitland, History, i, 194.
8 It is unlikely that the "Roman Causeway" was one of the
items added to Edgar's map to bring it up to date for publica-
tion, with Nimmo's History, in 1777, in view of the discrepancy
between Nimmo's version of the course of the road NW. of
Stirling and that shown on the map (infra).
9 This is to be inferred from the degree of detail in which he
describes the method of its construction (History, 24 ff.) -
evidently the result of personal observation.
-- 112 |
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No. 124 -- ROMAN MONUMENTS -- No. 124
and Dunipace parishes ¹; but by 1858, when the
Ordnance surveyors arrived, destruction was already
complete. The surveyors did their best to reconstruct
the course of the road from the reports of local informants,
but their results were not entirely convincing, and a
considerable part of the line which was shown on former
editions of the 6-inch map has therefore been omitted
from the present edition. It will therefore be well to
discuss the whole subject afresh in the light of the data
forthcoming from topography, archaeology and records.
Nimmo saw the road "quite entire -- upon the south
of Torwoodhead, and in the muir of Plean; the grounds
in those parts, having never been cultivated, have
preserved its form, except in marshy places, where it
hath sunk by its own weight -- its uniform breadth,
straight course, and gradual descent upon each side
cannot but strike the eye of the observer". ² As to the
method of construction, he says that "great pains have
been taken to render it firm and durable -- It consists
of several layers of stone and earth, which seem to have
been thrown upon one another, just as they came to hand;
for the stones are of all dimensions. It is generally about
twelve feet in breadth, and its foundations are so deep,
that, in the formation of it, they seem first to have digged
a ditch, which they filled up again with stones and earth,
in the careless manner that hath been mentioned, till
they had raised it at least a foot above the natural surface.
It always rises in the middle, and slopes towards the
edges; and, on each side, especially where the ground is
wet, there hath been a small ditch or drain, to keep the
work dry -- The stones of the uppermost layer are
generally of so large a size, that, unless it was always well
covered with gravel, it must have been very incommodious
for travelling upon -- Its direction is as straight as the
nature of the ground through which it passes will
admit --" ³ On the evidence of the remains in Tor Wood,
discussed below, it seems clear that Nimmo under-
estimated the width of the Roman road by some 6 ft.,
and that he did not fully understand the nature of its
construction. Instead of being formed in a haphazard
manner of layers of stones and earth, there can be little
doubt that the road was carefully built in normal Roman
fashion, a solid bottoming of large stones being surfaced
with smaller stones and gravel.
In reconstructing the line of the road one meets with
a first difficulty at Camelon itself. From Watling Lodge,
where the passage through the Antonine Wall was
guarded by a small fortified post (No. 114), Roy ⁴ and
the O.S. maps agree in marking the road as running in
a more or less direct line to Camelon, half a mile to the N.
On Roy's Plate XXIX the road is shown as issuing from
the N. gate of the Antonine fort at Camelon, but there-
after its course is uncertain. Nimmo's account ⁵ states that
"From Camelon to the river, scarce any vestige of it is
to be discerned, the fields have been in tillage from
time immemorial", and the O.S. map has now abandoned
its former line for the road in this sector and also the
"Roman Bridge (site of)" which used to be placed at
852821. No remains of a road have in fact been found by
excavation or probing immediately N. of the river at
this point, ⁶ and the stones found by Carron Company's
workmen in 1773, if they really were bridge-foundations
and of Roman origin, ⁷ are more likely to have been a
quarter of a mile downstream (856820), where the con-
struction of the Company's weir (cf. p. 439) would have
necessitated excavation in the river-bed. The appearance
of the channel immediately upstream from the weir must
have been considerably altered by the backing-up of
the water, and in consequence Nimmo's "precipice",
artificially sloped bank, and cut rock-surface ⁸ cannot
now be identified; but a crossing at or near the weir
would agree well enough with his next piece of informa-
tion, which is that "After the road hath got free of the
river, it appears again upon a rising ground, a little
westward of the church of Larbert". ⁹ Edgar's map is on
too small a scale, and is too inaccurate in its basic
topography, to throw any light on this point.
Nimmo's next landmark is Torwood Castle (No. 299),
which he terms "Torwoodhead", ¹⁰ and from here the
road can still be traced intermittently for about a mile
in Tor Wood. ¹¹ The road enters the wood 240 yds. ESE.
of the Castle (83818427), and runs thence north-
westwards in a straight line for about 700 yds. to
83348465, where it makes a slight change of direction
towards the N. Initially its passage through the wood is
marked only by patches of disturbed metalling, but the
heavy bottoming can be seen in situ in the corner of
the wood to the NE. of the Castle (83648440) and also
between the dyke and the track immediately to the S. of
a newly constructed reservoir. Beyond the reservoir the
road reappears in the form of a low mound, 25 ft. wide,
which can be followed through the wood for 170 yds.
to a point where it has been destroyed by surface
quarrying and by relatively recent enclosures. The
mound is traceable again on the new alinement for a
short distance at the head of a drained moss, now bare of
trees, and on the slope beyond a dense cluster of birch
saplings which fringe the N. side of the moss it is fairly
distinct for a further 150 yds. to 83068500. Another slight
change of direction seems to have taken place at
83008506, following which the road runs parallel to,
and 40 yds. E. of, the dyke bordering the W. side of the
1 Stat. Acct., iii (1792), 336.
2 Op. cit., 24.
3 Op. cit., 25 f.
4 Military Antiquities, Plates XXIX and XXXV. Plate XXXV
was surveyed in 1755, but the inclusion in it of Carron Iron
Works shows that the survey must have been brought up
to date after 1760. As, however, the Carron mill-lade and
reservoir are not included this revision probably took place
before 1773.
5 Op. cit., 22.
6 Information from Miss D. M. Hunter, Larbert.
7 Nimmo, op. cit., 22.
8 Ibid.
9 Ibid. The church of Nimmo's time stood about 200 ft. W.
of the W. end of the existing structure (No. 146).
10 Op. cit., 23. The name "Torwoodhead" misled Crawford,
who took it as applying to the modern house of that name at
843842 (Topography of Roman Scotland, 17).
11 The Commissioners are indebted to Mr. A. Clarke of the
Archaeology Division of the Ordnance Survey for unpublished
information about the precise course of the road in Tor Wood.
-- 113 |
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No. 124 -- ROMAN MONUMENTS -- No. 124
wood as far as the crossing of the Tor Burn. For the
last 400 yds. of this sector the mound is clearly visible,
as Crawford observed, ¹ and some of the material for the
road may have been derived from a surface quarry,
measuring 75 ft. across, which is situated close to the
E. side of the mound and about 200 yds. from the burn.
A section cut across the S. end of the mound by the
Commission's officers in 1956 showed that a good deal
of the heavy bottoming of the road is still in situ,
particularly on the W. side; it is 18 ft. wide at this
point, and is composed of large boulders, thrown
down without order, over which a layer of clay has been
laid to serve as ballast and bedding for a gravel surface.
There is no agger, and the mound owes its appearance
partly to the bottoming, and partly to the presence of
the side-ditches noted by Nimmo - though the latter
were not clearly defined in the section in question. Some
of the stones missing from the bottoming had been
deliberately torn up, at no very distant date, and used to
build a dyke along the W. margin of the road. In a second
section, cut 70 yds. from the Tor Burn, the bottoming
was 22 ft. in width, but both here, and in a third section
on the S. bank of the burn, only a few scattered stones
survived. The mound reappears for a few yards on the
left bank of the burn, but is cut off at the edge of the
wood. There are signs that the burn may have been
deflected hereabouts, and perhaps ponded on the
upstream side of the deflection in a manner which might
have resulted from the collapse of a bridge.
At the Tor Burn the road evidently made yet another
minor change of direction and then ran in a straight line
for the next 1 1/2 miles to the school SE. of West Plean.
From a quarter of a mile NW. of Gartincaber to the
school it coincides with a modern road. This section was
one in which the remains of the Roman road were once
quite well known, as Nimmo, for example, mentions
the Muir of Plean as one of the places where it was
"quite entire" in his time ²; it was still recognised in
1796 as a "causeway" ³ taking a north-westerly course
through the parish; and a Mr. Robertson, factor of the
Plean House estate, on which the last vestiges had been
demolished some time before, was able to point out to
the Ordnance surveyors a good many places on its
source. ⁴ Beyond the school the O.S. line is no doubt
correct as far as Croftsidepark. Faint traces of a ploughed-
out road-terrace can, in fact, be seen in the field on the
N. side of Pheasantry Wood, and a trench cut across the
terrace in 1954. 80 yds. from the edge of the wood,
revealed that a little of the bottoming of the road was
still in position. No sign of the road was found however
in another trench cut across the O.S. line a quarter of a
mile to the NE., below the homestead on Common Hill
(No. 104).
Beyond Croftsidepark the line shown on former
editions of the O.S. 6-inch map is open to a great deal
of doubt as it contradicts the two earliest authorties,
Edgar and Nimmo, and it has accordingly been omitted
from the present edition. Edgar marks the Roman road
as running closely beside the Denny-Stirling highway
(A 80), and keeping to its E. side as far as St. Ninians;
here, at the junction of A 80 with the road from Kilsyth
(p. 424), it crosses to the W. side of the highway, and
then diverges slightly further to the W. before disappear-
ing just outside Stirling. Nimmo corroborates this by
his mention of Milton, which is E. of the highway and
has a ford over the Bannock Burn. The O.S. Line, how-
ever, ran parallel to A 80 on the W., at distances from it
of 130 to 230 yds., passing through the farmhouses of
Snabhead and Pirnhall and missing Milton altogether; in
this it evidently followed Robertson's statement ⁵ that the
road went "by Snalehead [presumably Snabhead], by
Pirnhall Farmhouse, and from the latter place nearly in a
straight line to Stirling Castle". The mention of Pirn-
hall Farmhouse would negative Edgar's course flanking
the highway on the E., and although Robertson's state-
ment seems definite enough it must be remembered that
he was a century later than Edgar and that Pirnhall
cannot have been one of the places "adjacent to Plean-
house" where "the last vestige of it [i.e. the road] was
removed some time ago when some improvements were
making on the Plean estate". ⁶ It is probably now too late
to recover the truth unless by some chance discovery.
The next fixed points beyond the road-junction in
St. Ninians (796911) are those recorded by Crawford in
the outskirts of Stirling. ⁷ The Roman road was found
on both sides of Snowdon Place - at Number 27 on the
S. and at Numbers 18 and 19 on the N. - as well as at
19 Park Terrace about 100 yds. further to the NNW.;
these remains and a bank W. of Randolphfield which
resembles a Roman causeway and another stony bank
just W. of Victoria Place, ⁸ are all nearly in alinement and
would locate the road approximately along, or very
slightly to the W. of, Randolph Terrace and the Main
Street of St. Ninians. This alinement would correspond
very well with that of the next section to the N. as given
by Edgar, and to that extent supports his and Nimmo's
version of it against Robertson's version as formerly
shown on the O.S. map (supra). Though it is safe to
assume that a fort existed at Stirling to guard the river-
crossing (cf. No. 123), its position is unknown and it
thus does not give a fixed point on the road's course.
Beyond Stirling no remains of a road survive, and the
18th-century records are difficult to interpret. They
agree in stating that the road struck off in a W. or NW.
direction, ⁹ but it is clear that, beyond a certain point,
they refer to two different roads, one leading north to
Dunblane, Ardoch and beyond, and the other NW., to
Bochastle at the foot of the Pass of Leny. The evidence
for the Bochastle road is contained in a paper ¹⁰ by the
1 Loc. cit.
2 Op. cit., 24.
3 Stat. Acct., xviii (1796), 388.
4 See Ordinance Survey Name Book, St. Ninians parish,
35, 169.
5 Ibid., 169.
6 Ibid.
7 Op. cit., 23 ff., with plan.
8 Discovered by Crawford and recorded ibid.
9 Cf. also Castles and Mansions, 145.
10 Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, vol. iii,
pt. ii, 266 ff., read on 2nd July 1792.
-- 114 |
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No. 124 -- ROMAN MONUMENTS -- No.124
Rev. Christopher Tait, minister of Kincardine, Perth-
shire, who mentions "a road, supposed to be Roman
that passes between the moss [i.e. Kincardine Moss] and
the River Teith. The vestiges of this -- road have been
traced, from about four miles north-west of the bridge
of Dript, where formerly there was a ford, across the
river [i.e. the Forth], south-east by Torwood and Larbert,
to Camelon on the wall. This road is laid about a foot
deep with gravel, under which, in some places, is also a
layer of stones, and it appears to have been about twenty
feet wide -- The direction of it, after it crosses the ford
at Dript, is in a line that points north-west to the Pass
of Leny, the chief avenue to the Highlands on this side."
This record seems reasonable, as Bochastle, unlike
Fendoch, seems to have continued in occupation during
the later Flavian period, when the Roman road-system
in Scotland was taking shape; and it would imply that a
road, which can hardly have been other than continuous
with the one from Camelon to Stirling, ran on to cross
the Forth at Drip (770956), just above the inflow of
the Teith, and thence followed a line north-westwards
approximating to that of the modern highway A 84.
The furthest point to which Tait's record carries it
would be near Kincardine Church (718989).
The records of the north-going road, however, are
not free from contradictions. Nimmo, the most reliable
observer, states ¹ that it "takes a direction westward",
though without specifying whence, "to a ford, called the
Drip, near Craigforth", adding that "very plain traces
of it are discernible at a farmhouse, which, together with
its offices and yards, is situated on the very summit
thereof". ² This farmhouse is "not far from a place
called Kildean". In a later passage ³ he says that the road
turned northwards from Drip, by Keir, to Dunblane,
where it again made its appearance. This would, of
course, imply that the Teith was crossed separately, at
some point rather higher up, an arrangement which
would appear reasonable enough if the Forth had in any
case to be crossed at Drip for the sake of access to
Bochastle. Indeed, a route which crossed the Forth at
Drip, and then the Teith perhaps somewhere near Old
Keir (758975), might have had some advantage over a
more direct one, if it avoided marshes in the Carse of
Lecropt and backwaters where the Allan Water joins the
Forth.
In conflict, however, with Nimmo's account are a
statement by Maitland and the evidence of Edgar's map;
though caution is necessary here as Maitland does not
rank high as a reporter of Roman antiquities and Edgar
may well have been misled by the remains of a mediaeval
road (infra). Maitland, writing twenty years before
Nimmo, says ⁴ that the Roman road, after leaving the
fort, i.e. the King's Knot site, "passed on the western
side of Stirling-castle, by the way at present called the
Craigforth-road or causeway, to a place about half a
mile bewest the said castle, on the southern side of the
river Forth. That the Romans trajectus or ferry was at
this place, I think is demonstrable, by the course of the
military way on both sides (of) the said river --" Edgar,
on the other hand, marks the road as crossing the Forth
at a point well over a mile from Stirling Castle, the
crossing-place being easy to identify by its position on a
large meander of the Forth. From this crossing it strikes
N. past the modern farms of Cottonhaugh and Westleys,
by-passing what is shown as a swamp S.E. of Lecropt
Church, and continues its northward course W. of the
Allan Water. This last stretch would coincide with the
corresponding portion of the road as given by Nimmo
(supra); and would also pass close to the sites of two
temporary camps, ⁵ though no connection between road
and camps need necessarily be inferred.
The evidence thus seems insufficient to support any
firm conclusion, and it is further quite possible that there
may have been two north roads, an early one which
branched from the Bochastle route beyond Drip, and a
later one, perhaps built in the Antonine period when
Bochastle was no longer garrisoned, which crossed the
Forth further downstream. A good analogy for the
proposed early arrangement would be the manner in
which the Fosse Way approaching Cirencester from the
N. suddenly diverges from the direct line in order to
make contact with Akeman Street, and thereby saves a
considerable length of road-building.
THE ROUTE IN POST-ROMAN TIMES. There is good
reason to believe that this route, or one which approx-
imated to it, continued in use in mediaeval and later
times. For example, a magna strata ran from St. Ninians
to Stirling in the 12 century ⁶; the movements of the
armies on the day before the Battle of Bannockburn (1314)
imply the existence of a road between Falkirk and Stirling
on the Roman line ⁷; the Gough map, of about 1360, notes
"Hic passagium de Drippis" not at the modern Drip
Bridge but on the same meander as Edgar's crossing-
place; John Harding, in the 15th century, knew of Drip
ford as an alternative to the bridge at Stirling ⁸; Pitscottie,
writing about the middle of the 16th century, evidently
knew of a bridge over the Carron, again on what seems
to have been the Falkirk-Stirling route, and regarded it
as having existed in 1488 ⁹; and in 1651 the bridge at
Larbert was defended with a strong-point (cf. No. 462).
Actual traces of post-Roman use are scanty, but hollow
tracks can be seen on the right bank of the Tor Burn,
where one or two were cut into the Roman road-mound itself,
while another, which is deep and well marked, approaches
the burn a short distance downstream. Below this point
the burn enters a gully, where crossings would have been
impracticable, and at the bridge that carries the present-
day by-road from Larbert (833855) there are traces of
an old road winding down to a low-level bridge-site,
1 Op. cit., 23.
2 Ibid.
3 Op. cit., 24.
4 Maitland, History, i, 195.
5 Antiquity, xxv (1951), 95 f.
6 Cambuskenneth, p. 142.
7. P.S.A.S., xc (1956-7), 172.
8 Chronicle of John Harding, ed. Ellis, 423, quoted by Hume
Brown, Early Travellers in Scotland, 18.
9 Pitscottie, The Historie and Chronicles of Scotland, S.T.S.,
i, 206.
-- 115 |
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No. 125 -- ROMAN MONUMENTS -- No. 125
though none of hollow tracks. The bridge mentioned in
1723 ¹ was probably at this point. The hollow tracks that
occur still further downstream, by the bridge that carries
a by-road leading to Plean (835837), are half a mile from
the Roman crossing, and may or may not be relevant
here; but it seems clear that, once the Roman causeway
had sunk into the moss in the Tor Wood (supra), that
whole section of the route would have lost its utility, and
traffic, diverted from it, would have had a look for other
crossing-places below the gully. Further N., on the
Bannock Burn, the steep, winding lane that serves the
ford at "Beaton's Mill" (No. 351) may well perpetuate a
mediaeval hollow track.
NS 78 NE; NS 79 NE, SE; NS 87 NE; NS 88 NW, SW, SE
Various dates from 1955 to 1959
125. Supposed Roman Communications between
Clydesdale and the Antonine Wall. It has often
been suggested that a Roman road branched off the
Clydesdale route in the vicinity of Carluke, and ran
thence northwards to the Antonine Wall. As the follow-
ing synopsis will show, no convincing evidence has ever
been produced in support of this supposed road, and
widely different opinions have been entertained regard-
ing its precise course.
(i) Sibbald (1707) ² merely mentions a local tradition
that a Roman road ran from Carnwath to Camelon.
(ii) Gordon's map (1726) ³ marks the course of the
Roman trunk road from Carlisle reasonably accurately
as far as Biggar. But beyond Biggar he projects it more or
less in a straight line through Carnwath to Watling
Lodge (No. 114), where a gap in the Antonine Wall gave
passage to the Roman road that led northwards to the
fort of Camelon and thence into Perthshire. Gordon
was apparently unaware that the Biggar road continued
in the direction of Inveresk, nor did he know of the branch
leading through Clydesdale to the W. end of the
Antonine Wall, and in linking Biggar with Camelon it
can only be assumed that he was either following the
local tradition referred to by Sibbald, or was tying up, in
the most direct manner possible, what he conceived to be
two loose ends in the Roman road-system.
(iii) Roy (c. 1755) ⁴ reports that he failed to find any
traces of Gordon's road leading southwards from the gap
in the Antonine Wall, and that the local inhabitants had
no knowledge of the existence of such a road. He adds,
however, that a Roman road is said to have run S. from
the fort of Castlecary, about 5 miles W. of Watling
Lodge, "by Crow-bank, and Fannyside, and that the
stones of it were lately dug up". He marks the beginning
of this supposed road, as far as the crossing of the Walton
Burn, on his Plate XXXV, and suggests, though purely as
a speculation, that the most likely route for it to follow
thereafter would be by way of Glentore, "Crooked-
dykes", Kirk of Shotts, Murdostoun and Hyndshaw to
Belstane, near Carluke.
(iv) Stuart (1844) ⁵ states that a branch road left the
road up the Clyde valley at Belstane and "appears to
have gone nearly due north by the Kirk of Shotts, either
to the station at Castlecary, or to that at Camelon". He
suggests that it may even have divided, a branch running
to each fort, and records a stretch as having been traced,
shortly before 1844, between Belstane and Castlehill
(843518) and also "supposed vestiges" as having been
dug up on the farm of Bracco, at a site identified in a
footnote as the outflow of the Lilly Loch (8266). The
road observed between Belstane and Castlehill must,
however, have been a portion of the Clydesdale road,
which runs through both these places, while Mr.
Davidson (see below) has produced convincing reasons
for discounting the supposed Roman remains at the
Lilly Loch.
(v) Since 1867 all the editions of the 1-inch O.S. map,
prior to the current (7th) series, have marked a Roman
road, as a site, leading S. from Castlecary to the modern
road at Walton farm, and thence SE. for a further three-
quarters of a mile to the Walton Burn. The relevant entry
in the O.S. Name Book makes it clear that, in plotting
this road, the surveyors were merely transferring the line
given on Roy's plate as best they could, "no person in
the neighbourhood being able", as they say, "to point
the road out on the ground". The road had rightly been
omitted from all the published 6-inch O.S. maps.
(vi) It is claimed that during the excavations at Castle-
cary in 1902 a road was traced for about 1000 ft. from
the S. gate of the fort, terminating at what appeared to
be an old stone-quarry. ⁶ At a distance of 200 ft. from
the fort this road is said to have thrown off a branch,
15 ft. wide; and on an accompanying sketch-map ⁷ the
branch is called "Military Way from the South", and is
shown as running almost due S. for about half a mile
to an unnamed tributary of the Red Burn, its further
course being cut off by the margin of the map. In the
absence of any photographs or measured drawings, it is
difficult to know how far this information can be relied
upon. On the one hand it is likely enough that a metalled
road issued from the S. gate of the fort, and the excavators
can hardly have invented the branch road, particularly
since they state that its width was only half that of the
"quarry" road. On the other hand it is highly doubtful
whether either road was traced to the extent claimed on
the sketch-map. The embankment of the Glasgow and
Stirling railway cuts across the line of the "quarry" road
only 500 ft. from the fort, and the so-called "quarry" lies
not more than 200 ft. beyond the embankment and is, in
fact, purely a natural hollow at the foot of a strip of rising
ground. Nor are any indications of the branch road
visible on the surface at the present time - the stone
revetment on either side of the streamlet that crosses
the line being comparatively modern, and not, as the
excavators believed, the remains of a Roman culvert.
1 Geogr Collections, i, 329.
2 Historical Inquiries, 39.
3 Itin. Septent., opp. p. 11.
4 Military Antiquities, 106-7.
5 Caledonia Romana (2nd ed. 1852), 259.
6 P.S.A.S., xxxvii (1902-3), 329.
7 Ibid., 272.
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No. 125 -- ROMAN MONUMENTS -- No. 125
[Diagram Inserted]
The Roman Sacellum of Mars Signifer, or Mars Ultor
Vulgarly call'd
ARTHURS - OON
By courtesy of the Royal Archaeological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland
Fig. 48. Roman temple, Arthur's O'on (No. 126); Gordon's drawings (1726)
(vii) In a recent study of the whole question, Mr. J. M.
Davidson ¹ has argued strongly against the existence of a
branch road from Belstane to Castlecary on the lines
suggested by Roy and Stuart, adducing the negative
results of his own field investigations, and also showing
sound reasons for rejecting the supposed Roman remains
at the Lilly Loch. But his observations led him to believe
that a road had led from Castlecary to Crowbank, 2 miles
to the S., where he suggested there might have been a
Roman signal-post. On reconsideration, however, Mr.
Davidson has agreed that the various metalled surfaces
which he took to be the remains of a Roman road between
Castlecary and Crowbank are all of a more recent date;
while excavation has shown that the short length of stone
kerbing to which he refers, ² on the E. side of Crowbank
farmhouse, is not Roman work but is simply the lowest
course of a former garden wall.
No intensive field-work has been done outside the
confines of Stirlingshire, but it is quite clear from the
foregoing survey that no evidence has yet emerged for the
existence of a Roman road leading from Clydesdale
either to Camelon or to Castlecary. The only point at
which a possible road of this nature has been found is
outside the fort of Castlecary, but neither the "quarry"
road nor the branch road reported there need necessarily
have served anything more than purely local purposes.
1 The Roman Occupation of South-Western Scotland (ed.
Miller, S. N.), 82 ff.
2 Ibid., 87.
-- 117 |
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No. 126 -- ECCLESIASTICAL MONUMENTS -- No. 127
For it is possible that what the excavators actually found
was merely the junction between a loop road, skirting
round the S. side of the fort, and the road that issued
from the S. gate. Loop roads were commonly employed
on the Antonine Wall to enable through traffic to avoid
passing through each of the forts; and at Castlecary such
a loop road may well have been required to make a wider
detour than usual owing to the morass that covered the S.
front of the fort.
1-inch O.S. map, Popular Edition, sheet 73
17 April 1956
126. Roman Temple, "Arthur's O'on", Stenhouse
(Site). This remarkable building (Fig. 48), which
survived until 1743, was situated on the N. side of the
road from Carron to Stenhousemuir, opposite the N.W.
corner of Carron Iron Works and just inside the grounds
of Stenhouse (No. 200). Its date and purpose have been
the object of much speculation in the past, and the
present account is a summary of a detailed study which
has recently been published by one of the Commission's
officers. ¹ The O'on was built of dressed freestone and in
appearance was shaped like a beehive, being circular on
plan with a domed roof: the internal diameter was
19 ft. 6 in. and the original height over 22 ft. The wall
was about 4 ft. thick at the base but narrowed as it rose,
and the dome was constructed of overlapping horizontal
courses with their faces dressed to the proper curve. An
opening in the centre of the vault, which measured 11 ft.
6 in. across by the 18th century, was probably not an
original feature, but may have been caused initially by
a finial breaking off, and subsequently enlarged by the
collapse or removal of some of the stones. The doorway,
a round-arched opening measuring about 9 ft. in height
and 5 ft. in width, was situated in the E. side, and
immediately above it there was a nearly square window.
Round the interior of the building there were two string-
courses at distances of 4 ft. and 6 ft. respectively above
the paved stone floor, and in several places, notably over
the door, there may have been much weathered carvings
in which eagles and the goddess Victory are said to have
been represented.
Although the design of the dome has no precise
parallels in Roman architecture, the identification of the
O'on as a Roman temple or shrine can hardly be doubted
in view of its isolated position 2 miles from the nearest
Roman fort or road, the fact that it faced E. in accordance
with ritual practice, and the discovery in a chink of the
masonry of a brass finger which had presumably been
torn from a cult statue. It may be thought, however, that
a structure of this kind, which bears the unmistakable
stamp of legionary workmanship, is too elaborate for a
purely local or private sanctuary; and since it appears to
have been deliberately sited to be visible from the
Antonine Wall, it seems possible that the O'on was
primarily a triumphal monument, or trompaeum, erected
to commemorate a victory - and presumably the victory
that was crowned by the construction of the new frontier
line between the Forth and Clyde. Such at least is
the traditional explanation recorded in a gloss in the
Historia Brittonum, ² and it is worth recalling that on
Hadrian's Wall a war-memorial was also apparently set
up a short distance in advance of the barrier. ³+
879827 -- NS 88 SE -- 19 August 1958
ECCLESIASTICAL MONUMENTS
127. Old Church and Graveyard, Logie. Of the old
parish church only a fragment now remains (Pl, 13 A).
It stands on the right bank of the Logie Burn, close to
the point where this must have been crossed by the old
road described under No. 509 and some 350 yds. NW.
of its successor (No. 128). All that survives is a W. gable,
24 ft. 6 in. wide externally, and the W. part of the S. wall,
extending to a length of 30 ft. 6 in.; the original length
of the building seems to have been about 56 ft., and
it had a N. aisle. ⁴ The surviving part of the S. wall
contains, about its centre, a square-headed door with a
back-set and widely chamfered architrave, and above this
a small round-headed window divided by a mullion into
two lancet-shaped lights with glazing-grooves. To the
E. there is a large round-headed window showing two
similar lights but subdivided by a transom; the lower
part of the E. light has been checked and hinged exter-
nally for a shutter. West of the door there is a small
window, evidently not original as it is formed of hetero-
geneous materials including, as the window-sill, a stone
bearing the date 1598 in raised letters on a sunk panel;
this was found in 1874 "in the ruins near the old Session
House, at the east end of the church", ⁵ and had no doubt
come from an earlier church. Close to the gable, and at
an upper level, there is a gallery doorway with a back-set
architrave, and checks for an external door; it must have
been reached by an outside stair, now removed. On the
SW. angle of the building there is a tabular sundial,
bearing the date 1684, very probably the date of the
building. The W. gable has plain skews and, on the S.,
a rolled skewput; it is topped by a square bell-cote with
Classical pillars and a pyramidal top. A square-headed
door, checked and hinged externally, has been broken
through the centre of the gable, and high up in it there
is a small round-headed window similar to the one in the
S. wall. Reset above the door there is a panel with a
1 Arch. F., cxv, 99 ff.
2 The passage runs as follows. Carutius postea imperator
reedificavit et VII castellis munivit inter utraque ostia; domumque
rotundam politis lapidibus super ripam fluminis Carun, quod a
suo nomine nomen accepit, fornicem triumphalem in victoriae
memoriam erigens construxit (See. F. Lot. Nennius et l'Historia
Brittonum, (Paris 1934) 165, note 5). The ascription of the
monument to Carausius is not to be taken seriously.
3 Arch. Ael., 4th series, xxi, 93-120.
4 Fergusson, R Menzies (Logie, A Parish History, i, 205 n),
gives the internal dimensions as approximately 56 ft. by 21 ft.
and states that the aisle was 19 ft. square.
5 Ibid., 11, n. 3.
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No. 127 -- ECCLESIASTICAL MONUMENTS -- No. 127
moulded border bearing, above, an inscribed plaque and,
below, a shield with helm and mantling and, for crest,
a crowned heart. The shield is charged, for Douglas:
three piles, in chief three mullets. The inscription reads
THIS MANSE WAS BUILDED AT / THE EXPENSEs OF
THE HERITOURS / OF LOGIE AND OF MR A L
DOUGLAS / MINISTER THERE ANNO D 1698 / I AND
MY HOUSE WILL SERUE / THE LORD JOSHUA 24 V
15, and on a ribbon below appear the Greek words TA
ANΩ ("The things that are above"). A modern inscription
states that this panel was removed from the old manse in
1804.
A church of Logie is first mentioned in a charter of
Simeon, bishop of Dunblane, in which its possession
is confirmed to the convent of North Berwick. ¹ This
charter is dated by Cosmo Innes to about 1178. ² Sub-
sequent mentions of the church before the Reformation
are given by Menzies Fergusson ³; but no authority can
be found for his statement that a church was built
between 1380 and 1420, and it may be simply an
erroneous inference from the architectural characteristics
of the existing remains. In 1596 Dame Margaret Hume,
prioress of North Berwick, resigned the convent's
surviving properties, including Logie Church, to the
King for "the sustentatione of the minister serving the
cure thairat and utheris godlie usis". ⁴ The post-
Reformation history of the parish is also given by
Menzies Fergusson. ⁵ The supposed dedication to St. Serf
appears to rest on no better foundation than that the
miracle connected with this saint's ram is said to have
been performed at Athren (Airthrey), which is in this
parish. ⁶
TOMBSTONES. The most interesting stone in this
graveyard is a hog-back (Pl. 42 A), which lies SE. of
the church. It is 5 ft. 8 in. long and tapers, at ground
level, from a breadth of 14 1/2 in. at the head to 8 in. at
the foot. On the lower side it stands 1 ft. 6 in. above the
ground. The ridge has been flattened to a breadth of
10 in. at the head, the flattened area tapering to 3 1/2 in.
at the foot. The N. side shows traces of ornamentation
representing tiles. Another hog-back was turned out of
the graveyard about 1907 and a fragment of it, found and
replaced in 1927. ⁷ is probably the rounded lump now
set as a headstone at the N. end of Row 6 (infra).
In addition, there are nearly a hundred stones bearing
dates earlier than 1707, and mostly falling within the last
quarter of the 17th century. Of these only the following
thirteen, of which i, ix, x, xi and xiii are headstones and
the remainder recumbent, show more than initials and
a date: (i) Dated 1704, commemorating WALTAR ROB
IN BALUHARN. (ii) Dated 1694, referring in a marginal
inscription to IAMES ANDERSON IANET ALEXANDER
and their children. This stone also bears the initials
IH GG and IH IA with the mottoes SOLA VIRTUS
NOBILITAT ("Only virtue ennobles") and MEMENTO
MORI ("Remember Death"). (iii) Dated 1691, com-
memorating IAMES [?F]ORMA[?R] / IONET BRYCE.
(iv) Date 1694, commemorating WA IA / IOHN
ALEXANDER / ELIZABETH CAM/PBELL IULY 27 / 1722.
(v) A duplicate of (iv) but better cut and in better
preservation. (vi) Dated 1704, commemorating [IA]MES
LEISHMAN. (vii) Dated 1623, commemorating
[T]HOMAS HENDERSONE / MARION CHRISTIE. (viii) /
Dated 1623, commemorating MARGRIT HENDER/SONE
and, in later lettering, IF MA / RF AH. (ix) Dated 1691,
commemorating IOHN DIKSON / HELEN GARRON.
(x) Duplicate of (ix) except for spelling DICKSON and
addition of ID KK. (xi) Duplicate of (ix). (xii) Dated
1700, and bearing a marginal inscription, partly illegible,
commemorating an ALEXANDER together with
CHRISTIAN GALLAUAY HIS WIFE AND THEIR
CHILDREN. Their initials HA CG also appear. (xiii)
Dated 1705, commemorating IH AE with inscription
below HERE LYES THE CORPS OF ALEXR HENDERSONE /
AND IONET GILLESPIE HIS SPOUS THE STON / AND
GROUND BELONGS TO JOHN HENDERSONE.
The remainder may be listed summarily. They occur
in the parallel rows of monuments that run from N. to S.
across the S. part of the graveyard, and in the list below
they are given in their order, row by row, the rows in
turn being taken from W. to E. All except those marked
(H), for headstone, are recumbent slabs.
Row 1 (westernmost). 1698; PM MG. (H) 1698; IA
II / IA IA. (H) 1691; HA CG.
Row 2. [1] 664; IH / IC.
Row 3. (H) 1698; IA II /IA IA, duplicating one in
Row 1. (H) 1691; RH / MR. 1694; IT MA / MT MN.
Row 4. 1691; AA / ML. (H) 1693; RA / EH. (H) 1690;
TC MH / IC LH. (H) 1690; IK / IG. (H) 1690; IC / IK.
1704; IK IM / IK [?]. 1680; IK KA / IM / IK. (H)
1691; A [?]. (H) 1687; VA AH. (H) 1691; IS KE.
Row 5. (H) 1672; WR IF. Stone i (supra). (H) 1677.
1694; TM MH / RM MF, or ME. 1691; IH MC, with
later additions. 1694; IH / GG divided by an empty
sunk shield. These initials, and a motto, are repeated
on Stone ii. Stone ii (supra). 1698; IH IA with defaced
or empty shield. These initials and accompanying
mottoes are repeated on Stone ii.
Row 6. Fragment of hog-backed stone (supra). (H)
1672; IE IC. 1623; illegible. 1694; RK EF / IK IM.
(H) 1691.
Row 7. 1694; IK IT. (H) 1691; AG MR.
Row 8. (H) 16 [?9] I AW / MF. 1691; illegible. 1698;
TC MM / AC MS. (H) 1677; RC / IS / IR AC. (H) 1707;
IH MH. (H) 1691; WB HK / IB MW. (H) [I] 691;
RC IC. Stones iii, iv, v (supra). (H) 169 [?3]; IA MW
above date and IA [?] below; on back IA MG with
illegible inscription. 1694; IA IM / TA EA [?]. 1694;
repeating the last, but with HA legible at the end of
the third line and MG at the end of the fifth.
1Carte Monialium de Northberwic, Bannatyne Club, 6
(No. 5).
2 Ibid., xxx.
3 Op. cit., i, 11 ff.
4 Carte Monialium de Northberwic, xv.
5 Op. cit., i, 20 ff.
6 Wyntoun, Orygynale Cronykil of Scotland, ii, 40 (The
Historians of Scotland, iii).
7 P.S.A.S., lxii (1927-8), 104 f.
-- 119 |
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No. 128 -- ECCLESIASTICAL MONUMENTS -- No. 130
Row 9. ¹ (H) 1690; IB EM / IB AL / WB HB. 1664;
DB MR. 1696; DB AH / [?] B I[C or G]. 1696; DB
AH / WB [?]. (H) 1690; DB AH. (H) 1693; RM MB
on upper edge; RM SF. (H) 1682; HG EP. (H) 1691;
IH IR / AH / IK KH. 1700; RC / IC. (H) 1705; WW
EE.
Row 10. (H) 1690 [? IL IK]. 1693; IA IM / TA
EA / IA MW / TA KH IA IN 1763 / IA MG. 1692;
DL ME DL EB / DL IM DL MR / IL MG AL IP / IL
[? AR] / DL ME. 1707; [?] IS / [?I] G IG / [?] G IG.
[H) 1690; PG ML. (H) 1691. (H) 1691; IG KM. Stone
vi (supra).
Row 11. 1693; ID GB / TD B [?] / PD [?] / WD
P [?] / RD IA. (H) 1704; IH ME IH IR. 1664; IL /
MP / IL [?I] B / IL IR / IL [?] A. Stone vii (supra).
1664; half a re-used slab with IM / FP in different
styles. Stone viii (supra). 1664; contemporary com-
memoration erased. (H) 1697; FM / [?E] H. 1700;
RG CI. 1700. RG CI, a later duplicate of the preceding
stone. (H) 1695; RT. Stones ix and x (supra). (H)
1691; IG KM. Stone xi (supra). 1691; TH AL.
Row 12. 1700; IG MD / HA CG. Stone xii (supra).
1696; IB IM / IB MT. (H) 1690; AR AS. (H) 16 [?7] 9;
WD AB. (H) 168 [?]; ER GH. 1705; RI EG. (H) 1691;
RI EG. (H) 1691; RI EG. (H) 1702; IW IR IW HE / IW
AD AW MH / WW AL IW AH. (H) 1702; IG EB.
Row 13. 1662; IC IG. Hog-backed stone (supra)
Row 14. ² (H) 1705; IR IB. (H) 1690; [?I] R MD.
(H) 1678; IC ID / IC MM. (H) 1679; RC IG. (H)
1694; IM MD.
Row 15. This row, which begins about half-way down
the graveyard and on its E. margin, contains only
Stone xiii (supra).
815969 -- NS 89 NW ("Church")
23 August 1952
128. Parish Church, Logie. The new parish church of
Logie was built in 1805, ³ perhaps to the design of the
Dunblane architect William Stirling, ⁴ but was enlarged
and greatly altered in 1901. ⁵ The tower, however, is
unchanged, and the pilasters at the corners of the
old portion of the body of the church are likewise
original. ⁶
The tower deserves mention as a good example of its
period. Built, like the body of the church, of dark grey
and brown whinstone with pale grey freestone dressings,
it is square on plan and has on the W. a round-headed
and a square-headed door, on the S. a large round-headed
blind window with a small flat one above it, and on the
E. a high window with a transom. At wall-head level it
shows a shallow pediment, and above this, on a plain
square base, stands an octagonal belfry with eight round-
headed openings, four of which are blind. From the
belfry, and divided from it by a cornice, there rises an
octagonal spire with three blind lucarnes in each of the
sides facing the cardinal points.
817967 -- NS 89 NW -- 16 August 1952
129. Blairlogie Church. This church stands in the
southern part of the village, facing the highway from
Causewayhead to Alva. It bears witness to the secession,
in 1761, of part of the congregation of Logie parish. ⁷ It
is a plain oblong building 50 ft. long by 35 ft. wide,
harled and with a slated roof; the E. gable is surmounted
by a bell-cote and the W. one by a finial. The S. side
(Pl. 13 B) shows three windows with backset margins.
each containing two lights with equilateral-arched
heads, and the W. gable a door S. of the central line and
two windows at an upper level; the N. side and E. gable
have no openings. On the W. gable there is a panel
inscribed THIS HOWSE WAS / BUILT AT THE EXPENCE /
OF THE DISSENTING / CONGREGATION OF / LOGIE
IN THE YEARS / 1761 & 1762. The pulpit is at the
W. end.
828968 -- NS 89 NW ("Ch.") -- 23 October 1952
130. Cambuskenneth Abbey. The ruins of Cambus-
kenneth Abbey lie on the left bank of the Forth, just
opposite the NE. part of Stirling. ⁸ The site is flat carse-
land, enclosed on three sides by a loop of the river. The
monastery, which for the first half-century or so of its
existence was known as the Abbey of St. Mary of Stirling,
was founded in or about 1140 by David I. ⁹ The com-
munity followed the Augustinian rule , but as a daughter-
house of the church of St. Nicholas, Arrouaise, no doubt
observed the more rigorous constitutions of the order of
Arrouaise for as long as the connection with the mother-
house was maintained. ¹⁰ The endowments of the Abbey
were extensive, and included not only property within
Stirlingshire (cf. p. 9), but also grants of land and
privileges in the counties of Perth, Angus, Fife, Aberdeen,
West Lothian, Midlothian, Dunbarton and Berwick. ¹¹
Largely no doubt because it stood in close proximity to
the Royal Castle of Stirling, the Abbey was the scene
of a number of important political events. In 1314, for
example, there was held at Cambuskenneth a Parliament
at which all who had fought on the English side at
Bannockburn and who had not come into the "faith and
peace" of Robert I were forfeited; ¹² while fourteen years
1 This row begins about half-way down the graveyard.
2 This row begins about half-way down the graveyard.
3 N.S.A., viii (Stirlinshire), 232.
4 This is suggested by an entry in the Heritors' Records of
the parish of Airth, under date 1st January 1816, preserved in
H.M. General Register House.
5 Fergusson, R. Menzies, Logie, A Parish History, i, 257.
6 Ibid. plate facing p. 212.
7 Small, R., History of the Congregations of the United
Presbyterian Church, ii, 695.
8 Direct access from the town is by footbridge only, the road
to the Abbey and to Cambuskenneth village branching off
Highway A 907 half a mile SE. of Causewayhead.
9 Easson, Religious Houses, 74; Barrow, G. W. S., "Scottish
Rulers and the Religious Orders", in T.R.H.S., 5th series,
iii (1953), 92 ff.
10 Barrow, op. cit., 96.
11 Cambuskenneth, xxiii.
12 Dickinson, W. Croft, Source Book of Scottish History, i,
126 f.
-- 120 |
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No. 130 -- ECCLESIASTICAL MONUMENTS -- No. 130
[Plan Inserted]
CAMBUSKENNETH ABBEY
BLOCK PLAN
Fig. 49. Cambuskenneth Abbey (No. 130); block plan
later, during another Parliament at Cambuskenneth,
there was drawn up the well-known indenture whereby
the earls, barons, burgesses and free tenants of Scotland
granted a "tenth penny" to the king. ¹ In the 14th
century the Abbey was frequently visited by Scottish
kings, and in 1488 became the burial place of James III,
who was killed during his flight from the battlefield of
Sauchieburn. The most notable of the abbots of
Cambuskenneth, who had received the mitre in 1406, ²
were Patrick Pantar, Secretary to James V, and Alexander
Mylne, the first President of the College of Justice. In the
middle of the 16th century the Abbey passed into the
hands of the Erskine family and, with the Abbey of
Dryburgh and the Priory of Inchmahome, was erected
into a temporal lordship for John, 2nd Earl of Mar, in
1604 and 1606. ³
The paucity of the surviving structural remains (Fig.
49 and the inadequacy of the documentary evidence
make it impossible to say much of the architectural
development of the site. No doubt a temporary church
and some domestic buildings were erected soon after the
foundation of the Abbey, but such remains as exist today
suggest that the main period of building activity lay
within the 13th century. The church, now represented
1 Ibid., 175 ff.
2 Easson, op. cit., 74.
3 Ibid.
-- 121 |
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No. 130 -- ECCLESIASTICAL MONUMENTS -- No. 130
by little beyond its foundations, appears to have com-
prised a nave with a N. aisle, a choir, transepts, each
with two eastern chapels, and a short presbytery. The W.
doorway of the nave remains, and may be ascribed to
the first part of the 13th century; assuming that the
normal building-sequence was adopted, it may be
supposed that at this period the presbytery and transepts
were already complete and that work was beginning upon
the nave. No doubt the whole church was finished before
the builders turned their attention to the free-standing
bell-tower, now the most conspicuous feature of the site,
which dates from the turn of the 13th and 14th centuries.
Even less is known of the development of the monastic
buildings, scant traces of which now survive, but if the
cloister was laid out at the same time as the church, they
too are likely to have been completed during the course
of the 13th century.
In 1350 it was reported that the monastery had been
seriously damaged by certain "diabolici homines" ¹ while
in 1378 the abbot and convent stated that "their
monastery had suffered from constant wars, their
chalices, books, and other altar ornaments and other
goods having been stolen, and their bell-tower struck by
lightning, whereby the choir is greatly ruined". ² These
complaints may have been exaggerated, and there is no
architectural evidence to suggest that the bell-tower was
extensively damaged at this time, but the misfortunes
that were suffered by the Abbey in the latter part of the
14th century may well have made necessary the extensive
scheme of reconstruction that seems to have been carried
out in late mediaeval times, when the N. wall of the nave
(cf. p. 127), the transept (cf. pp. 127 f.) and the chapter-
house (cf. p. 128) were to some extent rebuilt. A reference
to the abbot's new hall in 1520 suggests that the abbot's
lodgings, which appear to have been situated to the west
of the main complex of monastic buildings, were
reconstructed or extended at about the beginning of the
16th century. ³ The Abbey is said to have been "ruined
and cast down" ⁴ at the Reformation, and the site was
soon put to use as a quarry. Building materials may have
been removed from Cambuskenneth for use in Mar's
Work, Stirling, in about 1570 (cf. No. 230), while in the
17th century the ruins provided dressed stones for
Cowane's Hospital (cf. No. 231); it is said, too, that the
village of Cambuskenneth is to a large extent constructed
of materials obtained from this source. ⁵ Slezer's view of
about 1693 suggests that considerable remains of the
church still existed in his day, ⁶ but by the time that
Grose visited the site, a century later, there was nothing
to be seen "except a few broken walls, the bell tower, and
staircase -- ; some remains of the garden are also to be
seen, and the burial place of K. James and his Queen:
no traces of the church remain". ⁷
In 1864 the site was excavated under the direction of
William Mackison, Town Architect of Stirling, who
prepared a detailed and well-illustrated report of the
excavations together with an account of the restoration
of the bell-tower, which was carried out to his specifica-
tions at about the same time. ⁸ Not all the excavator's
conclusions are acceptable, but the report is a valuable
one and has been extensively used in the preparation
of the following architectural description. In 1908 the
site was acquired by the Crown, and is now under the
guardianship of the Ministry of Works.
ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION. Apart from the massive
detached bell-tower, which has been restored and is in
good preservation, the Abbey buildings are now for the
most part represented by little more than their founda-
tions. Unfortunately, the measures taken to preserve
these foundations, which were revealed by the excavation
of 1864, have substantially altered their character, and
much of the masonry that is visible today is not mediaeval
but of comparatively recent origin. In the plan (Fig. 50)
such portions of the foundations, insofar as they can be
identified, have been distinguished from the mediaeval
work and designated "reconstituted foundations", Of
the mediaeval masonry, the excavator wrote "the stones
were of light and dark-brown freestone, of fine and coarse
qualities, and evidently from different quarries, perhaps
principally from the Abbeycraig quarry and other local
quarries; - as the district is famous for its freestones". ⁹
The remains include the church, a south cloister with
the sacristy, slype and chapter-house on its E. side, and
the refectory and, probably, a kitchen on the S. On the
W. there was presumably a cellarium, but this has now
vanished. To E. and SE. of the cloister there are other
buildings, which cannot now be identified with con-
fidence.
THE BELL-TOWER. As the only part of the Abbey that
stands complete, the tower (Pls. 14 and 15 A) may be
dealt with first. It stands free of the church, close to the
NW. corner of the nave. It is an exceptional structure
for Scotland, though it can be paralleled in the rather
similarly placed tower, of the 13th century, at Lindores
Abbey, ¹⁰ which abuts the church only at its SW. corner
and appears to be the latest item in the original sequence
of construction. Though resembling the church archi-
tecturally, the Cambuskenneth tower was presumably
built after the latter was completed, and may thus be
1 Cambuskenneth, No. 61
2 C.P.R., Letters, iv (1362-1404), 236; cf. also C.P.R.,
Petitions, i (1342-1419), 475 and 539.
3 Cambuskenneth, No. 207.
4 Easson, Religious Houses, 74, quoting Spottiswoode,
History of the Church of Scotland, i, 280.
5 History, 339.
6 Theatrum Scotiae (1693 ed.), pl. 6. The ruins that appear
in the foreground of this view are presumably those of Cambus-
kenneth, but it is difficult to identify the part of the building
shown by Slezer with any of the remains that exist today.
Slezer's view can hardly be from the east, as he states, as he
shows neither the W. end of the church nor the bell-tower;
his illustration may perhaps represent part of the S. wall
of the nave.
7 The Antiquities of Scotland, ii, 308.
8 Mackison, W., "Notes on the Recent Excavations made at
Cambuskenneth Abbey, and on the subsequent Restoration of the
Abbey Tower", in Papers read at the Royal Institute of
British Architects, 1866-7, 101 ff. See also the account by Sir
James Alexander in P.S.A.S., vi (1864-6), 14 ff.
9 Mackison, op. cit., 115.
10 Inventory of Fife, Kinross and Clackmannan, No. 434.
-- 122 |
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No. 130 -- ECCLESIASTICAL MONUMENTS -- No. 130
[Plan Inserted]
Fig. 50. Cambuskenneth Abbey (No. 130); church, cloistral buildings and tower
attributed to the turn of the 13th and 14th centuries. At
the time when the church was excavated it underwent a
far-reaching restoration; Mackison's account states that
"Stone sedilia have been put round the ground-floor
apartment -- A new wood belfry floor has been put in,
and a flat roof constructed over the centre, leaving space
round it and within the embrasure parapet wall, for an
easy walk or pavement, -- Whatever materials were
found not belonging to the original structure were
removed; the introduced fire-places and flues were built
up; the broken window arches rebuilt; deficient portions
of the walls taken down and reconstructed; new doorway,
string courses, buttress weatherings, window mullions,
tracery, and necessary soles, jambs, arch stones and
labels, and the embrasure parapet wall, paved walk,
gurgoyles [sic], and turret gablets, were renewed; and
the whole walls properly strengthened." ¹
1 Op. cit., 118. A photograph of the tower as it appeared
before the restoration is preserved in the library of the Society
of Antiquaries of Scotland (Calotypes presented to the Society
of Antiquaries of Scotland by James F. Montgomery and
others, 1851.) Cf. also Mackison, op. cit., pl. 4.
-- 123 |
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No. 130 -- ECCLESIASTICAL MONUMENTS -- No. 130
The tower contains three storeys and rises to a height
of 64 ft. at the parapet-walk. A stair-turret, ascending
from ground level at the NE. corner, rises approximately
a further 18 ft. to the summit of a cap-house (infra). The
tower is faced with ashlar both inside and outside. It is
strengthened by buttresses (Pl. 15 B), which rise, at the
corners and in the middle of each side-wall, from a
heavily splayed base-course; string-courses return all
round the walls in continuation of the sills of the first-
and second-floor windows. In the lower part each
buttress is broken by a weather-tabling and from the
first string-course, where it thins slightly, to the height
of the windows each is chamfered on the angles between
carved stops; above the second string-course only the
middle buttresses are carved and stopped in this way and
all finish in gabletted tops against the face of the parapet
wall. The base-course returns all round the building and
its projections, but its section is varied on the E. side
and on the stair-turret by the omission of one or other
of its members. On the E. side an upper string-member
is missing and the base is carried along the turret with
only two single splays to a point near the middle of the
E. face, where it is stopped at a plain projecting stone
in the masonry; thence it continues to the N. re-entrant
angle with the addition of the string. The base is stopped
in a butt against the projecting jambs of the main
entrance in the middle of the S. side, and in a vertical
return on each jamb of a subsidiary door on the E.
The entrance to the tower (Pl. 16 A) is advanced from
the general plane in a gabled projection, 10 ft. 3 in. wide
by 1 ft. 11 in. deep. The masonry has been extensively
renewed. The doorway is 4 ft. 2 in. in width and carries
an equilateral arch with a moulded label stopping on
masks. The outer order has a moulded archivolt which
springs from a shaft, with a water-holding base and a
bell-shaped capital in a nook on each side. The inner
order rises in unbroken continuity from the jambs, which
are worked with a splay, a rebate and a cavetto moulding;
the rear-arch is segmental; the sconcheons are chamfered
on the arrises. Mackison mentions a bar-hole to the
right of the door, ¹ but this is no longer visible. Just above
the opening a cornice runs round the projection and
defines the base of the steep-sided, triangular gablet;
this has moulded tabling on the rakes and a trilobed
finial at the apex. In the tympanum there is a niche with
an attached shaft on each jamb and a moulded trefoil-
arched head. A label moulding returns as a short string-
course at springing-level, and bifurcates above to form
a small gablet with a trilobed finial at the apex. The
middle buttress on this side rises from the apex of the
larger gablet and the whole is reminiscent of the S.
portico to the lower church in Glasgow Cathedral. ² The
smaller doorway in the E. side (Pl. 15 B) is now blocked
up and its rear-arch, in the outer face of the tower, has
been renewed, but otherwise it seems to be original. It
opened from the inside under a chamfered and shouldered
arch similar to others in the doors and the backs of the
windows of the staircase. What purpose it served in the
first place is doubtful, as there is no trace of tusking for
any original structure adjoining the outer face of the
tower at this point, the wall-face being complete as it
stands, with a base-course and buttresses. At some later
period, however, the doorway led into a narrow outshot,
the exposed foundations of which show that it measured
about 22 ft. 6 in. by 10 ft. 6 in. within walls which were
2 ft. 8 in. thick in front and between 4 ft. and 5 ft. at the
ends. This addition evidently abutted against the tower,
and high up on the face of the latter there are traces of a
horizontal raggle indicating the top of its penthouse roof.
The tower-rooms are lit by single and double pointed
windows finished with a moulded label, carved stops,
heavily chamfered rybats and splayed jambs; a single
lancet, however, on the E. side of the first floor, has no
hood-mould. The turret-stair is lighted by means of
long narrow slits, 3 in. in width, internally splayed, and in
others with a straight lintel. On the ground floor three
of the five lancets are blind, and the two that penetrate
the walling, on the N. and W. sides respectively, have
semicircular rear-arches. In each of the N., E. and S.
walls of the floor above there is a lancet, and in the W.
one there are two pointed and mullioned double-light
windows with foliated tracery in their heads. The rear-
arches of the former are completed with a pointed and
chamfered rib discontinuous at the springing. The latter
occupy the wider bays of two three-bay arcades filling
the whole of the spaces between the buttresses under an
intermediate string-course. Attached shafts separate the
bays, and the label mouldings are stopped on cherub
heads at the intersections. The rear-arch of each window
is shouldered and pointed, and chamfered only above
the cusping, and the embrasures of two of the windows
retain stone seats. The bell-chamber, which occupies
the second floor, is well lit from each cardinal point by
shafted and mullioned two-light windows, one on each
side of the middle buttress; each is furnished with stone
seats, and has pointed rear-arches with chamfered arrises
stopped at the springing-level. All the windows have been
greatly restored.
The parapet is crenellated but the upper courses of
masonry and the stepped merlons between the embrasures
have been renewed. The lower courses are original and
are borne on a row of corbels ornamented with human
masks. Except on the S., where they may have been
destroyed, gargoyles have drained the surface water
from the walk. On the E. side the S. gargoyle is carved
with a grotesque animal head and the N. one, which
must be an insertion, is wrought in the shape of a cannon;
two on the N. side have animal heads and both of those
on the W. side are halves of human figures. Above the
parapet-walk a cap-house terminates the stair-turret at
the NE. corner. The cap-house (Pl. 15 D) rises vertically
for 7 ft. to the underside of a cornice, and in a further
height of 11 ft. or so it tapers as a spire to the bottom of a
floriated finial at the apex. Up to a point about the level
of the parapet-walk the turret is octagonal but, above a
splayed intake here, it develops into a heptagonal figure,
1 Op. cit., 116.
2 Eccles. Arch., ii, fig. 585 on p. 179.
-- 124 |
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No. 130 -- ECCLESIASTICAL MONUMENTS -- No. 130
each side being finished above the cornice in a gablet
reaching fully half-way up the spire.
Internally, the ground floor, which is 18 ft. 3 in. square,
is ceiled with a tierceron vault with plain double-
chamfered ribs springing from a discontinuous impost.
The courses of the vault-webs are set parallel to the
ridges in the French manner. The diagonal and ridge
ribs end on a circular bell-hole, 3 ft. 8 in. in diameter,
and the tiercerons, except on the W., end in a small floral
boss at their intersection with the ridge ribs. In the E.
half there are three smallish openings through the webs
of the vault, presumably for the passage of bell-ropes.
The walls of this floor are 6 ft. 6 in. in thickness and
Mackison infers, and shows in his section, that this
dimension actually represents a build-up of two thick-
nesses, an outer original wall and an inner skin or casing,
2 ft. thick and faced with ashlar, erected at a subsequent
period to carry the vault. ¹ There is now, however, no
visible evidence to support this idea, and in fact every-
thing points strongly to the homogeneity of the structure.
For example, no race-bond can be seen between the
supposed casing and the original walling in door- and
window-embrasures, where one might have been
expected, nor do the original courses in the jambs appear
to have been disturbed by a later insertion of bond-
stones; while similar masons' marks in the embrasures
and on the inside wall-faces strongly suggest that these
two parts are contemporary. The shouldered arch of the
E. door, constructed in the supposed casing, appears to
be original, and this type of arch is found throughout
the tower in the doorways leading to and from the stair
and also, as already mentioned, on some of the rear
openings of the staircase windows. This fact enhances
the probability that all the walling and the arches are of
one period; and it would also follow that the vaulting was
contemporary, as in fact it appears to be, and that the
wall on the ground floor was purposely made very solid
to give support and withstand thrust.
The entrance to the turret-stair, which is of newel
type and measures 6 ft. 4 in. in diameter, runs, as a short
passageway under a shouldered arch, obliquely through
the NE. corner of the ground-floor room, to end in a
small lobby at the stair-foot. Access to the upper floors
is gained through small dog-legged lobbies opening
off the staircase, which continues to the parapet-walk
through the cap-house. This latter finishes in a vault
with chamfered ribs springing on the one hand from the
newel and on the other from the bell-shaped capitals of
shafts which quickly die into the wall.
The first floor contains a room averaging 22 ft. square
within walls reduced to 4 ft. 4 in. in thickness. It is
entered from the stair-well by a shouldered arch, and the
opening is stepped down to a small lobby with a giblet-
checked inner doorway. What is now a recess with a
segmental head in the S. wall at the SW. corner was
formerly an inserted doorway, now built up without any
trace appearing on the outside. It is shown by Mackison
on a drawing of the S. elevation of the tower, and he
remarks, "a door had been broken through the wall on
the level of the first floor, and above it are marks of a roof
[actually a horizontal raggle] having been let into the
tower wall. I consider, therefore, that there has been a
covered platform passage between the tower and the
restored church at this place." ² His W. elevation likewise
shows a later window broken through between the
string-courses above the N. arcaded window, but of this
there is no trace either inside or outside in the restored
ashlar-faced walling. It is also recorded that an inserted
fireplace in the S. wall was removed during the restoration
and the flue built up. The existing floor of the room above
is a renewal, supported on corbels, those on the N. and S.
sides being the larger and wrought with a double fillet
and ovolo in depth and those on the E. and W. only with
a single fillet and ovolo. Just below the springing-level
of the windows, at a height of 11 ft. 6 in. from the floor,
there is evidence either of filled-up beam-holes or of the
remains of corbels cut flush with the wall-faces; four of
these can be seen on both the E. and the W. wall, with
traces of a single one of each of the other two walls. At
some time, whether originally or not, the beams in this
position must have carried an intermediate floor, as
Mackison records that another fireplace, set at this level,
was removed and the flue built up.
The entrance to the second-floor room also opens
under a shouldered arch into a lobby; the inner door of
this is lintelled and shows a small concave chamfer on
the arrises. The room is similar in dimensions to the one
below, and again there is evidence of an intermediate
framed floor or platform in the presence of beam-holes,
now built-up flush and measuring 2 ft. in height by 1 ft.
in width. These are spaced three on each side, two near
the corners and one in the middle, and their tops are at
a level of 10 ft. 6 in. above the existing floor. The large
size of the holes implies a substantial framework of stout
beams no doubt designed with extra strength to carry
the wight of the bells. The door to this chamber is
1 ft. 8 in. higher than the beam-holes; it is lintelled and
chamfered on the arrises and is situated directly over
the one on the floor below.
CARVED STONES, ETC., PRESERVED IN THE TOWER
Ground Floor. The earliest relic in the ground-floor
room of the tower is a coped grave-cover. This stone was
noticed during the Commission's survey of the site in
1954, at which time it formed part of the base-course of
the central buttress of the E. wall of the S. transept. It is
not mentioned in the reports of the 1864 excavations, and
it is uncertain whether it was set in the buttress during a
reconstruction of the transept in late mediaeval times or
at some much more recent period. Unfortunately it is no
longer in situ, having been removed to the tower for
preservation in 1955. The stone, which was broken into
two pieces some time before 1954, is probably of 13th-
century date; it is 5 ft. 7 in. long, and its breadth and
height are respectively 1 ft. 9 in. and 1 ft. 2 in at the
head and 1 ft. 6 in. and 11 in. at the foot. The flat strip
along the top is 5 1/2 in. wide. Each side is treated as a whole
1 Op. cit., 115 f. and pl. 5.
2 Ibid., 116 f. and pl. 4.
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No. 130 -- ECCLESIASTICAL MONUMENTS -- No. 130
for the purpose of decoration, being enclosed by a raised
moulding and having a large floral ornament in either
upper corner; the dexter side also bears two roundels
and the sinister side a roundel and a pair of shears. All
these objects are in relief; the roundels have pits in their
centres and are decorated with pocking. Also preserved
here are six fragments of bluish-black limestone, ¹ pre-
sumably the ones that were found close to the site of the
high altar during the excavations of 1864 ² (cf. p. 128).
They have evidently formed part of a single large slab,
6 in. or 7 in. thick and at least 3 ft. 6 in. wide but of
uncertain length. ³ The upper faces of some of the frag-
ments have sockets, and are inset in a manner which
indicates that the slab originally bore a metal inscription-
plate. This is the stone that is believed to have formed
part of the tomb of James III and his wife, Margaret of
Denmark (infra). In addition to the gravestones there is
a cresset (Pl. 15 C), now incomplete, which measures
1 ft. 6 in. by 1 ft. 4 in. on the surface and is 9 in. thick; the
sides are vertical for 3 in. below the surface and are then
splayed inwards. It formerly contained twelve cups, each
cup having a diameter of 4 in. and a depth of 3 in.
First Floor. In this room there are preserved eight
cover-stones of 13th- and 14th-century date, all but one
of them being of the coped variety. Against the N. wall
there stand three stones, the westernmost of them, now
broken into two pieces, measuring 6 ft. 4 in. in length,
from 1 ft. 4 in. to 1 ft. 2 in. in width and about 9 in. in
thickness. The upper surface of the stone is divided into
three plain panels by roll mouldings. Next to it there is a
much worn stone, which measures 5 ft. 7 in. in length,
from 1 ft. 3 in. to 1 ft. 1 in. in width and from 10 in. to
8 in. in thickness. The upper surface is divided into a
central panel and two side-panels, and in the sinister
side-panel there is a representation of shears, carved in
relief. The third stone, which is not coped, is incomplete
and now measures 4 ft. 7 in. in length, about 1 ft. 2 in. in
width and from 10 in. to 12 in. in thickness. The upper
surface is flat and has a narrow, sunk border. Against the
E. wall there stand two stones, the N. one (Pl. 43 C),
although incomplete, retaining some well-preserved
decoration. It now measures 5 ft. 10 in. in length, from
1 ft. 6 in. to 1 ft. 3 in. in width, and from 1 ft. to 10 in.
in thickness; the upper surface is divided into three
panels by bead mouldings, and along the central panel
there runs a raised cross-shaft which, rising from a
stepped base and branching out into leaves at intervals
along its length, ends in a foliaceous head. The surviving
end-panel is decorated with what appears to be a cross-
head, together with a piece of blank tracery. The other
stone, now incomplete and much worn, measures 4 ft.
7 in. in length, about 1 ft. 4 in. in width and from 11 in.
to 9 in. in thickness. The upper surface is divided into
three plain panels by roll mouldings. Against the S. wall
stand three stones. The westernmost one is quite plain;
it is broken into two pieces and is incomplete, now
measuring 4 ft. 9 in. in length, from 1 ft. 4 in. to 1 ft. 2 in.
in width and about 9 in. in thickness. Next to it there is a
well-preserved stone (Pl. 43 B) which measures 5 ft. 8 in.
in length, from 1 ft. 5 in. to 1 ft. 3 in. in width and about
10 in. in thickness. It closely resembles the stone now
preserved on the ground floor of the tower and described
above. A broad centre-ridge divides the two side-panels,
from the four lower corners of which there spring stiff
foliaceous ornaments. In addition to these, the sinister
side-panel contains a large broad-bladed sword having
slightly depressed quillons, a short hand-grip and a
trefoil pommel, while the dexter side-panel contains an
open missal, an unidentified symbol and a foliaceous
ornament. All the decoration is in relief. The easternmost
stone (Pl. 43 A) measures 6 ft. 3 in. in length, from 1 ft.
8 in. to 1 ft. 4 in. in width and from 9 in. to 6 in. in
thickness. The upper surface is divided into three panels
by heavy roll mouldings. The dexter side-panel contains
a chalice and the sinister one an open book, both in
relief.
Second Floor. This room contains a number of carved
stone fragments, which were recovered from the site of
the Abbey during the excavations carried out in 1864
and later; a number of them are illustrated by Mackison. ⁴
Among these fragments there is the lower part of a
recumbent effigy of late 14th- or 15th-century date, in
the form of a crouching lion, now headless, holding
between its paws a human head. Upon the lion there
rest the feet of a male figure wearing sollerets and spurs.
THE CHURCH. The church is cruciform on plan (Fig.
50) and comprises an eight-bay nave with N. aisle, a
choir with an unaisled and square-ended presbytery,
and N. and S. transepts each with two E. chapels. No
work attributable to the period of David I has been
found, the earliest details being of 13th-century
character. Internally the church is about 180 ft. in
length by 37 ft. 6 in. in width including the N. nave-
aisle; the nave itself and the presbytery average fully
22 ft. in width, while the transepts, from the N. gable
to the sacristy partition, measure 90 ft. 3 in. by about
38 ft. inclusive of the E. chapels. The true thicknesses of
the walls, which were originally faced in ashlar, are
doubtful; above the lowest splay of the base-course of
the gable of the N. transept the thickness is 4 ft. 6 in.,
though further splays at higher levels, and probably
wall-arcades as well, would no doubt have reduced it to,
say, 3 ft. 3 in., a dimension corresponding with the space
once occupied by the S. wall of the nave between the
backs of some internal and external benches which still
survive.
The W. door (Pl. 16 B), though greatly damaged and
weather-worn, still rises more or less complete to the head
of its equilateral arch, its height being 11 ft. 2 in. from
sill to apex. The cobbled area in front probably represents
the bottoming of a path or roadway. The sill is raised
above two broad steps and is 1 ft. 2 in. higher than some
1 The Geological Survey, having examined specimens taken
from these fragments, state that there is little reason to doubt
that this stone was quarried at Tournai, Belgium.
2 Mackison, op. cit. 111.
3 The slab as found in 1864 was about 5 ft. square (P.S.A.S.,
vi (1864-6), 20).
4 Op. cit., pls. 2, 3 and 4.
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No. 130 -- ECCLESIASTICAL MONUMENTS -- No. 130
rough paving which is level with the ground outside but
1 ft. 8 in. lower than the raised ground-surface of the
interior, the W. portion of which has been in use as a
cemetery for a considerable time. The doorway measures
5 ft. 6 in. in width and opens through splayed and shafted
jambs supporting the finely moulded archivolt, the whole
being set in an extreme wall-thickness of 6 ft. The jambs
originally consisted of five main disengaged shafts, each
about 5 in. in diameter, which are now missing although
their water-holding bases and bell-shaped capitals survive.
Two lesser attached shafts are placed in the central nooks
between the larger shafts; the innermost nook is moulded
and the outermost is enriched with dog-tooth ornamenta-
tion, this latter being repeated in the nook on the outer
side of the foremost shaft and on the central member of
the archivolt. On each side of the doorway the jamb
immediately returns to form one side of a benched recess
with an angle-shaft in each nook. Beyond the recess the
wall has been buttressed, and a splayed plinth can be
traced, in places, along the walls and on the buttresses,
not only here but all round the church except on the part
of the nave that forms the N. side of the cloister, and was
consequently an internal wall at ground level. On the
inner face of this S. wall the bases of four responds, each
outlining a former triple cluster of shafts, are spaced at
10 ft. 8 in. centres, and the bases of clusters of shafted
responds again appear in the N. transept (infra). Half of
the westernmost of the responds has been cut away, and
on the remaining portion there abuts the ingoing of a
doorway, represented by a single course of masonry, in
the position where a processional door might be expected;
the stone is wrought with water-holding bases of 13th-
century character for six alternately large and small
shafts, and as it faces inwards it would seem to be a
replacement, wrongly set, and originally intended for the
opposite side of a door opening the other way. In the
bays between the responds in the nave there have been
benches rising 12 in. above the floor, but only one broken
bench-slab remains. On the cloister side of the W. bay,
likewise, the seating of a bench survives for a length of
7 ft., with a broken bench-slab, and this benching no
doubt originally extended along the full length of the N.
cloister-walk. The floor level of the benched bays lies
2 ft. 10 in. below the sill of the main W. door, and it may
therefore be supposed that steps, now hidden under the
raised surface of the cemetery, were provided somewhere
between these two points. The present ground level in
the centre of the nave and in the N. aisle is 18 in. higher
than the floor of the bays along the S. wall, and there is
now no trace of the pier foundations of the arcade that
originally separated the nave from the aisle. In the first
two bays W. of the crossing, however, there are founda-
tions of two screen-walls, belonging respectively to an
earlier and a later period, and at the E. end of the nave
some structure the purpose of which is not altogether
clear. The screen-walls presumably separated the monks'
choir from the N. aisle of the nave, while the foundations
at the E. end of the nave may in part be those of a
pulpitum. Here too can be seen the foundations of a
massive crossing-pier and of the pier of the aisle arcade
next W. of it, both presumably belonging to the later
period. Mackison's plan shows six buttresses projecting
from the N. wall but actually eight are now exposed and
their disposition is significant in that it does not corres-
pond with the centering of the original clustered responds
on the S. side of the nave and consequently implies a
major alteration of the building. It does agree, however,
with the centering, at 14 ft. 6 in. apart, of two semi-
octagonal respond-bases on the inner face of the N. wall,
and with the position of the crossing-pier and of the pier
to the W. of it as mentioned above. The whole of the N.
wall W. of the transept is thus to be regarded as a
renewal, a conclusion borne out by Mackison's discovery
that the external base-course of this wall, near its junction
with the transept, embodied construction of an earlier
and a later period. ¹ as did also the respond-base at the
corner of the aisle and the transept, its original portion
being just covered by the later of two superimposed
floors. ²
The cemetery inside the W. end of the nave contains
no monuments earlier than 1707. Upon the E. end of its
S. wall there stands an ornamental stone finial, 3 ft. 10 in.
high, which has evidently come from the church or one
of the monastic buildings.
Inside the N. transept some original carved details
can still be identified. The respond-base just mentioned
shows that its members consisted of a number of shafts
with intervening plain surfaces, all resting on a base-
course with a small splay. The NW. corner of the
transept has been filled by a cluster of four shafts, again
represented today only by its base-course. Between the
respond and the angle-cluster, the W. wall-face has been
divided into two bays by a triple cluster which is
repeated on the N. gable-wall to mark the bay-divisions.
Vestiges of the semi-octagonal base of a respond and of
an octagonal pier-base mark the position of the arcade
of the transeptal chapel-aisles. The walls of this transept
and its chapel-aisles have been strengthened by
buttresses, all of which are original, the transept
buttresses being of slighter projection than those on the
rest of the church. The original buttresses at the NE.
and SE. corners of the transeptal aisles have been
destroyed, and their places have been taken by large
single angle-buttresses the plan of which suggests a date
in the 15th century. The buttress at the NW. corner of
the N. transept, which returns squarely along the N. and
W. sides, has been made large to accommodate a narrow
spiral stair, which must originally have risen to whatever
galleries existed in triforium and clearstorey, and to the
roof; this stair, of which two steps of a short initial
straight flight still remain, opens off a small lobby with
ingress from the transept, and at some time the lobby
was converted into an entrance from the outside by the
breaking-out of a narrow door, now blocked by a slab, in
its back wall. In the N. chapel of the S. transept there is
part of the seating of an altar, but otherwise this arm of
the church is featureless. In 1954 a 13th-century tomb-
1 Ibid., 109.
2 Ibid., 113.
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No. 130 -- ECCLESIASTICAL MONUMENTS -- No. 130
stone was found, incorporated in the base-course of the
central buttress of the E. wall of the transept; it is now
preserved in the ground floor of the tower and is
described on pp. 125 f. It will be noted on the plan in
Fig. 50 that the S. wall of the transept, which divides
it from the sacristy, is not in its normal position, i.e. on
the line of the gable; there is, however, no evidence that
it is other than the original.
Of the presbytery only insignificant traces remain, as
shown on the plan (Fig. 50). The site of the high altar is
now railed off and within the enclosure there stands a
stone coffin which measures 6 ft. 3 in. in length and
tapers in width from 2 ft. 2 in. to 1 ft. 1 in. During the
excavations of 1864, a large slab of "coarse blue marble
or mountain limestone" ¹ was discovered in front of the
high altar; it was disturbed and partly broken, and a
brass inscription-plate had been torn off from its surface.
The fragments now preserved in the ground floor of the
tower (p. 126) presumably formed part of this slab; a
small piece of the inscription-plate is preserved in the
Smith Institute, Stirling. At a depth of 6 ft. at the same
spot an oak coffin was found containing a skull and some
large bones, while close to it was another coffin with
bones, all in very poor preservation. ² These were con-
sidered to be the remains of James III and his wife,
Margaret of Denmark, and the memorial stone now seen
on the site of the graves was placed there by command of
Queen Victoria. ³ It is known that an elaborate tomb,
which is referred to as "the Kingis lair", was erected at
Cambuskenneth on command of James IV in the
first decade of the 16th century, and to this the remains
of James III and his queen may have been removed. ⁴
The structure seems to have been largely of stone, and
was painted, but in 1508 payment was made "to the
Almayn [a Flemish or German craftsman] that suld mak
the Kingis lair in Cambuskinneth in marbill". ⁵ It seems
just possible therefore the the slab of "marble" that was
discovered during the excavations of 1864 originally
formed part of this tomb.
THE CLOISTRAL BUILDINGS. The cloister is 79 ft.
square inclusive of the walks, which average 9 ft. 3 in. in
width. The garth is enclosed by a low wall, about 2 ft.
thick, most of which has been renewed. The remains of
the benching that can still be seen in the N. walk have
already been mentioned in connection with the S. wall of
the church, against which it is backed. At the E. end of
the walk there are five graves; two of them retain cover-
stones, one of which bears an incised cross with a stepped
base and a decorated head of 13th- or 14th-century type.
The sides of the three graves that lack cover-stones
appear to be formed of stone slabs set on edge. The E.
range, which is about 32 ft. 6 in. in breadth over all,
continues the line of the S. transept, with which its
northernmost compartment, the sacristy, communicates.
This sacristy measures 22 ft. by 8 ft. 6 in., and is
adjoined by the slype, which is 7 ft. wide. Next again to
the slype is the chapter-house, a square room measuring
21 ft. each way; it has never been enlarged, but the W.
door has been altered and contracted, and a second door
has been inserted in the E. wall. The base of the central
pillar remains in situ; it is octagonal developed from the
square, and on top of it there rests half of a tas-de-charge
wrought with plain ribs for a vaulted roof. The surviving
base of a vaulting-shaft in the SE. corner indicates
that the vaulting of the chapter-house was divided by
transverse ribs into four square severies, each subdivided
into cells by diagonal and tierceron ribs. It is interesting
to note that this base rests on part of a re-used grave-slab,
apparently in situ, which formerly showed the hilt and
part of the blade of a sword of early mediaeval type. ⁶ The
hilt potion has now disappeared, but the surviving
fragment seems to be a relic of the Abbey's initial phase.
These features suggest that the chapter-house was at
some time partially reconstructed, perhaps during the
15th century. The wall-faces, which have been much
renovated, are intaken in a way which suggests that
benching formerly ran all round the room. No trace of
the day-stair survives. The S. range is enclosed by the
N. wall of the refectory, a slightly recessed stretch in the
centre of which represents the lavatorium; this is pro-
vided with a sink in the shape of a dished and channelled
stone feeding a drain which runs under the garth to
connect with the system flowing out beneath the slype.
The internal dimensions of the refectory must have
averaged about 69 ft. 4 in. by 20 ft. 9 in.; its S. wall is
strengthened by five buttresses centred 12 ft. apart, and
near its W. end a short lobby, the S. end of which is now
broken down, opens on to a spiral stair with a radius of
2 ft. 6 in. which presumably led to the pulpit. Adjacent
to this lobby, and also abutting on the E. and W. gables,
there are traces of rooms, those on the E. probably
representing kitchen premises. The W. range, assumed
to have been the cellarium, has been destroyed; it is now
merely outlined by a kerb, and its area is occupied by an
orchard.
OTHER BUILDINGS. At a distance of about 175 ft. E. of
the chapter-house there is a range of buildings (A on
Figs. 49 and 51), now largely reduced to featureless
foundations but in places standing to a height of some
4 ft., the main axis of which lies N. and S. The S. half
comprises a row of three cellars of almost equal size (18 ft.
by 14 ft. 6 in. to 15 ft.), with a small barrel-vaulted cellar
on its W. side and another cellar at its NE. corner. To the
S. part of the E. side of two narrow outshots have been
added. No dateable features survive, but the foundation
of an angle buttress on the NE. cellar, if it is contemp-
orary, would suggest a date in the 15th century. In the
SW. corner of the S. cellar a narrow wheel-stair, now
reduced to its four lowest treads, once rose to an upper
floor or floors, and in the E. wall there is a chute and about
6 ft. N. of it a drain channel. The N. half of the range con-
1 P.S.A.S., vi (1864-6), 20.
2 Mackison, op. cit., 111 f.
3 Ibid., 119.
4 Accts. L.H.T., ii (1500-4), 150, 154, 289 f., 351 ff.; iv (1507-
1513), xx.
5 Ibid., iv (1507-13), xx and 132.
6 Mackison, op. cit., pl. 4, B.
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No. 130 -- ECCLESIASTICAL MONUMENTS -- No. 131
[Plan Inserted]
Fig. 51. Cambuskenneth Abbey (No. 130); outlying buildings
tains only a single large room, measuring about 54 ft. 9 in.
by 15 ft. 6 in. within walls 4 ft. 6 in. in thickness. In each
of its side-walls there are breaks from 11 ft. to 14 ft. long
which are filled by the voussoirs of arched openings
situated below ground level; the voussoirs are large
rough stones and the arches extend to the full thickness
of the walls, but the purpose of these constructions could
only be determined by excavation. Part of this range
may have accommodated the infirmary.
Some 21 ft. S. of the building just described, and
joined to it by a wall, there are the foundations of a long,
narrow structure, now traceable on an E.-W. axis to a
length of 67 ft. but originally longer. Its internal width
is 15 ft. and its walls are 2 ft. 9 in. thick; its only surviving
feature is a door in the E. gable. Roughly parallel to this
structure, and some 74 ft. distant to the S., there lies
another outbuilding (B on Figs. 49 and 51); it is 117 ft.
long and from 25 ft. 4 in. to 26 ft. 2 in. wide, the walls
varying in thickness from 2 ft. 10 in. to 3 ft. 10 in. A room
measuring 19 ft. 9 in. by 17 ft. 6 in. occupies the E. end
of the ground floor; this is entered from the W. through
an internal partition, and is lit by a small slit in the N.
wall and a window 11 in. wide in the E. gable. A room
on the first floor has been transformed into a dovecot by
the insertion of rows of nests, and above this an upper
storey has been either added or rebuilt. At the W. end of
the block, where the walls are thicker, there is a room
measuring 19 ft. 6 in. by 12 ft. 3 in.; this is entered
through a stepped-down doorway in its NE. corner, and
in its W. gable a curved fireplace-opening seems to have
been hollowed out. Between the two ends of the block
most of the walling has disappeared, but the N. side-wall
retains the E. jamb of a doorway and towards the W. end
a buttress-foundation projects on either side.
Close to the NE. corner of the N. transept there are
foundations which may represent the enclosing wall of a
garden or orchard. The name of St. James' Orchard,
which lies N. of the tower, suggests that this ground may
once have been connected with the Abbey.
Some carved fragments from the Abbey are preserved
at Alexandria Cottage, Cambuskenneth, and in St.
Andrew's Aisle in the Church of the Holy Rude,
Stirling (p. 138).
809939 -- NS 89 SW -- 3 June 1954
131. The Church of the Holy Rude, Stirling.
INTRODUCTORY. The Burgh of Stirling no doubt
possessed its own church from the earliest times, ¹ but
while the site of the present building may have been in
use since the 12th century the structure itself is not older
than the 15th century. Of the earlier churches that may
have occupied the site, very little is known and no
fragments survive. In 1414 mention is made of a grant
to the work of the parish church of Stirling, which had
been burnt, ² but, as the architectural evidence suggests
that the earliest portion of the present fabric is on the
whole more likely to date from the later than from the
1 By the middle of the 12th century the abbey of Dunfermline
was in possession of two churches in the "vill" of Stirling, one
of which was no doubt a predecessor of the present building
(Lawrie, Charters, No. CCIX).
2 Excheq. Rolls, iv (1406-36), 210.
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No. 131 -- ECCLESIASTICAL MONUMENTS -- No. 131
early part of the 15th century, this entry presumably re-
fers to the repair and restoration of an older church rather
than to the erection of a new one. In 1455, however,
much destruction was done in the burgh during dis-
orders that attended the fall of the Douglases, and the
church may well have been damaged or destroyed at this
time; certainly there is record of a grant made by
James II in the following year for the building of the
parish church of the burgh, ¹ and the heraldic evidence
(p. 135) confirms that the oldest portion of the present
structure is of this period. The scheme for the rebuilding
of the church was an ambitious one, and perhaps because
of this it was decided to complete the work in two stages,
the first being devoted to the erection of a new nave with
a W. tower, and the second to the completion of a new
choir and crossing.
Both the architectural and the historical evidence
become more abundant after the middle of the 15th
century, and the history of the church from that period
up to the present day may be followed in some detail. ²
The nave and the W. tower were probably begun soon after
1450 and the nave was probably completed within about
twenty years; it is of five bays and has N. and S. aisles of
the same length. At the E. end an extra bay was added to
the nave to serve as a temporary chancel until the erection
of the new choir. The W. tower was not completed, being
carried up only to the height of the nave roof. Almost
before the nave was finished wealthy burgesses began to
erect chantry chapels, which took the form of small
rectangular projections from the N. and S. aisles. The
oldest of these chapels, St. Andrew's Aisle, appears to
have been built by Matthew Forestar some time before
1483. while in 1484 St. Mary's Aisle was erected by
Adam Cosour. ³ Both these chapels stand on the N. side
of the nave; a third chapel, known as Bowye's Aisle, was
added to the S. side of the church, but the date of its
erection is not known. Soon after the beginning of the
16th century the second stage of the building programme
was begun. In 1507 an indenture was made between the
provost, baillies and council of Stirling and the Abbey
of Dunfermline, to which the church was appropriated,
by which the burgh undertook to build "ane gud and
sufficient queyr conformand to the body of the peroch
kirk". ⁴ The Abbey contributed to the scheme, but the
bulk of the cost was borne by the burgh. The construc-
tion of the choir was probably begun soon after 1507,
but work proceeded slowly, in 1523 there is mention of a
payment for timber for the choir of the church, perhaps
for the roof, but six years later John Couttis, master-
mason to the burgh, was still employed upon the "Rud
wark -- in the parocht kirk". ⁵ It is uncertain when work
stopped, but the choir and the presbytery were probably
completed by the time of the constitution of a college
of secular canons in the church some time before 1546. ⁶
The W. tower, too, which had been left unfinished in
about 1470, was by now raised to its full height. It is
clear, however, that the second stage in the rebuilding of
the church was never completed. There is evidence to
show that the builders contemplated the erection of a
substantial tower above the crossing, and the two massive
eastern piers were actually begun; they may also have
intended to build transepts. Work came to a standstill,
however, before the piers were completed and the
crossing itself remained unfinished; in consequence the
temporary chancel of the first building period remained
standing and the junction between nave and choir was at
best a makeshift one.
The church remained in this condition for about a
century although the internal arrangements were no
doubt much altered at the Reformation; in addition it is
known that a number of lofts and galleries were erected
within the building during the 17th century. In about
1656 the congregation was divided by a controversy
about the appointment of the second minister, and this
led to the erection of a partition wall between the nave
and the choir, ⁷ and to the formation of separate con-
gregations - the nave and choir coming to be known as
the West Church and the East Church respectively. A
number of alterations were made to the structure in the
course of the 18th century, some of which are noted at
the appropriate place in the description (pp. 132 ff.),
while at the beginning of the 19th century both East
and West Churches underwent extensive modifications
which further altered the character of the building. In
1803 the internal arrangements of the East Church were
altered under the direction of James Miller, a local
architect, while in 1818 the West Church was restored by
James Gillespie Graham. Graham removed the old S.
porch of the nave together with Bowye's Aisle and the
greater part of St. Mary's Aisle. He also blocked up the
W. doorway and covered the timber roof of the nave with
an expensive but unconvincing plaster vault. In 1869,
James Collie, architect, Bridge of Allan, modified the
internal arrangements of the East Church, lowered the
aisle roofs and converted the triforium openings on
either side into clearstoreys. Towards the end of the 19th
century local antiquarians began to take an informed
interest in the structure, and alterations were undertaken
with the object of restoring the fabric to the condition in
which it had stood in the middle of the 16th century and
of fulfilling in some measure the original intentions of
the builders with regard to the crossing. In 1911-4, the
West Church was restored by Dr. Thomas Ross, who
removed Gillespie Graham's plaster vault to expose the
fine open timber roof, and repaired the nave arcades
1 Stirling Charters, No. XXIII.
2 Of the numerous articles in T.S.N.H.A.S. that refer to
the church, the most valuable are those of Ronald (vol. of
1889-90, 1-61), Cook (1898-9, 152 ff.) Ross (1913-4, 115 ff),
and Miller (1937-8, 9 ff). Free use has been made of these
articles here.
3 H.M. Register House, Stirling Protocol Book, 345. The
north aisle of St. Mary is mentioned in 1474, however (op. cit.,
121), and this suggests either that the chapel was rebuilt in
1484, or, more probably, that the aisle mentioned in the earlier
document is the N. aisle of the nave rather than an extruded
chapel. In Scottish usage the word "aisle" describes both a main
lateral division of a church and also any projecting wing.
4 Stirling Charters, No. XXXVII.
5 Stirling Council Records, i, 38.
6 Easson, Religious Houses, 186.
7 Stirling Council Records, i, 224.
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[Plan Inserted]
Fig. 52. Holy Rude Church, Stirling (No. 131); ground plan
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No. 131 -- ECCLESIASTICAL MONUMENTS -- No. 131
where they had been mutilated or hacked away to give
access to pews and galleries. Finally, between 1936 and
1940 an extensive programme of restoration was carried
out under the direction of James Miller, the most
important features of which were the removal of the
dividing wall between the East and West Churches, the
linking up of choir and nave by the completion of the
crossing and the erection of transepts. The central
tower, which it was the intention of the 16th-century
builders to erect, is still absent, but in other respects it
may be said that the church now embodies the ideas of
its original designers in a way which its condition of a
century ago might have been thought to preclude entirely.
ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION. The church, which is
oriented almost exactly E. and W., comprises, as has
been said, a W. tower, a nave of five bays, transepts, a
choir of three bays, and an apsidal presbytery, the nave
and the choir having both N. and S. aisles (Figs. 52 and
53). The external length of the whole building, over
tower and apse, is 208 ft., of which the tower, which
projects 18 ft. 1 in., and the nave jointly account for
104 ft. 6 in., the crossing for 25 ft., the choir for 52 ft.
and the apse for 26 ft. 6 in. In external breadth the
tower measures 30 ft. 7 in., the nave with its aisles
62 ft. 3 in., the choir with its aisles 63 ft. 5 in. (average),
and the presbytery 36 ft. 9 in. Walls vary in thickness
from 5 ft. 3 in. to 3 ft. 8 in.; they rise from a plinth for
which the same section has been kept at all the building-
periods, and which is stepped downwards as required to
suit the fall of the ground. In the re-entrant angle W. of
the N. transept stands St. Andrew's Chapel (supra), and
at the W. end of the N. side the foundations of St.
Mary's Chapel (supra), now demolished. The present
main entrance-door is in the S. transept; the one
ordinarily used is situated near the W. end of the S. side
of the nave and is covered by a porch of recent con-
struction. The general appearance of the building
is illustrated in Fig. 53, and in Pls. 17 and 18 A, B. As a
result of a change in the original intentions of the builders
(p. 133), the nave now lies like a saddle between the
higher transepts and choir on the one hand and the
rather tall W. tower on the other. The central tower that
formed part of the original scheme was never constructed.
THE TOWER. The tower (Fig. 54, Pl. 18 C) is 85 ft. high
to the top of the parapet, a pinnacled cap-house rising
above the parapet in the NW. corner. It is built of ashlar
brought to courses, a few of the stones being snecked. It
is divided into three stages, the lowermost of which is
defined by a hollow-moulded string-course immediately
below the sill of the first-floor window. This string-
course marks the division between the two phases of
construction (p. 130), the part below it belonging to the
period of c. 1450-70 and the remainder to that of 1507-40.
The second and third stages of the tower are divided by a
continuous corbel-course of three members, which sup-
ports an external gallery on N. and S. and on which the
uppermost stage oversails on E. and W. These galleries
carry parapets standing 4 ft. 6 in. above the flagged walks;
the parapets are not crenellated, and the coping and the
uppermost three or four courses have been renewed. The
uppermost stage of the tower is topped by a second
corbel-course, similar to the one below, which carries a
crenellated parapet with moulded and splayed coping,
and water-spouts. The parapet-walk is 25 ft. above the
walks of the galleries. Both corbel-courses are interrupted
at the NW. corner of the tower, which contains the stair,
their line being continued round the corner by a hollow-
moulded string-course. A similarly moulded string-
course serves as an eaves-course to the cap-house, which
finishes in an octagonal, hollow spire about 11 ft. high
[Plan Inserted]
Fig. 53. Holy Rude Church, Stirling (No. 131); section by MacGibbon and Ross (1908)
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No. 131 -- ECCLESIASTICAL MONUMENTS -- No. 131
with an ornamental string-course round it at half its
height; at each of the corners of the cap-house there is a
crocketed finial (Pl. 19 A). The roof of the tower is slated.
The roof of the nave joins the E. face of the tower in a
raggle, and its ridge interrupts the string-course that
divides the first and second stages. Above the string-
course there can be seen a raking water-table intended to
receive a nave roof, which was never constructed, at a
height of 7 ft. 8 in. above the existing one; in accord with
this arrangement mural passages were originally con-
structed to lead from the first-floor room of the tower
to a wall-head walk on either side of the projected high
[Plan Inserted]
Fig. 54. Holy Rude Church, Stirling (No. 131); the
tower
nave, but with the change of plan these were replaced by
similar openings broken out below the level of the string-
course (Pl. 19 B). Traces of this change are seen in the
facts that the down-going steps of the mural passages,
leading to the low-level doorways, are not bonded into
the walls; that the soffits of the passages are stepped
upwards instead of downwards, indicating that the
passages were originally intended to rise, not to descend;
and that the heads of the lower openings are formed of
ashlar blocks as they occur in their courses, and are not
provided with lintels. Another result of placing the nave
roof at its present level has been that a small opening in
the E. wall of the first-floor room, originally intended to
look into the upper part of the nave, has had to be built
up and used for housing the end of the ridge-timber of
the nave and one of the roof-struts.
At the base of the W. face of the tower can be seen
some traces of the original main entrance to the church
(Pl. 19 C); this was built up in 1818, and the large W.
window extended downwards into a part of its space, but
the moulded bases of its jambs are still in place and the
edge of the jambs can be seen, to a height of 6 ft., in
race-bond with the infilling. Beside it on the N. is an
inserted door to the stair-tower, originally reached
internally (infra). The W. window has a splayed sill and
a pointed head with a label moulding which finishes on
carved stops. The tracery has been renewed. On the first
and second floors ¹ there are lancet windows with cusped
heads and label mouldings finishing on stops. those of the
first-floor room having stone seats in their embrasures.
The third-floor windows, which are square-headed, have
been slightly widened; they may originally have been
lancets. The stair-windows are high, narrow loops,
chamfered outside and splayed inside; they are set one
above another, six facing W. and five N. A final external
feature of the tower, which often attracts notice, is the
pitting of the masonry as if by musketry or grapeshot;
it is locally believed that these marks are the result of
firing from the Castle, but as it is only the N. side of the
tower that directly faces the Castle, and these marks
occur on all four sides and on the W. end of the N. aisle
as well, where they are particularly heavy, this theory can
hardly be accepted as a full explanation.
The interior of the tower at ground level is divided
from the nave by a lofty, pointed arch rising from
clustered responds. The bases of the responds resemble
those of the W. doorway, while their capitals are of a
compressed bell-shaped section; the abaci are straight-
sided. There is a groined and ribbed vault in which the
ribs radiate from a central aperture left for the hoisting
of bells. The existing external door to the stair is a late
insertion; its head has no lintel, but is formed of the
longish blocks of the original ashlar. The original stair-
entrance must have opened from the NW. corner of the
ground floor, but this corner was evidently squared off,
and the internal door eliminated, at some time in the 19th
century to permit of the erection, on the W. wall, of seven
marble panels commemorating some noted benefactors
of the burgh. The stair rises to the cap-house and parapet,
giving access to all the floors. It provides clear evidence
of the tower's having been built in two successive phases,
with an appreciable period between them when the
completed part stood open, as, up to the height of the
first floor, the ashlar of the inner face is considerably
weathered while at the higher levels it shows almost no
weathering. At first-floor level, too, the character of the
steps changes, the lower ones running straight out from
the newel and the upper ones showing a cavetto cut in
the riser at their inner ends; and on the first-floor doors
and windows there are masons' marks similar to those
on second-period work in the N. choir-aisle (p. 137). The
N. and S. walls of the first-floor room are intaken on
pointed arches; at their E. ends are the entrances of the
mural passages that lead to the parapets of the nave,
1 The second floor occupies the lower part of the uppermost
stage of the tower.
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No. 131 -- ECCLESIASTICAL MONUMENTS -- No. 131
while in the centre of the E. wall is the filled-up opening
to the nave roof (p. 133). The ceiling, like those of the
rooms above, is joisted on corbels; trap-doors are pro-
vided for the raising of bells to the third floor, which is
the bell-chamber. From the second-floor room doorways
give N. and S. on to the lower gallery.
THE NAVE. The nave and its aisles are contemporary
with the lower part of the tower, belonging, apart from
alterations, to the first building-period. Their main
external features appear in Pls. 18 A and 19 D, which show
the equilateral, traceried aisle-windows, with label
mouldings, separated by buttresses with sloping heads
which finish below cavetto string-courses; above these
are low parapets with a row of water-spouts at their
bases (Pl. 19 D), and, above the low-pitched aisle-roofs,
the upper parts of the nave-walls, again with string-
courses, gargoyles and parapets. At the W. end of each
aisle there is a further window, pointed and traceried
like the rest. An original angle-buttress at the SW. corner
bears a crocketed finial; on the NW. corner there stands
another of which mention will be made shortly. The S.
nave-wall alone has a clearstorey; it consists of small,
round-headed windows finished with label mouldings
outside and inside, but the external labels have been cut
away and the tops of the windows have been encroached
on by the parapet in a manner which suggests that this
latter was originally intended to be set at a higher level.
The aisle roofs were originally flat and were probably
covered with lead, but they were subsequently raised to
accommodate the present slated roof, which conceals
the water-table of the earlier roof. ¹ During the alterations
of 1911-4 there was found, immediately below this water-
table on the S. side of the church and 38 ft. E. of the
outer face of the W. wall of the S. aisle, a crudely incised
shield bearing a saltire. Above the shield is incised in
Gothic characters: WIL JOHNSON. As Dr. Ross suggests, ²
this is probably the work of one of the masons employed
on the fabric; the saltire forms part of the heraldic
achievement of the Johnstons.
The original arrangement has been altered on both
sides of the church. On the S. side the second bay from
the W. originally contained a doorway, which was
covered by a porch; but in 1818 the porch was removed
and the doorway was converted into a window. ³ During
the alterations of 1936-40 the original arrangement was
restored and the present porch and doorway are of this
date; traces of the earlier window-sill are visible on either
door-jamb. There is record evidence for the former
existence of a chapel, known as Bowye's Aisle, in the E.
bay on the S. side, but no structural remains are now
visible apart from what may be footings at and around
the E. buttress. The origin of the name "Bowye's Aisle"
is not known, but the structure was probably built as a
chantry chapel in pre-Reformation times; its external
appearance. as evidenced by an old print reproduced by
Ronald, ⁴ suggests that it was about the same size as the
former St. Mary's Aisle (p. 135) on the N. side of the
nave. In 1632 the aisle was acquired as a burial-place
by the Earl of Stirling, the owner of the nearby mansion
that is known today as Argyll's Lodging (No. 227).
During the alterations of 1818 it was largely demolished,
the walls being reduced to a height of about 3 ft. ⁵, while at
a later period these fragments were themselves removed.
The window that now occupies the bay probably dates
from 1818. On the N., the alterations have been more
far-reaching. Before 1483, a small chapel known as St.
Andrew;s Aisle (16 ft. by 12 ft.) was thrown out in front
of the easternmost bay (Pl. 22 C). Its E. wall now coalesces
with the W. wall of the 20th-century N. transept, but
appears in part to be older than the N. and W. walls of
the chapel. So much at least is suggested by the portion
of splayed plinth that may be seen at the N. end of the
wall. It seems likely, therefore, that this wall is con-
temporary with the main body of the nave and may
originally have been intended to form part of a N. tran-
sept. In the event this transept was not completed until
1936-40. At some time during the intervening period a
doorway was inserted ⁶ in the centre of the wall to give
external access to the chapel; but this doorway is now
blocked up. In the N. wall of the chapel there is an
original three-light window with basket tracery and a
hood-moulding (Pl. 22 B), and in its W. wall a heavily
splayed window with a straight arch on the inside, the
external lintel of which bears the initials D F in relief.
This latter window shows traces of alteration and it may
have been partially rebuilt during the reconstruction of
1911-4, before which it is known to have been blocked
up. ⁷ In a description of the chapel written about 1900
it is stated ⁸ that the window is an insertion, and certainly
the character of the lettering of the inscription suggests
a date in the late 16th or early 17th rather than in the
15th century. The initials are evidently those of a member
of the Forestar family, perhaps David Forestar of
Denovan, or Duncan, son of Sir Alexander Forestar of
Garden, on whom see below (pp. 138 f.). A very small
ogival-headed recess (Pl. 22 D) in the E. wall may be a
credence; a consecration cross is cut on the N. wall, and
along the W. wall there runs a bench. The four tomb-
slabs in the floor are described later along with other
carved details in the chapel. The roof is a tierceron vault
(Pl. 22 A), the ribs rising from moulded corbels. There
are no wall-ribs, and the stonework of the webbing is
French in character. The central boss bears, within
foliaceous ornamentation, a shield, charged presumably
for Forestar ⁹ (supra): A saltire; in base a hunting horn.
Of the other bosses one bears a petalled flower, deeply
1 Dr. Ross in T.S.N.H.A.S. (1913-4), 119 f.
2 Ibid.
3 Ronald, J., in T.S.N.H.A.S. (1889-90), 11.
4 The Story of the Argyll Lodging. 162.
5 Ibid., 165.
6 Stirling Antiquary, ii, 104.
7 Ibid.
8 Ibid., but cf. Fleming, J. S., The Old Castle Vennel of
Stirling, 47.
9 But the late Sir James Balfour Paul, Lord Lyon King of
Arms, considered that this charge "must have a reference to
the dedication of the Chapel to St. Andrew, as it is not a coat
of arms of any known family of Forrester" (Stirling Antiquary,
ii, 105).
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No. 131 -- ECCLESIASTICAL MONUMENTS -- No. 131
sunk, another what is probably a star, and a third five
roses set crosswise within an interlaced border; the
decoration of the fourth cannot be made out.
Further modifications of the N. aisle resulted from the
construction, in 1484, of St. Mary's Aisle. This chapel,
which measured internally 17 ft. 9 in. by 17 ft. 6 in.,
projected from the W. bay of the aisle, above which its
pitched roof-raggle can be seen cut into the wall of the
nave above the aisle roof (Pl. 21 A). Its walls were reduced
to a height of 8 ft. 6 in. above their original foundation-
level in 1818 (p. 130), while the ground outside has been
raised to this extent, so that the interior of the chapel now
appears as sunken. Its floor lay 1 ft. 6 in. above that of
the nave. The chapel was entered, presumably by steps,
through a wide doorway in the W. bay (Pl. 21 A, B),
originally a window and now once more converted to a
window. The N. side of the inner order of the arch is
wrought with a rose and a thistle, both in relief. This
window has a label finishing on stops, but the E. stop
was destroyed by the construction of a buttress in 1818.
Both this buttress and its counterpart to the W. are
founded on the reduced walls of the chapel, and the W.
one, which has a crocketed finial, shows on its outer edge
the jamb of what must have been the W. window of the
chapel. The only surviving internal features of the chapel
are a broken piscina and an ogival-headed credence,
with a small edge-roll moulding, both near the S. end
of the E. wall (Pl. 21 C). The upper part of the W. wall
of the aisle, and the small door that can be seen in it near
its junction with the tower, must date from after the
chapel's demolition and the restoration of this part of the
aisle roof to penthouse form, though the string-course
interrupted by the door is probably older.
In the bay E. of St. Mary's Aisle a small door was
closed during the restorations of 1818 (Pl. 21 D), and a
window, similar to the others in the N. aisle, was
inserted. This alteration necessitated the removal of the
door head. The outer faces of the door-jambs, below
the window-sill, show roll-and-hollow mouldings, the
outlines of which have been preserved in the jointing
of the stones of the sill, and likewise the flat faces of the
inner jambs are preserved to a height of 5 ft. 2 in. As in
the case of St. Mary's Aisle, the door-sill must have been
reached from the interior by steps, as it is seen on the
outside to have been at the same level as that of the
chapel. The benatura immediately E. of the door is
an insertion, though it is probably in the position of an
original one. Along the inner face of the wall, between the
blocked door and St. Andrew's Aisle, there was originally
a stone bench; this has been cut away, but traces of it can
be seen on the wall-face. The tracery of the aisle windows
has been renewed. The vaults of the aisle are quad-
ripartite, and it can be seen that the curvature of the ribs
was altered after the tas-de-charge had been carved. The
tas-de-charge on the wall side rest on moulded corbels;
wall-ribs are present except at the W. end of the W. bay,
and all the ribs are of the same section. The stonework
of the webbing is French in style. At each intersection
of the diagonal ribs there is a plain round boss bearing,
on a sunk centre, a slightly raised heater-shaped shield;
none of these is carved with armorial bearings, but they
may originally have been painted.
The vaulting and bosses of the S. aisle are similar to
those on the N., and the vaulting likewise shows evidence
for a change in the curvature of the ribs and provision,
in the W. bay, for a wall-rib which was never built. The
centre boss of the vaulting of the W. bay is carved with a
shield parted per pale and charged, for Adam Cosour
and his wife Katherine Fotheringham ¹: Dexter, three
coursers' heads, bridled, couped; sinister, three bars.
Adam Cosour, a prominent Stirling burgess, seems to
appear on record first in 1446 ² and was still alive in 1484,
in which year, as already mentioned (cf. p. 130), he was
responsible for the erection of St. Mary's Aisle; in 1471
and 1473 he is known to have founded altars in the S.
aisle of the church. ³ Cosour's wife, Katherine Fothering-
ham, was living in 1500 ⁴ and their marriage is therefore
unlikely to have taken place before 1450. The appearance
of their coat of arms in the S. nave-aisle thus confirms
that the nave was in course of erection during the third
quarter of the 15th century. On the wall side the
tas-de-charge rest on moulded and decorated corbels,
and on the other directly on the capitals of the arcade
piers. As in the N. aisle, a stone bench once ran along
the wall under the windows, but this has been cut away;
the tracery of the windows has been renewed.
The floor of the W. part of the nave is slightly higher
than the rest, a downward step traversing the whole
width of the church just E. of the westernmost piers of
the nave arcades (Pl. 25). There is a further descent , of
two steps, from the nave and aisles into the crossing.
Apart from the easternmost piers the nave arcades
are uniform (Pls. 23 A and 25). The columns, which are
circular in section, measure 4 ft. 1 in. in diameter and
have moulded capitals decorated with carved foliage
(Pl. 24 A, B); the plain moulded bases rest on chamfered
octagonal plinths (Pl. 24 D). The two easternmost piers,
which are of slighter proportions, are square in section,
each side measuring 2 ft. 10 in. They are composed of
clustered shafts, which rise from high bases (Pl. 24 E) to
plain moulded capitals (Pl. 24 C); the piers differ from
each other slightly in the sections both of their shafts and
of their capitals. The arches of the arcades are of two
orders, each with a broad splay, and have label mould-
ings; immediately above them there runs a string-course,
the one on the S. wall forming the sills of the clearstorey
windows (p. 134). The hood-moulds of these windows
terminate in stops, which are carved in the form of
heater-shaped shields, except in the case of the eastern-
most window where the stops are foliaceous. The shields
flanking the westernmost window are carved in relief,
and the arms, as far as can be seen, were correctly
1 Dr. Ross in T.S.N.H.A.S. (1913-4), 118. Illustrated in
one of the unnumbered plates at the end of the volume.
2 Excheq. Rolls, v (1437-54), 231.
3 T.S.N.H.A.S. (1913-4), 118.
4 Acts of the Lords of Council in Civil Causes, ii, (1496-1501),
449; she evidently remarried (ibid., (1487-95), 221).
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No. 131 -- ECCLESIASTICAL MONUMENTS -- No. 131
ascribed by Ross ¹ to the Nairn family; they may
represent either Robert Nairn or Thomas Nairn, both
of whom appear in the burgh records in the period during
which the nave was under construction. ²
The roof, which contains nine main trusses, is one of
the few mediaeval timber roofs still surviving in Scotland
(Pls. 23 A and 25). It is of comparatively rough workman-
ship. The trusses comprise tie-beam, king-post, struts
and principal rafters, supporting purlins and ridge-
piece (Pl. 26). Extra rigidity is afforded by short
longitudinal struts which further support the ridge-
piece and the adjacent pair of purlins, while the ends of
the trusses are supported on wall-posts, alternate trusses
being further strengthened by stout curved brackets.
These latter trusses, which form the main structural
members of the roof, have long wall-posts, supported on
moulded corbels. The intermediate trusses have only
short wall-posts, which rest, on the N., upon carved
corbels, and on the S., upon the labels of the clearstorey
windows.
THE CROSSING AND TRANSEPTS. As has been said, the
central tower that formed part of the original scheme
was never constructed, and, though the arches to the
choir and aisles were built, it was only in the course of
the restorations of 1936-40 that the crossing-piers were
completed and the crossing arched over. It is not now
known how the two W. crossing-piers were finished on
their E. faces. They are shown as squared by MacGibbon
and Ross, ³ but a later plan, ⁴ prepared about 1912 and
now in the Commission's archives, shows them as
being obscured on the E. by the cross-wall that will be
mentioned shortly, and they are now obscured by the
20th-century restorations. In these the W. piers were
given the same appearance as the E. ones on N., E. and
S., while their W. faces retain the original half-round
responds of the nave arcade. The two E. piers, however,
are of 16th-century date apart from restoration in their
W. portions; they are composed of clustered shafts
contained within capitals and bases which are square on
plan, each side measuring 6 ft. 6 in. Before the restorations
the church was divided into two by a screen-wall, which
was built about 1656 (cf. p. 130) and which is known
to have been repaired in 1731. ⁵ Transepts may have been
contemplated as early as the 15th century (cf. p. 134),
but were not erected until 1936-40.
THE CHOIR. The choir is divided into three bays, and
has a N. and a S. aisle (Pl. 23 B). Its external appearance
(Pl. 17) differs from that of the nave in that it stands
much higher and that the aisle windows are con-
sequently taller; the buttresses, too, of which the end
ones are set obliquely, are carried up to the end in
crocketed finials, and are intaken in steps (Pl. 20 A, E).
There is also a double string-course at the bases of both
upper and lower parapets as well as one at window-sill
level; while the parapet of the N. aisle preserves, near
its centre, an original crenellated portion, the uppermost
courses of the rest have been rebuilt. Differences in
the copings of the crenellated and uncrenellated parapets
suggest that those on the S., which today are plain, may
likewise have been crenellated originally and have been
renewed. The aisle windows are equilateral and have
stopped label-mouldings; all have four lights except the
W. one on the N. side, which has three, and which also
has its sill at a higher level; the tracery in all appears to
have been renewed. The three-light window seems to
have been designed to leave room, immediately to the
W. of it, for a doorway, now filled up (p. 137). Below the
sill of the E. window on the S. an opening has at some
time been broken through the wall and subsequently
filled up; this is unlikely to have been a door as its head
would have been too low. ⁶ Raggles for a penthouse roof
have been cut on the buttresses on each side of this bay.
Each wall of the choir, above the aisle roof, now has three
clearstorey windows, but these are not original (p. 137).
In the W. gable, above the roof of the nave, there is a
vesica window; its jambs are splayed both inside and
outside. At window-sill level the buttresses incorporate
canopied niches, which are borne on carved corbels.
Many of the corbels are now rather worn, but those on
the N. side of the choir have evidently been carved with
human masks (Pl. 20 B). The corbels on the S. side of the
choir are carved with shields, the one on the central
buttress being charged: A saltire, on a chief two mullets,
within a bordure (Pl. 20 c). These appear to be the arms
of Bruce of Stenhouse and Airth, who became
a burgess of Stirling in 1520. ⁷ The other two shields,
which are now very much worn, were recorded by
Dr. Ross about 1912. ⁸ The westernmost one appears to
have been charged: A bull's head cabossed, in chief a
cinquefoil. It may represent a member of the Bully
family, which frequently appears in the burgh records
in the early 16th century. ⁹ The easternmost shield was
charged: On a bend between two mullets, two [? roses],
within a bordure, but this coat has not been identified.
On the new buttress at the NE. corner of the new N.
transept an old canopy and shield have been inserted to
form the top and bottom of a niche. ¹⁰ Two mullets in
chief can be seen on the shield, and the main charge was
a saltire; the arms appear to be those of the family of
Bruce of Stenhouse and Airth (supra). The aisles now
have flat roofs of lead, but they were originally of pent-
house form and were covered with stone slabs; evidence
1 T.S.N.H.A.S. (1913-4), 119; "parted per pale, sable and
argent, on a chaplet, 4 quarterfoils, all counterchanged".
Illustration ibid. on an unnumbered plate.
2 Ibid.
3. Eccles, Arch., iii, fig. 1238, p. 316.
4 This plan is also the source of other information made use
of here about the arrangements existing before the restorations
of 1936-40.
5 Stirling Council Records, ii, 219.
6 But Ronald, in T.S.N.H.A.S. (1889-90), 50, states that a
doorway was broken through the wall at this point in 1714.
7 Stirling Council Records, i, 2.
8 T.S.N.H.A.S. (1913-4), 133 ff. Unnumbered plate.
9 E.g. Stirling Council Records, i, 39; Stirling Charters, 190.
10 These are evidently the fragments that were recorded by
Dr. Ross about 1912, at which time they were preserved in
St. Andrew's Aisle (T.S.N.H.A.S. (1913-4), unnumbered
plate).
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No. 131 -- ECCLESIASTICAL MONUMENTS -- No. 131
of this earlier arrangement is given by several surviving
features - the sloping heads of the end walls of the aisles,
the heavy splayed raggles of the penthouse roof appear-
ing on these, the square-headed windows in the E. pair,
which once lighted the roof-space, and the weathered
raggle of the penthouse roof which shows above the
clearstorey windows.
The floor of the choir lies higher than those of the
crossing and of its own aisles, and sets of three steps
rise respectively under the choir arch and under both
the E. arches of the arcades. The piers of the arcades
(Pl. 27 A) are square on plan, each side measuring 2 ft.
8 1/2 in. They consist of clustered, filleted shafts, the
sections of which correspond with the mouldings of
capitals and bases. The capitals comprise a compressed
bell and a heavy upper member consisting of multiple
rolls and fillets; the bases are high (Pl. 27 C). The capitals
of the S. arcade differ somewhat from those of the N.
arcade and incorporate carved foliage (Pl 27 B). The
arches have pronounced hollow mouldings and incorpor-
ate labels, those of the S. arcade finishing on carved stops
while those of the N. arcade die into the pier capitals.
Immediately above the apices of the labels, which on the
S. side are decorated with carved heads, there runs a
string-course, which forms a base to what must originally
have been three triforium openings in either wall; these
are round-headed, chamfered on the outside but heavily
moulded inside, and each now contains a round-headed
two-light window. This alteration has resulted from the
substitution of flat for penthouse roofs on the aisles
(supra). The four roof trusses rest on moulded corbels,
the E. and W. ones on both arcades having spiral shafts
with stops set above the string-course; the other corbels
have shafts which descend below the string-course,
those on the N. dying into the capitals of the main arcade,
and those on the S. finishing on carved stops. The present
wooden lining of the roof, which dates from 1867, is said
to cover old "oak rafters, six inches square, about sixteen
inches apart, having angle struts, forming five angles". ¹
The first internal feature encountered at the W. end
of the N. choir-aisle is the filled-up doorway in the W.
bay, mentioned above. Its rear jambs are moulded, and
originally a spiral stair opened off its W. jamb to give
access to a room over the crossing, known as the King's
Room, which was destroyed about the middle of the
19th century. ² Just E. of this door there is a broken
benatura with an ogival head, chamfered on the arrises.
Further E. there is an Easter Sepulchre (Pl. 27 D); it is
3 ft. high, stands 1 ft. 10 in. above the floor and has a
moulded edge, much restored. The stair at the NE.
corner, which leads down to the vestry and offices under
the choir floor, dates only from the most recent restora-
tion, when these underground apartments were built
in an excavated space.
The vaulting of the N. aisle springs from the capitals
of the choir arcade on one side and from moulded corbels
on the other. It resembles that of the N. nave-aisle, and
has similar bosses with shields; but in addition there are
small decorations at all the intersections of ridge and
transverse ribs, a feature which occurs only here and
there in the nave vaults. The treatment of the S. aisle is
again similar (Pl. 28 A), but here the tas-de-charge spring
on both sides from corbels; those on the S. side finish
with short, twisted wall-shafts, which terminate in
carved stops (Pl. 28 B). The corbels on the choir side are
set slightly above the capitals of the pier arcade; one of
them is carved with a human mask, and the other three
are floriated. In the SE. corner of the S. aisle there is a
small ogival-headed credence with a chamfered arris.
THE PRESBYTERY. As the site of the church slopes
downwards from W. to E., the easternmost footings of
the presbytery are much below the internal floor levels,
and the aspect of the high E. end, as seen from the lower
level of St. John Street, is most impressive (Pl. 18 B). It
has five sides separated by stepped buttresses which are
topped by crocketed finials; the E. face is much the
widest, and the intermediate faces slightly wider than
the westernmost pair. The lowest part of the wall is
intaken above the plinth and a string-course runs round
just below the windows, rising and falling to suit the
levels of their sills. The windows are similar to those in
the rest of the church; the E. one has six lights and the
remainder three, but only the two W. ones have kept
their original tracery which is of a crude curvilinear form.
At the wall-head a crenellated parapet with a splayed
coping is corbelled out on a continuous corbel-course
above which is set a row of water-spouts. The parapet-
walk, like those of the aisles, is flagged. The E. end
finishes in a crow-stepped gable, and the roof, which is
pitched lower than that of the choir, is covered with stone
slabs (Pl. 20 D). The series of canopied niches noted on
the choir buttresses continues on those of the apse, but
here the niches are below the level of the window-sills.
The following details can be made out - N. and NE.,
worn stops showing what were probably heads; SE.,
apparently a head instead of a shield; S., traces of a
saltire on the shield. ³ Under the E. window there is a
further niche, with a tapering stop below it. Below this
niche there is a panel in a moulded frame; this appears
to be an insertion, and whatever inscription it once bore
is now illegible. The raggle of a lean-to roof appears on
walls and buttresses in the re-entrant angle between the
presbytery and the N. aisle of the choir.
Internally a lofty pointed arch at the E. end of the
choir opens into the presbytery, which is two steps higher
than the choir. The arch mouldings die into the wall-
faces immediately above a short string-course, from
which a shaft descends on either side to the level of the
capitals of the choir arcade and finishes in a carved stop
(Pl. 29 B, C). On each side of the presbytery, above the
side-windows, two squinch-arches have been formed
to make a square springing for the vaulted ceiling, which
is a pointed barrel-vault (Pl. 29 A); these arches are
segmental and heavily-moulded, the mouldings finishing
on stops of which one is a human face. The barrel-vault
1 T.S.N.H.A.S. (1889-90), 13, 60.
2 Eccles. Arch., iii, 319.
3 This last is evidently the shield included by Dr. Ross in his
account of those in the choir (T.S.N.H.A.S. (1913-4), 134).
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No. 131 -- ECCLESIASTICAL MONUMENTS -- No. 131
had five moulded ribs and a moulded ridge-rib; the
former rise from moulded stops set on a string-course
at the springing-line. On the S. respond of the apse arch,
about 5 ft. above the level of the present floor and some
8 in. below a consecration cross, there are faint traces of a
shield painted in red and black outline. The painting has
been greatly damaged by the cutting-out of a hole for a
beam, which is now filled up with cement, and no details
can be made out.
Ten consecration crosses can be seen at various points
in the church. Their positions are indicated on the plan
(Fig. 52).
PULPIT AND DETAILS. The pulpit (Pl. 27 E) was made
during the alterations of 1911-4 to the West Church, but
it incorporates part of an older one dating from the 17th
century. Its circular body, in which the old work appears,
is divided into four main parts by fluted pilasters with
composite capitals, and these parts are in turn subdivided
transversely by mid-rails. The four upper panels are sunk,
fielded and carved with arabesque ornamentation; the
lower ones are sunk but not fielded, and show a variant
of the square-and-cypher pattern with a carved foliated
centre. The mid-rails have a simple intertwined border en-
closing a floral centre and, at each end, a leaf. The top rail
shows a band divided into rectangles by vertical ribs. Some
carved masonry details are preserved in St. Andrew's
Aisle; they include a stone decorated with geometrical
tracery and now hollowed out on one side to form a basin.
This was found in 1913 "in the foundations of a garden
dyke of one of the cottages in the northernmost row from
Cambuskenneth Abbey". ¹ No doubt it once formed part
of the Abbey buildings (cf. p. 129). In addition, the
chapel contains a corbel bearing a crudely carved human
head, part of a stone carved with what may have been the
hilt of a sword, and an object resembling a mortar.
Some further carved fragments are to be seen on the
rockery on the E. side of Cowane's Hospital (p. 292).
BELLS. Four bells hang in the tower, and have recently
been fully described, with an account of their history, by
Mr. R. W. M. Clouston.² The main facts regarding them
are given by him as follows. The treble bell ( 3 3/4 cwt.)
was bought new in 1781, and is inscribed 1781 / WM.
CHAPMAN OF LONDON FECIT. The second bell
(5 1/2 cwt.) is probably of 15-century date and may be
of local manufacture; it is inscribed in Gothic character
+ AVE MARIA GRACIA PLENA DOMINUS TECUM
BENEDICTA TU INMULIERIBUS ET BENEDICTU(S)
("Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou among women and blessed"). An extra
vertical stroke has been added before IN, which has been
run into MULIERIBUS, and ET is represented by a
single crossed stroke, read by Clouston as T. The third
bell (4 3/4 cwt.) was originally bought from Lord Madertie
in 1631, but appears to have become cracked by 1657 and
was recast by Ouderogge of Rotterdam. It is inscribed
+ SOLI DEO GLORIA + CORNELIS OVDEROGGE
FECIT ROTTERDAM ANNO DOMINI 1657 / TO
STERLING TOWN I DOE BELONG. The tenor bell
(8 cwt.) was made by William Chapman in 1781, but
had to be recast, by David Burges, at the Gorbals
Foundry, in 1853. It is inscribed DAVID BURGES
FOUNDER GLASGOW, 1853 NO. 391. The frame in
which the bells hang dates from 1781.
GRAVE-MONUMENTS, ETC.
In St Andrew's Aisle. The following four memorials
lie in the floor of St. Andrew's Aisle, which was for
long the burial-place of the Forestar family. All are
now somewhat wasted and, in the account that follows,
the details of the inscriptions and heraldry shown in
square brackets have been supplied from records of the
carvings made by W. Rae Macdonald in 1896, and now
preserved in the Commission's archives. (1) A slab
inscribed HEIR LYETH / AGNES L [EI] SHMAN / WHO
DEPAIRTED / THE LAST OF / MAIRCH 1633 HIR
AIG 77. Below the inscription is an incised shield
dividing the initials D [F] and charged, for Forestar: A
hunting horn. Below this again there is another, dividing
ME and charged, for Erskine differenced from Stirling
or Leslie: On a pale, a buckle. Agnes Leishman appears
to have been a daughter of John Leishman of Waltoun
and wife of Duncan Forestar of Arngibbon. ³ The
attribution of the shields and initials that appear upon
the lower part of the stone is uncertain, but they may
represent David Forestar of Denovan and his first wife
Marie Erskine, who died about 1657. ⁴ The proprietor-
ship of the chapel seems to have passed from the
Forestars of Garden to the Forestars of Denovan in the
third quarter of the 17th century. ⁵ (2) A badly wasted
slab bearing two shields, the upper one having a label
above it [bearing the date 1584]. The upper shield,
which divides the initials AD, is charged: [On a fess
three mullets], in base a crescent. The lower shield,
which divides the initials AD / [E] M, is [parted per
pale and charged: Dexter, on a fess three mullets, in
base a crescent; sinister, a hunting horn, three mullets
in chief]. These are evidently the arms of Alexander
Durham of Mollet and of his wife Elizabeth Murray ⁶;
Alexander Durham was Argentar ⁷ to Mary, Queen of
Scots, and to James VI. (3) A large slab (6 ft. by 3 ft.
10 in.) in good preservation (Pl. 44 D). A marginal
inscription reads + HEIR LYIS ANE HONORABIL
MANE CALIT ALEXANDER FOSTER LAERD OF GARDEN
QVHA DEIT THE 13 OF IANVARE 1598; and below
the top line of this, with its own ends returned down-
wards, runs the motto SOLI DEO HONOR ET GLORIA
("Honour and glory to God alone"). Below there is a
shield dividing the initials AF / DF, the lower pair being
cut large on a sunk panel. The shield is charged, for
1 T.S.N.H.A.S.) 1913-4), 134.
2 P.S.A.S., lxxxiv (1949-50), 85 ff.
3 Fleming. The Old Castle Vennel of Stirling, 52; The Stirling
Antiquary, ii, 106.
4 The Commissariot Record of Stirling, Register of Testaments,
1607-1800. S.R.S., 53.
5 The Stirling Antiquary, ii, 103.
6 Fleming, op.cit., 51.
7 The Argentar was the Royal officer having charge of the
money belonging to the king or queen.
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No. 131 -- ECCLESIASTICAL MONUMENTS -- No. 131
Forestar: Three hunting-horns. In the lower part of
the slab there is a second shield, dividing the initials
I E and charged for Erskine of the Shielfield branch:
On a pale, a cross-crosslet fitchée; and below this the
initials M E carved in the same manner as the D F above.
The slab appears to have commemorated, in the first
instance, Sir Alexander Forestar, Provost of Stirling,
and his wife Jean Erskine, ¹ the initials in the sunk panels,
which are the same as those appearing on No. (1) above
(q.v.), having been added later. (4) This slab, which is
much worn, now shows no inscription but bears two
incised shields, side by side. The charges were in relief
but those on the dexter shield have been obliterated;
the sinister one is charged, presumably for Forestar:
A saltire, in base a hunting horn. These same arms
appear on one of the bosses in the roof of the aisle
(p. 134). Macdonald's drawing of 1896 shows that the
stone originally bore six shields and that upon the
dexter shield at the top of the stone there was carved a
saltire-shaped device which may have been intended
as a mill-rind and pick. A similar device appears upon a
panel set over the passageway of No. 41 Broad Street
(cf. No. 234). The two shields at the foot of the stone
are said to have been "simple incised lines in the form of
shields". ²
In the Graveyard. The following are the only monu-
ments bearing legible dates earlier than 1707, though it
may be taken as certain that a number of other slabs, on
which no design or lettering can now be made out, must
date from the 17th century. (1) The Sconce family
memorial. This is a Renaissance wall-monument com-
prising base, body and pediment, measuring 13 ft. in
height, 14 ft. in width across the base and 8 ft. 6 in.
across the body. From pedestals set out from the base,
which is flanked by ornate consoles, there rise two
double columns to support a shaped pediment with a
moulded cornice and, in its centre, a cherub with swags
of fruit and flowers dividing the date 16 [89] ³. Between
the columns there is an inscribed panel with a moulded
margin, flanked by decorative strap-work and emblems
of mortality. Above are two angels. Much of the original
inscription on the panel has perished, but it can be
restored as follows with the help of a metal plaque ⁴
which was fixed to the side of the monument, for
purposes of record, in 1936: [HERE LIES THE CORPSE
OF / IOHN MCCULLOCH LEAT PROVO] ST OF
STIRLING / [WHO] DIED THE 5 OF OCTOBER / 1689
YEARS OF AGE [54 / REVELATIONS 14 VERSE 13] /
BLESED (sic) ARE THE DEAD WHO / DIE IN THE LORD
THAT THEY / MAY REST FROM THEIR LABOUR [S] /
AND THEIR WORKS DO FOLLOW THEM /
ULTIMA SEMPER /
EXPECTANDA DIES HOMINI / DICIQUE BEATUS /
ANTE OBITUM NEMO SUPREMA [QUE] / FUNERA DEBET
("We must always await life's last day, and no one
should be called happy until he is dead and buried".) ⁵
Below the original inscription there has been added, in
large cursive script, 1729 / JOHN SCONCE / CHRISTIAN
LUCKISON; 19th-century inscriptions appear on the
base of the monument. (2) A large ornate headstone
dated 1701 and commemorating IOHN PATON IANET /
PARK IOHN PATON / ALEXR PATON / IANET TOUAR.
(3) A slab, bearing in high relief a shield-shaped panel
and, below this, trade emblems which suggest a miner
or quarryman - pick, mallet and chisel. The panel bears
a shield charged, for Gibb: In chief, a broken spear
chevronwise, held by a hand issuing from the sinister;
in base a spur. Above the shield is incised the date
1579. The original dedication appears to have been
erased, and on the cut-down surface there is now an
incised inscription commemorating James Gibb, who
died in 1810. (4) A headstone, the top of which has been
reshaped in such a way that part of the date has been
removed. The inscription now reads [1] 67 [?3] / IW
MC / IW BG / RW IC / RW CD. (5) A similar head-
stone, reshaped in the same way and bearing the same
initials as (4). (6) An ornate headstone dated 1698 and
commemorating TT and IG. A later inscription appears
on the other side. (7) A large slab inscribed at the top
HERE LIES THE CORPS OF / ANDREW BAIRD BAILLIE
IN / STIRLING WHO DIED 24 IUNE 1692 / AGED 77.
MARGARAT SWORD HIS / SPOUSE DIED 28 MARCH
1677. Initials follow, and then an 18th-century inscrip-
tion containing names which correspond with some of
them, and this fact suggests that the whole may actually
date from after 1707 notwithstanding the early appear-
ance of the original inscription as recorded. (8) A head-
stone bearing the date 1705, divided by the crowned
rounding-knife of the Cordiners, and commemorating
PD MD. Below are funerary emblems with the motto
SURGITE VENITE ("Arise, come"). (9) A slab bearing,
on a shield, the date 1699 and the initials I S [?] M
over a merchant's mark. The name Stevenson occurs
in later inscriptions. (10) A large ornate headstone
inscribed 1700 / IC JD. (11) A slab on which the
primary inscription consists of the date 1700 above a
shield, the initials WM / MH divided by the shield
and below it WF EK / WM MW / WS JH. The shield
is charged; A weaver's shuttle. (12) A headstone with
a primary date 1696 in relief. Other dates, later than
1707, and names which follow are incised. (13) A table-
tomb dated 1687 with a contemporary merchant's mark,
but "renewed", according to a later inscription, in
1848. (14) A large ornate headstone, partly earthed up.
On the exposed part can be read IF 1703 DF / IC IF.
(15) A large headstone set in a masonry base, and with
a separate semicircular top, the latter damaged (Pl. 47 B).
Both faces show bullet-marks, and the E. one bears a
central panel flanked by fluted strips decorated with
1 Fleming, op. cit., 48.
2 Ibid., 53.
3 The two latter figures were covered with ivy at the date of
visit, but may be supplied from the main inscription.
4 Close examination of the wasted lettering shows that the
version given on the plaque differs from the original in its
setting-out and in a few other minor respects.
5 These verses (Ovid, Metamorphoses, iii, 135 ff).) also appear
on the Paton Monument (1676) in Greyfriars churchyard,
Edinburgh (Inventory of Edinburgh, p. 64), and on a slab (1702)
in the parish churchyard of Peebles.
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No. 132 -- ECCLESIASTICAL MONUMENTS -- No. 133
mason's tools and, at the top, what seems to be a
reversing monogram. On the panel there is an assemblage
of drapery and strap-work, with a figure seated on a
crescent or scroll in the centre. Above the assemblage
there is a weathered and damaged inscription of which
little can now be deciphered. The first four lines
were probably pious verse, and these are followed by IOHN
SERVICE OBIIT -- [S] EP [TEM] BER ANNO DOM (INI)
16 [?97] / AETATIS VERO 74 / HIS SPOVS BE [?SSI] E
BVINE. In the later 19th century the date seems to have
been read as 1629, ¹ but 1697 is almost certainly correct.
A second inscription, below the assemblage, is illegible.
The separate top portion bears, on this face, an arch-
angel with a trumpet, rising from clouds, and on the
other a shield, dividing the initials IS and bearing what
seems to be a monogram. The main decoration on the
W. face is a cartouche formed by a snake with its tail
in its mouth and containing a group of three figures,
one of them haloed, and a tree. ² Illegible texts issue
from the mouths of two of them.
The following monuments, though of later date than
1707, also deserve to be mentioned as being typical of
the taste and sentiments of their day. (1) A group of
marble figures (Pl. 49) comprising two girls and an
angel, protected by a casing of glass and iron, with the
inscription MARGARET / VIRGIN MARTYR OF THE
OCEAN WAVE / WITH HER LIKE-MINDED SISTER /
AGNES. On the evidence of her tombstone in Wigtown
Churchyard, ³ Margaret Wilson was martyred by
drowning, as a Covenanter, in 1685; but the whole
episode has been the subject of controversy. The monu-
ment was erected by the late William Drummond,
Stirling, about 1870. (2) A life-sized statue of the
Reverend Ebenezer Erskine, erected in 1858 ⁴ and
bearing his name only. (3) A pyramid of grey ashlar
bearing Biblical texts and white marble decorations.
This is a memorial to all those who suffered martyrdom
in Scotland in the cause of civil and religious liberty, ⁵
and was erected by the same William Drummond
mentioned above.
791937 -- NS 79 SE ("Ch.", "Cemetery")
Various dates 1953 to 1958
132. Erskine Marykirk, St. John Street, Stirling.
The church that was built about 1740 for the Rev.
Ebenezer Erskine's seceding congregation ⁶ stood on
the SW. side of St. John Street. This church was super-
seded in 1826 by the existing structure, known as the
Erskine Marykirk, which stands rather further to the
SW., at the brink of the Castle Rock, and leaves the
site of Erskine's church as an open space in front of it.
Erskine, who died in 1754, was buried under the floor
of his church, and his tomb may now be seen in the open
space, overlooked by the elaborate Classical monument
illustrated in pl. 50 B. This monument, which was
erected in 1859 ⁷ to the design of Messrs. Peddie and
Kinnear, Edinburgh, stands about 30 ft. high on a base
15 ft. 6 in. square, and bears the name EBENEZER
ERSKINE on the lintel course on the NE. side.
The existing church measures 90 ft. externally from
NE. to SW. by 70 ft. transversely. The sides and SW.
end are of random rubble, harled, and the windows, of
which there are three superimposed pairs in each side-
wall and two, both tall, at the SW. end, have segmental
heads and backset margins. The NE. end (Pl. 40 A) is of
black whinstone rubble brought to courses, and has its
central portion advanced and finished in a pediment
supported by four flat pilasters of freestone. Similar
pilasters rise at the ends of the façade. The main entrance
is in the centre of the advanced portion and is flanked by
windows; there is another entrance to right and to left,
and five windows are placed symmetrically above. All
these openings are round-headed and have freestone
dressings. The eaves-course and parapet are also of
freestone, and there is a hipped slated roof.
The doors give entrance to a lobby, in the centre, from
which stairs rise to the gallery. Above the domed portion
of the lobby is a session-room, reached by a side-stair
off the stair to the gallery on the right. The body of the
church is curved at the NE. end, the congregation at both
levels facing towards a pulpit at the SW. end.
792936 -- NS 79 SE ("Ch.") -- 9 September 1954
133. Old Church, St. Ninians. The remains of the old
parish church of St. Ninians occupy a site which has
been in continuous ecclesiastical use since at least the
middle of the 12th century. The parish church of Eccles,
as it was at first called, is mentioned in a document of
about 1150, ⁸ while about a century later it is referred to
as the church of St. Ninian of Kirketoun, ⁹ a name which
the village retained until the 18th century. In 1746 the
church was used as a powder magazine by the Jacobite
army, and on its retreat an explosion occurred which
completely destroyed the greater part of the building.
The graveyard was retained in use, but when proposals
were under discussion for the rebuilding of the church
it was decided to erect instead a new building about
50 yds. E. of the old structure.
Of the churches that presumably succeeded each
other upon the same site over a period of six hundred
years, there survive today only part of a detached pier
with its capital, a substantial portion of a chancel, and
the handsome steeple which is virtually intact. Taken
together, however, the remaining evidence suggests that
the church of 1746 consisted of an aisled nave of 15th-
1 P.S.A.S., xxxvi (1901-2), 367.
2 Illustration, ibid.
3 Inventory of Wigtownshire, No. 523.
4 Rogers, Scottish Monuments and Tombstones, ii, 40. On
Erskine see p. 8 above.
5 Rogers. op. cit., 41.
6 T.S.N.H.A.S. (1907-8), 102. See also p. 8 above.
7 Ibid. (1908-9), 76.
8 Lawrie, Charters, No. CLXXXII.
9 Cambuskenneth, No. 110.
-- 140 |
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No. 133 -- ECCLESIASTICAL MONUMENTS -- No. 133
century date to which a square-ended chancel had been
added in the first half of the 16th century. At the W. end
of the nave stood the early 18th-century steeple replacing
an earlier tower in the same position. ¹
Immediately to the N. of the NE. angle of the steeple
is the upper portion of a pier (Pl. 30 C) which probably
formed part of the nave arcade; the fragment is evidently
not in situ and may have been placed in its present
position when adapted for use as a gravestone. The pier
is cylindrical and has a diameter of 2 ft. 11 in., but only
the upper four courses of masonry remain, together with
a simply moulded capital of 15th-century date. Only the
E. portion of the chancel survived the disaster of 1746,
and this still stands 99 ft. 10 in E. of the steeple; it
measures 25 ft. 2 in. in length by 25 ft. 6 in. in breadth
over walls 2 ft. 10 in. in thickness, and is built in sand-
stone ashlar. The S. wall (Pl. 30 B) stands to its full
height and finishes in a cavetto-moulded eaves-course.
Four feet E. of the present SW. angle there is a buttress
which rises in two offsets to end in a gablet, but there are
no buttresses at the angles nor any evidence that the
chancel was vaulted. One complete window remains,
and the E. jamb of a second can be seen just W. of the
buttress. The surviving window is square-headed and
of three lights, and has simple hollow-chamfer mouldings
on jambs, lintel and mullions. The E. wall is without
windows while the N. wall has been in large part
removed to give access to a later burial-aisle. Internally
the only feature of interest is a piscina set low down
in the E. wall near the SE. angle; the recess is 10 in. by
9 in. deep and has had an ogival hood-mould which is
now much worn.
About a hundred years after the erection of the
chancel there was added to it on the N. a burial-aisle,
which still survives, the junction of the two structures
being visible as a straight joint in the masonry of the
E. wall. Apart from the lower courses of this wall, which
are of ashlar, the aisle is built of rubble roughly brought
to courses, but it has been partially reconstructed at a
later period. It measures 10 ft. 11 in. by 16 ft. 5 in.; there
are no voids and the only feature of note externally is
the cavetto-moulded eaves-course, the greater part of
which survives. The aisle is entered through the original
N. wall of the chancel, in which there has been inserted
a segmental-headed arch which springs from moulded
responds of 17th-century date. The remains of a mural
monument of uncertain date can be seen in the W. wall.
After the destruction of the main body of the church,
the remaining portion of the chancel was sealed off by
the building of a W. wall, and both chancel and aisle
were used as a burial enclosure which is now entered
through the segmental-headed doorway situated in the
N. wall of the chancel, just E. of the present NW. angle.
The most attractive as well as the most prominent
surviving feature of the old church is the fine steeple,
which was begun in 1734 (Pl. 30 A). It was the work
of two local masons, Robert Henderson and Charles
Bachop of Stirling, and was built for the heritors of
St. Ninians at the cost of £100 sterling. ² The tower is
square in section and measures 15 ft. 10 in. by 16 ft. 3 in.
at base; it is about 60 ft. high and rises in four stages,
each of which is defined by a moulded string-course.
The masonry is of rubble with dressed margins and
rusticated quoins. Above a moulded eaves-cornice there
rises a domical roof surmounted by a cupola, all in
ashlar, while at the base of the dome a carved stone urn
stands at each corner of the tower. Internally, a steeply-
rising turnpike-stair gives access to the belfry and to
the intermediate chambers. In design this tower is an
advance upon the traditional type of Scottish steeple, and
the substitution of the distinctive ashlar dome and cupola
for the more usual ogival slated roof points to the
infiltration of Classical taste.
Immediately to the W. of the tower is the Auchen-
bowie burial enclosure, the rusticated entrance-piers of
which are also by Henderson and Bachop. ³
TOMBSTONES. (i) Twenty-three yards SW. of the
buttress on the S. side of the choir and 8 yds. N. of the
S. boundary-wall of the old churchyard there is a stone
which measures 1 ft. 4 in. in height by 1 ft. 2 in. in
breadth (Pl. 42 B). A cross with wedge-shaped arms and
a hollowed centre is roughly carved in relief on both sides
of the stone and on its upper surface there is a set of
incised initials. The stone resembles one from Hoddam
which has been ascribed by Mr. C. A. Ralegh Radford
to the 10th or 11th century, ⁴ but there is no evidence,
apart, perhaps, from the place-name Eccles itself, for
a church at St. Ninians at such an early date. The
initials were no doubt added in the 17th or 18th century
when the stone was re-used. (ii) Fifteen yards NW. of
the NW. angle of the choir there is a headstone which
measures 1 ft. 11 in. in height and 1 ft. 10 in. in breadth.
A small incised cross is carved on one side. The stone is
probably of mediaeval date, but its present position
suggests that it has been cut down and re-used in post-
Reformation times. (iii) Ten yards S. of the tower is a
recumbent stone which bears the initials ID and KA
in raised letters; below is the date 1680. divided by the
handle of a spade which occupies the lower part of the
stone. Below the initials ID is carved a mill-rind. The
stone has been used more than once and also bears the
date 1775 and some sets of incised initials. (iv) Fifteen
yards SW. of the E. entrance of the churchyard is a
recumbent stone bearing the incised date 1683 and the
initials IN and WN. (v) Ten yards WSW. of the E.
entrance of the churchyard the upper portion of a
headstone has been erected on a modern base. The
surviving fragment measures 2 ft. 8 in. in breadth by
3 ft. 3 in. in height and has been carved on both sides.
The E. face has the following incised inscription within
1 A suggested reconstruction of the full plan and elevation
of the old church is given in T.S.N.H.A.S. (1902-3), 105 ff., but
although this may be approximately correct in its broad out-
lines, it is based on insufficient evidence and many of its details
are certainly inaccurate.
2 The building contract is printed in T.S.N.H.A.S. (1902-
1903), 118 f.
3 Ibid.
4 T.D.G.N.H.A.S., 3rd series, xxxi (1952-3), 190.
-- 141 |
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No. 134 -- ECCLESIASTICAL MONUMENTS -- No. 136
an ornamental border: HERE LYES WIL/IAM MAKIE /
BAX [TER] -- BUR/GES IN CANNI/GATE HE
DE/PARTED OCT 12 / 1685 HIS AGE 32 / YEARS
WITH / HIS CHILDREN / -- Above the border is a
fragment of another inscription, now illegible. On the
W. face is the date [16] 85 and a carved skull and cross-
bones below which is the inscription PULVIS ET
UM [BRA] ("Dust and shade") and a label which
contains a motto, now illegible. There are also traces of
further inscriptions, the style of which seems to be later
than that of those already described, but these are so
fragmentary as to be quite unintelligible. On the modern
base is the following inscription : SUPPOSED TO HAVE
BEEN REMOVED FROM HOLYROOD CHURCHYARD /
WHEN CHAPEL WAS SACKED BY MOB IN 1688 /
LODGED IN SOME ECCLESIASTICAL BUILDING IN
SAFETY / & ON ITS DEMOLITION USED IN CON-
STRUCTION OF NORTH BRIDGE / EDINBURGH /
WHERE FOUND IN REBUILDING 1896.
796916 -- NS 79 SE ("Church"), "Belfry")
10 August 1955
134. Parish Church, St. Ninians. The present church
was completed in 1750 or 1751 ¹ on a site about 100 yds.
E. of that occupied by its mediaeval predecessor (No.
133). The original structure is a plain rectangular block
the overall dimensions of which are 82 ft. 6 in. by 59 ft.
8 in.; the porch and vestry, which adjoin to the W., have
been added, probably during the 19th century, while
the S. wall of the main block was rebuilt to include
an outshot in 1940. The original building is of rubble
and is now rendered in cement. The walls finish in a
moulded eaves-cornice and the gables are coped and
have simply moulded skewputs. The building has been
planned to accommodate a gallery on the W., N. and E.
sides, and a pulpit centrally placed in relation to the S.
wall, ² and this arrangement is reflected in the position of
the entrance doorways and in the fenestration. Access to
the ground floor is gained from doors centrally placed in
each gable, while a third door in the centre of the N.
wall is now blocked; a stair rises against each gable to
give access to the gallery. The original fenestration of
the S. wall is uncertain, but to the W., N. and E. the
building is lit by two ranges of symmetrically disposed
windows, of which the upper serve the gallery; all have
chamfered arrises. The interior was renovated in 1940,
but the general disposition of gallery and pulpit still
approximate to the original plan.
796917 -- NS 79 SE -- 26 April 1956
135. "Club's Tomb," Linkfield. This structure,
evidently a mausoleum, stands beside the road from
Airth Station to Airth midway between Powbridge and
West Westfield. It is said ³ to have been built by a local
farmer, perhaps the James Club, of Westfield, Airth,
whose will is registered under the date 29th July 1757,
and who wished to be buried in it, along with his dog,
beyond the reach of the resurrectionists. It is built of
coursed ashlar, and its SE. side, which contains the
entrance, is straight; the remainder of the plan is sub-
oval, the internal dimensions being 12 ft. 8 in. by
9 ft. 6 in. At the entrance the wall is 3 ft. thick. The roof,
though now much damaged, was originally pyramidal
and is supported on a barrel-vault 7 ft. 10 in. high at the
crown. The corners of the façade were originally topped
by moulded finials. The entrance, which is 3 ft. 1 in.
high, has a depressed arch and a pronounced external
check; it has been secured by an external grille and
perhaps by an internal one as well.
881874 -- NS 88 NE -- 26 April 1955
136. North Church, Airth. The North Church of
Airth was built to replace the old parish church (No. 137),
the fabric of which, at the beginning of the 19th century,
stood in need of extensive repairs. A proposal for the
erection of a new church had been put forward as early
as 1806, ⁴ but nothing was done until 1816 when David
Hamilton, of Glasgow, and William Stirling, of Dun-
blane, were invited to submit plans. ⁵ After a further
year's delay the old church was finally condemned after
a survey by Hamilton and William Burn, and it was
decided to proceed with the construction of a new
church at a cost of £2000, which sum was to include the
provision of a new schoolhouse. ⁶ William Stirling's plans
and specifications (cf. Pl. 31 B) were approved, ⁷ and
building began early in 1818 ⁸ ; the church was opened
in 1820. ⁹
The church (Pl. 31 A) stands at the NW. end of the
village close beside the Stirling road. Its orientation is
from NW. and SE. parallel with the road. It is a building
in the Perpendicular style, of pale greyish-yellow free-
stone ashlar and measures externally 65 ft, by 40 ft.
(exclusive of buttresses) with a tower 16 ft. 6 in. wide
projecting 14 ft. from the NW. end. At the SE. end there
is an apsidal projection one storey in height. The body
of the church, which is seated for 800, consists of three
bays subdivided by buttresses offset in two stages and
terminating in crocketed finials; similar buttresses, with
gablets at the lower stage, are set obliquely at the corners.
Each bay contains a high, pointed three-light window
with a transom and Gothic tracery, splayed jambs and
1 N.S.A., viii (Stirlingshire), 321.
2 In the original arrangement the pulpit seems to have stood
clear of the S.wall, leaving room for a number of seats behind
it (Ibid., 334).
3 Falkirk Herald, 20th June 1914.
4 H.M. Register House, Heritors' Records of the Parish of
Airth, 1770-1845, s.a.
5 Ibid.
6 Ibid.
7 These plans, together with some sheets relating to the
rejected design by David Hamilton, are in the possession of
Mr. A. F. C. Forrester of Airth.
8 Heritors' Records as above.
9 N.S.A., viii (Stirlingshire), 286.
-- 142 |
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No. 137 -- ECCLESIASTICAL MONUMENTS -- No. 137
a hood-mould finishing in moulded stops. Above a
projecting eaves-course there rises a high, pierced
parapet; this runs up to the tower on the NW. gable and
over the whole of the SE. gable, the SE. gable-head being
topped by an ornate cross. The roof is slated. The SE.
end contains a single large window, similar to the side
windows except that it contains five lights. The pro-
jection at the SE. end, which is a semi-octagon on plan,
is provided with an entrance door on SW. and NE. and
a pointed two-light window facing SE., but the doors
are now permanently closed; it has four buttresses and a
pierced parapet like that on the body of the church.
The NW. end shows a two-light window, similar to
those in the side walls on either side of the tower.
The tower comprises three stages, defined by string-
courses, and is intaken slightly at the top of the lower-
most stage. Buttresses with crocketed finials are set
obliquely at its corners. The lowermost stage contains
three similar entrances, one in each face; each has a
Tudor arch with a flat hood-mould above it and tracery
in the spandrels. The second stage shows three two-light
windows, similar to those in the W. gable; and the third
stage three pairs of louvred lancets, each with its own
hood-mould and each flanked by slender nook-shafts.
The uppermost part of the tower is decorated with an
ogival-headed arcade, rising from corbels, above which
is a moulded eaves-course enriched at regular intervals
with floral ornament. The wall-head bears the same
high, pierced parapet seen on the body of the church.
The church is entered through a vestibule at the
bottom of the tower, in which a geometric stair gives
access to the gallery and to a small room, originally the
session-house. The seating faces a pulpit at the SE. end.
A door to the right of the pulpit opens into the apsidal
projection at the SE. end, which now serves as a vestry.
A second door into it, on the left of the pulpit, has been
blocked by an inserted organ. The gallery, which is
supported on iron columns and has a front decorated
with arcading, runs along both sides and across the NW.
end. It retains its original enclosed pews, while those
on the ground floor, which have open ends, appear to
be replacements. The collar beams of the roof are
exposed below the ceiling, which is of plaster.
A mortsafe, solidly made of sheet iron in the form of
a coffin without a bottom (Pl. 51 c), lies outside the
church.
897877 -- NS 88 NE ("Ch") -- 6 April 1955
137. Old Parish Church, Airth. The ruins of the old
church of Airth (Fig. 55, Pl. 32) stand immediately
NE. of the Castle (No. 199), and like it overlook the
haughs of the Pow Burn from the top of a high, rocky
bank. This bank has, in fact been quarried (cf. No. 565)
right back to the confines of the graveyard along its S.
side and at its SE. corner, and the yellow and grey
sandstones used respectively in the earlier and later
parts of the church probably both came from this source.
The site has been modified by the raising of the ground
level between the church and the Castle, and at this
operation evidently postdates the construction of the
Elphinstone Aisle in 1593 (infra) it seems reasonable to
connect the reorganisation and walling-in of the grave-
yard with the latest work on the church, in the middle
of the 17th century. This date would agree well enough
with the roll mouldings on the graveyard entrances, of
which there are two - a large gate for vehicles in the
N. wall and a small doorway by the NE. corner of the
Castle.
A church existed at Airth at least as early as 1128, at
about which date it was granted to Holyrood Abbey by
David I. ¹ but the earliest part of the existing complex
of remains is Transitional in style and dates only from
the later years of the 12th century. The structure of this
period stood in the W. part of the body of the existing
church; it had a N. nave-aisle, and its nave may have
extended about as far E. as the tower. To the E. part
of the S. side of this building an aisle, known as the
Airth Aisle, was added in the 15th century, and in 1593
another, the Elphinstone Aisle, immediately W. of the
first. In 1614 the Bruce Aisle was added on the N. side.
So far the early church had probably served as a nucleus
for the several additions, but in the middle of the 17th
century a major reconstruction took place; the W. end-
wall was rebuilt and everything E. of the Bruce and
Airth Aisles, including the tower, was added, the building
being reorganised as a "preaching kirk" in the con-
temporary fashion. It was abandoned in 1820, when the
North Church (No. 136) was built in the village. ²
ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION. The only surviving
remains of the Transitional church, which are built of
the golden-coloured sandstone already mentioned, are
on the N. side of the nave, where there can be seen the
remains of a nave arcade of three bays opening into a N.
aisle, together with part of a buttress. The eastern respond
of the arcade survives intact with its moulded base, keel-
shaped pillar, and capital, and the western one remains
in part. A later round arch of two plain orders connects
the eastern respond with the first pier of the nave arcade,
and centrally between this and the western respond there
is a fragment of what appears to be the base slab of the
other free-standing pier. This completes the three-bay
system. The responds and the circular pier show an early
form of water-holding base, the profile of the lower roll
being flat and semi-elliptical. Of about the same date
are the keeled responds and circular pier, and the two
surviving capitals, all of which, to judge from the nature
of their design, may be ascribed to the latter part of the
12th century. The capitals have square abaci, but where-
as the pier capital (Fig. 56, Pl. 33 B) is formed with plain
concave sides which are crudely carved with simple
foliage, as if applied, the one belonging to the eastern
respond is an accomplished piece of masoncraft wrought
from a harder stone. This last is defaced on its exposed
side, but the half now concealed within the walling is a
beautiful rendering of a late 12th-century waterleaf
1 Lawrie, Charters, No. XCIII.
2 Fasti, viii, 386.
-- 143 |
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No. 137 -- ECCLESIASTICAL MONUMENTS -- No. 137
[Plan Inserted]
Fig. 55. Old parish Church, Airth (No. 137)
capital (Fig. 56). Both capitals, however, represent
basic forms of the Transitional period and the marked
dissimilarity in their design and execution can only be
attributed to the work of different masons, augmented
perhaps by a short lapse of time in building operations -
in which event the waterleaf capital should be regarded
as the later of the two. The semicircular arch which
spans the easternmost bay has been reconstructed in part
at least, presumably in 1614 when the Bruce Aisle was
formed behind it. The remains of the buttress mentioned
above can be seen in the re-entrant angle between the
E. wall of the Bruce Aisle and the adjoining respond of
the 17th-century N. aisle, It stands to the height of the
early nave. Whether or not a S. nave-arcade ever existed
cannot now been determined, because this part of the
church was completely altered by the addition of the
Airth and Elphinstone Aisles.
THE AIRTH AISLE. The Airth Aisle was constructed by
Alexander Bruce of Stenhouse and Airth between about
1450 and 1487, ¹ and it doubtless originated as a chap-
lainry. The E. and W. walls contain, respectively, an
aumbry recess in the SE. corner and a small but deeply
moulded square-headed window, divided into two lights
by a mullion. In the S. gable-wall there was originally
a large, traceried window, but only the form of its
equilateral arch and chamfered surround survives,
together with a fragment of the tracery, as it was con-
tracted - presumably in the 17th century, to judge by its
hollow-chamfered surround - in order to match the
other work of that date. Beneath the S. window there is a
segmental-arched tomb-recess, with a hollow-chamfered
1 R.M.S. ii (1424-1513), No. 1628; Armstrong, W. Bruce,
The Bruces of Airth and their Cadets, 12 f.
-- 144 |
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No. 137 -- ECCLESIASTICAL MONUMENTS -- No. 137
surround , in which lies a mutilated female effigy (infra).
The outside of the aisle gable is provided with a
splayed plinth, cut off square with the two side-walls
and also interrupted, just W. of the equilateral window,
by an inserted doorway, now blocked up. A recess for
the door in its opened position can be seen in the inner
face of the W. wall of the aisle. The equilateral window
retains its external hood mould, with carved, foliated
stops, and on the E. jamb-stone of its contracted opening
[Diagram Inserted]
Fig. 56. Old Parish Church, Airth (No. 137); capitals in
12th-century arcade
is incised an early form of sun-dial or mass-clock.
Beneath the gable coping there occurs a series of carved
flowers, very irregular in their size and disposition, and
at the apex a wasted finial. The skewputs bear shields
charged for Bruce; A saltire and chief. On the exterior
of the E. wall there is a niche for a statue, typical of the
period, with an ornamental canopy and bracket (Pl. 33 C).
The bracket is carved with a shield charged, for Bruce:
A saltire, on a chief two mullets. At two points near the
S. end of the E. wall there can be seen, respectively, the
initials RB and a crudely scratched cross; both are very
indistinct as the result of weathering. Beneath the floor
there is known to be a burial vault, formerly reached by
a flight of stone steps ¹; but it became dangerous in the
later 19th century and was filled in. The initials of Sir
Richard Elphinstone and his wife Jean Bruce, with the
date 1682, are said to be carved at the entrance to this
vault. ² The NE. corner of the aisle embodies, on the
face towards the nave, part of a mediaeval tombstone
measuring 2 ft. by 10 in. and crudely incised with a
cross-hilted sword; at the head there is half a circle
containing a small cross-patty, or possibly rays, and
traces of a simple cross beside it.
THE ELPHINSTONE AISLE. Just W. of the Airth Aisle
is the burial aisle of the Elphinstone family, which is
separated from the nave by a semicircular arch of two
orders, the inner one being chamfered. The aisle con-
tains several fine tombstones (infra), the earliest of
which is dated 1593, which also appears to be the date
when the aisle was built (infra). The only other internal
feature of interest is a fragment (1 ft. 9 in. by 8 in.) of a
mediaeval tombstone (Pl. 42 C) having a shaft with a
haloed head, flanked by a cross-hilted sword with a round
pommel. Beside the head of the cross are two small
rayed circles. The gable of the aisle is crow-stepped and
has cavetto-moulded skewputs; the side walls are finished
with a moulded eaves-course of similar section. Centrally
placed in the gable wall is a plain square-headed window
with round arrises, which has been contracted on its
E. side by the insertion of a chamfered jamb. The
lintelled doorway, situated in the W. wall at the SE.
corner, also has rounded arrises. An armorial panel set
in the gable above the window is now virtually illegible
through weathering, but a drawing published in 1896 ³
shows it to have been parted per pale and charged for
Elphinstone and Livingstone: Dexter, a chevron between
three boars' heads erased; sinister, quarterly, 1st and
4th, three gillyflowers, 2nd and 3rd a bend between six
billets. It is flanked by the initials M / AE for Master
Alexander Elphinstone, who became the 4th Lord
Elphinstone in 1602, and IL /ME for his wife Jane
Livingstone, Mistress Elphinstone, daughter of William,
6th Lord Livingstone. The date 1593, which appears
below the shield, is presumably the building-date of the
aisle.
THE BRUCE AISLE. This addition has been made on the
N. side of the church opposite the Airth Aisle (supra).
It backs on the E. bay of the early N. nave-arcade,
through which entry was formerly made from the
nave (Pl. 33 A). It is a plain structure with a crow-
stepped N. gable. A splayed base-course extends along
the gable wall and part of the E. wall. It ends at the
NE. re-entrant angle, where it overlaps the splayed base
of the early buttress previously mentioned. On the lintel
of the door in the N. gable wall are the initials S / IB
and D / MR for Sir James Bruce of Powfoulis (cf. No.
304) and his wife, Dame Margaret Rollox of Duncrub,
1 Eccles. Arch., i, 467.
2 P.S.A.S., xiii (1878-9), 167.
3 Eccles Arch., i, 470.
-- K -- 145 |
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No. 137 -- ECCLESIASTICAL MONUMENTS -- No. 137
with the inscription THE LORD IS MY TRUIST, all in
raised letters. Above the doorway is a moulded panel
containing the Bruce arms with raised letters S I B
over it; the moulded surround appears to be old but the
shield and letters seem to be of comparatively recent
date. On the W. skewput of the gable, which is crow-
stepped, occur again the initials S I B and D M R in
raised letters, and the E. one bears the date 1614, which
probably represents the date when the aisle was built. On
two stones at the NW. angle of the gable wall and about
3 ft. from the ground are to be seen at least three crudely
incised representations of human figures, somewhat
similar to the one on the standing stone at Knockraich
(No. 60) but executed in a double line. The left-hand
figure is about 7 in. high and the right-hand one, which
has disproportionately long legs, measures 1 ft. 2 in. and
has traces of initial letters, probably A E, one on each
side of the head. The fact that the legs of the second
figure are extended over the lower stone indicates that
the work was done after the erection of the aisle.
ALTERATIONS AND ADDITIONS OF THE 17TH CENTURY.
The portion of the church lying E. of the Bruce and
Airth Aisles (Pl. 33 A) was presumably added in 1647,
the date that appears on the tower. As has been said,
it represents not only an enlargement of the structure
but its reorganisation to suit the requirements of con-
temporary Presbyterian worship. Thus there is evidence
to show (infra) that the pulpit was placed in the centre
of the S. wall, and that ample space was provided in
galleries for a congregation primarily concerned with
listening to sermons. The tower stands in the angle
between the Airth Aisle and the S. wall of the new
eastern extension. It is a lofty square structure, divided
into four diminishing stages by cavetto-moulded string-
courses, and terminates one course above the topmost
string in a moulded eaves-course and a pyramidal slated
roof with a small dormer light on each side. Each wall
of the top stage is lighted by a round-headed window
which, in common with all the other openings of this
later work, is treated with a hollow-chamfered and
backset margin. The ground-floor compartment serves
as an entrance porch and contains a stone bench on either
side of the passageway formed by the doorways set
respectively in the S. and N. walls. Over the lintel of
the outer doorway appears the inscription IVLY THE
15 1647. On the first floor there are two further door-
ways, one central in the N. wall and the other near the
N. end of the E. wall. The second must have been
reached by an external flight of wooden steps, and no
doubt they jointly provided access for the minister to a
pulpit set well above the congregation. On this showing
the first-floor room in the tower might have served as a
vestry. One jamb of a small window, perhaps only a slit,
which can be seen by the NW. corner of the tower,
suggests that there was an access here to the Airth Aisle,
for which lighting was needed. Also at first-floor level,
on the SE. corner of the tower, there is a badly weathered
sundial which still retains its gnomon.
The S. wall of the church, extending eastwards from
the tower, contains two square-headed windows now
blocked up. Built externally into the westernmost one
is a carved panel measuring 1 ft. 8 in. by 2 ft. with the
date 1630 and the initials PH and KM all in boldly-cut
raised letters. Between the windows at ground level
occurs a segmental-arched tomb-recess, which is open
to the exterior, and has the initials P H I C roughly
incised on its keystone. The occurrence of these initials
at Neuck (No. 303) indicates that both these inscriptions
commemorate members of the Higgins family. The E.
wall of the church, which stands to gable height, has at
its base a splayed plinth, now concealed, and a stone
ledge or bench, slightly above it, which is shown on the
plan. It originally contained, in the centre, two windows
vertically disposed, the upper one having a round head.
The latter remains intact, but the former has been cut
down to form a doorway, and a stone transom has been
inserted. This wall continues northwards to form the E.
end of the N. aisle, and this is lighted by a window also
having a semicircular head. The N. aisle consists of
three bays, spanned by semicircular arches with splayed
arrises, supported on square piers, having moulded
capitals and splayed and stopped arrises (Pl. 33 A).
The W. wall of the nave, which is approximately of
the same date as the E. extension, has a central square-
headed doorway with rounded arrises extended above as
a tall, rectangular window. To the N. of the doorway is a
small square window, while on the opposite side, and
situated at a higher level, is a doorway which must
formerly have given external access to a gallery, by means
of a short flight of stone steps which survive in part.
Both these latter openings have chamfered arrises. There
are the remains of a similar gallery-door in the N. wall
of the nave close to the NW. angle, and at the SE. corner
of the church stands an external stair giving access to
another gallery or laird's loft. These accesses, combined
with a scarcement on the face of the E. gable and holes
for timbers within the openings of the N. aisle-arcade,
indicate that gallery accommodation was provided at
both ends of the church and in the N. aisle. The upper
floors of the burial aisles were no doubt also used by the
families to whom they belonged.
EFFIGY AND CARVED DETAILS. A recumbent effigy of
considerable interest (Pl. 45) lies within the round-
arched recess in the S. wall of the Airth Aisle. The effigy
measures 6 ft. 3 in. in length by 1 ft. 10 in. in breadth
and is carved in sandstone. It is now greatly worn, and
has at some time been broken into two pieces at the waist
and subsequently joined together again with cement. The
figure is that of a woman, who is represented as lying on
a couch with the head resting on a cushion. She wears a
veiled head-dress, which is held back from the forehead
by two spherical-headed pins, and a closely fitted dress
which leaves the neck bare. The hands are placed
together over the breast as in prayer. A coverlet or
blanket, which is folded over at the waist, completely
covers the lower half of the figure, while a small dog
crouches on top of the coverlet at each side of the feet.
The coverlet would appear to be a unique feature among
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No. 137 -- ECCLESIASTICAL MONUMENTS -- No. 137
mediaeval Scottish effigies, but one or two examples
occur in Northern England, e.g. at Lowthorpe, Yorkshire,
while a rather closer parallel is provided by an effigy
which is preserved in the Musée des Antiquaires de
l'Ouest at Poitiers. The Airth figure has been ascribed
to the first third of the 14th century and is considered
to be a product of a Yorkshire or Durham workshop. ¹
Four detached fragments are preserved within the
church and lie close to the N. wall of the nave. (i) A
carved panel (Pl. 34 C), now rather worn, measuring
1 ft. by 1 ft. 9 in. and containing, within and ogival-
headed recess, a shield with helm, wreath and crest, the
last now unidentifiable, and, for supporters, two wood-
houses. The shield is charged: A saltire and chief, with
a mullet in dexter chief, the achievement evidently
representing one of the Bruces of Airth. It is uncertain
whether the stone derives from the castle or from the
church. (ii) A crudely carved female head set upon a
square base, the whole measuring 7 in. by 10 in. The
stone is probably of 17th-century date. (iii) A carved
panel (Pl. 34 A) which measures 1 ft. 3 in. by 1 ft. 2 in.
and contains a shield within an ornamental border. The
shield bears a heart, pierced by three Passion nails,
and above it the same initials, IL and MP, as appear
on the Logan monument in the graveyard (infra). (iv) A
well-preserved stone (Pl. 34 B) measuring 2 ft. by 1 ft.
8 in. which evidently at one time formed the upper half
of a mural recess, perhaps a piscina. The recess is 6 in.
deep and has a cusped ogival head outlined by a moulded
border. Two recessed shields are carved in the spandrels,
that to the dexter charged: A saltire bearing a mullet,
in dexter chief a mullet, and that to the sinister: A
woman's head and neck, in chief three mullets. The
hair is shown as upswept and the stone is of late
mediaeval date; but while the dexter coat is probably
that of a member of the family of Bruce of Airth, the
significance of the sinister one is uncertain.
GRAVE-SLABS IN THE ELPHINSTONE AISLE. An interest-
ing set of seven heraldic grave-slabs, dating from 1593 to
1638, lie side by side on the floor of the Elphinstone
Aisle. Inscriptions and heraldry are in relief except in
the case of (vi), where both are incised; five of the
inscriptions are cut partly round the margins of the slabs
and partly on the central spaces, and on (i), (ii) and (iv)
the beginning of the inscription is marked by a pointing
hand. The relief lettering is good. The slabs are described
below in their chronological order.
(i) Robert Bruce. This shield is flanked by the
initials RB and charged: A saltire and chief. The
inscription runs round the margin, continues below the
opening line on returning to the head, and finishes
below the shield; it reads HEIR LYIS [ROB] ERT /
BRVCE SERVITOVR TO A [L] EXANDER LOR / D
ELPHINSTON / THAT VAS SLAINE IN PINKIE
FEILD / QVHA IN THE H / OVS OF ELP / HINSTONE
SERVIT THE SPA / CE OF THRIE / SCOIR AVGHT /
ZERIS / AND DEIT THE / LAST DAY OF / NOVEMBER /
1593 ZERIS.
(ii) John Drummond. This slab (Pl. 44 B) bears a
raised shield flanked by the initials ID and charged:
A fess undy, in centre chief a mullet. Above the shield,
and to the dexter of the central line, appears a small
roundel. The inscription begins at the top dexter corner,
runs round the margin, continues below the top line and
finishes below the shield. It read HEIR LYIS ANE /
VOR [T] HY GENTIL MANE CALIT IOHNE DRVMOND /
SONE TO GD OF / BLAIR AND SERVITOVR TO YE
ERL OF HVN / TILYE [uninscribed space] / QVI OBIIT
IN ELPHINSTONE / 18 DIE MENSIS / OCTOBRIS /
AD 1593.
(iii) Lady Elizabeth Leslie (Pl. 44 A). The shield
occupies the head of the slab and is charged: Quarterly,
1st and 4th, a lion passant, 2nd and 3rd, three buckles
on a bend. The lions are upside down. This coat may be
compared with that of Leslie, Earl of Rothes, though
the quarters are reversed. The shield is flanked by the
initials EL, and below it is the inscription ELIZABETHA /
LESLY OLIM DO / MINA LVGTO / VNE OBIIT 4 /
NOVEMBRIS / ANNO DOMI / NI 1597 / AETATIS
AVTEM / SVAE 61. Lady Elizabeth Leslie was the
daughter of George, 4th Earl of Rothes, by his third
wife, Agnes Somerville. She married Patrick Crichton,
younger of Lugton. ²
(iv) Robert, 3rd Lord Elphinstone. The arrangement
here is similar to that of (i) above, but the shield is in a
blank space on the upper part of which the inscription
fades out. The shield is charged: A chevron between
three boars' heads erased, and about it are set the
initials L / RE, for Lord Robert Elphinstone. The
inscription, which is badly mutilated along the sinister
margin of the slab, reads HEIR LYIS A [N / E NO] BLE
L [ORD ROBER] T LOR [D ELPHINS] / T [OVN] WHO
DEIT / YE XV [I] I OF MAY 1602 [Z] EIRIS OF THE
AIG / E OF LXX [?] / ZEIRIS & --
(v) Lady Jane Livingstone. Shield and inscription
are here arranged as on (i) above, except that the shield
is placed below the terminal line of the inscription. The
shield, which is much wasted, is charged: Quarterly,
1st and 4th, three gillyflowers; 2nd and 3rd, a barrulet
between six billets; over all an inescutcheon, now
illegible. About the shield are set the initials D / IL,
for Dame Jane Livingstone. The inscription, which is de-
fective owing to damage to the sinister margin of the slab,
reads HEIR LYIS A [NE] / H [ONOVRABL] E GVID [???]
AND VERTE [V] S / [L] ADY IANE L [IVI] NG / STOVNE
LADYE ELPH [IN] STOVNE VHO D [E] IT / YE XV OF
SEPT /EMBER 1621 / ZEIRIS OF YE / AIGE OF LXI
ZE [I] RIS. This lady was the daughter of William, 6th
Lord Livingstone, and wife of Alexander, 4th Lord
Elphinstone, whose tomb is noted below.
(vi) Sir Michael Elphinstone. This slab is fitted
with two iron rings and has been broken irregularly
1 The Commissioners wish to acknowledge the help given
by Mr. Lawrence Stone of Wadham College, Oxford, and
Dr. G. Zarnecki of the Courtauld Institute, both in suggesting
the date for the Airth effigy and for drawing attention to
comparative examples.
2 The Scots Peerage, vii, 291.
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No. 137 -- ECCLESIASTICAL MONUMENTS -- No. 137
across the middle. The lowermost part of the shield
has been mutilated by the fracture, but if a boar's head
appeared here, as is most probable, the charge would
have been: A chevron between three boars' heads erased,
at honour point a small cross. This last no doubt does
duty for the inescutcheon of a Baronet of Nova Scotia.
On the dexter side of the shield there probably once
appeared S / ME, for Sir Michael Elphinstone, but
today only the S survives, with the bottom of the M just
showing below the belt of mutilation. On the sinister
side of the shield there appears a rod of office, its lower
end mutilated. Below the shield is cut the motto
V [I] VIT POST FVNE / [R] A VIRTVS ("Virtue lives
beyond the grave"). The main inscription begins at the
upper dexter corner of the slab, runs round the margin
and continues below the top line; with a conjectural
restoration of the damaged portions, it may be taken to
have read HEIR LYES ANE [H] ON / [OVRABLE] MAN
SIR MICHAEL ELPHIN [STO] N MAISTER HOVSHOLD
TO / HIS MAIESTIE AND AN [E] / OF HIS MOST
H [ONOVRABL] E PRI [VY] CO [VN] SAL BROTHER
GERMAN TO ROBERT LORD EL / PHINSTONE QVA /
DECEASED THE 14 / OF FEBRVARIE 1625 / AETATIS
SVAE 2. The last line is cut on an ansate panel. Sir
Michael Elphinstone was the second son of Alexander,
and Lord Elphinstone, and served as Master of the
Household to James VI. His age as given in the inscrip-
tion is obviously absurd, and must presumably result
from a stone-cutter's error.
(vii) Alexander, 4th Lord Elphinstone. This is a plain
slab with a raised shield in the centre. It is charged: A
chevron between three boars' heads erased. About the
shield are set the initials L / AE, and below it the date
1638, all in relief. This is evidently the memorial of
Alexander, 4th Lord Elphinstone, whose wife's grave-
slab is noted under (v) above. (Cf. also p. 240).
TOMBSTONES, ETC., IN THE GRAVEYARD. The Logan
monument, which stands on the S. margin of the
graveyard, has evidently been reduced in height and is
now partially ruinous, but it may originally have
resembled the Sconce monument in the Holy Rude
graveyard, Stirling (p. 139). It is probably later in date
than 1707, but it incorporates fragments of earlier
monuments. One of these is the central panel in the
band of ornamentation at ground level; it bears a shield,
supported by woodhouses and charged: A saltire, in
dexter chief a mullet. Traces of lettering are visible
below the shield, and in 1878 these could be read as
AB, for Sir Alexander Bruce of Airth ¹ father of the
first Baronet. Another is part of a round-topped and
moulded pediment which now stands loose on the top
of the structure. This shows, in the centre, the relief
figure of an archangel with a trumpet and an open book,
and at the extremities the divided date 1685. On the
pages of the book is incised [T] HIS IS / THE WAY /
WALK YE / IN IT ² ; to the right of the figures appears
ARISE YE DEAD / AND COME TO JUDGEMENT, and to
the left of it TO-DAY / THE VOYCE IS / BUT ERE
LONG / THE VOICE WILBE -- The unfinished sen-
tence evidently continued on a stone which has now
disappeared.
The inscription on the principal surviving panel,
though no doubt later than 1707, deserves to be
recorded as an example of the taste of its period. Apart
from the initials IL and MP, in capitals in the upper
corners, it represents a metrical version of a passage
from the Book of Job, and reads JOB CHAP XIX /
VERS 25 26 27 /
I KNOW THAT MY REDEEMER LIVES
THAT AT THE LATTER DAY /
HE SHALL THEN STAND UPON THE EARTH
HIS SCEPTRE FOR TO SWAY /
AND THOUGH AFTER MY WITHRED SKINE
MY BODY WORMES QUICKLIE /
SHOUL [D] ALL DESTROY YET TRUST I WILL
GOD IN MY FLESH TO SEE /
WHOM I SHALL SEE EVEN FOR MY SELF
AND MINE EYES SHALL BEHOLD /
AND NOT ANOTHER THOUGH MY REINES
BE ALL CONSUMED A [?ND] OLD
Below, in a different script, appears REBUILT BY
MARGARET LOGAN DAUGHTER TO / JAMES LOGAN
IN THE YEAR 1773.
Five small headstones of the 17th century were noted.
Four of these, standing together in the NW. corner of
the graveyard, evidently belong to the same family as
they are inscribed respectively 1682 / GM IS / AB IM;
GM IS / AB IM; 1698 / GM IS; and GM IS. The
fifth shows the date 1696 only. There are a large number
of recumbent slabs, nearly all of which are now illegible,
and some of these may possibly be earlier than 1707,
as may also be some of the small earthed-up headstones.
The fact that a cliff falls away from near the S. side of
the church has led to the majority of the graves being to
the north of the building.
Three mortsafes lie in the graveyard. They all take
the form of massive iron coffins, like the one at the
North Church illustrated in Pl. 51 C, and on each appears
the word AIRTH followed by a date - 1831, 1832 and
1837 on the three respectively.
900868 -- NS 98 SW ("Church")
Various dates in 1955
138. South Church, Airth. This church stands on the
SW. side of Main Street, near the SW. edge of the
village. As is shown by the inscription noted below, it
was built in 1809 as a Burgher meeting-house; but it is
no longer in its original condition as it was renovated in
the early years of the 20th century - the fenestration
being altered, the gallery removed, the seating replaced
and a heating-system installed. ³ It is a plain oblong
structure of large squared rubble with droved dressings
1 P.S.A.S., xiii (1878-9), 168.
2 Isaiah, xxx, 21. The other two texts do not appear to be
quotations from the Scriptures.
3 Information from the Rev. James H. Miller.
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No. 139 -- ECCLESIASTICAL MONUMENTS -- No. 139
and quoins, measuring 56 ft. from NE. to SW. by
45 ft. 6 in. transversely. The roof is hipped and slated.
High up in the centre of the SE. side there is a panel of
quatrefoil shape enclosed within a backset moulding;
the inscription, which is poorly done in a mixture of
scripts and with some letters disproportionately small,
reads THIS HOUSE / WAS ERECTED / AT THE EXPENCE
OF THE / BURGHER MEETING AT / AIRTH A.D. 1809.
Evidence of the alterations is to be seen, on the NW.
side, in the traces of disturbance below the tall windows
and in new stones used in the heads of the smaller ones.
At either end there is a square-headed entrance-door
with a blind window above it. These entrances open into
transverse lobbies, the SW. one now adapted to contain
a vestry and a heating-chamber while the NE. one has
had a session-house cut off its SE. end. Entry to the
church is now obtained by a door near the NW. end of
this lobby. A mark left by the removal of the gallery can
be seen on the inner face of each of the partitions that
separate the lobbies from the body of the church.
899874 -- NS 88 NE ("Ch") -- 6 April 1955
139. Parish Church, Bothkennar. Bothkennar, now a
quoad sacra parish under Grangemouth, was formerly
independent, and its church stands in a graveyard N. of
the by-road leading from the Polmont-Stirling highway
(A 905), at Pinfoldbridge, to Carronshore. The church
(Fig. 57) was "rebuilt" in 1789 ¹ and remodelled and
enlarged in 1887, when an extension containing new
entrances was added on the S. and a vestry on the N.;
the work of 1789 is no doubt commemorated by a stone
bearing that date which is built into the wall, high up,
near the NE. corner. It is clear, however, that this
rebuilding was not total, and that remains of an older
structure survive; evidence for this is seen in the masonry
of the lowermost four feet or so of the walls, as under
each of the existing windows on the N. side, which have
been placed to suit a higher floor than that of the older
structure, there appear the lower rybats and sill of an
original window, now built up, with dressed and backset
margins. Similarly, the bottom part of an original door-
way survives under the window in the E. gable, while a
corresponding doorway, now also built up, in the centre
of the opposite gable provided access to the church
until the new entrances were formed in 1887. The
structure to which these openings belonged, and the
lower courses of masonry in which they are found, may
perhaps have originated in 1673, as this date is incised
high up on the W. gable near the SW. corner; this
inscription also suggests the retention at the southern
ends of the gables of some of the higher parts of the
walling of this period, as well as of the lower, during the
rebuilding in 1789.
Though the difference between old and new work is
hardly perceptible in the face of the E. gable, there is a
decided contrast between the character of the masonry
in the southern and northern halves of the W. gable,
and this tends to confirm the idea that earlier work was
retained on the S; it may also be significant that the
southern angles of the church have slightly backset
dressed margins, similar to the old doors and windows,
in contrast with the plain quoins of the angles on the N.
Apparently the size of the church remained unchanged
until the 19th-century reconstruction, where most of
its southern wall was removed to allow for increased
accommodation in the new additions on that side. The
original church, rectangular on plan, measured
57 ft. 9 in. by 35 ft. externally, the walls being 2 ft. 9 in.
thick and built of random rubble. The present windows
are round-headed and have rounded arrises.
[Plan Inserted]
Fig. 57. Parish Church, Bothkennar (No. 139)
Abutting on the W. gable is a tower, erected either
during the alterations of 1789 or very shortly afterwards. ²
On plan it is 11 ft. square over walls approximately
3 ft. thick; it rises to a height of four storeys, the upper
ones being reached by ladders and hatchways. A door in
the middle of its S. wall leads into a small chamber 5 ft.
square, which served as a vestibule before the W. door
was built up. The top storey is used as a belfry. In its
ascent the tower is intaken at two stages, the lower
between the first and second storeys, at about the level
of the eaves of the church, and the higher between the
upper two floors. Below the lower intake the masonry
is squared rubble roughly brought to courses, but higher
up it is ashlar to the apex of a concave-sided pyramidal
1 Stat. Acct., xvii (1796), 295.
2 Hay gives the date as 1792 (Post-Reformation Churches,
172).
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No. 140 -- ECCLESIASTICAL MONUMENTS -- No. 140
roof. This alteration may indicate a delay in the com-
pletion of the upper portion. The openings on the second
floor are lintelled but elsewhere they are round-headed.
The church bell dates only from 1911. An earlier bell, by
Robert Maxwell & Co., Edinburgh, has been removed to
Fallin; it is dated 1729 and is similar in design and
lettering to the Meikle bell at Gargunnock. ¹
The internal arrangements of the church date only
from the reconstruction of 1887. The pulpit now stands
in front of a recess in the centre of the N. wall, and E. of
it a door has been broken through into the vestry.
HERALDIC CARVINGS. In addition to the two stones
noted above, bearing respectively the dates 1673 and
1789, and another bearing the initials WB and the date
1654, two heraldic stones have been reset in the walls of
the church. One, on the W. side, shows a shield dividing
the date 1654, and the initials WB charged: A saltire
and chief. The arms and initials are those of William
Bruce, 2nd of Newtoun (cf. No. 306), who was retoured
heir to his father Patrick Bruce in 1655 and was still
alive in 1709 ². In the E. wall there is a very badly
weathered stone bearing a shield charged: Quarterly,
1st and 4th, a chevron; 2nd (and presumably 3rd) a
stag's head erased. These arms have not been identified.
TOMBSTONES. The only tombstone in the churchyard
on which a date earlier than 1707 can be made out is a
small headstone inscribed in relief 1640 / IA. Some of
the later stones (Pl. 48 B, C, D) show fine representations
of ships, and no doubt commemorate seamen of the
former port of Carronshore.
903834 -- NS 98 SW ("Church") -- 23 March 1953
140. Parish Church, Falkirk. The parish church of
Falkirk is dedicated to St. Modan, but it is not known
which of the sixteen saints bearing the name Mo Aodhán
is in question. ³ No authority has been found for Watson's
statement ⁴ that the saint's arm was formerly preserved
here. The record of the foundation of the church in the
reign of Malcolm Canmore in 1057 ⁵ cannot be accepted,
as the stone now seen in the church, which bears an
inscription to this effect, is bogus (infra); but Symeon of
Durham's mention of "Egglesbreth" under the date
1080 ⁶ proves that a church existed in the later 11th
century and also suggests that the building was parti-
coloured, ⁷ perhaps through the use of two kinds of stone
occurring in the same quarry (cf. p. 443). The church
became the property of Holyrood Abbey in 1166. ⁸ About
1800 proposals were made by the heritors for repairing
the church or, alternatively, for replacing it by a new
building to be erected either on the existing site or on
another one at the W. end of the burgh. ⁹ William Forbes,
1st of Callendar, in opposition to the majority of the
heritors, favoured the new site, and a long and complex
struggle ensued; this was terminated only in 1810, when
the Court of Session decided that the tower of the old
church should be preserved and a new church added to
it. ¹⁰ During the course of this dispute more than one set
of plans was prepared for the reconstruction or renewal
of the church, drawings being submitted by a Mr. Cairn-
cross and by Messrs. Sibbald & Thin of Edinburgh.
Eventually, in March 1810, a design by Gillespie
Graham was accepted and a contract was made with
Henry Taylor, mason in Falkirk, and William Black,
wright, by which Gillespie Graham's church was to be
added to the existing steeple at a cost of about £3500. ¹¹
These alterations were completed in the autumn of 1811.
The mediaeval building, as it stood before the
reconstruction carried out in 1810-11, was cruciform on
plan, with a tower over the crossing and access to the
transepts through "lofty" arches. ¹² The S. crossing-
piers are still partly visible, and have broad filleted
arrises, but most of the substructure of the tower is en-
cased in later work. The upper part of the tower, as now
seen externally, dates from 1734 and is said to have been
designed by William Adam. ¹³ The design of the crossing
piers, together with a large roof-boss (infra) which may
well have come from the centre of the crossing and is now
preserved in the S. porch, suggests that this part of the
mediaeval building dates from the 15th century. In
1810-11 the whole structure was demolished, apart from
the portions of the tower just mentioned, and an
auditorium church, with galleries, was built to the N. of
the tower, which was central to its S. side and served it
as a porch. The pulpit was placed in the centre of the N.
side. Externally (Pl. 35) the angles are emphasised by
square pseudo-towers crenellated at their tops, and the
gables are crow-stepped. The tower shows, on its W.
side, the raggle of the nave roof removed in 1810, and
on its E. side that of the choir roof, though this is less
well defined. It has rusticated quoins, is finished with a
pronounced moulded cornice and bears an octagonal
belfry with bell-cast roof and finial, each of its faces
being pierced by a round-headed opening. This belfry
was probably added at or about the time of the main
reconstruction.
Since the reconstruction a large S. porch has been
added, abutting the tower in the position of the mediaeval
S. transept.
1 P.S.A.S., lxxxiv (1949-50), 72. Cf. No. 344.
2 Armstrong, W. Bruce, The Bruces of Airth and their
Cadets (privately printed, 1892), 105 ff.
3 Watson, Place Names, 289.
4 Ibid., 290.
5 N.S.A., viii (Stirlingshire), 33.
6 Symeonis Monachi Opera Omnia, Rolls edn., ii, Historia
Regum, 211.
7 Watson (op. cit., 349) quotes "Fawkirk" as an instance of a
Celtic place-name, which he supplies as "an Eaglais Bhreac",
being translated directly into English. On this showing Gaelic
was still spoken in the district in 1080. Mediaeval records use
the Latin synonym Varia Capella.
8 Holyrood, p. 209.
9 H.M. Register House, Forbes of Callendar Papers, Box 122.
10 Ibid.
11 Ibid.; see also H.M. Register House, Heritors' Records for
the parish of Falkirk, 1788-1825, under dates 3rd and 12th
March 1810.
12 N.S.A., loc. cit.
13 Post-Reformation Churches, 275.
-- 150 |
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No. 140 -- ECCLESIASTICAL MONUMENTS -- No. 140
CARVED FRAGMENTS PRESERVED IN THE CHURCH. The
following carved fragments preserved in the Church
deserve to be noted. (i) A carved crosshead of sandstone
(Pl. 34 D) affixed to a modern base which bears the
inscription: THIS CROSSHEAD / PROBABLY ONCE
FORMED PART OF / A SANCTUARY OR BOUNDARY
CROSS / ERECTED ABOUT 1200 A.D. / IT WAS FOUND
IN THE VICINITY / OF THIS CHURCH. The cross
has expanding arms and both faces are carved with a
conventional design in low relief. It measures 1 ft. 2 in.
by 10 in. by 5 in., but the lower part of the stone has
been broken off, and originally the cross no doubt stood
upon a shaft or base. Although the inscription suggests
that the stone might originally have formed part of a
sanctuary or boundary cross, it was perhaps more
probably a headstone, like the rather earlier cross at
St. Ninians (p. 141). (ii) A panel, set above a doorway
which gives access to the main body of the church, and
bearing the incised inscription FUNDATUM / MALCOMO
III / REGE SCOTIAE / A.M. + 1057 / ("Founded in
the reign of Malcolm III, King of Scotland 1057").
The inscription is evidently bogus, and the panel may
have been cut in the early 19th century in order that
it might be used as evidence in a law-suit between the
parish minister and the laird of Callendar. ¹ (iii) A roof-
boss bearing a shield charged: Quarterly, 1st and 4th,
three gillyflowers within a double tressure flory-counter-
flory; 2nd and 3rd, a bend between six billets, being the
arms of the Livingstones of Callendar (pl. 34 E). A
serpent, part of the family crest, is twined round the
shield.
BELLS. In the belfry there hangs a chime of thirteen
bells cast at Baltimore, in 1926; and in the porch
there is preserved a large bell dated 1740, produced by
the casting into one of two earlier bells. ² A hand-bell,
presented in 1830, is in safe custody in the offices of
Messrs. Gairn & Gibson, Falkirk. A pre-Reformation
date has been suggested for it, but it is probably not
earlier than the 16th century. ³
EFFIGIES AND TOMB-SLABS IN THE PORCH. Two pairs of
effigies are preserved within the S. porch of the Church,
resting on table-bases of the 19th century. On the
easternmost base there is an inscription which states
that, in 1810, when the Church was reconstructed, the
effigies lay within the S. transept, and that thereafter
they were exposed to the weather until 1852, when steps
for their preservation were taken by William Forbes of
Callendar. The figures are now very much wasted, and
only the principal features of the costume and armour
can be discerned as all the details have disappeared.
The male figure of the westernmost pair (Pl. 46 A) is
bare-headed and wears plate-armour; the head rests on
a cushion and the feet on a lion. From the hip-belt,
which is worn horizontally, there hangs a sword having
short, straight quillons with downturned ends and a
water-guard. The head of the female figure rests on a
cushion and the feet on an animal. She wears a round-
necked undergarment, a gown and a mantle, and on the
head there appears to be a chaplet.
The male figure of the easternmost pair (Pl. 46 B)
appears to wear a helmet, a peascod breastplate and
knee-length taces, while the upper arms and shoulders
are covered with continuous laminations; the head rests
on a cushion. The sword has slightly curved quillons.
The female figure wears a gown having puffed sleeves
and a long skirt; there is a horizontal groove at the waist.
The head rests on a cushion and seems to be wearing
a cap. Even if allowance be made for the weathering of
the figures, the carving of this pair of effigies appears to
be unusually crude.
If the effigies are indeed "the memorials of the earliest
feudal lords of Callendar", as the inscription upon the
easternmost base (supra) states, the first pair may
represent either Sir Alexander Livingstone and his wife,
a daughter of James Dundas, of Dundas, or their son
James, 1st Lord Livingstone of Callendar and his wife
Marian. Sir Alexander Livingstone died in 1451 and
Lord Livingstone in 1467, and the effigies could be
ascribed to either of these dates. The other pair of
effigies dates from about the turn of the 16th and 17th
centuries and may possibly represent William 6th Lord
Livingstone, who died in 1592, and his wife Agnes
Fleming. ⁴
Between the two pairs of effigies just described, two
grave-slabs are set within the floor of the porch. The
easternmost measures 6 ft. in length by 2 ft. 2 in. in
width and bears, in relief, a shield parted per pale and
charged: Dexter, dimidiated, 1st and 4th for Livingstone,
2nd and 3rd for Callendar, the 2nd and 4th quarters
being elided by the dimidiation; sinister; a fess or chief
charged with three stars accompanied by a rose or gilly-
flower in base, a three-point label in chief. The sinister
charges are probably for Douglas, perhaps of Whittinge-
hame, or possibly for Pedefer; the label indicates that
the spouse was the daughter of a then heir apparent.
Above the shield appears what may be a clumsy
representation of an earl's coronet of early Scottish type.
The slab also bears an incised inscription, now greatly
wasted, of which the only significant fragments now
legible are ALE / [?XANDER] -- / ADOLESCENTIAM
and PROVECTAM AE / TATEM IN AVLA / REGVM
GALLIE. The second fragment plainly refers to someone
who, in later life, was present at the French Court, and
it has been plausibly suggested ⁵ that it commemorates
Alexander, 5th Lord Livingstone, who accompanied
Queen Mary to France in 1548 and died there a year or
two later. ⁶ The coat may therefore represent the arms
of Livingstone of Callendar impaled with another coat,
presumably that of one of Lord Livingstone's three
wives. He married first, Janet Stewart, second, Agnes
1 P.S.A.S., lxx (1935-6), 272 f.
2 All these bells are described in detail in P.S.A.S., lxxxiv
(1949-50), 74 ff.
3 Ibid.
4 The identification of the figures was first suggested by
Hunter, R. L., in P.S.A.S., lxx (1935-6), 275 f; cf. also
P.S.A.S., xxix (1894-5), 389 and figs. 43 to 46.
5 Hunter, R. L., P.S.A.S., lxx (1935-6), 276.
6 The Scots Peerage, v, 436.
-- 151 |
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No. 140 -- ECCLESIASTICAL MONUMENTS -- No. 140
Douglas and third, Jeanne de Pedefer, a French maid-of-
honour. ¹
The westernmost slab measures 6 ft. by 1 ft. 11 in. and
bears a shield carved in relief and charged: A fess between
six mullets. The shield is flanked by the incised initials
RI. These arms do not appear to be recorded, but they
may represent Innes of Blairton with six, in place of
three, mullets as an additional cadency, The slab has
borne a Latin inscription, but this is now so much worn
that nothing significant can be read apart from the date
[?15] [O] CTOBRIS / 1600. ²
MEMORIALS IN THE GRAVEYARD
(i) Sir John de Graham. The most interesting monu-
ment in the graveyard is the one attributed to Sir John
Graham of Dundaff, who was killed at the first battle of
Falkirk (1298). ³ In its present form, which evidently
results from the various additions and rearrangements
that will be described shortly, the structure comprises a
massive concrete base, raised 10 in. clear of the ground
on six brick pedestals, and the memorial proper, which
is founded on this base and consists of an effigy and
three inscribed slabs, set closely one above another and
supported by solid end-pieces and a vertical slab in the
centre of each side. The effigy and the two lower slabs
have been notched to fit these supports. The memorial is
enclosed within a cage of iron railings let into the con-
crete, and the enclosure is topped by a pair of decorated
iron arches, reminiscent of an imperial crown and carry-
ing a lion-rampant finial. While it is possible that the
monument may stand on the spot traditionally associated
with Sir John de Graham's grave, the manner in which it
is now raised above ground level points to the original
arrangement having been totally altered; while much
disturbance must have resulted from the successive
reconstructions (infra) as well as from the opening of the
grave in 1746. ⁴
The uppermost element in the existing composite
monument is a slab 6 ft. 6 in. long, 3 ft. 6 in. wide and
6 in. thick. It has moulded edges with palmette orna-
mentation, and its upper surface bears, at the head, a
panel formed by a rose surrounded by the motto VIVIT
POST FVNERA VIRTVS ("Virtue lies beyond the grave"),
with thistles in the corners. In the centre of the slab there
is a shield with helm and mantling, a heron for crest and
two herons for supporters. The shield is charged, for
Graham: Three escallops; the motto is NE OUBLIE
("Do not forget"). At the foot is a rasied panel with a
Latin inscription, now imperfectly legible but possible
to reconstruct as follows from Nimmo's record ⁵ :
MENTE MANVQVE / POTENS ET / VALLAE FIDVS /
ACHATES
CONDITVR HIC / GRAMVS BELLO INTERFECTVS /
AB ANGLIS /
XXII IVLII / ANNO 1298
("Potent in mind and hand, and the 'faithful Achates'
of Wallace, Graham is buried here, slain in war by the
English. 22nd July 1298.") The main epitaph begins at
the SW. corner of the slab, crosses the head, and con-
tinues in two lines along the N. side and two along the
S. side, all these four lateral lines being intended to be
read from the S.; it is now largely illegible but was
recorded by Nimmo as follows ⁶ :
Heir lyes Sir John the Grame, baith wight and wise,
Ane of the chiefs who rescewit Scotland thrise.
Ane better knight not to the world was lent,
Nor was gude Grame of truth and hardiment.
On top of the slab there has been mounted a replica
of a broken sword-blade. It is inscribed on one side
CASTING OF THE SWORD USED BY SIR JOHN DE
GRAEME AT THE BATTLE OF FALKIRK 22ND JULY
1298, and on the other CAST AT FALKIRK IRON
WORKS 3RD MAY 1869 FROM THE ORIGINAL IN
THE POSSESSION OF THE AUCHTERARDER NO. 46
ST JOHN'S LOD [GE].
The uppermost of the slabs has its surface 3 ft. 7 in.
above the concrete base. The face of its E. support is
inscribed, in 18th-century characters, RENEWED BY /
WILLIAM GRAHAM / OF AIRTH ESQRE A.D. 1773, and
below this there has been added, in 19th-century char-
acters, AND / AGAIN RENEWED AND / ORNAMENTED /
BY PUBLIC SUBSCRIPTION / 1860. The lateral
uprights are incised with the initials S / JG, for Sir
John Graham, in an 18th-century style which shows
that they too form part of the reconstruction of 1773;
and it is clear from the notching of the two lower slabs
and of the effigy (supra) that the present arrangement of
everything above the concrete must date from this same
period. The middle and lowermost slabs cannot now be
examined in detail, as the clearance between them, and
between the middle and uppermost slabs, is less than
6 in., while the iron cage constitutes a further obstacle.
Enough appears, however, to show that they both
correspond fairly closely with the slab of 1773 - this last
being, in fact, a copy of the middle slab which was in
turn a copy of the lowermost one. ⁷ The differences are
that the middle slab has decorated edges and incised
lettering, and is 2 ft. 11 in. wide by 6 in. thick, while
the lowermost one has plain edges and relief lettering
and is 2 ft. 4 in. wide with an irregular thickness of about
4 1/2 in. Their lengths cannot be measured, but the middle
slab is probably about 6 ft. long and the lowermost one
somewhat shorter. The heraldic carving on the former
is in much higher relief than on the latter.
Some idea of the respective dates of these two slabs
can be formed from records eked out by internal
evidence. The middle slab can safely be attributed to a
period shortly before 1723, as it was noted in that year ⁸
that "Sir John the Grahams gravestone was lately
1 The Scots Peerage, 435 ff.
2 Hunter gives the year as 1690, but the third digit is
actually o accompanied by a groove of accidental origin.
3 History, 176.
4 Chambers, History of the Rebellion of 1745-6, 7th edn., 242.
5 History, 177.
6 Ibid.
7 As stated in Stat. Acct., xix (1797), 100.
8 Geogr. Collections, i, 319 f.
-- 152 |
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No. 140 -- ECCLESIASTICAL MONUMENTS -- No. 140
renewed by his Grace the Duke of Montrose orders; the
antient inscriptions are put upon this new stone". The
tomb as it was a short time before this renewal was
described by a visitor of 1697 ¹; it then consisted of "a
flat stone supported by four small pillars each marked
S.J.G. -- Under this square stone lyes the figure of a
Knight supine in freestone". The inscriptions, which
were even then badly weathered and could only be read
"with much poaring", are quoted and correspond with
the versions given above apart from some differences in
spelling ². Mention is also made of "the coat armorical
with supporters, as his descendent the Marquis of
Montrose carrys them". It thus seems safe to infer that,
at the end of the 17th century, only the present lowermost
slab was in existence, and that this was mounted as a
table-tomb over an effigy - presumably the existing
effigy, notwithstanding the fact that it was described as
representing a knight (infra). For the dating of this slab
the Commissioners are indebted to Professor W. L.
Renwick, M.A., D.Litt., D. ès L., F.B.A., who has given
them his opinion that the language of the English epitaph
belongs to a period extending from about 1560 to the
earliest years of the 17th century, and has also pointed
out its remarkable correspondence, both in sentiment
and also in actual wording, with some passages in Blind
Harry's Wallace, the first printed edition of which
appears in 1570. ³ It is thus most probable, as Professor
Renwick has suggested, that the builder of this memorial
may have been influenced by the patriotic sentiments of
the Wallace on or soon after the appearance of the
edition in 1570. In this connection, too, it is worth noting
that a "modern Scots version" of the work, by William
Hamilton, was published in 1722, ⁴ and would thus have
been in time to have inspired, in a similar way, the Duke
of Montrose's renewal recorded above.
The effigy is so placed as to render any proper
examination impossible, it is also very badly wasted.
It is of light grey freestone, and represents a recumbent
figure dressed in a long robe which leaves the elbows and
forearms bare. The hands were evidently in the normal
attitude of prayer, on the breast, but they are now wasted
to a shapeless lump; and there is no trace of armour
appearing from under the robe at the neck. The features
are virtually obliterated and the feet are missing. The
length is probably about 5 ft. 9 in., the breadth is 1 ft. 9 in.
and the thickness at the position of the hands 11 in. The
absence of armour or sword, and the slenderness of the
forearms, seem strange if this is really the figure of a
knight; and it is impossible to avoid the suspicion that
the effigy may be that of some quite different person,
perhaps even of a woman, taken from the church and
adapted to its present purpose when the table-tomb was
first set up. On the other hand, in view of its generally
late appearance, it may be contemporary with the lower-
most slab and represent the deceased in civil dress.
(ii) Sir John Stewart of Bunkle. The only other
mediaeval monument in the graveyard is the slab
attributed, by an inscription in lettering of the early 19th
century, to Sir John Stewart, another Scottish casualty
of 1298. The stone was "without a name" in 1797, ⁵ and
the literary record ⁶ is too late to be of any particular
value; but the shape of the slab, which is 5 ft. 11 in. long,
tapers from 12 in. at the head to 9 in. at the foot and has
bevelled edges, would be quite in keeping with a 13th-
century date.
(iii) The Rev. Robert Callander. Robert Callander,
minister of Falkirk, who died in 1686, ⁷ is commemorated
by a slab bearing two raised panels. On the one nearer
the head there is a shield, in relief, charged : A bend
between three billets in sinister chief and a boar's head
erased in dexter base. The shield divides the initials
M / RC / AH, for Mr. Robert Callander and his wife
Alison, daughter of William Hog of Bogend; there is no
date, but figures may have split off, or been erased from
right and left of the M. The lower panel probably once
bore the Latin verses recorded, with a translation, by
Monteith, ⁸ but it now shows only the name of a 19th-
century owner of the grave, Richard Callander of
Fankertown. On the wide margins are cherubs and
emblems of mortality.
(iv) This slab is inscribed 1636 / WG BM / JG IC /
AG MC / RENEWED ANNO 1773 BY / JOHN GIB &
JANNET WATT HIS SPOUSE.
(v) This monument is in the form of a table-tomb,
though the supports are evidently much later than the
slab. The latter, which is very much worn, has wide
bevelled edges and a raised panel bearing, on subsidiary
raised panels, the incised inscription 1694 / IK EC.
The initials IK IM appear near the foot.
In addition, the following two monuments deserve
to be recorded although they are of later date than
1707.
(vi) The Murehead monument. This is the large wall-
monument illustrated in Pl 47 A, which embodies an
arched recess containing two effigies, an oval inscribed
panel enclosed by spiral columns and an architrave
decorated in high relief with cherubs and emblems of
mortality, and a moulded segmental pediment topped
by an acorn finial. Both figures are dressed in cloaks or
mantles, and the hands are joined in an attitude of prayer.
The inscription commemorates Patrick Murehead of
"Rashy-hill" and his wife Margaret Buchanan, who died
respectively on 12th March and 9th April 1723, and
records that the monument was set up by their grandson
and heir, George Preston, younger of Valleyfield. The
1 Hist. MSS. Commission, 13th Report, Appendix, pt. ii,
55 f.
2 E.g. "Sir Jhonn the Greme", "rescuit", "Greme",
"Gremius".
3 Schir William Wallace, ed. Moir, S.T.S., bk. x, ll. 466-7,
"I trow in warld was nocht a bettir knycht,
Than was the gud Graym off trewth and hardement";
bk. ii, l. 349.
"And Scotland thris he sall bryng to the pess";
bk. ii. l. 358,
"Bot Wallace thriss this kynrik conquest haile."
4 Ibid, p. xx.
5 Stat. Acct., xix (1797), 100.
6 History, 177 f.
7 Fasti, i, 206.
8 An Theater of Mortality, ii (1713), 235.
-- 153 |
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No. 141 -- ECCLESIASTICAL MONUMENTS -- No. 143
appearance at this very late date of a tomb of an essentially
Gothic type is very remarkable. ¹
(vii) The Monro monument. This dates from after 1746
and was "renewed" in 1848. It commemorates Sir
Robert Monro of Foulis and his brother Dr. Duncan
Monro, who were killed in the former year at the second
battle of Falkirk. The "circumstances of their death are
recorded by suitable inscriptions", ² and these are given
in full by Nimmo. ³
887800 -- NS 88 SE ("Chs.")
Various dates from 1955 to 1959
141. "Tattie Kirk", Cow Wynd, Falkirk. This church
was built for an Anti-Burgher congregation in 1806 ⁴; it
is now used as a repository and workshop, and the origin
of its present name is now unknown. It is a plain
hexagonal structure measuring 46 ft. across internally,
and the masonry is of rubble with dressed quoins and
margins. The slated roof rises to an urn-finial. There
are two ranges of windows of which the upper lights a
gallery. On the N. side of the building entrance-door-
ways give access both to the ground floor and to the
gallery, the latter being approached by an external stone
stair. On the SE. side of the church, a doorway, which is
now blocked, may originally have given access to the
pulpit. The interior is now much altered, but in the
original arrangement the pulpit probably stood against
the S. wall, while a gallery, supported on moulded
wooden columns, ran round the rest of the building.
889797 -- NS 87 NE -- 20 July 1956
142. Old Church, Polmont. The roofless shell of the
old parish church of Polmont, now included in the civil
parish of Grangemouth, stands in the graveyard and
immediately N. of its successor. It was built in 1732, ⁵
the parish having been disjoined from Falkirk in 1724.
It consists of a main block measuring 75 ft. 9 in. from W.
to E. by 30 ft. 6 in. transversely over walls 3 ft. thick,
with an aisle 29 ft. 9 in. wide projecting 18 ft. 9 in. from
the middle of the N. side and open to the interior. The
masonry is of large rubble with dressed quoins and
margins to voids, backset on the S. side only; the walls
finish in a cavetto eaves-course and the gables have plain
tabling. The apex of the aisle gable has carried a bell-
cote, now vanished. The S. side shows a square-headed
central door, now built up, 6 ft. high by 3 ft. 6 in. wide,
and over it a sundial dated 177 [?6]. On either side of
the door there is a large, high round-headed window,
subdivided by plain tracery into two pointed lights; the
lower parts of both these windows have also been built
up. Each of the three gables has a square-headed central
door measuring 6 ft. 6 in. by 4 ft. 6 in., with the raggle
of a porch above and, on the upper level, a high round-
headed window with crooks for outside shuttering. The
E. and W. gables also have square windows, measuring
4 ft. each way, on either side of the doors; but in the
aisle the corresponding windows are placed in the side
walls, with narrower ones at the upper level and slightly
further to the S. In the N. wall of the main block there
are also two similar windows at the upper level, near the
junction of the aisle. The internal arrangement has
evidently been that of a "preaching kirk", with pews and
galleries facing inwards from W., N. and E. to a pulpit
which must have been placed over the rather low S.
door.
A chapel of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Polmont is
mentioned in 1498, ⁶ but no tradition exists to connect it
with this or any other site.
No tombstones of earlier date than 1707 were found in the graveyard.
936793 -- NS 97 NW -- 9 December 1952
143. Parish Church, Muiravonside. This church,
which was built in 1806 ⁷ to replace one which had been
described as "old" in 1791, ⁸ is of some interest as an
example of contemporary taste. Its main characteristics
are adequately shown in Pl. 40 B - e.g. the plain, barn-
like lines; the tall pointed windows, subdivided by
wooden mullions and transoms and glazed with
diamond panes; the backset window-margins and harled
or rendered walls, the rendering on the E. and W. ends
being scored to resemble ashlar; the large corbelled-out
bell-cote with rectangular uprights and ball-finials. The
internal arrangements are those of the "preaching kirk",
as the pulpit - evidently a Victorian or later replacement
- is set in the centre of the S. side and the pews and
galleries face inwards towards it from N., E. and W. The
gallery stairs, which are of stone, rise from lobbies inside
the doors in the E. and W. gables, and cut across the
upper parts of the E. and W. windows in the N. side,
which are three in number and not four as on the S. side.
BELLS. The bell, which belonged to the earlier church,
is not readily accessible and was not re-examined. A
recently published description ⁹ states, however, that it
is about 18 in. in diameter, exactly resembles the old bell
at Gargunnock (cf. No. 344), and is inscribed FOR THE
KIRK OF MUIRAVONSIDE IOHN MEIKLE ME FECIT /
EDINBURGI 1699. In the manse there is also preserved
a hand-bell, with an iron grip-handle, measuring 5 in.
in height and 6 in. in diameter at the lip; it is cracked
and perforated, but bears the inscription IOHN MEIKL
(sic) FECIT EDR 1690.
1 Cf. the Jackson memorial, of 1606, in Greyfriars Church-
yard, Edinburgh (Inventory of Edinburgh, p. 62).
2 Stat. Acct., xix (1797), 103.
3 History, 421 f. (Latin); ed. 1880, i, 237 f. (translation).
4 Local Antiquarian Notes and Queries, iv, pt. 2, 14-15,
reprinted from Falkirk Herald.
5 Stat. Acct., iii (1792), 346. N.S.A., viii (Stirlingshire), 198
gives the date as 1731.
6 R.M.S., ii (1424-1513), No. 2441, p. 519.
7 Post-Reformation Churches, 275.
8 Stat. Acct., i (1791), 201.
9 P.S.A.S., lxxxiv (1949-50), 83.
-- 154 |
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No. 144 -- ECCLESIASTICAL MONUMENTS -- No. 145
TOMBSTONE. Only one tombstone bears a legible
inscription of earlier date than 1707. This is a headstone,
on the front of which can be read WL MH with WL IC
in monogram at the top: on the back is a sunk panel,
inscribed WL IC / 1705 above an assemblage of mason's
insignia and flanked by the initials WL, MH, AR, ML.
955769 -- NS 97 NE ("Ch.") -- 11 March 1953
144. Manuel Nunnery. The Nunnery stood on the
left bank of the Avon 100 yds. downstream from the
inflow of the Manuel Burn, and the more easterly part
of the site has now been entirely washed away by the
river, as were the S. side-wall and the cemetery in
1783. ¹ All that remains of the Nunnery buildings today
is the N. portion of the W. gable of the church, ² but a
drawing of about 1739 ³ (Pl. 36 C) shows the church as
still entire, although roofless. It appears to have been
a small rectangular block with no structural division
between nave and chancel; the E. wall was pierced by
three large windows with pointed heads. The cloister
seems to have been on the S. entry being obtained by a
doorway centrally placed in the S. wall of the church.
The surviving fragment (Pl. 36 A) is built of large
squared blocks of grey freestone, laid in courses. Its
lower part contains the N. side of the central entrance,
now filled up by a patch; on the inner face of the wall
the three lowest voussoirs of the arch can still be seen,
and on the outer side the base of a small column, the
moulding of which suggests a date in the 12th century.
On the N. this gable wall, which is 4 ft. 1 in. thick,
finished in a buttress which projects 1 ft. 3 in. from the
line of the demolished N. side-wall of the building,
which was only 3 ft. thick. The original breadth of this
gable, over both buttresses, was probably about 22 ft.
to 23 ft. At an upper level the gable was pierced by three
lancet-windows (Pl. 36 B) ⁴ , the northernmost of which is
entire and shows widely chamfered margins; its head is
cut out of a single block and is outlined by a fine groove,
and within it is widely splayed. The N. jamb of the
central lancet can also be seen, with its internal splay on
the line of the vertical S. edge of the surviving structure.
Below the sills of the windows there runs a splayed
intake-course, and just below this there project two
corbels, notched on their upper surfaces to carry the
supporting beam of the roof of a former W. Galilee, all
other trace of which has now disappeared. In the centre
of the gable-head there has been a round window, part
of the N. margin of which is still preserved; below this
there is another string-course, which turns sharply
downwards after passing N. of the head of the lancet
below, and then resumes the horizontal. The inner side
of the gable can be seen in an 18th-century illustration,
now in the Bodleian Library, which is reproduced in
Pl. 36 D. ⁵
Manuel, a house of Cistercian nuns, was founded by
Malcolm IV before 1164, the endowment being con-
firmed by William the Lion a few years later. Little is
known of the history of the Nunnery or of the extent
of its possessions (cf. p. 9), but the house was not
wealthy and the community may always have been a
small one. It is known that Edward III recompensed the
convent for damage caused by his army on its march
towards Perth in the summer of 1335. ⁶ In 1506 a
petition of James IV for the suppression of the house,
on the ground that the nuns were scarcely five in number
and led a life alien to the Cistercian rule, was granted,
but it was evidently not put into effect as a prioress and
four nuns were still in residence in 1552. ⁷
971763 -- NS 97 NE (unnoted) -- 6 March 1953
145. Parish Church, Slamannan. The parish church
(Pl. 38 A), stands on the N. outskirts of the town of
Slamannan, on the slope of some rising ground which
separates the River Avon from its tributary the Culloch
Burn, the motte (No. 179) being about 50 yds. distant
on the top of the rise. It was built in 1810, presumably
on the site of an earlier church, ⁸ though the Ordnance
Survey Name Book ⁹ states that a mound similar to the
motte was levelled to form its site. It is oblong on plan,
measuring 52 ft. 8 in. from E. to W. by 42 ft. 8 in.
transversely over walls 2 ft. 6 in. to 2 ft. 9 in. thick. The
walls are of random rubble with dressed and back-set
margins at quoins and voids, the gables being finished
with tabling. In the N. wall there are two windows below
and two above the level of the gallery, which runs round
three sides of the interior; in the S. wall there are two
rows of four windows, at corresponding heights, the
two middle ones in the lower row being higher and
wider than the rest. Between the two central windows,
there has been reset a damaged dormer-pediment in-
+scribed, in relief, 16 [??] I AM TH [E] LIGH [T] O [F] /
TH [E] W [O] RLD. Below is an incised fragment reading
KEIP MY SABBATH AND [REVE] / RENCE MY SANC-
TUARY LEVIT [XIX 30], and above is an undated
tabular sundial. In each gable there is a door with a
window above it, and on the apex of the W. gable a bell-
cote. The gallery is reached by two internal stairs, one
in each of the N. corners of the building. The pulpit
is in the middle of the S. side; it seems to be of recent
construction though set against a background of older
wood-panelling which forms an arched bay with plain
pilasters, entablature and pediment. In the centre of the
1 Grose, F., The Antiquities of Scotland, ii (1797), 236 (mis-
paged 263).
2 Actually the orientation must have been nearly NE. and
SW.
3 Cardonnel, A., Picturesque Antiquities of Scotland (1788
ed.), 74 f.
4 This drawing was made by Cardonnel in 1789.
5 Bodleian Library, Gough Maps, 40 (17537), fol. 5v.
6 Wardrobe book, Brit. Mus. MS. Cotton, Nero C. viii, fo.
274; Cal. of Docts., iii, No. 1186.
7 This account follows that of Easson, Religious Houses, 123.
8 N.S.A., viii (Stirlingshire), 279 says "rebuilt", but it is
clear that the existing structure is a new one. Cf. Stat. Acct.,
xiv (1795), 87.
9 Slamannan parish, p. 11.
-- 155 |
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No. 146 -- ECCLESIASTICAL MONUMENTS -- No. 146
ceiling, which is of plaster, there is an ornamental panel
(Pl, 38 B).
The older church was dedicated to St. Lawrence. ¹
TOMBSTONE. The only tombstone in the churchyard
on which any inscription earlier than 1707 can be read
is a recumbent slab, largely earthed over, but showing
the date 1692.
856734 -- NS 87 SE -- 20 March 1953
146. Larbert Parish Church and Graveyard. Before
the Reformation, Larbert, like Dunipace, was served
by a chapel which belonged to the Abbot of Cambus-
kenneth. ² No trace of this chapel survives and its position
is unknown. The parish church that preceded the existing
structure has likewise been completely demolished, but
the memorial of its builder, the Reverend Robert Bruce
of Kinnaird (infra), shows that it dated from the first
quarter of the 17th century and stood in what is now
the NE. part of the graveyard. The existing church
stands just E. of the graveyard on the high left bank of
the River Carron (Pl. 31 C). The architect was David
Hamilton. ³ A panel in its entrance lobby records that
it was built in 1820 and was "renovated" in 1887 and
again in 1911, at which latter date the chancel was added.
In view of these alterations and additions, the description
that follows is confined to the principal features, which
are presumably original work of the early 19th century.
Excluding the chancel, the church, which is of dark-
grey ashlar, measures externally 82 ft. 6 in. in length
by 51 ft. 6 in. in breadth. From the W. end a tower
projects 17 ft. and is 20 ft. 6 in. broad. Each side is
divided by intaken buttresses into five bays, and further
buttresses rise at the corners of the main building and of
the tower. All these bear finials, crocketed at the W. end
of the main building and on the tower, and another
crocketed finial stands on the apex of the E. gable. Each
bay except the westernmost on either side contains a tall
window with a returned hood-mould, splayed jambs,
plain Gothic tracery and a transom; the westernmost
bay has a pair of small lancets, one above the other,
lighting respectively a ground-floor lobby and landings
giving access to the gallery (infra). At the wall-head
there is a moulded eaves-course and a plain parapet.
The E. end has been altered by the addition of the
chancel. In the W. end there are two pointed doorways,
one on each side of the tower, opening into the entrance-
lobby which gives access to the body of the church by
two inner doors; and above them are lancets lighting the
gallery landings. The tower is divided into four stages.
At ground level it contains a renovated W. door opening
into a vaulted vestibule from which stairs rise to right
and left of the gallery landings. A smaller stair leads up
the tower from the left-hand gallery-stair. The second
stage shows three windows with plain Gothic tracery,
which light the stairs; the third shows three lancets, and
the uppermost, which contains the bell-chamber, large
louvred openings with tracery. The parapet is embattled,
and the finials are four in number.
HANDBELL. A handbell ⁴ inscribed LERBEIRT 1669
AB is preserved in the Session-house.
THE GRAVEYARD. Immediately inside the E. entrance
to the graveyard there is a small burial-enclosure showing
signs of alteration at more than one period. The central
part of the E. wall is evidently older than the rest, and
shows on its outer side a walled-up entrance 5 ft. 6 in.
wide with rounded arrises, a massive lintel and a
relieving arch above. The lintel bears, in relief, two
groups of initials, S / RE and D / EC, and the date 1663.
evidently for Sir Robert Elphinstone, second of Quarrel,
and his wife Dame Euphame Carstairs, daughter of
Sir John Carstairs of Kilconquhar, whom he married
about 1643. ⁵ As Sir Robert died in 1683 the date on the
lintel must refer to some other event, probably the
building or rebuilding of his house.
Reset in the N. wall of the burial-enclosure there are
three slabs, once presumably recumbent. (i) The western-
most has been broken into six pieces and reassembled. It
bears an inscription in good incised letter and a shield
charged, for Elphinstone: A chevron between three
boars' heads erased. The dedication reads IN MICHAEL
ELPHI / NGSTOWNE DVCEM / KILSYTHEVS (sic)
CAES / VM 15 AVGVST 1645 ("In memory of Michael
Elphinstone, a commander at the Battle of Kilsyth, who
was slain on 15th August 1645"), and below the shield
appear two elegaic couplets:
CAVSA DOMVS CL / ARO PRAECLARA IN / SIGNIA
FEC [I] T
NOBILIOR FATIS P [OS] T [?H] / VMA FAMA T [VA]
LEGIS AMOR [P] ATRI / AEQVE DECVS PAT / RIS
INCLYTA VIRTVS /
ORNABVNT NOMEN PERPETE LAVDAE / TVVM
("The cause of your illustrious house ⁶ has added fame
to your escutcheon; your fame after death is nobler than
your fate. Love of the law, your country's honour and
your father's renowned virtue will adorn your name
with unending praise.") This Michael Elphinstone was
probably the second son of Michael Elphinstone of
Quarrel, who is commemorated on the stone next
described (infra). ⁷ It appears from this inscription that
he held some command, and was killed, at the Battle of
Kilsyth. (ii) The central slab (Pl. 44 C) bears at the top
the date 1680 and below it two shields with initials
above and mottoes below them. The dexter shield is
charged, for Elphinstone: A chevron with a crescent
for difference between three boars' heads erased; the
initials are those of Michael Elphinstone (infra) and
the motto is CAUSE CAUSED. The sinister shield is
1 Ordnance Survey Name Book, Slamannan parish, 12.
2 Stat. Acct., iii (1792), 333.
3 N.S.A., viii (Stirlingshire), 357.
4 P.S.A.S., lxxxiv (1949-50), 82.
5 Gibson, Lands and Lairds of Larbert and Dunipace Parishes,
49 f.
6 Reading CLARAE for the corrupt CLARO.
7 Stirlingshire Sasines, iv, fol. 46.
-- 156 |
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No. 146 -- ECCLESIASTICAL MONUMENTS -- No. 146
charged, for Bruce: A saltire, on a chief a mullet; the
initials, MB, refer to Mary, daughter of Robert
Bruce of Kinnaird, whom Michael Elphinstone
married in 1618, and the motto is DOE WEEL AND /
DOUBT NOT. The inscription reads MICHALE
ELPHINSTOUNE / YOUNGEST SON TO ALEXAN / DER
LORD ELPHINSTOUNE / WHO DIED IN DURAME
AND / WAS BURIED THAIR UPON / THE I OF
NOUEMBER 1640 / WHICH UAS THE FIRST OF /
THIS FAMILIE WHOS MOTHER / VAS DAM IANNE
LIUINGSTONE / LEADY ELPHINSTOUNE DAUG / HTER
TO THE EARLE OF / LINLITHGOW. / INTERRED
HIEER (sic) HIS YOU NGEST SONNE IOHN 4 OF /
SEPTEMBER 1680 WHO / GIFTED TO THIS KIRK
TVO COMMVNION CUPS. (iii) The easternmost
slab, which is badly wasted, bears four shields in
relief with incised initials, and later incised inscrip-
tions which are probably contemporary with the stone
of 1680, last described. The first shield divides the
initials S / RE and is charged: A chevron with
crescent for difference between three boars' heads
erased; the second divides the initials D / EC and is
charged: A chevron between three floral slips. These
are evidently the arms of the same pair as is com-
memorated on the stone set outside the enclosure (supra).
The third shield duplicates the first, and also that of
Michael Elphinstone as shown on the adjoining stone;
as the initials ME appear above it and as the fourth
shield, though practically illegible, seems to show traces
of a saltire and chief, it seems certain that these shields
commemorate Michael Elphinstone and his wife, the
parents of Sir Robert. Of the later inscriptions, the one
in the top dexter corner of the stone reads ME DIED
INTO / THE I OF NOUEMBER 1640 S / RE, and its
counterpart in the sinister corner reads MB DIED
INTO / (T) HE 23 OF -- / D / EC. The Elphinstone
motto [CA] USE C [AUSIT] appears under the first shield,
and though it is cut in letters of the same size as the
latter inscriptions it may be original.
Other stone monuments were noted as follows. (iv)
A slab bearing, within an inscribed ribbon, a shield
dividing the letters M R B and charged: A saltire, in
dexter chief a mullet. The date 1631 appears above the
M. The inscription on the ribbon reads CHRISTVS IN
VITA ET IN MORTE LVCRVM ("Christ is gain both in
life and death"). A modern headstone records that
the Reverend Robert Bruce of Kinnaird (1554-1631),
second son of Sir Alexander Bruce of Airth, is buried
here "at the foot of the pulpit of the first church in
Larbert, which he built, and from which he sought to
make known the truth as it is in Christ". (v) A slab set
in the N. wall of the graveyard near the NE. corner,
bearing the following verses:
HERE LYES THE INTRRED (sic) WITHIN HIS URNE
THE CORPS OF HONEST GOOD IOHN BURNE
WHO WAS THE EIGHT IOHN OF THAT NAME
THAT LIVD WITH LOVE AND DIED WT FAME
IN CHANGING TYMES SADDEST DISASTER
TREW TO HIS KING LORD AND MASTER
KYND TO HIS KENERED (sic) NEIGHBUR FREND
WHOS GOOD LYFE HADE ANE HAPPIE END
HIS SOUL TO GOD HE DID BEQUEATH
HIS DUST TO LYE THIS STONE BENEATH
These are followed by ANNO 1635 REPAIRED 1764,
and the style of the lettering suggests that the whole
inscription may have been recut at the latter date; if so,
the date 1635 may be a mistake for an original 1665,
which would accord better with the third couplet of
the epitaph. In this case the person commemorated
would have been John Burne, 2nd of Larbert, who died
in 1665, rather than his father, who did in 1635. ¹ A
stone set just below the slab is inscribed RESTORED
1912. (vi) A headstone which is noteworthy on account
of the relief carving on its W. face of a ship in full sail
(Pl. 48 A), and cf. Pl. 48 B, D). It commemorates
James Muir, son of Robert Muir, indweller in Quarole,
"WHO LOST HIS LIFE (WITH ANOTHER OF THE /
HANDS) AT HISPANIOLA IN MOUNTA-CHRISTA /
RIVER (GOING OVER THE BARR FOR FRESH WA / TER)
OUT OF THE LONG BOAT BELONGING TO / THE
PRINCE FERDINAND ANDREW ANDERSON CAPTAIN,
& WERE TAKEN UP & INTERR'D BY HIM ON THE 9
OF MAY MDCCLXI. / THE DECEAST JAMES MUIR
WAS BORN / THE 25TH OF JUNE MDCCXLII IN THE /
OLD TOWN OF STENHOUSE IN THIS PARISH".
(vii) A slab inscribed 1677 / IT IC / GH ET / HM ID /
WM MW / WM AK. The last three pairs of initials
are progressively later in their styles than the others.
(viii) A slab lying beside the last and duplicating it except
that the date is 1683, not 1677. (ix) A slab bearing at
its head a skull and cross-bones with MEMENTO MORI
curving above them. The earlier parts of the inscription
read 1680 / IR AM / TR IK / HR IR EB / 1789, and
these are followed by records of the 19th century.
(x) A small headstone at the foot of the last bearing a
crudely executed skull which divides the date 1638.
(xi) A slab inscribed 1680 / IC IS / IH IC / WH JJ.
In addition to the stone memorials there are several
constructed of iron, including three obelisks; these
date from the late 18th or early 19th century, and are
interesting as exemplifying the experimental use of a
new material. The best of them commemorates the
explorer James Bruce of Kinnaird, and his wife Mary
Dundas, who died respectively in 1794 and 1785, while
other family epitaphs have been incised at later dates.
The base of the monument (Pl. 51 D) is a rectangular
block; above this the obelisk rises from four lions, and
it finishes in an elaborate Classical lamp. On each face
of the obelisk there is a medallion containing a female
figure in relief; those on N. and S. are identified as
"Hope" by the Greek word ΕΑỻIΣ . The monument
has evidently been painted to resemble stone; in 1792 it
was recorded that this "elegant monument of cast metal
-- is much admired by strangers". ² Another iron
monument, constructed by the Shotts Iron Company,
comprises a hollow base of Classical design, 8 ft. 4 in.
1 Gibson, op. cit., 5.
2 Stat. Acct., iii (1792), 338.
-- 157 |
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No. 147 -- ECCLESIASTICAL MONUMENTS -- No. 149
square, which could be entered by a door in its E. side
and served as a burial-vault. This base, which is
ornamented with urns and antefixes, supports a some-
what squat obelisk founded on four low arches. The total
height of the monument is about 25 ft., and it has been
painted. An inscription on the S. face commemorates
Captain John Paterson, of the East India Company's
service, the last survivor of the family of John Paterson
of Carron, and his brothers and sisters. In the frieze
above the inscription are the words ERECTED /
MDCCCXXVII, and above the cornice the words
KOIMHΣATO XALKEON YỻNON "He slept the brazen
sleep", i.e. the sleep of death). This quotation, ¹ though
it relates to the death of a hero in hand-to-hand con-
flict, may possibly have been regarded as appropriate
here because the tomb was made of metal. A third iron
obelisk-monument, which finishes in an urn, com-
memorates George Smith, who died in 1833; the lower
part incorporates four granite panels, one of which
bears the inscription.
856822 -- NS 88 SE ("Ch.") -- 6 October 1954
147. Church Site and Graveyard, Dunipace. The
old graveyard of Dunipace, with the site of the former
parish church, lies within an enclosing drystone wall
just E. and N. respectively of the two "Hills of Dunipace"
(No. 575). No trace of the church survives, but it was
"a very plain building, with galleries in front and
ends, affording accommodation for 350 sitters -- From
several appearances of arches in its walls, it probably
had originally several aisles attached to it." ² It was
demolished in 1835. ³ In the graveyard two small 17th-
century headstones were noted, and also two un-
inscribed stones which may well be contemporary with
them as they are of similar size and shape. One of the
[Handwritten in margin] Mrs Mitchell
reports 20 stones
a late 17thc date
inscribed stones bears the incised date and initials
1650 / IC MR, and the other the initials CG in relief
on a sunk panel with 1652 incised below. There are
many recumbent slabs, now all illegible or turfed over,
and some of these may well date from before 1707. In
addition to the tombstones, there also stands in the
centre of the graveyard what seems to be the pedestal of
a cross, the remainder of which has vanished. It is
quadrangular on plan, is 1 ft. 6 in. high, and shows a
slight batter; the top is 1 ft. 6 in. square and contains a
socket 1 ft. 1/2 in. long by 10 in. wide and 7 in. deep.
By the entrance to the graveyard there is a watch-
house, but it is featureless.
837817 -- NS 88 SW ("Church, site of")
24 June 1954
148. Parish Church, Dunipace. This church stands
about a mile E. of Dunipace, on the road to Larbert
and opposite Denovan House. It superseded the older
church (cf. No. 147) in 1834 and exemplifies the same
architectural fashions as are to be seen at Kilsyth (No.
154). Lennoxtown (No. 156) and elsewhere. It is an
oblong building measuring externally 57 ft. 6 in. by
39 ft. exclusive of the buttresses at the corners; at the W.
end a tower 16 ft. 6 in. wide projects a further 15 ft. 6 in.,
and a low outshot at the E. end contains a vestry. The
masonry is ashlar, and the yellowish freestone has now
weathered to a dark greenish grey. Each side shows three
large pointed windows with Gothic tracery and hood-
moulds, and buttresses between them; in the E. gable
there are two smaller windows, with a decorated circular
light above; and at the W. end a single pointed light on
each side of the tower. The wall-heads finish in broad
moulded bands, which return on the gables, and at the
corners diagonal buttresses bear high, ornate finials.
The tower is divided by string-courses into three stages.
the lowermost containing the entrance on the N. side
and corresponding blind doorways on the W. and S.
All these have Tudor arches. The stage above shows a
traceried single-light window on each free side, and the
third stage, which contains the bell-chamber, three
louvred lights a side. Round the top of the tower runs
ornate, pierced crenellation, and the buttresses, like
those on the body of the church, bear high finials. The
seating in the interior is arranged to face a pulpit at the
E. end; a gallery, reached by a stone stair in the lowest
stage of the tower, runs across the W. end, and there is a
flat plaster ceiling. The bell-chamber is approached by
a small newel-stair rising from gallery level in the SE.
corner of the tower.
820832 -- NS 88 SW -- 24 June 1954
149. Parish Church, Denny. The parish of Denny was
disjoined from Falkirk in 1601, ⁴ but nothing of the
structure of a church of that period survives apart from
a sundial now at Hallhouse (No. 359). The present
church was built in 1813,⁵ but it has been so much
altered that it is no longer typical of its period in all
respects. In particular, it was "cleaned and beautified
internally, in 1838", ⁶ the tower was added during the
19th century, and in 1928 a chancel was added at the
W. end, and the seating was arranged to face westwards. ⁷
Originally the pulpit was on the S. side and the seating
conformed; there were galleries on E., N. and W.
As it stands, the church is an uninteresting Gothic
building externally similar to other contemporary
churches in the county; it is built of squared rubble with
backset margins and quoins, and measures 58 ft. by
45 ft. 6 in. over walls 2 ft. 6 in. thick. The walls rise from
a low plinth to a moulded eaves-course continued as a
flat string across the ends, though interrupted on the E.
end by the tower; the gables finish in plain tabling and
1 Homer, Il., xi, 241.
2 N.S.A., viii (Stirlingshire), 389.
3 Ordnance Survey Name Book, Dunipace parish, 49.
4 Fasti, iv, 303.
5 N.S.A., viii (Stirlingshire), 122.
6 Ibid., 132.
7 Information from the Rev. R. G. Lawrie.
-- 158 |
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No. 150 -- ECCLESIASTICAL MONUMENTS -- No. 152
the roof is slated. Each side-wall contains four high,
pointed windows and the E. end two, one on either side
of the tower. The tower is divided into three stages, the
upper two successively set back; the lower scarcement
is marked by a string-course and the upper one by a
moulded cornice. The central stage shows three clock-
dials, and in the bell-chamber above there are twin
louvred lights in each face. The tower finishes in a
crenellated parapet with finials at the corners, and above
rises a short slated spire with a leaden top and a weather-
vane. The main entrance is at the E. end, through the
base of the tower.
BELL. An early bell, 15 7/8 in. in diameter and inscribed
1631 IM, is preserved on the stair to the gallery. ¹
One of the canons has been broken off.
TOMBSTONES. Only two tombstones which might date
from before 1707 were seen in the graveyard, though
no inscription could be read on either. There were slabs
bearing shields, from one of which the charges had been
defaced while the other showed, in relief, the crowned
hammer of the Hammermen and a horse-shoe.
811827 -- NS 88 SW ("Church") -- 6 May 1954
150. Broompark Church, Denny. This church,
originally a Burgher chapel, an offshoot of the con-
gregation at Dennyloanhead (cf. No. 151), was built in
1797 ² and was reconstructed in 1881. Either in this or in
some later reconstruction it was evidently modified in
important respects, and it is consequently difficult to
picture it in its original condition. It can be said, how-
ever, that the body of the church, without the vestibule
30 ft. wide that projects 10 ft. 10 in. from its N. end, is
square on plan, measuring 46 ft. a side, and that it is
built of squared rubble with dressed margins and quoins.
The gables, which are to N. and S., finish in plain
tabling, and small decorative finials are set at the four
corners. A vestibule of some sort probably formed part
of the original design, giving access to the interior, as
at present, from the N. end; and it is also to be assumed
that the gallery, which occupies both sides and the N.
end, is an original feature. If the round-headed niche in
the centre of the S. wall, now occupied by organ-pipes,
is original, it no doubt contained the pulpit.
810828 -- NS 88 SW ("U.F.Ch.") -- 3 May 1954
151. Church, Dennyloanhead. This church stands in
the angle between the two highways leading respectively
to Stirling and Falkirk, that fork in Dennyloanhead. It
was originally built for a congregation which had seceded
from the parish church of Denny, in consequence of a
dispute about the successor to be appointed there to the
Rev. T. Watson, who died in 1733. ³ A panel, set high
up in the middle of the S. wall, is inscribed 1743 /
REBUILT / 1815, the earlier date no doubt recording
the first construction of the church. ⁴ As a result of the
rebuilding of 1815, and of a complete renovation carried
out in 1932, the original character of the building has
been largely altered, and harling further disguises con-
structional details; but the removal of some plaster shows
that the masonry was large rubble, and an internal
scarcement further suggests that the walls were originally
a good deal lower than at present. The dimensions of the
body of the church, as distinct, that is, from the chancel
at the E. end and the stair, vestry, offices, etc., at the W.
end, have presumably not been changed; the original
length may thus be taken as 60 ft. 6 in. and the breadth
as 45 ft. 6 in. over walls 2 ft. 4 in. thick. The main
features of the existing structure no doubt date from the
rebuilding of 1815, namely the tall windows on the W.
and S. sides, the moulded eaves-course returned on the
gables, the plain tabling, and the bell-cote and finial
that surmount the W. and E. gables respectively. The
seats now face an eastern pulpit, and there is a gallery
at the W. end only; but it is understood ⁵ that, before
the renovation of 1932, the pulpit was on the S. side and
there were galleries on all the other three walls.
810801 -- NS 88 SW ("Ch.") -- 27 August 1954
152. Church, Buckieburn. This church, which stands
just W. of the Stirling-Kilsyth road (No. 511) 350 yds. S.
of the Buckie Burn, was built by "the heritors of the
muirland part of the parish" ⁶ (St. Ninians) in 1750. ⁷ It is
a completely plain and barn-like structure, measuring
50 ft. from E. to W. by 28 ft. transversely, the longer
dimension being exclusive of a small outshot at the E.
end which contains a session-room and vestry and the
lobby by which the church is entered. The walls are
harled, and the gables finish in plain tabling with
moulded skewputs. The roof is slated. There are four
windows in the S. side and two in the N. side, all being
square-headed and still retaining their outside wooden
shutters. The entrance, as has been said, is at the E. end,
and the pulpit is on a raised platform at the W. end; it
is reached by a double set of steps, and is backed by
panelling with a pedimented top. There is no Com-
munion table. The church was reseated in 1830, ⁸ the
existing seats being of pine; there is a stove for heating
in the middle of the N. side.
The church contains a very unusual feature, namely a
pair of mural paintings by Mr. William Crosbie, R.S.A.
The one at the W. end shows Adam and Eve in a walled
1 For further notes and an illustration, see P.S.A.S., lxxxiv
(1949-50). 73 and pl. VI, 2.
2 N.S.A., viii (Stirlingshire), 133.
3 Ibid.
4 This need not conflict with the minister's statement, made
in 1838, that "the erection took place" in 1738 (ibid.), as this
may well have referred to the founding of the congregation.
5 Information from the Rev. R. G. Lawrie, Denny.
6 Stat. Acct., xviii (1796), 403.
7 Ordnance Survey Name Book, St. Ninians parish, p. 178.
8 Ibid.
-- 159 |
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No. 153 -- ECCLESIASTICAL MONUMENTS -- No. 156
garden with angels above; the one at the E. end is an
allegorical composition with a central figure of Christ.
751851 -- NS 78 NE -- 25 June 1954
153. Graveyard, Kirk o' Muir. This small graveyard
adjoins the abandoned farm buildings of Kirk o'Muir,
half a mile SE. of Cairnoch on the road from Carron
Bridge to Fintry. On only two stones, both recumbent
slabs, could inscriptions of before 1707 be read; one of
these bore the date 1695 with the initials AA and IA,
and the other 1705 with the initials IL and ID. "K. of
Moore" is shown on Pont's map of the early 17th
century, ¹ but Edgar's map, surveyed in 1745 though not
published until 1777, marks it as "Ruins".
A chapel dedicated to St. Mary appears to have been
founded here in the middle of the 15th century, and to
have stood for about two hundred years; thereafter the
district had no church for about a century, until the
erection of Buckieburn Church (No. 152) in 1750. ²
700840 -- NS 78 SW ("Kirk o' Muir, site of")
25 April 1953
154. Parish Church, Kilsyth. The parish church,
which was built in 1815, ³ may be compared with the
High Church of Campsie (No. 156) and Larbert parish
church (No. 146) as an example of contemporary taste.
It is a conventional Gothic building, with a crenellated
W. tower (Pl. 39 A) and conspicuous finials on its
buttresses and E. gable.
716777 -- NS 77 NW ("Ch.") -- 17 September 1953
155. Graveyard and Church Site, Kilsyth. The old
graveyard occupies the NE. portion of the modern
cemetery, which lies on the outskirts of the town beside
the road leading to Auchinstarry Bridge. No trace
remains of the old parish church, which stood in the N.
corner of the graveyard, but the 19th-century structure
covering the Kilsyth family vault marks its former
position. ⁴
Only eleven stones were identified as dating from
before 1707, and many of these bear later inscriptions,
not noted here, as well as their original dedications. It
is clear that a great many older stones have been
appropriated and recut at later periods; this probably
helps to account for the dearth of stones earlier than
about 1720, after which date memorials become much
more common. The early stones are as follows. (i) A slab
bearing a shield charged, probably for Somerville: Two
mullets and a cross-crosslet fitchée between three cross-
crosslets fitchée in chief and another three in base.
Above the shield appear the initials AS and below it the
date 1611. (ii) A slab bearing the date 1617 in relief
on a small sunk panel, accompanied by an axe and an
object resembling a dumb-bell. (iii) A slab inscribed
[?R] L IT MI / 1689 / AL AR / RL LN, with the
Cordiners' knife. (iv) A slab inscribed II ML / 1677.
(v) A slab inscribed RG MB / 1700. (vi) A slab bearing
the date 1635, but with the initials of its original
inscription illegible. (vii) A slab dated 1635. (viii) A slab
inscribed JF EF / 1644 / RF JM. These letters and
figures may, however, have been cut only in 1765, the
date accompanying some later initials. (ix) A slab bearing
what seem to have been several lines of initials, now
illegible, ending with IG; these are followed by 1663 /
WS MK (in ligature) / 1695 / -- MB. (x) A slab
inscribed 1633 / AC IM, with later initials and date.
Unless this represents a 17th-century inscription recut
in 1851, the whole work probably dates only from that
time - a 17th-century style having in that case been
adopted for the earliest portion. (xi) A slab inscribed
C [?] G [?I] / [1] 699. (xii) Just later than the terminal
date is a heraldic slab, the upper two-thirds of which
are occupied by a shield charged: Quarterly, 1st and 4th,
three fancy inescutcheons; 2nd and 3rd, two bars ⁵;
over all, an escutcheon charged: Three escutcheons.
These are evidently the arms of a cadet of the Hays of
Yester. Below the shield is an inscription commemorat-
ing the Rev. James Hay, minister of Kilsyth, who died
on 11th July 1710, the year being illegible on the stone.
717772 -- NS 77 NW ("Cemetery") -- 14 October 1953
156. The High Church of Campsie. The present
parish church of Campsie replaced the old building at
the Clachan (No. 157) in 1828, during the incumbency
of Dr. Norman MacLeod. ⁶ Plans for a new church were
prepared by John Baird (1798-1859), the Glasgow
architect, and are preserved in H.M. General Register
House, Edinburgh ⁷ ; these were intended for a building
on the site of the old church and can be dated to the year
1826. They probably have their origin in a proposition
made at a heritors' meeting in 1825, to the effect that a
"plain substantial rough ashlar building with a belfry" ⁸
should be erected on the old site. This description
corresponds with the plans, which show a nearly square
structure in the Gothic manner, simple in style, but with
façade enriched by a projecting porch on the top of
which is a small belfry. Shortly before this David
Hamilton had submitted a plan, said to be a copy of the
church he had erected at Larbert a few years
previously (cf. No. 146), but it was strongly criticised
by Sir Archibald Edmonstone, one of the principal
1 Reproduced by Blaeu, Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, v, Sterlin-
ensis Praefectura.
2 Stat. Acct., xviii (1796), 403; T.S.N.H.A.S. (1900-1),
23 ff.
3 Ordnance Survey Name Book, Kilsyth parish, 68.
4 Stat. Acct., xviii (1796), 299.
5 The intention may have been to represent three bars.
6 Cameron, J., The Parish of Campsie, 32 ff., where much
information about the change of site is given.
7 16 B, 82
8 Campsie Heritors' Minute Book, 1805-53, 116, in H.M.
General Register House, Edinburgh.
-- 160 |
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No. 156 -- ECCLESIASTICAL MONUMENTS -- No. 157
heritors, who refers to it in a letter as "a most heavy
tasteless pile" and a "cumbrous and inelegant edifice". ¹
Ultimately both the Baird plans and the earlier Hamilton
plans were passed over in favour of another scheme by
the latter architect.
The new building stands conspicuously on rising
ground NE. of the main street of Lennoxtown. It is a
striking Gothic building (Pl. 39 C) carried out in yellowish-
grey freestone ashlar from Bishopbriggs. ² It consists of a
nave oriented from SW. to NE., with a tower at the SW.
end; a small chancel with vestry accommodation has
recently been added to the NE. end, replacing a shallow
original extension part of which still remains in the N.
re-entrant angle.
The nave measures 95 ft. by 43 ft. 4 in. externally;
the tower, which is square on plan, projects 20 ft., ³ and
the chancel 22 ft. 6 in. The SE. elevation is illustrated
in Pl. 39 C; this shows the five tall window-openings that
light the nave, and the side doorway, with a similar but
shorter window above it, at the SW. end serving the
vestibule. The two-light window-openings, which have
hood-moulds with returned ends, are divided by a blind
belt at the height of the gallery. The vestibule doorway
has a wide pointed arch with Gothic decoration in the
spandrels. The SW. bay, which contains the vestibule, is
divided from the rest by a buttress; at the S. corner there
rises a thin octagonal turret, buttressed on SE. and SW.;
and at the E. corner there is an angle-buttress, The wall-
head finishes in a moulded cornice and a plain parapet.
The NW. elevation is identical.
The SW. end is dominated by the tower, which
comprises four stages. This is flanked by tall windows
generally similar to those just described, but with their
lower lights blind, and is thrown into prominence by
the two octagonal turrets at the W. and S. corners of the
main building. The first stage contains the main door
opening into the porch; this has a wide pointed arch set
in a moulded recess with Gothic decoration in the
spandrels and a returned hood-mould and crenellated
ornament above. In each of the other walls there is a
single lancet-window. The second stage, which is
occupied by the session-room, has on each of its outer
faces a large pointed window-opening, the lower part
of which is divided into two lights by plain tracery while
the upper part is blind. The third stage, the ringing-
chamber, shows three sets of triple lancets with hood-
moulds ending in floriated stops, and above each set a
clock-face within a floriated frame. In the fourth stage,
the bell-chamber, there are on each face two narrow,
louvred lancet-windows with hood-moulds ending in
floriated-stops; between these, and at the corners, are
square buttresses which rise high above the crenellated
parapet and finish with double cornices.
The NE. gable is now largely masked by the later
chancel, with its vestry, choir-room, etc. It shows a
single lancet-window above the chancel roof and ends
in plain tabling with two chimneys at the gable-head.
The porch, which is vaulted, leads into the vestibule,
from which access is obtained to the body of the church
by two doors and to the gallery-landing by two flights of
stairs. The two aisles slope slightly downwards between
enclosed pews of painted pine, arranged to face a pulpit
at the NE. end. The gallery, which is entered from the
landing, is supported on delicate pillars of fluted metal.
The gallery-landing also leads to the session-room in the
tower, a vaulted room with a fireplace, and by a spiral
stair to the ringing-chamber above.
FONT. The font from the old church (No. 157) was
placed, for preservation, in the porch about 1876. ⁴ It is
an octagonal block of freestone with a slight indentation
on one side, presumably intended to allow it to be fitted
against a pillar, and a wide lip splayed out from the
lower portion (Pl. 39 B). It measures 2 ft. 2 in. in diameter
by 1 ft. 4 in. in height, while the bowl, which is unusually
deep for its width, measures 1 ft. 2 in. both in diameter
and in depth to the top of the drainage aperture. The
upper surface and lip have been smoothed, but the lower
parts are only roughly dressed.
628780 -- NS 67 NW ("Church") -- 12 August 1953
157. Old Parish Church and Graveyard, Campsie.
The old parish church stands in its graveyard at the
Clachan of Campsie. It, or its predecessor, was dedicated
to St. Machan a disciple of St. Cadoc, who was buried
at Campsie. ⁵ A church of Campsie was mentioned among
the prebendal churches of Glasgow in a bull of 1216. ⁶ It
was abandoned in 1828, when the new parish church
(No. 156) was built in Lennoxtown, and it is now reduced
to a fragment consisting only of the W. gable, part of the
N. wall, and the footings of part of the S. wall. Its
original length is uncertain, but may have been about
77 ft.; its breadth is 26 ft. 8 in. over walls 3 ft. 10 in.
thick. The W. gable, which is 3 ft. 8 in. thick is built of
large squared rubble brought to courses and has in the
centre a doorway at ground level with a gallery entrance
immediately above it, both square-headed and heavily
chamfered at the arrises. Between them there runs an
intake-course, and the gable is finished with crow-steps
and is topped by the square base of a bell-cote, now
vanished. The style suggests a date in the 17th century;
but it is on record that the gable was taken down and
rebuilt at some unstated time, ⁷ and this record seems to
be corroborated by the break appearing in the masonry
where the N. wall joins the gable. The N. wall is reduced
to a greatest height of about 6 ft. 10 in. and is 29 ft. 5 in.
in length; its end is original and has been plastered, and
probably marks one side of the opening of a central N.
aisle such as is frequently seen in churches of this type
1 Ibid., 112.
2 Ibid.
3 The foregoing measurements ignore the projection of
buttresses.
4 P.S.A.S., xxi (1886-7), 362; illustration p. 364.
5 Mackinlay, J. M., Ancient Church Dedications in Scotland;
Non-scriptural Dedications, 197; Origines, i, 44.
6 Origines, loc. cit.
7 Cameron, J., The Parish of Campsie, 62.
-- 161 |
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No. 157 -- ECCLESIASTICAL MONUMENTS -- No. 158
and period ¹ (e.g. Nos. 142, 161). The S. wall returns
only 4 ft. 5 in. from the W. end, though its footings con-
tinue for a further 23 ft. until interrupted by a burial-
enclosure. Nothing is known about the internal arrange-
ments beyond the record that the pulpit was in the centre
of the S. side. ² ; in particular, no traces of gallery-fittings
appear inside the gable.
GRAVEYARD. On the E. side of the graveyard is the
Lennox family vault, a harled, two-storeyed structure
measuring externally 16 ft. 6 in. by 16 ft. 2 in. It is now
so thickly covered with ivy that no details can be seen
beyond the closed-up entrance in the W. side, with its
V-jointed margin and flat arch bearing the date 1715 on
the keystone; the slated dome and lead finial; and the
forestair on the E. that gives access to the upper room.
The upper storey is said to have been added by Miss
Lennox early in the 19th century, to serve as a waiting-
room between services. ³ The entrance to the vault,
marked on the lintel "Closed 1884", is blocked by two
slabs (Pl. 44 E), formerly table-tombs ⁴ ; both measure
5 ft. 6 in. by 2 ft. 1 in. and are very sharply cut. One
bears the marginal inscription HEIR LYIS ANE
HONORABIL MAN IAMES KINKAID OF THAT ILK
QVHA DESISIT YE 13 OF FEBROVAR ANNO 1604,
and bears two shields on the space within. The upper
shield is flanked by the initials IK and is charged for
Kincaid: A triple-towered castle, in chief two mullets.
The two circular marks seen in base may or may not be
true heraldic charges. The lower shield, evidently that
of his wife, is flanked by the initials IF and is charged:
In chief three rosettes between three piles, in base an
annulet. The other slab is of similar design, but has been
used for two lairds of Kincaid and their wives. The
marginal inscription reads HEIR LYIS ANE HONORABIL
MAN IAMES KINCAID OF THAT ILK QVHA DESISIT
YE 9 OF IANVAR ANNO 1606, The upper shield in the
central space is flanked by the initials CL and has IK
above it; it is parted per pale and charged: Dexter, a
crenellated tower, in chief two mullets; sinister, 1st and
4th, a lion rampant, 2nd and 3rd, three buckles on a
bend. The wife of this James Kincaid, whom he married
about 1571, was Christian Leslie, an illegitimate daughter
of the 4th Earl of Rothes, ⁵ and the sinister coat is charged
for Leslie. The lower shield is flanked by the initials
IK and has S above it. It is parted per pale and charged:
Dexter, a crenellated tower, in chief two mullets;
sinister, three cinquefoils. Below is inscribed D / MH,
and in smaller letters, flanking the D, there has been
added DESISIT 1645 / 18 IAR. The dexter coat is that
of Sir James Kincaid of that Ilk, son of the James
Kincaid who died in 1606, and the sinister one that of
his wife Dame Margaret Hamilton. ⁶ Apart from these
two slabs, no gravestones of earlier date than 1707 were
found, though some almost certainly exist among the
large numbers of turf-covered slabs. Cameron ⁷ records
in particular a stone commemorating a Covenanter
named William Boick, who suffered at Glasgow in 1673.
Over the E. side of the churchyard gate there has
been mounted a large carved slab, perhaps originally
the pediment of a monumental tomb, measuring
6 ft. 11 in. in breadth by 3 ft. 8 in. in height at the
centre. It consists of a central panel with a moulded
border, bearing a skull and cross-bones with the date
1621 below and MEMENTO MORI above, which is
supported by lateral panels with shaped tops bearing
floriated decoration. The whole is surmounted by a
finial bearing an hour-glass.
Within the gate, on the W. side, there is a watch-
house of no architectural interest.
610796 -- NS 67 NW ("St. Machan's Church, remains of")
15 October 1953
158. Parish Church and Graveyard, Strathblane.
THE CHURCH. The parish church of Strathblane was
built between 1802 and 1804, ⁸ replacing a "mean
building" of the preceding century. ⁹ It is of no architec-
tural interest, and the font, ¹⁰ in its present form, shows
no trace of antiquity. Set in the floor just S. of the
Communion table there is a worn slab bearing a sunk
shield, flanked by the incised initials IM, perhaps for
James Montrose; the initials IG, for James Graham,
appear below the sinister side, but whatever originally
balanced them on the dexter - perhaps a date and L for
Lord - has now disappeared. The shield is charged, for
Montrose: Quarterly, 1st and 4th, three escallops on a
chief; 2nd and 3rd, three roses. The date 1604 read by
Guthrie Smith ¹¹ cannot now be seen. The identity of
the person commemorated is doubtful, as no holder of
the title died in 1604 and all those from the 2nd Earl to
the 1st Duke had the initial I; but the 3rd Marquess
died in 1684, and it is quite likely that this date may have
been misread as 1604. A brass plate, let into a pew, states
that the tombstone commemorating Archibald Edmon-
stone of Duntreath, who died in 1689, and his ancestor
Princess Mary, sister of James I, ¹² lies underneath the
floor at the point so marked, but this could not be
verified.
THE GRAVEYARD. A list of all the stones in the grave-
yard, as in 1886, was published by Guthrie Smith, ¹³
Epitaphs and heraldic carvings dating from before 1707,
but not later ones added to the original inscriptions, are
given below, arranged under Guthrie Smith's serial
1 Cameron states (ibid.) that an aisle was added on the N.
when the gable was rebuilt, but it seems more probable that
the whole structure originated in the 17th century and that the
rebuilding of the gable was a later repair.
2 Cameron, ibid.
3 Ibid., 66 f.
4 Ibid., 67.
5 The Scots Peerage, vii, 292.
6 R.M.S., vii (1609-20), No. 110.
7 Op. cit., 68.
8 Strathblane, 230 f.
9 Stat. Acct., xviii (1796), 575.
10 On which see Strathblane, 232.
11 Ibid., 236.
12 Fully described in Strathblane, 236, 309 f.
13 Ibid., 269 ff.
-- 162 |
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No. 158 -- ECCLESIASTICAL MONUMENTS -- No. 159
numbers; in cases where letters or figures seen by him
have become illegible his readings have been adopted,
but four stones which have disappeared altogether since
his day (III, 19; IV, 9; IX, 15; X, 11) have been ignored.
All the stones mentioned here are recumbent slabs.
II, 1;1705 / IC HW. III, 1 to 4 (duplicates);
1673 / WR IM. III, 12; 1667 / IR IF. V, 2; 1691 /
TR BC / JF MF. V, 3; 1694 / IW AM. V, 5; 1694 /
RP JW. VI, 3; 1696 / GE MH. VI, 5 and 6 (duplicates);
1663 / WH ID. VI, unnoted between 11 and 12;
1707 / IM. The initials are cut over earlier ones which
have been obliterated. VII, 4; JAMES MAIKLUM /
JT / 1681 / PM MC. XI, 4. This slab is uninscribed,
but might date from the 17th or early 18th century.
John Smith, the last of a long line of tenants in Craigend,
died in 1647 and his son Robert, the first laird, in 1722. ¹
It bears, in relief on a sunk panel, a shield with mantling
and helm and, for crest, an eagle's head erased. It is
charged, for Smith of Craigend: Gules, a chevron between
two crescents in chief and a garb in base. The motto
MASTE (sic) appears on a ribbon below the shield.
XI, 5 (almost certainly recut); THIS IS THE BURYING
PLACE / OF ROBERT SMITH AND / MARION FERGUS
AND / THEIR DESCENDANTS 1685. XII, 10; 1707 /
WW M [C or G]. The final letter has an R cut within it.
XIV, 2; JAMES NORVAL / 162 [?]. Only a later epitaph
is legible today. XIV, 8. The original inscription on the
margin of this interesting slab has been damaged by
two later transverse ones cut, respectively, in the 18th
and 19th centuries. The whole is also badly weathered,
but with the help of Guthrie Smith's illustration ² the
following version may be suggested for part of the
earliest epitaph [HEIR LYES / IAMES or IOHN
BUC] HANAN OF KIRKH [O] WS WHO / DECISID THE
[?] / OF NOVEMBER 1667 A. The last letter may be
the beginning of the phrase A [ND HIS SPOUSE], which,
with the wife's name and date of death, probably
returned across the stone below the opening words in
the space now occupied by the 18th-century addition.
Below the latter there appears a small sunk shield
parted per pale and charged for Buchanan and Graham:
Dexter, a lion rampant; sinister, three escallops. The
initials IB are placed above its upper corners. XV, 6;
IM IH / 1658. XV, 8; IM IH / 1649 / I Mc [?] / IL.
XV, 14. This is a heraldic slab bearing, at the top,
the date 1663, seen by Guthrie Smith but now illegible,
and below this a shield flanked by the initials WM /
HC. The shield is parted per pale and charged, for
McFarlan and Cunningham: Dexter, a saltire between
four roses; sinister, a shakefork. The original inscription
begins below the shield and continues round the margin;
it reads HEIR LYES ALEX / ANDER MCFARLAN WHO /
ENDED THIS / LYF THE 10 OF SEP 1664. Later
epitaphs follow below the opening line. ³ XV, 16;
1668 / A IS. XV, 20. This is a heraldic slab with a
marginal inscription. The shield occupies the centre,
having above it a panel, now blank, on which Guthrie
Smith read an 18th-century epitaph, and below it
emblems of mortality. The inscription is not given
quite correctly by Guthrie Smith, and actually appears
to read HERE LIES GI [?] EL MCFARLAN [SPOU] SE
TO MA [S] TER DAV [ID] / ELPHINSTONE MINISTER /
OF DUMBRITAN WHO DIED THE [?] 1 OF MARCH /
169 [?]. The shield is charged, for McFarlan ⁴ : A saltire
between four roses. XVI, 2; JF / 1692 / IW. XVI, 5;
IF / 1692 / IW. XVI, 16. This stone, which commemor-
ates John Calder, who died on 2nd August 1672, is
most probably of 18th-century date. XVI, 20; 1626 /
IM IP. XVI, 22. This is a herladic slab commemorating
the Reverend John Cochrane, minister of Strathblane
from 1650 to 1690, and his wife, who was evidently a
McGregor. ⁵ It is now badly wasted, the shield being
barely visible, and the following details are accordingly
taken from Guthrie Smith's record. At the head of the
slab is the date 1688, which is probably the year of
Mrs. Cochrane's death, and below this the shield
accompanied by the initials M / IC / A MCG. The shield
is parted per pale and charged: Dexter, a chevron
between three boars' heads erased; sinister, a pine tree
eradicated and surmounted of a sword. The original
epitaph, which appears below the shield, reads
RELIGIOWS VERTIOWS MODEST / GRAV AND WISE
FROM DVST TO GL (O) RIE / WAITING TO ARISE
A later monument, the one commemorating the
Reverend William Hamilton, ⁶ D.D. (1780-1835), also
deserves mention for the sake of its distinctively Greek
inspiration (Pl. 51 B).
563793 -- NS 57 NE ("Church") -- 10 November 1955
159. Parish Church, Baldernock. The parish church
of Baldernock (Pl. 41 B) stands by the W. side of the
road from Strathblane to Bardowie, about a mile and a
quarter ENE. of Milngavie. It was built in 1795,
evidently taking the place of an older structure of
several periods, ⁷ and is a good example of a "preaching
kirk" with its internal arrangements undisturbed,
It is a plain structure of grey sandstone, the masonry
being large, squared rubble with dressed quoins and an
ogee-moulded eaves-course; it measures 50 ft. 6 in. by
35 ft. over walls 2 ft. 6 in. thick. The roof is slated. In
the centre of the S. side there is a projection which rises
in stages, above a moulded pediment and cornice, to a
bell-cote; the parts of this structure above the level of
the wall-head are of ashlar, and the lower parts have
dressed and backset quoins. Below the pediment is
incised DEO OPTIMO MAXIMO! P (ATRI) F (ILIO)
S (PRITUI) Q (UE) S (ANCTO) / MDCCXCV ("To God,
1 Ibid., 52, 57. See also XI, 5 below.
2 Ibid., 290.
3 For an illustration see ibid., 294.
4 On this lady see ibid., 212. An illustration of the tomb-
stone gives the day of her death as 12, cut upside down, and
this may well be correct. The figure is now illegible.
5 On Mr. Cochrane see ibid., 203-10, with an illustration
of the slab.
6 On whom see ibid., 224 f.
7 Stat. Acct., xv (1795), 277; N.S.A. viii (Stirlingshire), 174.
-- 163 |
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No. 160 -- ECCLESIASTICAL MONUMENTS -- No. 161
best and greatest! To the Father, the Son and the Holy
Ghost. 1795"). On either side of the projection there is a
wide, high, round-headed window with raised springers
and keystone, and to E. and W. of these a smaller, square-
headed window. The gables, which finish in plain tabling,
have central doors at ground level and others above them,
for access to the galleries, reached by single flights of
bottle-nosed steps which rise from the S.; there is a
square window on either side of each upper door to
light the end-galleries within. From the centre of the N.
side, the session-house, which is an addition, projects as
a low aisle; it measures 15 ft. 6 in. by 19 ft. 10 in. and
has a window to E. and to W., and also a door to E.
On either side of the session-house there is a single
square-headed window to light the area under the N.
gallery.
The internal arrangements are focused on the pulpit,
which is in the centre of the S. wall; it is backed by
Classical pilasters and a moulded and dentilated cornice,
and is reached by a stair on its E. side as it stands elevated
above the Communion table. The E., N. and W. walls
have galleries with panelled fronts and a dentilated
cornice, supported on wooden columns. The ceiling is
coved.
In the graveyard there is an octagonal watch-house of
grey ashlar dated 1828. It has a single door and window,
a moulded cornice, and a pyramidal slated roof, and is
provided with a fireplace. Only one gravestone was
found bearing a legible date earlier than 1707; this was a
slab inscribed AL ML / 16 [?6] 5.
576750 -- NS 57 NE -- 4 September 1952
[Plan Inserted]
Fig. 58. Cashel, Knockinhaglish (No. 160)
160. Cashel and Church Site, Knockinhaglish. This
enclosure (Fig. 58) is situated at a height of 320 ft. O.D.
on the highest part of a low hill three-eighths of a mile
W. of Finnich Toll. Oval on plan, it measures 220 ft. in
length from E. to W. by 175 ft. transversely within an
earthen bank with an external quarry-ditch. The bank
is spread to a width of as much as 22 ft., and in the ENE.
arc, where best preserved, it stands to a height of 9 in.
above the level of the interior and to 6 ft. above the
bottom of the ditch. At this point the ditch is 1 ft. in
depth below the level of the surrounding ground. There
are two entrances, both of which appear to be original -
one, 18 ft. in width, on the W., and the other, 24 ft. in
width on the NE. A break through both bank and ditch
on the N. is modern. The interior is featureless and the
whole structure lies within a wood. One of the channels
that drain the wood passes close to the S. side of the
enclosure and impinges upon the ditch for a length of
100 ft.
Guthrie Smith considered that this was probably the
site of a church of St. Kessog, and recorded that
"remains of buildings" could still be traced in his time.¹
Nothing survives today, but the account of the site given
in the Ordnance Survey Name Book ² says that the
authorities consulted stated that "a number of years ago
when it was trenched and planted, there were raised
several human bones and the foundation of an old
building".
487849 -- NS 48 SE ("Site of Church")
16 October 1952
161. Old Church, Killearn. The old church stands in a
large graveyard at the SW, corner of the village. It bears
the date 1734, and as no work of any earlier period can
be seen in the fabric it was presumably built then as a
completely new structure; but an older church must
certainly have preceded it, as many of the tombstones
in the graveyard are of the 17th century and a few may
perhaps be mediaeval. A new church was built on a
different site in 1826 ³. In the 19th century the shell of
the structure was reorganised as family burial-grounds.
The church (Pl. 37 A), which is oriented slightly N. of
E., is built of coursed rubble of a purplish-red sandstone,
with chamfered quoins and a cornice of grey freestone.
It measures 69 ft. 4 in. by 29 ft. 6 in. over walls 2 ft. 6 in.
thick. Traces of foundations below the turf show that an
aisle, about 12 ft. 6 in. wide, once projected 16 ft. from
the centre of the N. side. The S. side now shows, at
ground level, three round-headed doors, the E. and W.
ones having ornamental keystones, and a small, square,
built-up window on each side of the central one. The
one E. of the door has itself been formed from a door.
These and all the original opening have backset margins.
At a higher level there are four round-headed windows,
all with decorative keystones of which two take the form
1 Strathendrick, 74.
2 Drymen parish, p. 102.
3 N.S.A., viii (Stirlingshire), 66. The Ordnance Survey
Name Book, Killearn parish, p. 64, gives this date as 1836, and
states that the old church was unroofed at the same time.
-- 164 |
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No. 162 -- ECCLESIASTICAL MONUMENTS -- No. 163
of human masks. Above the central door there is a tablet
bearing the date 1734 in relief. The W. gable contains at
the upper level a round-headed window through the
lower part of which a doorway has been contrived -
evidently to give access from a vanished outside stair into
a gallery. The apex of the gable carries a base for a small
bell-cote. The E. gable shows at ground level a very
low, built-up door, the lintel of which must have been
dropped during alterations to the gable, and above it a
tall, window-like opening with an arched head, which
has certainly been inserted. Both gables have plain
tabling and rolled skewputs. In the N. wall, both to E.
and to W. of the position of the vanished aisle, there is a
built-up square-headed window at the lower level and a
round-headed window at the upper; these latter have
ornamental keystones, and the W. one a threshold as if,
like the opening in the W. gable, it had given access to a
gallery from an outside stair. At the position of the aisle,
the wall is interrupted for a distance of 12 ft. 7 in. and
the gap is filled by a wall of later construction built 9 in.
back from the line of the main wall-face. This inserted
wall rises to a gable with plain tabling and a ball at its
apex. Its masonry differs from that of the rest of the
church, and it contains a window and a blocked door,
both of which have red sandstone rybats and arched
heads showing narrower backset margins than the
original openings, and no chamfers. The finished side of
this wall is turned towards the interior of the church
and the window also looks inwards, while on the N. side
the door is only visible in its lowest part and has clearly
never been used. The whole gable must evidently have
been built, after the church had lost its roof and become
partly ruinous, as an ornament intended to be seen from
within; this is most likely to have been done in the middle
of the 19th century, no doubt when the family burial-
grounds were organised in the interior.
TOMBSTONES. In the graveyard there are five tomb-
stones bearing legible dates earlier than 1707, and many
of the illegible ones no doubt belong to the same period.
The five in question bear dates and initials as follows:
(i) 1669 / IB IB; (ii) 1668 / W [? ?] R / R / M; (iii) 1665 /
TE; (iv) 1 [?6] 87 / IE ML; (v) 1688 / M / JC, recut in
the 19th century when this stone was re-used. Another
which is also probably of the 17th century commemor-
ates IR / MM. At least three slabs, now showing no
inscription, were noted which taper markedly from head
to foot; this suggest a mediaeval date.
522858 -- NS 58 NW -- 3 October 1952
162. Parish Church and Graveyard, Drymen. The
parish church, which was built in 1771 ¹ has been much
altered and is now of no particular interest. In the grave-
yard three stones were noted of earlier date than 1707,
all recumbent slabs. The first, which is notable for a
marked taper (1 ft. 6 in. to 11 1/2 in.) unusual in post-
Reformation grave-slabs, is inscribed in relief 1618 /
IB / A E T, the rest of the inscription being illegible. The
second bears the initials AN / MN, in relief and very
large, on a sunk panel, with the date 1692 and the
initials MS incised above and below respectively. The
incised items seem to be later than the initials in relief.
The third bears on the face 1682 / IB AD, and a
marginal inscription shows that the persons com-
memorated were IAMES BACHA [?P] of EASTER
BALFUNING and his wife and children.
473880 -- NS 48 NE -- 4 September 1952
163. Church, Inchcailleach. The parish of Buchanan
was formerly names Inchcailleach, after the island in
Loch Lomond on which the church stood. ² The island
lies some 200 yds. out from the West Pier, Balmaha on
the NE. side of the Loch. The Statistical Account of
Scotland notes that Incailleach means "the island of
the old women", and that the place was so called because
a community of nuns once existed there; but no such
community is, in fact, on record, and no remains of any
structure which might have been a nunnery are known.
On the other hand, "nun" (i.e. "cowled woman") is an
early meaning of cailleach, and the form of the place-
name, with its suggestion of the plural number, would
agree well enough with this tradition; while if the refer-
ence had been to Saint Kentigerna, the Irish saint who
settled here as a recluse and died in 733, ³ a form more
reminiscent of the singular (e.g. Inch na Cailliche) might
perhaps have been expected. ⁴
The church was abandoned in 1621, its place being
taken by a chapel-of-ease near Buchanan Old House
(No. 329) ⁵. Its remains lie, within a graveyard, on rising
ground some 230 yds. SW. of the landing-place at the
NE. end of the island, and now consist merely of grassy
foundation-banks heavily overgrown with brambles,
bushes and small trees. The site was excavated in 1903, ⁶
by the Reverend W. H. MacLeod, who found that the
church measured internally 64 ft. 6 in. by 19 ft. 4 in.,
the wall-thickness being 3 ft. 3 in.; the length as he gave
it was verified by the Commission's officers who found
the northern corners still exposed. He further located a
chancel wall 23 ft. 6 in. from the inside of the E. end,
with traces of what was probably a chancel arch 3 ft. 6 in.
wide; also a door, 2 ft. 10 in. wide, at the W. end of the
S. wall and a priest's door 2 ft. 6 in. wide set with its E.
1 N.S.A., viii (Stirlingshire), 111.
2 Stat. Acct., ix (1793), 12 The spelling here, followed by
the O.S. maps, is Inchcailloch, and the Aberdeen Breviary
(pars. hyem., January, fol. xxv) has Inchcailzeoch. Colgan,
however (Acta SS. Hiberniae, Irish MSS. Commission facsimile
ed., p. 22), gives "Infe-roihle", probably a misprint for "Inse-
roihle", and quotes from Camerarius "Inchelroche".
3 Annals of Ulster, s.a. 734, in Skene, Chronicles of the Picts
and Scots, p. 356.
4 The Commissioners are indebted to Professor K. H.
Jackson, M.A., Litt.D., F.B.A., for elucidating this point.
5 Stat. Acct., ix (1793), 12.
[Hand written] Reg Privy Council (2nd Series) VIII
p475
6 T.G.A.S., new series, iv, 75 ff
-- 165 |
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No. 163 -- ECCLESIASTICAL MONUMENTS -- No. 163
[Diagrams Inserted]
Fig. 59. Church, Inchcailleach (No. 163); coped stone (i) and recumbent slabs (ii, iv, v) after R. Brydall, with interlaced
patterns restored on iv
jamb 17 ft. 10 in. from the E. end. ¹ He tentatively
ascribed the building to the end of the 12th or the
beginning of the 13th century, a conclusion which is
supported by the arch and doorway mouldings which he
recovered from the ruins.
The graveyard that surrounds the church is enclosed
by a drystone wall which, however, has taken the place
of an earlier wall, some remains of which can still be seen.
The later wall has contracted the enclosed area by some
6 ft. on either side and by as much as 32 ft. on the NE.,
where in fact it traverses the foundations of the church
itself at an average distance of 9 ft. 6 in. inwards from the
E. (i.e. the NE.) end. Enough traces of the earlier wall
remain to show that it had widely rounded corners, and
1 Compass-points are use in their functional sense here
and elsewhere in the description of this church. It was actually
oriented from SW. to NE.
-- 166 |
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No. 164 -- ECCLESIASTICAL MONUMENTS -- No. 164
it seems possible that one of these corners, located on the
edge of a rocky scarp immediately SE. of the church,
was misunderstood by the excavator and led to his
marking a small circular building in this position. Other-
wise nothing resembling a "cell" was found by the
Commissioner's officers.
TOMBSTONES (Fig. 59). (i) The coped stone noted by
the excavator still lies on the surface near the E. end of
the church. It is 6 ft. 4 in. long, 1 ft. 7 in. broad by 1 ft.
high at the head and 1 ft. 2 in. broad by 10 in. high at the
foot. Its traverse section forms a lop-sided heptagonal
figure; the plain longitudinal panels are separated at the
angles by quirked roll-mouldings, and these are also
returned round the ends. (ii) Not recorded by the
excavator is a recumbent slab 5 ft. 6 in. long and tapering
in breadth from 2 ft. to 1 ft. 9 in. It bears a Calvary cross
on which appears a two-handed sword with depressed
quillons, now badly weathered but illustrated here from
a sketch made in 1903.¹ The same sketch also shows the
secondary inscription 1621 C / W M A ² near the base
of the cross; the date is now illegible, and the first letter
might be C or G. (iii) Another unrecorded memorial is a
table-tomb bearing a sunken shield charged: A pine-tree
debruised of a baton sinister, for McGregor of that Ilk. ³
At the head of the slab is the motto INDIW (for "E'en
do") AND SPAIRE NOT, and an inscription com-
memorates G [REGOR] MGREGOR OF THAT ILK and
gives the date of his death as 1693. ⁴
In addition to the foregoing, which were all seen by
the Commission's officers, at least two more carved slabs
were evidently found in 1903, as sketched of them by
Brydall are in the Reverend Mr. Fulton's keeping. No
doubt they have been overgrown after the passage of
fifty years. The sketches (Fig. 59) show them to have
been as follows: (iv) A slab 6 ft. 3 in. long and tapering
from 1 ft. 9 in. to 1 ft. 4 in. in breadth. It bears an inter-
laced ring-cross above a sword with depressed quillons,
which is also flanked by interlaced work. The margin of
the stone is formed by a rope moulding. (v) Fragments
of a slab now reduced to a length of 3 ft. 4 1/2 in. and
bearing an incised Latin cross-head with fleur-de-lys
terminals and the letters I H S at the intersection.
These seem to correspond with two of the three carved
slabs mentioned in the excavation report, ⁵ where mention
is also made of another cross-slab showing I H S at the
intersection and, in addition, a pair of shears. The
excavator further records the discovery, in a position
which would have put it directly in front of the altar,
of a large slab of white sandstone with bones underneath
it. He suggests that this was the grave of St. Kentigerna.
NS 410906 -- N xiii ("Church, ruins of") -- 13 May 1953
164. Cashel, Strathcashell Point. This structure is
situated on the point of a low-lying promontory on the E.
shore of Loch Lomond, at a distance of a quarter of a
mile WSW. of Strathcashell farmhouse. It is surrounded
by the loch on all sides except the E., but the approach
from this direction is over ground so level and open that
the situation cannot be said to be one of real strength.
No attempt has been made to impede approach to the
structure by cutting the point of the promontory off from
the adjoining land by a defensive barrier.
The remains (Fig. 60) consist primarily of the ruin
[Plan Inserted]
Fig. 60. Cashel, Strathcashell Point (No. 164)
of a drystone wall, 6 ft. in thickness, which encloses an
oval area measuring 93 ft. from N. to S. by 80 ft. trans-
versely. The wall is built of large blocks of undressed
stone; a total of about 40 ft. of the inner face is visible,
while about one half of the outer face can be followed.
This is due to a recent clearance of parts of the faces. A
stretch of the SE. arc of the outer face, 10 ft. in length,
in which three courses remain in situ, stands to a height
of 4 ft. 6 in. above ground level. The entrance, which has
been mutilated, is centrally placed in the E. arc. For a
distance of 40 ft. on either side of it the wall runs N. and
S. to meet the crests of the rocky slopes, some 10 ft. in
height, which flank the point. It runs thence round the
W. extremity of the promontory, clinging to and merging
with the bedrock. In two places, in the SSW. and NW.
arcs, stretches of the wall have been undermined by the
destruction of the bedrock, presumably by the action of
the waves, and tumbled debris lies upon the foreshore.
In the N. part of the interior lies the ruin of a rectilinear
building measuring 36 ft. in length from NE. to SW. by
15 ft. transversely within walls 3 ft. thick, which appear
to be of drystone construction. There is an entrance 3 ft.
wide in the NE. part of the SE. wall. Between the NE.
1 Signed "R. Brydall, Glasgow", and now in the keeping of
the Reverend F. Fulton, Balmaha.
2 Guthrie Smith gives the date as 1695 (Strathendrick, 101).
3 The baton sinister should have been a sword in bend. The
Lord Lyon suggests that the reversal probably arose through
the carving having been made from a seal matrix, and that the
carver mistook the sword for a baton.
4 MacGregor, A. G. M., History of the Clan Gregor, ii, 191.
5 T.G.A.S., as cited, 81; ibid, v, part 1, 26 f.
-- 167 |
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No. 165 -- ECCLESIASTICAL MONUMENTS -- No. 168
end-wall of the building and the NE. arc of the inner face
of the enclosing wall there are two short stretches of wall
of unknown thickness. The more northerly springs from
an unbonded junction with the inner face of the enclos-
ing wall and runs SW. for a distance of 5 ft. to meet the
outer face of the NE. wall of the building. This joint,
too, appears to be unbonded. The other stretch, parallel
to the former, also abuts upon, but does not unite with,
the inner face of the enclosing wall; but it appears to stop
about 1 ft. 6 in. or 2 ft. short of the building. The building
lies wholly within the enclosing wall, and it is impossible
to say whether the two are contemporary. The interior
of the building is featureless.
A curved depression of varying width and depth runs
W. and SW. for a distance of some 20 ft. from the broken
entrance in the E. arc of the enclosing wall. It probably
represents another trace of the recent work of investiga-
tion mentioned above, but is now masked with vegetation
and provides no information.
The nature of the site and the character of the wall
together imply that the structure is not a fortification
such as a dun or a castle. But these features, coupled with
the presence of the word "cashel" in the names of the
promontory and of dwellings in the vicinity, suggest
strongly that the structure is, in fact, a cashel - a religious
establishment of Dark Age date. ¹ In 1724 Alexander
Graham of Duchray, described ² the ruins as lying on a
point of land "called Cashel". The walls then stood to a
height of nine or ten feet. In the following year another
account ³ added that "in the inside is the ruins of two
houses which seem to be joined with sloping roofs to
each side" of the enclosing wall.
NS 393931 -- N xiii ("Castle, ruins of") -- 19 May 1953
165. Burial Ground, Stronmacnair. About 170 yds. S.
of the house at Stronmacnair, and close to the right bank
of the burn that here forms the county boundary, there
is a small, rectangular, drystone enclosure, evidently of
no great age. Both within this and outside it, but within
an outer and much older enclosure of boulders and turf
measuring about 30 yds. by 21 yds., there are numerous
traces of burials. These include a squared but uninscribed
recumbent slab, an unshaped slab, and some small
upright stones, two of which evidently mark the head
and foot of a child's grave only 4 ft. 6 in. long. A group
of others seem to mark the outline of a lair.
NN 424024 -- N V -- 2 May 1956
166. Garrison Graveyard, Inversnaid. Immediately
behind the schoolhouse at Inversnaid, on the steep slope
that descends from the Garrison Farm to the Snaid
Water, there is a small graveyard enclosed by an iron
fence. Within the fence can be seen an original turf
boundary-dyke of very slight dimensions. A 19th-century
tombstone, erected by a former Duke of Montrose,
commemorates the non-commissioned officers and men
of the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th,
19th, 20th, 21st, 23rd, 31st and 43rd Regiments who
died while on duty at Inversnaid Garrison (No. 225)
between 1721 and 1796. At least seventeen contemporary
headstones were counted; these are all very small and
show little attempt at shaping. Many are heavily turfed
over. Only one, which also bears traces of an illegible
inscription, has a rounded top with shoulders. The sole
legible epitaph reads JANE YE WIFE OF / JOHN
[H] YETT OF / YE BUFFS DIED / MARCH YE 4 / 1750
AGED 37.
NN 348095 -- N ii (unnoted) -- 28 July 1957
167. Parish Church and Graveyard, Balfron.
Though the parish church was rebuilt in 1832 ⁴ and lacks
architectural interest, a relic of earlier times may be seen
in the graveyard in the shape of a pre-Reformation
tombstone. Though now recumbent, this was probably
intended to stand erect as the surface of the lowermost
part of the stone, 1 ft. 7 in. in length, is slightly higher
than the remainder, as if preparation for the carving of
the design had ceased at a line representing ground level.
The stone is 5 ft. long over an oblique fracture, 1 ft. 9 in.
broad at the head and 1 ft. 8 in. at the foot. It bears the
incised outline of a sword with straight quillons, now
very much wasted and without a pommel; the length of
the blade, which tapers, is 2 ft. 3 1/2 in., the total length is
2 ft. 10 1/2 in., and the breadth across the quillons is 10 in.
In addition there are six stones bearing legible dates
earlier than 1707, but none of them shows a name, only
initials. These dates and initials are as follows: 1686 /
IH EM; 1692 / DF IA, with a later commemoration
in 1714 of which the name is illegible; 1692 / WE AA;
[?] M MR / 1701; 1705 / WR EK; 1707 / AM IM /
IM IK, with mason's square and compasses. Of the
three that bear boars' heads, ⁵ one certainly and the
others most probably date from the 18th century.
548892 -- NS 58 NW -- 28 August 1952
168. Church, Edinbellie. The church of Edinbellie,
which is approached by a farm road leaving the Balfron-
Fintry highway at Dalfoil, has now been gutted and put
to use as a cart-shed. It is, however, a structure of con-
siderable interest, as it was the first Secession church
to be built in this district under the inspiration of the
Rev. Ebenezer Erskine, of Stirling (cf. p. 8). It was
then known as the Holm Associate Church, and its first
minister, the Rev. John Cleland, was ordained in it in
1742.
The church (Pl. 38 C) is a plain building 59 ft. 6 in.
1 P.S.A.S., lxxxv (1950-1), 79 f.
2 History (1817 ed.), 593 n.
3 Ibid., 594 n.
4 N.S.A., viii (Stirlingshire), 297.
5 For an illustration see P.S.A.S., xxxix (1904-5), 75.
-- 168 |
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No. 169 -- ECCLESIASTICAL MONUMENTS -- No. 170
long by 31 ft. 3 in. wide over walls 2 ft. 5 in. thick, and
was originally T-shaped on plan. The 6-inch O.S. map
shows that there was originally a small aisle in the middle
of the N. side, as at Killearn (No. 161) and Kippen (No.
171), but the wall has been breached at this point to
admit large agricultural machines and no trace of the
aisle can be seen. The masonry is rubble of pink and
grey sandstone, with pinnings. Along the sides there is a
cavetto-moulded eaves-course and the roof is slated. The
S. wall has a central door 6 ft. 2 in. high with a round
window, 2 ft. in diameter, 4 ft. 6 in. above it. On either
side of the door there is a large window, and a smaller
window to E. and W. of these again. All the openings
apart from the small round window are square-headed,
with flat arches, and the larger windows have decorative
keystones. At each end there is a door 7 ft. 5 in. high
with a window above it. The N. side shows no features
of interest. In the interior, corbels for galleries can be
seen on E., N. and W., and the internal arrangements
may thus have been similar to those described under
No. 159. On this showing the pulpit would have been
over the S. door, which is significantly rather low, and
would have been illuminated by the small round window.
575890 -- NS 58 NE -- 1 October 1952
169. Parish Church and Graveyard, Fintry. The
parish church of Fintry stands within its graveyard on a
slight mound, in the area formerly occupied by the old
Clachan (cf. 282). Although it was only built in
1823 ¹ the presence of at least one pre-Reformation stone
in the graveyard indicates that a church has stood here
for many centuries, and the Martyrology of Aberdeen
records a dedication to St. Modan the Abbot. ² A parish
of Fintry is mentioned as early as about 1207-1216. ³
The present church (Pl. 39 D) is an uninteresting build-
ing, quite typical of the taste of its period and resembling
to a marked degree a contemporary church at Killearn
(cf. p. 323). It measures 57 ft. 6 in. in length by 36 ft. in
breadth over walls 2 ft. 10 in. thick; a tower, which
contains the entrance in its N. side, projects 10 ft. 8 in.
from the W. gable and is 13 ft. 2 in. wide. The masonry
is squared rubble with backset dressings. The walls rise
from a plinth of slight projection to a moulded eaves-
course, which returns on to the gables; the gables finish
in plain tabling and the roof is slated. In each side-wall
there are three high, pointed, windows with splayed and
grooved margins, in the E. gable two round-headed
windows containing Gothic tracery, and in the W. gable
a small pointed window N. of the tower, to light the
vestry. On both the N. and S. sides of the tower there is
a small pointed window at the level of the eaves of the
church, and in the N. side a larger window, set lower, to
light the stair within. The uppermost stage is marked
off by a string-course, and bears on each face a large
diamond-shaped panel defined by a moulding and con-
taining an empty roundel. Corbelled out at the top of the
tower is a crenellated parapet, with finials at the corners.
The base of the tower is occupied by a vestibule, from
which access is gained to a lobby cut off from the W. end
of the church and opening into it by two doors. A small
vestry is contrived on the north and the entrance to a
heating chamber on the south of the entry to the lobby.
A stone stair without a newel rises inside the tower to give
access to the gallery, beyond which the further ascent
to the top of the tower must be made by ladder, through
a trap-door. The pulpit is in the centre of the E. end,
and the seating faces it; the gallery extends across the W.
end only and is supported on two cast-iron pillars.
BELL. The bell, which is mounted in the open on the
top of the tower, bears on the waist the initials GA
and on the inscription-band the inscription 1626
FINTRIE W. MAINE. George Auld was minister of
Fintry from 1586, having been reader from 1574 to
1585; William Mayne was admitted to the Incorporation
of Hammermen of Glasgow in 1624. ⁴
TOMBSTONES. One pre-Reformation stone can be
identified in the graveyard, a slab 6 ft. 4 in. long, 1 ft.
10 in. wide at the head and 1 ft. 6 in. at the foot. In the
centre there has been incised the outline of a sword with
tapering blade and depressed quillons; the upper part of
the hilt has weathered away, but the original total length
was probably about 4 ft. - the blade itself being 3 ft. 4 in.
long. On the dexter side of the blade there is a pair of
shears, partly obliterated by weathering, and on the
sinister side an axe. All three designs have been very
rudely executed and are also badly wasted.
The following stones, all recumbent, bear dates earlier
than 1707: (i) A slab commemorating William Kay and
Jonat Cunninham, who died in 1689. The main
inscription is cut round the margin, and on the space
within appears RK divided by a mill-rind, with the date
1692 below. This is followed by the couplet
O PAINTED PICE OF LIVING CLAY
O BE NOT PROUD OF THY SHORT DAY. ⁵
(ii) A slab dated 1680, commemorating Elizabeth
McFarland in a marginal inscription. (iii) A slab dated
1671, commemorating Andrew Dine and Margret
Mushet with the initials DM and IC appearing below
the main inscription. This may once have stood as a
headstone as its upper end is shaped. (iv) A duplicate of
the last, though without the shaped top. (v) A slab on
which only the date 1610 can be made out. (vi) A slab
dated 1701, bearing the initials IW MR / AA IR.
626861 -- NS 68 NW ("Church") -- 5 May 1954
170. North Church, Buchlyvie. This church was built
1 N.S.A., viii (Stirlingshire), 46.
2 Forbes, Kalendars of Scottish Saints, 128.
3 Registrum Episcopatus Glasguensis, Bannatyne Club (1843),
88. See also Strathendrick, 1 ff.
4 P.S.A.S., lxxxiv (1949-50), 78. The bell is here fully
described and details of the inscription are illustrated.
5 These same lines were noted on a stone of 1645 at Holy-
rood, and on another, of 1702, at North Leith (Inventory of
Edinburgh, pp. 138, 253.
-- 169 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_205 |
No. 171 -- ECCLESIASTICAL MONUMENTS -- No. 172
by Seceders in Buchlyvie who had previously formed
part of the congregation of the Holm Associate Church
at Edinbellie (No. 168). It stands NW. of the main
street of the village, on the road leading to Auchentroig.
It is a completely plain building (Pl. 37 B), harled and
covered with a slate roof above a cavetto eaves-course,
and measuring 72 ft. 8 in. in length by 31 ft. 2 in. in
breadth externally. The S. face, which has backset
corners, originally had three doors and four windows, all
round-headed and showing backset margins, crooks for
shutter-hinges, and raised wedge-shaped springers and
long keystones; some of the keystones are decorated
with palmettes and grotesque masks, and the central one
bears the building-date 1751. Above that of the W. door
appears a hand holding an open book which reads
THE / LAW / CAME BY / MOSES / BUT / GRACE & /
TRUTH BY / JESUS / CHRIST. Today, however, there
are two doors and five windows, as the central door
has been made into a window. In either gable there is a
central square-headed window at gallery level, and in
the N. side five round-headed windows which have had
their backset margins refaced in cement. These windows
may be secondary. The interior has been modernised.
573938 -- NS 59 SE ("U F Church") -- 5 September 1952
171. Old Parish Church, Kippen. All that now remains
of this church is the W. gable, with fragments of the
adjoining side-walls which have been extended in
modern masonry to form a burial-enclosure. The gable, which
has been repaired of late years, is built of large coursed
rubble of red sandstone, the quoins, dressings and crow-
steps being of light-grey sandstone. It is 25 ft. wide by
3 ft. 6 in. thick; contains, at gallery level, a wide window
with flat top and rounded upper corners; and is sur-
mounted by a square bell-cote with Classical columns
and a weather-vane (Pl. 38 D). The S. side has a recon-
structed door close to the SW. corner, the lowermost
rybats of which on the W. side are, however, original;
and at the wall-head, which is 9 ft. 6 in. above ground
level, there are the remains of a moulded cornice. The
N. side shows the same moulded cornice, and contains
rather more of the original masonry. The approximate
plan of the remainder of the building is indicated by
variations in the ground level; its total original length
appears to have been about 73 ft., and an aisle about 15 ft.
deep by 18 ft. wide projected from the centre of the N.
side.
The church bell, which hangs in the bell-cote, is not
readily accessible, but a recently published account ¹ gives
the inscription as a WALTERO LECKIE DE DESHERS
DONATA FVIT HAE CCAMPANA A D / 1618 &
APAROCHIA DEKIPPEN RECONDITIA & AVCTA A D
1726 / D MICHAELE POTTER PASTORE ("This bell
was given by Walter Leckie of Dashers A.D. 1618 and
it was recast and enlarged by the parish of Kippen
A.D. 1726 when Mr. Michael Potter was minister").
The church was either built or rebuilt in 1691, the E.
portion was reconstructed in 1737, and a complete repair
was carried out in 1779. ² A door-lintel which may date
from the work of 1737 is mentioned under No. 284. It
is not certain that the church has always stood upon the
same site, for according to local tradition ³ the pre-
Reformation church and graveyard occupied a knoll
immediately W. of the Keir Hill of Dasher (No. 485).
This tradition gains some support from the fact that no
gravestone of earlier date than 1707 was found in the
churchyard. On the other hand it may be based upon
nothing more than a misunderstanding of the events of
1665, at which time a scheme for the removal of the
church to a more central position in the parish was
proposed but not carried out. ⁴
651948 -- NS 69 SE ("Ch") -- 17 September 1952
172. Parish Church, Gargunnock. The parish church
(Pl. 41 A) stands above the steep right bank of the
Gargunnock Burn, overlooking the SE. end of the
village (No. 286). It is said to have been "rebuilt" in
1774, ⁵ but this must presumably mean a complete
reconstruction from the ground up as no signs can be
seen in the fabric of earlier work.
On plan the church is oblong, measuring 50 ft. by
29 ft. over walls 2 ft. 8 in. thick, and an aisle, open
internally to the body of the building, projects 15 ft. 8 in.
from the middle of the N. side. The fabric is of good
rubble, with dressed masonry at quoins and voids and
a cavetto-moulded eaves-course. Until recently the
exterior was harled. All three gables are crow-stepped;
the E. and W. gables bearing respectively a cross and a
crescent, as finials, and the aisle gable a bell-cote topped
by a weather-cock which is probably original. Entrance
is gained, at ground level, by a central door in the E.
and W. gables; and the trace of another door, now built
up, can be seen in the E. wall of the aisle. At an upper
level there is a central door, reached by a stone forestair,
in each of the three gables to give access to the three
galleries. The S. wall has four windows, the two central
ones ending in pointed arches; all the rest - the remain-
ing pair on the S., one near each end of the N. wall, and
one on each side of the aisle - are square-headed and all
are rebated for external shuttering, with the crooks for
the hinges still present. The internal arrangement is
that of a "preaching kirk", with the pulpit in the middle
of the S. side between the two high windows. The wood-
work of pews and galleries seems to have been lately
renewed.
BELL. For the old bell, see No. 344.
CARVED STONE. No tombstone bearing a legible date
earlier than 1707 was noted, but the lintel of the private
gateway leading into the graveyard from the manse
1 P.S.A.S., lxxxiv (1949-50), 81.
2 Stat. Acct., xviii (1796), 337.
3 "Kippen".
4 Register of the Diocesan Synod of Dunblane (1662-88),
ed. Wilson, J., 25 f.
5 Stat. Acct., xviii (1796), 115.
-- 170 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_206 |
No. 173 -- ECCLESIASTICAL MONUMENTS -- No. 178
garden is a re-used door-lintel from a 17th-century
building - perhaps the earlier church (supra) - broken at
the dexter end and bearing in relief, the inscription
HAC ITVR AS ASTRA ("By this way we rise to the stars").
707943 -- NS 79 SW -- 24 October 1952
173, Greyfriars Convent, Stirling (Site). Nothing
now remains of the Greyfriars Convent, which was
founded by James II in 1449 and demolished, apart from
its church, in 1559. ¹ The panel recording its position is
noted under No. 250. ²
794935 -- NS 79 SE (unnoted) -- 8 September 1954
174. Chapel, Cambusbarron (Site). No structural
remains now survive on the site marked on the 6-inch
O.S. map, but in 1858 some inhabitants of the village
remembered having seen a portion of the ruin still
standing. ³ Fleming suggests that the chapel was founded
at the end of the 15th century. ⁴
778925 -- NS 79 SE ("Chapel, site of") -- 28 October 1954
175. Chapel, Carnock (Site). The site of this chapel,
of which no structural remains survive, is marked by an
assemblage of loose stones and an inscribed iron panel.
The assemblage comprises a large flat slab; two large
blocks, each with a roll moulding along one arris; a
chamfered window-sill or lintel, cut for two lights each
11 in. wide and divided by a mullion; two fragments of
chamfered sills or lintels; and a tapering slab, 2 ft. 2 in.
long by 1 ft. 2 in. wide at its wider end, in which there
has been hollowed out a basin 9 1/2 in. in diameter by 4 in.
deep. This is most probably a holy-water stoup, and if
so it would help to attest the former existence of a pre-
Reformation chapel on the site.
Carnock has been identified with the "Kernach"
mentioned in Jocelyn's Vita S. Kentigerni. ⁵
865883 -- NS 88 NE -- 14 October 1954
176. Martyrs' Tomb, Burnfoot (Site). An upright slab
erected in 1865 on the SE. side of the Kilsyth-
Kirkintilloch highway at the third milestone from
Kilsyth, commemorates two Covenanters, John Wharry
and James Smith, who were hanged in Glasgow on 13th
June, 1683, after having had their right hands cut off,
and were subsequently hung in chains and then buried
at this spot. At the time, this road was presumably part
of the main route from Edinburgh to Glasgow, as the
more direct one by Cumbernauld was not opened until
1794. ⁶ The inscription on the slab states that it was set
up "in the room of the old tombstone", and with this
latter is perhaps to be identified a recumbent slab which
lies at the foot of the upright one and from which the
account of the martyrs' end has evidently been copied.
This recumbent stone, however, is apparently not con-
temporary with the killing of the martyrs, as the style of
its lettering suggests that it dates from the 18th rather
than from the 17th century.
672759 -- NS 67 NE -- 10 August 1953
177. Chapel of St. Mary and St. Michael, Buchanan
Old House (Site). The site of this chapel, which served
as a parish church after the abandonment of Inch-
cailleach (No. 163) in 1621 ⁷ until a new church was built
about 1764, is in the policies of Buchanan Castle some
300 yds. WNW. of Buchanan Old House (No. 329).
Nothing can now be seen on the site except some upright
stone blocks, which seem to demarcate the former extent
of the burying-ground. The mediaeval font, ⁸ which
may have come originally from Inchcailleach and was
removed from this site to the parish church in 1898, ⁹
was destroyed when that building was burned down;
but another relic, discovered in Drymen but said to
have come likewise from this chapel, ¹⁰ is now preserved
in the museum at Balmaha. This is an octagonal block
of sandstone 1 ft. 2 in. high by 11 1/2 in. in diameter, with
a basin 7 in. in diameter by 2 in. deep, hollowed in its
upper end. It is no doubt a holy-water stoup, and its
discoverer, the Rev. W. H. MacLeod, believed that it
had originally come from Inchcailleach. ¹¹
454889 -- NS 48 NE ("Chapel, site of") -- 13 May 1953
178. Chapel, Chapelarroch (Site). The farmhouse of
Chapelarroch stands by the old road from Drymen to
Gartmore, on the left bank of the Kelty Water. The
house is said to be of considerable age, but shows no
features of interest. At this place there once stood a
church dedicated to the Virgin Mary, which appears to
have possessed a graveyard and was attached to the
Priory of Inchmahome. ¹² The ruins were still standing in
1724, ¹³ and foundations could be seen in Guthrie Smith's
time, ¹⁴ but nothing survives today. It was at Chapelarroch
that Rob Roy kidnapped Graham of Killearn in 1716. ¹⁵
517958 -- NS 59 NW ("Chapelarroch on site of Chapel")
3 September 1952
1 Chalmers, G., Caledonia, ed. 1894, vii, 79.
2 See also History, 127, 310.
3 Ordnance Survey Name Book, St. Ninians parish, 95.
4 Castles and Mansions, 415.
5 Skene, Celtic Scotland, ii, 184; Studies in the Early British
Church, ed. Chadwick, 307 ff.
6 Stat. Acct., xviii (1796), 312.
7 Stat. Acct., ix (1793), 12.
8 Described with an illustration in P.S.A.S., lxviii (1933-4),
111 ff.
9 Ibid.
10 Ibid.
11 T.G.A.S., new series, iv, 81.
12 Strathendrick, 74, 269.
13 Origines, i, 38.
14 Strathendrick, 269.
15 Scott, Rob Roy (original edition of Waverley Novels,
No. VII), i, lxiv, cxxi f.
-- 171 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_207 |
[Plan Inserted]
By courtesy of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland
Fig. 61. Motte, Bonnybridge (No. 180); plan as surveyed in 1933
[Plan Inserted]
By courtesy of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland
Fig. 62. Motte, Bonnybridge (No. 180); sections as surveyed in 1933
-- 172 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_208 |
No. 179 -- MOTTES -- No. 182
179. Motte, Slamannan. The "Mote" of Slamannan
stands on a small area of rising ground which separates
the River Avon from its tributary the Culloch burn,
on the N. outskirts of the village. In ancient times the
adjoining low-lying fields may well have been a marsh.
The motte is reached through a door in the N. wall of the
graveyard (cf. No. 145), and now appears as a truncated
cone measuring about 13 ft. in height, 90 ft. in diameter
at the base and 37 ft. across the summit. It has suffered
a good deal of disturbance, a path and brick steps having
been made on its E. slope. In 1958 the N. half of the top
of the mound was excavated, but no clear evidence of any
structure was found. Two sections were also cut across
the ditch, and sherds believed to be of 12th- or 13th-
century date were obtained from the primary silt in
each. ¹
The Ordnance Survey Name Book ² implies that until
1810 another mound existed close by, on the site of the
parish church (No. 145).
856734 -- NS 87 SE ("Mote") -- 20 July 1959
180. Motte, Bonnybridge. This motte is situated at
a height of 140 ft. O.D. in the southern outskirts of
Bonnybridge; it stands on the N. side of the Antonine
Ditch behind a row of houses called Singer's Place,
720 yds. ENE. of Seabegs Place. Though now in an
advanced state of decay, it was excavated in 1933 and the
following description is a summary of the published
report. ³
As shown in Figs. 61 and 62, the motte consisted of
a rectangular mound measuring 100 ft. in length from
E. to W. by 70 ft. transversely. In 1933 it stood to a
height of 11 ft. above ground level. It was bordered on
the S. side by the Antonine Ditch and on the other three
sides by a ditch measuring 17 ft. in width and 6 ft. in
depth. The mound consisted of a slight natural knoll,
rising to a height of about 6 ft. from the general ground-
level, to which a layer of clay soil about 5 ft. in depth
had been added. Among the few relics found was an
unstratified fragment of the rim of a vessel of light-
coloured pottery dating to about A.D. 1200.
The motte is referred to as "lie Mot de Seybeggis" in
a charter of 1542, ⁴ while as late as 1797 it was known as
the "Mote". ⁵
824798 -- NS 87 NW (indicated but not named)
6 December 1953
181. Motte, Colzium. This motte is situated half a mile
SE. of the ruins of Colzium Castle (No. 204). It consists
of a natural knoll which is roughly oval on plan and
measures 200 ft. in length from N. to S. by 27 ft. in
height. The top is uneven, and at the S. end there is a
rocky mound, about 6 ft. in height, which has been
dressed to form a level, circular platform, 30 ft. in
diameter, with uniformly steep-sides. No traces, however,
can now be discerned of the timber structure which was
presumably erected on this platform.
734782 -- NS 77 NW ("Castle Hill") -- 18 May 1953
182. Motte, Balcastle. This motte, The Becastle Tumulus
described and sketched by Alexander Gordon, ⁶ is
situated at a height of 300 ft. O.D. on the lower slopes
of the Kilsyth Hills, one mile W. of Kilsyth and 300 yds.
SSW. of Balcastle farmhouse. Roughly oval on plan
(Fig. 63), it has been fashioned out of a natural knoll
which is enclosed on three sides by streams. The flanks
[Plan Inserted]
Fig. 63. Motte, Balcastle (No. 182)
of the knoll vary in height from 12 ft. on the N. to 40 ft.
on the SE., while the level top measures 120 ft. from
NW. to SE. by 85 ft. transversely. Round the base of the
knoll on the N. half there was a ditch about 18 ft. in
width, but this has now been largely filled in. A track
which ascends the NE. flank of the motte is unlikely to
1 Scottish Regional Group, Council for British Archaeology,
Discovery and Excavation, Scotland, 1958, 37.
2 Slamannan parish, p. 11.
3 P.S.A.S., lxviii (1933-4), 59-68.
4 R.M.S. (1513-46), No. 2879.
5 Stat. Acct., xix (1797), 107.
6 Itin. Septent., 21 and pl. ii, 2.
-- 173 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_209 |
No. 183 -- MOTTES -- No. 184
be an original feature, and was no doubt made at a
comparatively recent date when the top of the motte was
periodically brought under cultivation. ¹
701781 -- NS 77 NW ("Mote") -- 18 May 1953
183. Motte and Bailey, "Maiden Castle", Garmore.
This earthwork is situated at a height of 500 ft. O.D. on
the southern slopes of the Campsie Fells, 370 yds. W. of
Garmore farmhouse. It lies on the right bank of a burn
which runs down from a moss between Cort-ma Law
and Lairs; the water falls 1150 ft. in a distance of three-
quarters of a mile, and the occasional violence of its
passage has caused considerable erosion of the remains
(Fig. 64). In addition, the bailey has been damaged
by water from a number of springs which irrigate the
hillside, by the harnessing of one spring to a piped
water supply, and by the encroachment of cultivation.
The motte (A on the plan) originally consisted of a
[Plan Inserted]
Fig. 64. Motte, Garmore (No. 183)
circular mound surrounded by a ditch 12 ft. wide, but
the burn has removed about one-third of both mound
and ditch. On the S. side the mound rises to a height
of 18 ft. above the present bottom of the ditch. The
flat top measures 57 ft. in diameter, and there is a drop
of 43 ft. from it to the stream-bed. The motte stands
in the S. part of the bailey, enough of which survives
to suggest that it was originally oval, measuring approxi-
mately 170 ft. by 140 ft. within what is now a grass-
covered, stony bank (B) some 12 ft. thick and 2 ft. high.
Much of the S. and W. arcs of this bank remain, but
the E. part has been washed away by the burn, while the
N. arc has been mutilated by the plough.
The space within the bailey N. of the motte is
occupied by mounds arranged as shown on the plan. The
inner, a substantial stony bank up to 8 ft. in height, starts
outside the WNW. arc of the motte-ditch, and, after
curving for a short distance in conformity with the line
of the ditch, runs straight NE. for 50 ft. After a gap 8 ft.
wide it continues for 32 ft. SE. to come to a broken end
on the lip of the gorge of the burn. The outer bank,
generally similar in appearance to the inner, follows a
similar course.
Oval baileys containing curved mounds as well as
mottes have been recorded in North Devon and Brecon. ²
643784 -- NS 67 NW -- 16 July 1953
184. Motte, Woodend. This motte (Fig. 65) is situated
at a height of 300 ft. O.D. on the N. slopes of the valley
of the Endrick Water, its position being just S. of the
[Plan Inserted]
Fig. 65. Motte, Woodend (No. 184)
public road at a distance of 300 yds. W. of Woodend
farmhouse. It consists of a natural mound, 10 ft. in
maximum height, the top of which has been levelled to
form a roughly an oval platform measuring 130 ft. from E.
to W. by 110 ft. transversely. The SE. half of the base
of the mound is bordered by natural gullies which unite
on the SE. and are linked by a channel with Neil's Burn.
In order to form a continuous defence, the heads of the
gullies have been joined by an artificial ditch dug round
1 Stat. Acct., xviii (1796), 292.
2 Allcroft, A. H., Earthwork of England (1908), figs. 121 and
126.
-- 174 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_210 |
No. 185 -- MOTTES -- No. 186
the NW. half of the base of the mound, but the ditch is
now largely filled in and its counterscarp is obscured by
the construction upon it of a plantation bank.
555887 -- NS 58 NE ("Mote") -- 9 October 1952
185. Motte, Fintry. This motte is situated on the S. side
of the valley of the Endrick Water and 150 ft. above the
W. end of Fintry village. It occupies the crest of a slight
ridge from which the ground falls steeply to the valley
floor on the NE., while in the opposite direction, to the
SW., a slight hollow separates the site from a steep slope
which rises 600 ft. to the summit of Turf Hill.
The motte (Fig. 66 and Pl. 52) consists of an oval
[Plan Inserted]
Fig. 66. Motte, Fintry (No. 185)
mound which is enclosed by a broad ditch. At the present
time much of the surface of the mound is covered with
bracken, while the N. part and most of the ditch are
planted with trees. Except on the W., where it is only
9 ft. 6 in. high, the mound stands about 16 ft. above the
present bottom of the ditch; its top is level and measures
120 ft. in maximum length by 100 ft. in breadth. A
stretch of the ditch has been destroyed by erosion on the
N. side, but elsewhere it is still up to 40 ft. in width and
5 ft. in depth.
In early mediaeval times Fintry lay within the earldom
of Lennox (cf. p. 10), and it is therefore possible that
this motte was the residence from which Maldouen, 3rd
Earl of Lennox, gave two charters about the middle of
the 13th century. ¹
611866 -- NS 68 NW ("Mote") -- 5 July 1955
186. Motte, Sir John de Graham's Castle. This work,
which should probably be classed among the mottes,
stands at a height of a little over 800 ft. O.D., in a
commanding position on the narrow watershed that
separates the River Carron and the Endrick Water. Its
position is on a tongue of raised ground close to the NW.
end of the Carron Valley Reservoir.
The structure is very nearly square on plan (see Fig.
67). It measures 145 ft. from NW. to SE. by 150 ft.
transversely, and consists of a central platform, 75 ft.
from NW. to SE. by 77 ft. transversely, surrounded by a
wide ditch. The surface of the platform is at the original
ground level, and its sides, which are well preserved,
slope down at an angle of 45° for a vertical distance of
9 ft. to the flat bottom of the ditch, which is 18 ft. in
width. The height of the counterscarp varies according
to the original level of the ground; to NW., SW. and
SE., where the ground slopes gently away, it is from 2 ft.
6 in. to 3 ft. 6 in. in height, but to the NE., where the
ditch cuts across almost the whole width of the tongue
of land, both scarp and counterscarp are 9 ft. in height.
There is no obvious means of access to the platform,
which was presumably reached by a drawbridge. The
angle at which its sides rise from the bottom of the ditch
suggests that either the latter was cut through rock, or a
very tightly packed soil, or that the slopes were faced
with stone. A few widely spaced stones forming a
continuous line, which were exposed high up on the E.
corner, lend support to this latter possibility, though at a
point near the middle of the SE. side, where there has
been a fall of earth, no traces of stonework could be seen.
The appearance of the work suggests that it is of
mediaeval date, and traditionally ² is was the residence
of Sir John Graham of Dundaff, who fell at the battle
of Falkirk in 1298 and whose monument may be seen in
the churchyard of Falkirk Parish Church (No. 140). In
the absence of excavation the exact age of the motte is
uncertain, but there seems to be no reason to doubt that
at some time during the mediaeval period it formed the
principal stronghold of the barony of Dundaff, which
was in the possession of Sir David de Graham, the
founder of the house of Montrose and the father or
grandfather of Sir John de Graham, as early as 1237. ³
Immediately to the NE., the broadening surface of the
tongue of raised ground bears signs of occupation. These
include a length of ruinous stone wall 3 ft. 6 in. thick
and built with lime mortar, together with various
1 Lennox, 25 f, 30 f.
2 Stat. Acct., xviii (1796), 388.
3 The Scots Peerage, vi, 201 and 204 f.
-- 175 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_211 |
No. 187 -- MOTTES -- No. 187
fragmentary banks and indeterminate hollows. The wall
may have formed the SE. side of a range of buildings; at
its NE. end there is a return, in the inner angle of which
there may have been a garderobe vent.
681858 -- NS 68 NE -- 7 October 1952
[Plan Inserted]
Fig. 67. Motte, Sir John de Graham's Castle (No. 186)
187. Motte, Keir Knowe of Drum. At a point one
mile WNW. of Kippen, the lands of Drum and Gateside
farms are traversed from W. to E. by a stretch of the
steep slope of an ancient shore-line (Introduction, pp.
18 f.) which falls northwards some 50 ft. to the carse-
lands of the River Forth. An unnamed burn flowing
between the two farms in an east-north-easterly direction
has formed a promontory between the steep slope and the
deep gorge through which it debouches on to the plain.
The tip of the promontory, which stands at an elevation
of 100 ft. O.D., is cut off from the adjacent land by a
broad, shallow gully, the surface of the portion thus
isolated being oval on plan and measuring 75 ft. in
length from ENE. to WSW. by 70 ft. transversely
(Fig. 68). It slopes slightly down to ENE., and, while
more than half of it is flat, several low, irregular stony
mounds (S in Fig. 68), which are covered with bracken
and grass, occupy the W. and SW. parts.
The W. flank of the mound rises to a height of 11 ft.
above the bottom of the gully, while the N. flank rises
to 40 ft. and the S. flank to 25 ft. above the flatter levels
below. On the E. there is a terrace (T) 20 ft. below the
level of the summit, and below this there is a further
drop of 30 ft. The terrace, which measures 30 ft. in
maximum width and 150 ft. in length, may, if it is not
entirely natural, represent a continuation of the line of
defence formed to W. and N. by the gully. The whole
of the promontory is planted with deciduous trees.
While it seems probable that the promontory had
been artificially modified to some extent, and that such
a site would have been highly suitable for a defensive
structure, nothing visible before excavation gave any
indication of the date of the work or of the purpose to
which the site had been put. Although three records of
recent quarrying for stones were known, ¹ none of them
provided any useful information. Trial excavations,
however, carried out in June 1957, by one of the Com-
mission's officers, ² revealed the foundations of a square
building near the central point of the promontory and a
system of defences round the margin.
1 Ordnance Survey Name Book, Kippen parish, 21;
"Kippen", 9; Chrystal, W., The Kingdom of Kippen, Stirling
(1903), 138.
2 The Commissioners are indebted to Messrs. W. R.
Paterson and Houston for permission to carry out this work.
-- 176 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_212 |
KEIR KNOWE OF DRUM
[Plan Inserted]
Fig. 68. Motte, Keir Knowe of Drum (No. 187)
-- M |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_213 |
No. 187 -- HOMESTEAD MOATS -- No. 189
The central foundation consisted of nine post-holes
placed at the corners and on the sides of a square of
about 15 ft., with one in the middle. The post-holes
were oval on plan, measuring about 1 ft. 3 in. by 1 ft.
along the axes and 2 ft. 6 in. in depth. The system of
defences was in two distinct parts, one running along
the N., E. and S. sectors of the perimeter of the surface
of the promontory and the other along the W. sector
above the gully. The former consisted of two parallel
trenches (A and B), 4 ft. apart, each about 100 ft. long,
3 ft. deep and 2 ft. wide. They were packed with large
stones and boulders, many of them on edge, as if they
had held stout wooden stockades. They terminated at
the points where the low, stony mounds (S) began. The
defences of the W. sector had been disturbed by the
quarrying, but excavation revealed that while a single
stockade (A1), corresponding to the outer one (A) of the
pair described above, continued close to the edge of the
plateau, the inner one was here replaced by a substantial
drystone wall (D) measuring 2 ft. 6 in. in thickness and
standing to a height of 2 ft. 10 in. The wall was exposed
only at one place, and it is therefore impossible to say
whether it formed merely a simple curtain or whether
any structure such as a guard-chamber was involved.
No sign of an entrance was found, and the possibility
remains that access to the interior was gained by a ladder.
The scanty traces of a stone-packed ditch (C), often only
a shelf, were found outside the main lines of defence
at a level slightly below that of the present rim of
the plateau. This feature, which has clearly been con-
siderably denuded by the natural decay of the steep
flanks of the promontory, may originally have held
another stockade. A section cut in the gully between the
promontory and the adjacent land showed no sign that
this had ever been substantially deeper than at present.
One small circular post-hole (P), 6 in. in diameter and
1 ft. in depth, was found in this section near the bottom
of the flank of the mound.
The excavation thus revealed that the Keir Knowe of
Drum had been occupied by a square wooden building
defended by stockades and, in one sector, by a wall. The
dimensions of the building correspond with those of a
tower of the kind found upon mottes, while stockades
may also be expected at such a structure. ¹ Natural and
artificial mounds were alike used for mottes, according
to individual circumstances.
No relics were found which might have assisted in
suggesting a date for this motte more precise than the
early Middle Ages. Mention of "Drummys of Kippane"
is made in a document of 8th March 1501-2, ² where it
forms part of a gift to Johne Striveling of Craigbernard
(cf. No. 439); but if this indeed refers to Drum, there
can be little doubt that by the date mentioned the little
wooden tower and its stockades would long ago have
given place to a more capacious dwelling placed on a site
less inconvenient for domestic purposes.
636953 -- NS 69 NW ("Keir Knowe or (sic) Drum")
June 1957
188. Motte (probable), Watling Lodge (Site). The
artificial mound which formerly stood on the N. side of
the ditch of the Antonine Wall, immediately W. of the
entrance through which the Roman road ran to the fort
at Camelon (cf. p. 100), was obliterated in 1894, when
Watling Lodge was built upon it. It is said ³ to have been
constructed of earth, and to have been reduced in height
by about 6 ft. when the house was built. No record of its
precise measurements has been found, but from the
appearance of the terrace underlying Watling Lodge its
summit area may have been about 70 ft. in length from
E. to W. by about 40 ft. transversely. The mound, known
locally as Maiden Castle, was probably a motte, compar-
able with the one at Bonnybridge (No. 180).
862798 -- NS 87 NE (unnoted) -- 16 July 1957
HOMESTEAD MOATS
189. Homestead Moat, Peel of Gartfarren. One of
the best-preserved homestead moats in Scotland is the
earthwork known as the "Peel of Gartfarren" which is
situated on low-lying ground on the W. edge of Flanders
Moss, half a mile E. of East Gartfarren. It consists of a
trapezoidal area (Fig. 69), measuring approximately
150 ft. internally along both the N. to S. and E. to W.
axes, which is enclosed by a broad, flat-bottomed ditch
with upcast banks on either lip. Apart from short breaks
at the NE. and SW. corners, the ditch is still traceable
throughout its entire length; it measures from 25 ft. to
40 ft. in width at the top, from 10 ft. to 20 ft. in width at
the bottom and up to 9 ft. in depth. The upcast banks
on the other hand are less distinct, and in some places
have been completely obliterated. Except on the N. side
of the entrance, where it is spread to a width of 34 ft.,
the inner bank is about 18 ft. wide and its maximum
height above the interior is 3 ft. It is capped here and
there by some slight remains of a later drystone enclosure
wall. The surviving portions of the outer bank are from
15 ft. to 20 ft. in width and its maximum height above
the ground outside is 4 ft. The original entrance is
situated near the centre of the W. side, the ditch being
interrupted at this point by an unexcavated causeway
15 ft. in width. Other gaps in the inner bank are clearly
secondary and are said to have been deliberately made
in comparatively recent times to admit the passage of
carts. ⁴
The interior shows the marks of plough-rigs and has
been planted with trees. No traces of buildings are there-
fore visible, but a piece of pottery dateable to the late
13th or early 14th century was found on the site at the
date of the visit.
1 Archaeological Journal, cvii (1950), 15 ff.
2 Reg. Sec. Sig. i, No. 778.
3 R.W.S., 344.
4 Ordnance Survey Name Book, Drymen parish, 35.
-- 178 |
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No. 190 -- CASTLES AND TOWER-HOUSES -- No. 192
Thomas le fix Maucolum de Garthgeuerone is on
record in 1296. ¹
536953 -- NS 59 NW -- 8 October 1952
[Plan Inserted]
Fig. 69. Homestead Moat, Peel of Gartfarren (No. 189)
190. Homestead Moat (probable), Peel of Garchell.
A low mound, 600 yds. NE. of Garchell farmhouse and
at a height of 50 ft. O.D., is all that is now visible of the
earthwork known as the Peel of Garchell. The account
in the O.S. Name Book ² describes the mound as being
"an elevation about 4 feet in height and 85 feet square;
it stands in a level field and appears to have been formed
by earth cast from a ditch which can be traced on the
North, South and West sides. James Ramsay [tenant of
Garchell] states that he assisted to remove some founda-
tion stones and part of a staircase from the elevation,
also to cast earth from it into the ditch." This account
is valuable as a record of a process which was very
wide-spread at this period of large-scale land-
improvement, but of which descriptions are not often
to be found.
The description and situation of the earthwork suggest
that it was probably a homestead moat comparable to
the Peel of Gartfarren (No. 189). Iwyn de Garghille is on
record in 1296. ³
548948 -- NS 59 SW -- 8 October 1952
191. Homestead Moat (probable), Peel of Gar-
gunnock (Site). All the editions of the 6-inch O.S. map
mark the approximate site of the "Peel of Gargunnock",
though in slightly varying positions, in a field on the S.
side of the road from Stirling to Dumbarton, about a
quarter of a mile ESE. of Gargunnock Station. The
structure was already destroyed in 1795, ⁴ but if the state-
ment that "both a highway and a railway have been
carried right through its site" ⁵ is correct, it must have
lain a short distance N. of the positions shown on the
maps. It was probably a homestead moat, like the Peel
of Gartfarren (No. 189), and the earthwork at Ballan-
grew, ⁶ Perthshire, some six miles distant to the WNW.
(617988).
In Blind Harry's account of the deeds of William
Wallace, which appears to have been written in the
second half of the 15th century, there is a description of
an attack made upon the Peel of Gargunnock. ⁷ The
structure is there described as "a small peill" containing
"within a dyk, bathe closs, chawmer, and hall"; the
entrance was defended by a drawbridge.
c. 717948 -- NS 79 SW -- 16 February 1954
CASTLES AND TOWER-HOUSES
192. Stirling Castle. Stirling Castle (Fig. 86 and Pls. 53,
54, 55 A) is essentially the fortress that guards a vital
crossing-place on the River Forth. The natural import-
ance of the site has already been noticed (p. 4), and at
the beginning of the Middle Ages this may well have been
enhanced by the survival of some usable remains of the
Roman road (No. 124) that had formerly led to the
crossing. The Castle Rock, again, like its counterpart at
Edinburgh, is an ideal site for mediaeval, as also for pre-
historic, fortification, though in both cases mediaeval and
later building has obliterated all trace of earlier work. At
Stirling, in fact, no structure remains which can be
dated with confidence to before the later years of the
14th century.
The earliest reliable record of a castle at Stirling ⁸ is
found in the dedication of a chapel there by Alexander I,
and its endowment with tithes from his demesne lands
within the jurisdiction of Stirling. ⁹ This same king died
at Stirling, almost certainly in the Castle, in 1124. In
1 Cal. of Docts., ii (1272-1307), No. 823, p.205.
2 Drymen parish, p. 65.
3 Cal. of Docts., ii (1272-1307), No. 823, p. 205.
4 Stat. Acct., xviii (1796), 90.
5 P.S.A.S., ix (1870-2), 35.
6 Ibid., xl (1905-6), 21.
7 The Actis and Deidis of the Illustere and Vailzeand Campioun
Schir William Wallace, etc., S.T.S. (1889), iv, pp. 55 f., ll. 213 ff.
8 Too much importance should not be attached to the
occurrence of the place-name Struthlinn, under the years
995-7, in "The Prophecy of St. Berchan" (Anderson, A. O.,
Early Sources of Scottish History, i, 519).
9 Lawrie, Charters, CLXXXII.
-- 179 |
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No. 192 -- CASTLES AND TOWER-HOUSES -- No. 192
or about the following year his brother and successor
David I, alludes to "my burgh of Stirling", which may
have stood at the gates of the Castle. In 1174 William the
Lion was captured at Alnwick and, as part of the price
exacted by Henry II for his release, delivered up Stirling
with four other Scottish castles, ¹ the Scottish Crown
bearing the costs of their occupation. Scottish independ-
ence was regained in 1189, and William died in the Castle
in 1214. It was William the Lion who first enclosed the
King's Park, that is, the Old Park of Stirling, taking in
some land which belonged to Dunfermline Abbey and
giving the monks other land in exchange ²; this park was
repaired in 1264, in which same year a new park was
constructed and partly fenced in. ³ By 1287 the rebuild-
ing of the castle had been begun; the construction was
partly in stone and lime, Master Richard, the mason,
and Master Alexander, the carpenter, being in charge. ⁴
During the 13th century Stirling Castle was at least an
occasional residence of the Royal family; about 1280
David, the second son of Alexander III, died there, ⁵
and after the King's own death in 1286 Queen Yolande
remained there for nearly a year. ⁶ Under the Treaty of
Birgham Edward I attempted, in 1290, to get delivery of
all the Scottish castles, on the plea that subjects in dispute
should be in the hands of the judge; they were handed
over in the following year, and in 1292 Edward instructed
his governors to deliver them to John Balliol, the success-
ful competitor. His governor of Stirling Castle at that
time was Sir Norman de Arcy, variously styled "con-
stable" and "castellan" of the Castle. ⁷ In 1296 Edward,
with a small force, moved up to Stirling from the siege of
Edinburgh Castle, to find Stirling Castle lying open and
empty but for some prisoners. ⁸ In 1297 Wallace secured
the Castle after his victory at Stirling Bridge; the
English constable and the greater part of the garrison
having fallen at the bridge, William de Ros, Sir William
le fiz Waryn and Sir Marmaduc de Thwenge, leader of
the English van along with Cressingham, threw them-
selves into the Castle but had to yield it for want of
victuals. ⁹ In the following year, however, after Wallace's
defeat at Falkirk by Edward I the remnants of the Scots
army fell back on Stirling; they were unable to hold it,
and set the town on fire. Edward, following up, ordered
the Castle to be repaired and garrisoned. ¹⁰ In the next
year, a Scots army encamped in the Tor Wood and
besieged the Castle from that base; Edward set out hot-
foot to the rescue, but, as his barons and their vasslas
would go no farther north than Berwick, he was left
with only a small force, described by a contemporary
as "petit -- et pover et descounsailé" ("small, poor and
disheartened"). ¹¹ He accordingly decided to return, and,
since it had proved impossible to relieve the English
garrison in Stirling, he authorised it to surrender. Thus
his constable, John Sampson, handed the Castle over to
Gilbert Malerbe "a Scottishman", ¹² and in the process lost
horses, armour, robes, etc., to the value of £61, 13s. 10d.,
in which sum was included the value of two horses and a
mare, which he and his companions had eaten, in default
of other food. The garrison numbered some ninety
persons in all. ¹³
By 1303 Stirling Castle was the last stronghold left to
the Scottish patriots. Once again Edward I had invaded
Scotland, advancing as far north as Moray. In November
of that year he retired to Dunfermline for the winter,
and there and then made his preparations to reduce
Stirling. Carpenters, ditchers and other workmen were
drawn from the Lothians and mustered at Dunfermline.
In the following March he was on his way to lay siege to
the Castle, which was still holding out against him; and
he ordered the Prince of Wales to provide lead for the
weights of his siege-engines by stripping it from roofs,
though in the case of churches he enjoined him to leave
the parts immediately above the altars intact. ¹⁴ Robert
Bruce, later King of Scots but then Earl of Carrick, had
just succeeded to and done homage for his father's
English estates, and was at this time among the foremost
in Edward's service. When he complained to Edward
that he could find no waggon in the country sufficient
to carry the frame of a certain great siege-engine, Edward
replied that he would send someone to help him, and
insisted on the frame being forwarded together with
the stones and lead; on the same day he ordered Sir John
Botetorte, an experienced soldier, to aid and advise the
Earl in the carriage of the engine in question, and like-
wise of timber and stones, together with all the lead that
he could procure. ¹⁵
Edward began the siege of Stirling Castle on 21st
April 1304, ¹⁶ He was accompanied by a brilliant array,
including the Earls of Gloucester, Lancaster and
Worcester, John de Bretagne, Aymer de Valence, Henry
de Percy and Hugh le Despenser. A contemporary
account of the siege is included in the Chronicle of Pierre
de Langtoft, who, however, was not himself present. As
translated from the Norman-French ¹⁷ this runs:
"The king after Easter takes his departure,
With his knighthood, to besiege Stirling.
When they are come there, they go and examine the
place,
And cause to be raised there thirteen great engines.
Two knights had the castle in ward,
Sir William Olifard was the first,
I heard the other named sir William of Dipplyn,
And twenty gentlemen, besides pages and porter,
1 Cal. of Docts., i, No. 139.
2 Dunfermline, No. 72.
3 Excheq. Rolls, i (1264-1359), 24.
4 Ibid., 40 f.
5 Scotichronicon, ii, 124.
6 Chron. de Lanercost, 118.
7 Cal. of Docts., ii, Nos. 522, 523, 533, 545, 586.
8 Chron. de Lanercost, 179.
9 Cal. of Docts., iv, No. 1835.
10 Ibid., ii, No. 1002.
11 The Chronicle of Pierre de Langtoft, R.S., ii, 320 f.
12 Cal. of Docts., ii, No. 1949.
13 Ibid., ii, No. 1119.
14 Documents illustrative of the History of Scotland, ed.
Stevenson, ii, 475, 481.
15 Ibid., 482-4.
16 Bain, The Edwards in Scotland, 42.
17 R.S., ii, 355-9.
-- 180 |
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| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_216 |
CASTLES AND TOWER-HOUSES
A Jacobin friar, a monk as counsellor,
and thirteen gentlewomen with their laundress;
No more persons they were numbered there.
They had an engine, and brought it out to cast;
The rod broke, afterwards it was no use.
The engines without are put to work,
And cause the stones to pass walls and towers;
They overthrow the battlements around,
And throw down to the ground the houses inside.
In the midst of these doings the king causes to be built of timber
A terrible engine, and to be called Ludgar;
And this at its stroke broke down the entire wall.
Three months and eight days, reckoning by days,
Lasted the storm; the endurance was hard
To wretches within, who had noting to eat.
From no side came to them succour or power,
Wherefore they desire much to have the king's peace;
By intermessengers they often solicit him.
The king sends them word that he will not grant it so soon.
So long the conference for peace dragged out,
That I know not nor can I record the half of it;
But I have heard well, in the sequel,
The castle was surrendered to the king at his will."
The Castle proved a harder nut to crack than Edward
had expected, but he pressed the siege with energy. In
June he ordered the immediate delivery at Stirling of
fodder, of all stores lying at Berwick, and of forty
carpenters and cross-bow men from the Sheriffdom of
York, together with quarrels and other necessaries for
cross-bows. ¹ John de la Mullier threw Greek fire ² into
the Castle, ³ and in addition to the thirteen siege-engines
reported by Langtoft there was another one of novel
construction called War Wolf. ⁴ In the end the Castle
surrendered on St. Margaret's Day, 20th July 1304.
Twenty-five of the garrison marched out with the
constable, Sir William Oliphant, ⁵ and were sent to
various prisons in England, but others were left inside.
Edward gave orders that none of his men were to enter
the Castle until it had been struck with the new weapon
"War Wolf" - the Scots inside being left to defend
themselves from the Wolf as best they could. ⁶ Not
unnaturally, William Byset, the English constable,
found occasion to report in 1304-6 that the gate was "a
great deal" broken. ⁷
For the next decade the Castle remained in English
hands, and the fact that, throughout this occupation, its
garrison included many Scotsmen provides an interesting
side-light on contemporary politics. As the Lanercost
Chronicle reminds us, ⁸ a father might be serving England,
while his son fought for Scotland, and in fact the same
individual might well serve first one country and then
the other. Such action was natural enough in the case of
men who held land in both Scotland and England, and
again a large number of Scotsmen were personally
hostile to Bruce. With the improvement of Bruce's
fortunes, and largely as a result of Edward II's neglect,
one after another of the principal castles in Scotland were
taken from their English governors, Perth being the first
to fall, and by 1313 the only important castles still held
for England were Berwick, Bothwell and Stirling. In that
year Edward Bruce, brother of the king, besieged Stirling
Castle from Lent until midsummer; and it was the
promise then made by the English constable, to surrender
the Castle, unless it was relieved by Midsummer Day
1314, that brought about the Battle of Bannockburn with
all its consequences. Once in his hands, the Castle was
levelled by Bruce. As Barbour puts it ⁹
"The castell and the towrys syne
Richt to the grund doune gert he myne."
With the treaty of Northampton in 1328 hostilities
ceased, but only for a brief interval, as in the following
year, after the death of the King of Scots, disputes once
more arose between the two kingdoms which culminated
in the defeat of the Scots in 1332 at Dupplin Moor,
and in 1333 at Halidon Hill. In the summer of 1336
Edward III was in Scotland from June until October;
accompanying him was Sir Thomas Rokeby with a
retinue of five esquires and nine archers. In October 1336
Rokeby is on record as Warden of Stirling Castle, with
three knights, eighty esquires, a clerk of the victuals,
twenty-two watchmen and eighty archers under him; and
in 1337 as having beheaded four Scots "for treason against
Stirling castle". ¹⁰ In this latter year Andrew of Moray,
Guardian of Scotland, began a siege of the Castle, which
he prosecuted with vigour and ability for the months of
April and May, but he then withdrew, fearing the English
king's arrival with his army. ¹¹ Froissart ¹² implies that
cannon were used in a siege of Stirling Castle at this
period; if this record is correct, this must have been one
of the earliest occasions on which the new arm appeared
in Scotland. ¹³
While Warden, Rokeby carried out a good deal of
building at Stirling Castle. In his account ¹⁴ for the period
26th October 1336 to 30th August 1337, he includes the
expenses of such new buildings as a hall, two chambers, a
pantry, buttery, kitchen, brewhouse, bakehouse, larder
and storehouse, all built of wood from Gargunnock, about
six miles away. The partitions and ceilings of these
buildings were of wattle-and-daub and the roofs were
1 Cal. of Docts., ii, Nos. 1552-1556.
2 A combustible preparation composed of native sulphur,
resin, oils, pitch, bituminous earths, oakum, salts etc., used
to consume palisades and buildings. Arch. Journ., lxvi (1909),
145.
3 Cal. of Docts., ii, No. 1569.
4 Ibid., No. 1560 "le Lup de guerre"; cf. Langtoft's "Ludgar"
(supra).
5 Ibid., No. 1562.
6 Ibid., No. 1560.
7 Ibid., iv, No. 1825.
8 P. 217.
9 The Bruce, S.T.S. ed., i, 348.
10 Cal. of Docts., iii, No. 1236.
11 Scotichronicon, ii, 326.
12 Kervyn de Lettenhove, Œuvres de Froissart, Chroniques,
iii, 429.
13 Cf. Simpson, W. D., Dundarg Castle, 20 f.; Cruden , S., The
Scottish Castle, 198 ff.
14 Cal. of Docts., iii, 364 ff.
-- 181 |
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No. 192 -- CASTLES AND TOWER-HOUSES -- No. 192
covered with sods ("flaghturfs"). But much of the
building was in stone, and called for the employment of
masons. Thus walls and turrets were erected and
defective portions of the walls and foundations were
repaired, operations which necessitated an inspection of
the old collapsed wall, and of the sewer, and the removal
of debris; a new wall 150 ft. long by 20 ft. high was
above the drawbridge and at each side of the gateway,
and a new gaol. The masons also made missiles for the
war-engines, while the smith who had charge of the
artillery turned out parts for the engines, tools for the
masons, and fittings such as bands, keys and hinges for
doors, gates and windows. In addition the carpenters
constructed a peel within the inner bailey, said to have
been on the N. side of the Castle, for its protection in
that quarter. This peel was a palisaded enclosure, a
construction of posts, beams and planks, which were
daubed with mortar to protect them from fire. At the
top of the palisade there was a bretasche on which the
defenders stood protected by a parapet, and hurled
missiles at an attacking force, particularly on those
attempting to undermine the wall. Finally, two wells are
mentioned, one in the Castle itself and the other in the
outer bailey; both were cleaned out and deepened.
At this time Rokeby headed a garrison which numbered
three knights, a clerk of victuals, eighty esquires, eighty
archers and twenty-two sentinels. ¹ By 1341, when the
garrison was weaker, the Castle was being besieged by
the Scots under Robert the Steward, later Robert II. On
10th April 1342 Rokeby was forced by want of victuals to
surrender on terms. ² Having regained the Castle, the
Scots entrusted its custody to Maurice Murray, lord of
Clydesdale. ³ In the previous year (1341) David II and
his queen had returned from France, after an absence of
seven years. Five years later he was taken prisoner at the
battle of Neville's Cross, and it was only after his release
from captivity in 1357 that work was resumed on the
Castle of Stirling. At first only minor repairs come on
record, but in the decade 1380-90 some major con-
structions were undertaken - for example, in 1380 a fore-
work called the Barvicane; in 1381 a forework and a N.
gate, the latter probably still recognisable at the outer
end of the transe below the building now called The
Mint ⁴ and in 1390 a new tower called Wal. ⁵ In 1402
there is word of a new prison, and repairs are also effected
on some of the houses within the enceinte. Two years
later a new drawbridge was constructed, followed by a
new mill-house which was of wood. ⁶ The chapel, which
was dedicated to St. Michael ⁷, was rebuilt in 1412, ⁸ and
two new chambers were made in 1415. ⁹
During the 15th century the Castle was beginning to
be recognised as a suitable residence for people of
importance. In 1419 the "Mammet of Scotland", main-
tained for many years in Scotland on the supposition
that he was Richard II, ex-king of England, died there ¹⁰
and was buried in the church of the Dominicans at
the other end of the burgh. In 1420 Robert, Duke of
Albany, also died in the Castle, and was buried at
Dunfermline. After the assassination of James I at
Perth in 1437, his widowed queen, Joan Beaufort, is said
by Boece to have carried off her son James II in a chest
from Edinburgh to Stirling, though the story is open to
doubt; it is true, however, that in March 1439 Sir
Alexander Livingstone had the young king in his
custody in the Castle. The Castle seems to have been a
jointure-house of Queen Joan, as it was of later queens
(p. 183) and, after her second marriage, to Sir James
Stewart, Livingstone, accompanied by his son and
brother, broke into the Queen's chamber, seized her
person and imprisoned her in another part of the Castle,
her new husband and his brother being placed in fetters.
As a result of this treatment, Queen Joan on 3rd Sept-
ember 1439 concluded an agreement with Livingstone
and his kinsmen committing the young king to Sir
Alexander's keeping during his minority and lending her
Castle of Stirling as a residence for the Royal children. ¹¹
Towards the middle of the 15th century the names of
various apartments in the Castle appear on record. In
1434 there is mention of the king's and lords' chambers. ¹²
The king's chamber had glazed windows, but for the
four windows of the hall, ¹³ and for the windows of the
queen's chamber, cloth was considered good enough as
late as 1458. ¹⁴ In that same year some of the offices -
the cook-house, the little larder, the brewhouse and
the bakehouse - were repaired. ¹⁵ The year 1463 saw the
construction of a gate in a building described as the
White Tower, ¹⁶ while part of the wall was rebuilt in
1467. ¹⁷ By 1475 James Nory was casting guns in the
Castle; these were kept in the domus bumbardie. ¹⁸ It was
not until towards the end of this century, however, that
Stirling Castle began to assume its present appearance.
James III, according to Pitscottie, "tuik sic plesour to
duall thair that he left all wther castellis and touns in
Scottland because he thocht it maist pleasentest duelling
thair because he foundit ane colledge witht in the said
castell callit the chapell ryall and also he bigit the great
hall of Stirling". ¹⁹ His favourite, Thomas Cochrane, of
whose career very little is known, is by tradition the
1 Ibid., No. 1241.
2 Ibid., No. 1383.
3 Liber Pluscardensis, Historians of Scotland Series, i, 288.
4 For this and the other existing buildings in the Castle, as
mentioned below, reference should be made to Fig. 86.
5 Excheq. Rolls, ii (1359-79), 85, 113, 306, 477, 524, 551,
621; iii (1379-1406), 64, 80, 244, 667, 676. "Wal" was pre-
sumably a well-tower.
6 Ibid., iii (1379-1406), 609, 621; iv (1406-36), 5.
7 Ibid., i (1264-1359), 577.
8 Ibid., iv (1406-36), 164.
9 Ibid., 216.
10 Scotichronicon, ii, 459.
11 Acts Parl. Scot., ii, 54.
12 Excheq. Rolls, iv (1406-36), 593.
13 Not the Great Hall, for that was not yet built.
14 Excheq. Rolls, vi (1455-60), 415.
15 Ibid.
16 Ibid., vii (1460-9) 189.
17 Ibid., 452.
18 Excheq. Rolls, viii (14770-9), 275.
19 Lindsay of Pitscottie, The Historie and Cronicles of Scot-
land, S.T.S. ed., i, 200. In fact, however, the Chapel Royal
was not erected into a collegiate church until about 1501 (cf.
p. 183).
-- 182 |
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No. 192 -- CASTLES AND TOWER-HOUSES -- No. 192
Designer of the Great Hall, ¹ but the little contemporary
evidence that remains concerning its erection suggests
that the greater part of the building may have been
constructed during the reign of James IV. This theory
is supported by the resemblance of certain of its
architectural details to those of the Forework of c. 1500
to c. 1510. ² Certainly the wall-head was not completed
until 1501, ³ and an English plasterer was still working
[Hand written in margin] *
on the structure in 1503. ⁴ Other important building-
operations were undertaken at the Castle during the
reign of James IV, and although the detailed building-
accounts have not survived, the progress of the work
may be followed fairly closely from references appearing in
the Treasurer's Accounts. The main effort was directed
towards the erection of the Forework (p. 191) on the SE.,
the innermost of the three barriers on that side of the
Castle. Work began about 1500, and by August of the
following year the fore-tower, probably the rectangular
tower at the SW. end of the Forework, known today as
the Prince's Tower (p. 193, n. 2), was approaching
completion at the hands of John Yorkstoun, mason. ⁵
The kitchen tower, which is probably the one that stands
at the NE. end of the Forework and is now known as the
Elphinstone Tower (p. 193, n. 3), was being constructed
by "Johne masoun" in 1503. ⁶ John Lockhart, mason, was
responsible for the erection of the central gatehouse,
which was begun by 1501 and was sufficiently advanced
for the portcullis to be installed by June 1504; the project
seems to have been completed by 1506. ⁷ With the
completion of the gatehouse and the two principal towers
of the Forework, work was concentrated upon the
intervening sections of the curtain-wall upon which both
Lockhart and Yorkstoun were employed in 1508-8. ⁸
The accounts for the next three years are missing, but
the Forework was probably completed during this
period seeing that, when they resume in 1511-2,
Lockhart is working on the upper part of the "gret
towre -- in the northtest nuk of the Castele of
Striveling" ⁹ - presumably the building known today as
the Mint (pp. 213 ff.). Other building operations
undertaken during the reign of James IV include some
work on the chapel, which was erected into a collegiate
church in about 1501, ¹⁰ and the rebuilding of the old
church within the Castle in about 1505. ¹¹ In 1496 Walter
and John Merlioune, masons, were engaged upon the
erection of a building described as the King's House and
this was being roofed by November of the same year. ¹²
Work was also done on the old hall, ¹³ on the old chambers
on the W. side of the old close, ¹⁴ on the "cors chalmeris", ¹⁵
and on the nether tower ¹⁶ ; none of these buildings can
be identified today although some no doubt stood on the
site now occupied by the Palace of 1540-2, which
incorporates older work (cf. p. 200). The barras, in this
case the lists or tilting enclosure, comes on record in
1507 ¹⁷; its position is not given, but the barras of 1625
was on the low ground below the W. quarter of the
Palace. ¹⁸ With the battle of Flodden in 1513 the work
was halted; among others, George Campbell, principal
gardener of the great garden of Stirling, died on the field
"under the standard of the lord king". ¹⁹
Within a month of the death of James IV in this
battle, his infant son was crowned at Stirling. Buchanan
says ²⁰ that he was "educated with the utmost parsimony;
and when he came of age, he entered into empty palaces,
stript of all their furniture". His mother, Margaret
Tudor, sister of Henry VIII of England, who had
assumed the Regency in 1513 and whose jointure
included Stirling Castle, took refuge there with her
children in 1515, but was besieged by the Duke of
Albany, deprived of her children and sent to England. In
1529 she handed the Castle over to James V in exchange
for the lands of Methven, ²¹ and, on this, details of
repairs and other building work begin to reappear in the
records. Thus in 1530 John Bog made a passage down
from the Castle to the Park ²² - possibly a gate in the
position of the built-up postern in the Nether Bailey
(cf. p. 219). A Master of Works Account for repairs
executed in 1531 and 1532 is preserved, and is of some
interest for the names of apartments that it records
incidentally. As well as the Great Hall, there is mention
both of the "litill hall" ²³ and of the "dusty hall", ²⁴ one of
which is presumably the hall of 1502-4 (supra). Repairs were made to
the Royal apartments, ²⁵ and also to the chambers of the
Earl of Argyll, the Master of the Household. ²⁶ There is
also mention of the "cros chalmer" ²⁷ which is probably
the "cors chalmer" of 1513, (supra) and a note of
the closing-up of a window in the wine cellar. ²⁸ None
of these apartments can be identified with any certainty
today.
In January 1537 James V married Madeleine de
Valois, the eldest daughter of Francis I, and after her
1 Ibid., i, 176; Excheq. Rolls, ix (1480-7), xlii ff.; xiii (1508-13),
xcii.
2 Cast. and Dom. Arch., i, 470. Cf. also pp. 193 ff., 205 ff. below.
3 Accts. L.H.T., ii (1500-4), 82.
4 Ibid., 381.
5 Ibid., 85.
6 Ibid., 275. It contains a kitchen on the first floor (cf.
p. 196); in 1583 the term "kitchen tower" was applied to the
building now known as the Mint (cf. p. 185).
7 Ibid., 85, 277; iii (1506-7), 88.
8 Ibid., iv (1507-13), 44.
9 Ibid., 281.
10 Ibid., i (1473-98), 331, 357; Excheq. Rolls, xii (1502-7),
xxxviii.
11 Accts. L.H.T., iii (1506-7), 82; Excheq. Rolls, xiii (1508-13),
59.
12 Accts. L.H.T., i (1473-98), 277, 306.
13 Ibid., ii (1500-4), 269, 276; iii (1506-7), 83.
14 Ibid., iv (1507-13), 46.
15 Ibid., 526.
16 Ibid.
17 Ibid., iii (1506-7), 395.
18 R.P.C., xiii (1622-25), 706.
19 Excheq. Rolls, xiv, (1513-22), 38.
20 The History of Scotland, ed. Aikman (1827), ii, 324.
21 Excheq. Rolls, xv, p. lxix.
22 Accts. L.H.T., v (1515-31), 436.
23 M. of W. Accts.,i, 110.
24 Ibid., 105, 107-9.
25 Ibid., 103-11.
26 Ibid., 108-10.
27 Ibid., 107.
28 Ibid., 110.
-- 183
[Hand written] * Cf. H.M. Gen Register House,
Clerk of Penicuik papers, No. 5013 |
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No. 192 -- CASTLES AND TOWER-HOUSES -- No. 192
death, which took place only a few months later, a
second French marriage was arranged with Marie of
Lorraine, daughter of Claude, Duke of Guise. Speaking
of the results of the first of these marriages, Lesley
remarks: "Here is to be remembred, that thair wes mony
new ingynis and devysis, alsweill of bigging of paleices,
abilyementis, as of banquating and of menis behaviour,
first begun and used in Scotland at this tyme, eftir the
fassione quhilk thay had sene in France". ¹ Apart from
the considerable additions made to the Palace of
Linlithgow, ² the most important of the Royal buildings
erected in the closing years of James V's reign were the
Palaces of Falkland ³ and Stirling. Detailed accounts
survive for the work at Falkland, where the Palace was
in the course of erection from about 1538 to 1541; ⁴ but
no complete accounts remain for the building of the
new Palace at Stirling, and consequently the exact date
of its erection and the identification of the craftsmen
employed on it are less certain. An account for the first
few months of 1538 suggests that no major building
operations were in progress at that time, ⁵ but preparations
were being made by October of the following year ⁶ and
work was in progress in 1540. ⁷ The occurrence of "I 5"
in the window pediments on the E. façade of the Palace
(cf. p. 197) indicates that the building was approaching
completion at the time of James V's death, which took
place in December 1542. ⁸ Although the names of the
craftsmen employed are for the most part unknown, it
would seem likely that the building programmes at the
two Royal palaces were connected, and that some of the
workmen who are mentioned in the Falkland accounts
may later have been transferred to Stirling. That this
was so is suggested, for example, by the fact that, in the
case of the masons, the labour force at Falkland dwindled
rapidly during 1540, just at the time when building
operations at Stirling seem to have been getting under
way. Of the master-masons who worked at Falkland,
John Brownhill was appointed master-mason to the king
in 1532 ⁹; the accounts indicate that nearly all his time
was spent at Falkland, at least until September 1541.
Thomas French was appointed master-mason to the
king in 1535 ¹⁰; he worked at Falkland for the latter part
of the building season in 1538 and 1539, but his name
does not appear in the accounts for the years 1540 and
1541. James Black was also working at Falkland during
1538 and 1539 but, like French, his name does not figure
in the 1540 and 1541 accounts. Nicolas Roy was sent to
Scotland from France by the Duchess of Guise, and was
appointed master-mason to the king two days after his
arrival in April 1539 ¹¹; he worked at Falkland without
intermission from July 1539 to July 1541. Thus of the
three masons who held the office of master-mason to the
Crown at this time, Thomas French seems perhaps the
most probable to connect with the design of the Palace
of Stirling; on the other hand, it should be remembered
that nothing is known of the work undertaken by the six
French masons who had been sent to Scotland in July
1539. ¹² Of the Masters of Works who are mentioned in
connection with the building operations at Stirling, James
Nicholson held his appointment from 1530 until about
1541 ¹³; but Sir James Hamilton of Finnart, who was
appointed principal Master of Works to the king in
September 1539, was also closely concerned with the
Castle until his downfall a year later. ¹⁴ In August 1541
Robert Robertson, carver, was appointed "principale
ourseare and maister of all werkis concernying his craft
and utheris" within the Castle. ¹⁵ His trade suggests that
he may have had a hand in the woodwork of the Palace,
which included the carved ceiling of the King's Presence
Chamber (cf. p. 202), although this has also been
attributed to John Drummond, master-wright to the
king. ¹⁶ A cachepole, or tennis court, a contemporary
example of which may still be seen at Falkland, ¹⁷ was
erected in 1539 ¹⁸ and two kitchens were built three years
later. ¹⁹
Little is on record about the Castle during the early
years of Mary, Queen of Scots, who had been crowned
in the chapel ²⁰ in 1543 at the age of ten months but was
sent to France in 1548 in accordance with the treaty of
Haddington. A Master of Works account for 1558-9
survives. ²¹ but it is concerned with relatively minor
repairs and is not particularly informative. In 1559 the
Castle was occupied for a time by French troops; there
is a tradition that the Queen-Dowager, Mary of Lorraine,
caused them to build the Spur Battery in order to
command the bridge. ²² In 1561 Mary, Queen of Scots,
returned to Scotland as a widow, and in that year she
had a near escape from death by fire at Stirling Castle. ²³
In 1565 she held a convention of her nobility there to
receive and ratify her decision to marry Darnley; the
marriage took place at Holyrood on 29th July 1565.
Their son, who was to succeed the Queen as James VI
1 Lesley, History of Scotland, Bannatyne Club, 154.
2 Inventory of Midlothian and West Lothian, No. 356.
3 Inventory of Fife, Kinross and Clackmannan, No. 238.
4 M. of W. Accts., i, 201-21, 243-63, 269-88.
5 Ibid., 227-8.
6 Accts. L.H.T., vii (1538-41), 256.
7 Ibid., 474.
8 A pediment from one of the old dormer windows of the
Palace is said to have borne the date 1557 (Cast. and Dom. Arch.,
i, 475). This suggests that the upper storey may not have been
finished until this time, but cf. p. 216, n. 3.
9 Reg. Sec. Sig., ii (1529-42}, No. 1119.
10 Ibid., No. 1643.
11 Balcarres Papers, S.H.S.., [Handwritten] Λ 20; Accts. L.H.T., vii (1538-41), [Handwritten] i Λ
330; Reg. Sec. Sig., ii (1529-42), No. 3002.
12 Accts. L.H.T., vii (1538-41), 184.
13 Reg. Sec. Sig., ii (1529-42), No. 487.
14 Ibid. No. 3144; Accts. L.H.T., vii (1538-41), 256, 482.
15 Reg. Sec. Sig., ii (1529-42), No. 4191.
16 Drummond, W., The Genealogie of the Most Noble and
Ancient House of Drummond, 1681, 62. Cf. also R.C.A.M., The
Stirling Heads, H.M.S.O. (1960), 8 f.
17 Inventory of Fife, Kinross and Clackmannan, No. 238.
18 Accts. L.H.T., vii (1538-41), 168.
19 Ibid., viii (1541-6), 72, 84.
20 Lesley, op. cit., 174.
21 Vol. i, 293 ff.
22 This part of the Castle is designated "The French Spur"
on both Slezer's and Dury's plans (P.R.O., M.P.F. 246; and
Pl. 56; Nat. Lib. of Scot. MS. 1645, Z 2/16 and Pl. 59),
but the present battery is the result of substantial remodelling
carried out in the early 18th century (cf. p. 191).
23 Scottish Papers, i (1547-63), 555.
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No. 192 -- CASTLES AND TOWER-HOUSES -- No. 192
of Scotland, was born in Edinburgh Castle, but he was
baptised in the Chapel Royal at Stirling on 17th
December 1566, and after the ceremony the company
"past to the greit hall to the supper". ¹ In January 1567
the Queen was at Stirling again and, while there,
complained that the house where the prince was nursed
was "incommodious, because, the situation being damp
and cold, he was in danger of catching rheumatism". ²
The child became King, on his mother's abdication, on
24th July 1567, being crowned in the parish church of
Stirling five days later; and it was in Stirling Castle that
he grew up with George Buchanan and Peter Young as
his instructors. ³ There Mr. James Melvill saw him at the
age of eight, in the autumn of 1574 - "the sweitest sight
in Europe that day, for strange and extraordinar gifts
of Ingyne, iudgment, memorie and langage". ⁴
Much light is thrown on the contemporary condition
of the various buildings in the Castle by an estimate for
repairs which was drawn up in May 1583. ⁵ From this we
learn that the roof of the Great Hall was in poor con-
dition, and that water was also penetrating the wall-
heads. The roofs of the gatehouse of the Forework and
of the W. quarter of the Palace were in no better case,
while the Chapel Royal leaked so badly that "the kingis
hienes may nocht weill remane within the same in tyme
off weitt or rane". Moreover, part of the N. long wall,
close to the kitchen tower, had collapsed, seriously
affecting the security of the Castle at this point ⁶; the
reference is probably to the wall that separates the cen-
tral part of the Castle from the Nether Bailey, the
kitchen tower being the building now known as the
Mint. ⁷ Important proposals were made with regard to
the W. range of the Palace block, which, it was suggested,
should be pulled down and rebuilt, "quhilk qwarter off
the said paleys is the best and maist plesand sitwatioune
off ony of his hienes palayes be ressone it will have the
maist plesand sycht of all the foure airthis, in speciall
perk and gairdin, deir thairin, up the rawerais of Forth,
Teyth, Allone, and Gwddy [Goodie] to Lochlomwnd,
ane sycht rownd about in all pairtis and downe the
rewear of Forthe quhair thair standis many greit stane
howssis provyding thair be ane fair gallery beildit on
the ane syd of the said work withe ane tarras on the
uther syde of the said work, and this foirsaid gallerie
and tarras to be beildit and bigit upone the heich pairtis
off the foirsaid work". It was suggested that the King's
suite should then be transferred to the rebuilt W.
quarter. It was further proposed that "in cais the west-
qwarter off the foirsaid palays were beildit and bigit as
is foirsaid thane it wer necessar for the owtsett off the
said paleys and making of the cowrt and clois large and
mair to ane better fassioun to tak away the cheppell and
to big the same neirby the northe bak wall in ane uther
sort of biging, to the pwrpois that oure Queyne withe
hir tryne off ladyis may pas fwrthe off this new dewyssit
work into the said cheppell loft, and the king grace saitt
to be bigit direclie annent the pwppeit thairof". This
account shows that the Chapel Royal, as restored by
James III, stood until 1594 in what is now the Upper
Square (cf. p. 182). The scheme envisaged would
seem to have entailed not only the rebuilding of the W.
quarter, but also its extension northwards ⁸ to form the
W. side of the Upper Square ⁹; the chapel would have
been moved northwards to form the N. side of the
Square and "this being done the close and cowrt will
stand neirby upone sqware in all pairtis". The proposal
was plainly an ambitious one, and in the event nothing
seems to have been done to carry it out at the time. The
suggestion for the siting of a new chapel was followed
up eleven years later, however, when the Chapel Royal
came to be rebuilt (cf. p. 186).
On 6th May 1584 an inventory was made of the
furnishings and munitions of the Castle, and this
document ¹⁰ throws an interesting light on the permanent
furniture of the apartments that had been used by
James VI. It is too long to reproduce in full, but some
extracts will give a general idea of its contents. Thus it
mentions, in the Queen's Presence Chamber, a dining-
table with its trestles, two long forms and a shorter one,
two large shelved stands for the display of plate ("cope
buirdis"), and two trestles for another table; in the
Queen's Bed Chamber a room table; in the Queen's
Guard Hall a large shelved stand; in the re-vestry of
the chapel "ane manemill" and a pair of bellows for
organs; in the chamber of a former maid-of-honour a
"four quarterit buird" with two forms and some fir
boards; in another chamber a box-bed of Baltic pine,
with a room table; in the chamber beside the King's
Wardrobe a little table; in the fiddlers' chamber beside
the Great Hall two short tables, a seat fastened to the
wall, two little forms, three four-poster beds, and an old
chest, with an old table in an adjoining room; in the
Great Hall a large old dining-table, with a long form, a
great high dais of fir boards, a great ladder, and a large
locked chest for clothing; in the minister's chamber a
fir bed, an oak chair, and an empty barrel; in the loft at
the end of the Great Hall two ladders; in the outer
portion of the armoury a bucket for the draw-well, with
an iron chain, etc., three iron lanterns, some torches "for
1 A Diurnal of Remarkable Occurrents, etc., Bannatyne Club,
104.
2 Buchanan, The History of Scotland, ed. Aikman (1827),
ii, 487.
3 Hist. MSS. Comm., Report on the Manuscripts of the Earl
of Mar and Kellie (1904), 30; R.P.C., ii (1569-78), 688 f.
4 Diary of Mr. James Melvill, Bannatyne Club, 38.
5 M. of W. Accts., i, 310-1.
6 Army and Navy Records, Inventories of Artillery in various
Royal Castles, 1556-93, H.M. General Register House.
7 This still contains a large kitchen-fireplace on the first
floor (cf. p. 215).
8 The axis of the W. quarter is alined slightly, and that of the
King's Old Building considerably, W. of N.; but the cardinal
points are used, for convenience, in references to the Palace,
Upper Square are associated buildings.
9 No mention is made of the King's Old Building, however,
which probably occupied the W. side of the Square at this time
(cf. p. 216). If the W. quarter had been extended northwards to
meet the S. end of the King's Old Building, internal access
could then have been obtained from the Palace to a chapel
occupying the N. side of the Square.
10 Hist. MSS. Comm., Ninth Report, Part II (2nd Appendix),
pp. 192 f., No. 52.
-- 185 |
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No. 192 -- CASTLES AND TOWER-HOUSES -- No. 192
licht making about the wallis", a "fyr speir" and a ball
of iron for the terrace gate, perhaps a door-stop; in the
King's old wardrobe-loft an old chair; in the chamber
beside the loft a long kitchen table of fir, with two long
forms, a short form, an empty coffer and a cupboard
for clothes, all of Baltic pine; in the King's Presence
Chamber five great pieces of tapestry with a canopy
of red damask fringed with gold, a "copbuird" and a
hanging chandelier of wood; in the King's Bed Chamber
seven pieces of tapestry, a canopy of cloth of gold, a bed
of red "cramesie" velvet embroidered and fringed with
gold and an embroidered bedcover, with "ane bouster,
malt and palzearis thairto" and curtains of crimson
damask and "pandis", all embroidered with gold, two
tables, with a parti-coloured Turkey carpet covering the
larger one, and a locked coffer with a spear for the King's
standard; in the King's Guard Hall a shelved stand and
an old hanging chandelier of wood. The inventory
concludes with a list of the munitions brought from
Edinburgh Castle to Stirling Castle in 1584, and another
list of the munitions at Stirling. The latter notes: "Item,
ane doubill falcoun of found [i.e. cast] with hir stok and
furnesing lyand in the leddie hoill, with hir quheillis
schod with irne; Item ane vthir dowbill falcoun of
found lyand in the close, mountit." This is the first
mention of the Lady's Hole, which is the name given on
Dury's plan of about 1708 to the existing rampart on the
W. side of the Palace (cf. Pl. 59).
In 1585 the "banished lords", Angus, Mar and the
Master of Glamis, were "licenced" by Queen Elizabeth
to return to Scotland; at Berwick they joined up with
the Hamiltons and their adherents and the combined
force marched by way of Kelso and Falkirk to besiege
the King in Stirling Castle. They occupied the town
very quickly, having climbed its walls, whereupon the
opposite faction, "Montrose, Crafurd, Glencarn, Aroll,
and Colonell Steward reteired to the Castell, whar the
King was; but our folks, persuing hatlie, cam all to the
Castell hill, and clos under foresnout of the blokhous
planted thair standdars and campe". ¹ An eye-witness of
"The Surprise of the Kinge at Sterlinge" tells much the
same story. "After the breakeinge into the towne, they
went straight and sett up their banners before the sparre
of the castell, that was cramde full in a manner of great
personages, with the King, some friendes, some
enemyes." ² Calderwood further relates that "The
provisioun was so skant in the castell, that they behoved
to come to the toun for the king's owne diett", ³ and the
Castle has consequently to be surrendered. On Slezer's
plan of about 1680 (Pl. 56) "The Spurre" is shown as a
forework about 60 yds. in advance of James IV's fore-
entry, covering the approach (cf. p. 188).
On 19th February 1594 the King's eldest son, Prince
Henry, was born in the castle. It was decided to solem-
nise his baptism at Stirling and Parliament is said to
have voted £100,000 Scots to build a new Chapel Royal
and to refurnish the Palace. ⁴ The existing chapel was
demolished and the new building was so sited as to
form the N. side of the Upper Square, as had been
suggested in 1583 (cf. infra, p. 185). It is said that all
the best workmen in the country were assembled for
the purpose, and were encouraged by the King himself
with "large and liberal payment" ⁵; but no building-
accounts survive. The chapel was sufficiently complete
for the ceremony to be held on 30th August 1594. On
that day the interior was richly hung with tapestries and
the King's Seat of Estate was placed at the NE. end of
the building. On his right were seats for the ambassadors
of France, England, Brunswick and the Low Countries,
and on his left those of Denmark and the Duchy of
Magdeburg. A new pulpit, richly hung with cloth of gold,
stood in the middle of the chapel.
A number of Masters of Works accounts remain to
give occasional glimpses of the progress of building
operations during the first half of the 17th century, but
these were of relatively minor importance as all the major
buildings within the Castle that survive today were in
existence by 1600. More than £13,000 Scots was spent
in 1617 in preparation for the Royal visit that was to be
made in the summer of that year; much of the account ⁶
is illegible, but repairs seem to have been carried out on
most of the larger buildings, under the superintendence
of William Rynd, master-mason, and improvements
were made to the kitchens and service quarters on the E.
side of the Great hall. ⁷ At the same time the "auld
entree", ⁸ which apparently stood between the outer and
the inner gates of the Castle, perhaps on the site of the
"second gate" of Slezer's plan (cf. Pl. 56), was dis-
mantled. ⁹ In 1625 instructions were given for repairs
to the roofs of the Great Hall, the Chapel Royal, the
gallery that runs along the E. side of the W. quarter of
the Palace, and of the "toofall", or lean-to building,
above the King's Cabinet on the W. side of the E.
quarter of the Palace. The W. quarter itself seems to
have been falling into decay, as repairs were to be made
both to the parapet and to "a grite pairt of the
fundatioun -- quhilk is shote over the craig". ¹⁰ The
account for this year is again incomplete, ¹¹ but it shows
that these recommendations were carried out at least
in so far as they applied to the Great Hall and the Chapel
Royal. ¹² Of the W. quarter it is recorded only that
timbers and slates from the roof were re-used on the
Hall and Chapel. ¹³ Presumably the W. quarter was
provided with a new roof and its foundations were
1 Diary of Mr. James Melvill, Bannatyne Club, 149.
2 Papers relating to Patrick, Master of Gray, Bannatyne Club,
60.
3 Historie of the Kirk of Scotland, Wodrow Soc. ed., iv,
390 f.
4 Nisbet, A System of Heraldry, 1816 ed, ii, 151 ff.
5 Ibid., 152.
6 M. of W. Accts., ii, 24 ff.
7 R.P.C., x (1613-6), 517 f.
8 Slezer's plan (Pl. 56) describes the postern in the Nether
Bailey as the "Old Entrie to the Castle", but this was not dis-
mantled until 1689 (cf. p. 188).
9 R.P.C., x (1613-6), 517.
10 R.P.C., xiii (1622-5), 705 f.
11 M. of W. Accts., ii, 161 ff,
12 Ibid., 182.
13 Ibid.
-- 186 |
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No. 192 -- CASTLES AND TOWER-HOUSES -- No. 192
repaired, as had been directed (supra). The greater part
of the W. quarter was evidently demolished later in the
17th century, however, as only its E. gallery appears on
Slezer's plan of about 1680 (cf. Pl. 56). The main
portion was probably removed because of the general
instability of the foundations, already apparent in 1625
(supra). William Wallace, the King's master-mason, was
at the Castle from July to October 1625 working on the
King's badges, which were carvings of lions, unicorns
and other devices set on the stone ridgings of the roof
of the Great Hall ¹ and similar to those that still stand
upon the Palace. Wallace spent two days superintending
the quarrying of the stones for the badges at Ravelston
Quarry, near Edinburgh. ² An account for 1628-9 speaks
of the "platting and contryveing his Majesties new
orchard and gardein", ³ and it is probable that the King's
Knot (pp. 219 f.), which still stands on the low ground to
the west of the Castle, originated at this time. If so, its
design may be attributed to William Watts, a "skilfull
and well experimented" gardener, who had been
brought from England in 1625 to supervise the Royal
gardens at Stirling and elsewhere. ⁴ The account shows
too that during the winter of 1628-9 Robert Norie and
James Rynd, masons, were fashioning the baluster-
shafts for the Lower Terrace on the S. side of the Fore-
work ⁵ (cf. p. 193). The most interesting part of the
account, however, is that which concerns the work of
Valentine Jenkin, painter, who came from Glasgow to
work at the Castle. ⁶ With his assistant Andrew Home he
was responsible for the redecoration of the Great Hall,
the Chapel Royal and parts of the Palace, together with
some smaller assignments such as the gilding of the
Royal Arms over the entrance gateways of the Castle. ⁷
Three of these entries may be quoted for the light that
they throw on the appearance of some of the apartments
of the Castle at this period. "Item the wallis gavellis
and pendis of the great hall all to be weill layit over whyte
abone the roll that gois round about the midis of the
wallis [presumably a roll-moulding which returned
round the hall at about sill level] and the roll weill
marbillit and all blew gray under and all the chimnayis
to be weill marbillit with ane crownell [coronet] to ilk
ane of thame with the trumpet loft to be weill paintit and
set af with housingis [canopied niches] and pilleris."
"Item the Chaippill Ryall all to be new paintit in the
rufe in the forme it wes before and betuix the rufe and
the wall pletis to have ane course of pannallis armes and
badgeis round about conforme to the rufe and ane
border under all these -- that the jeistis be all weill
paintit the feild thairof blew with flouris going all along
thame and antikis." "Item the queinis chalmer [Queen's
Bed Chamber] the pannallis of it abone the hingingis
round about the sylring [canopy] to be fair wrocht with
armes antikis and thair af settis conformit to the warkis of
the sylring abone with the windowis without and within
and the pendis schonschonis [sconcheons] chimnay and
dores to be fair set af as is forsaid." Nothing remains of
Jenkin's work today apart from the recently discovered
fragments of decoration within the Chapel Royal
(cf. pp. 212 f.).
Minor repairs and alterations, which included the
erection of new stables and a coach-house, were under-
taken in preparation for the Royal visit of 1633, ⁸ and in
1638, on receipt of a report from the Earl of Mar on the
ruinous state of the Castle of Stirling, Charles I wrote to
the Earl of Traquair and gave orders for certain work
to be done there, including the building of a stone dyke
about the garden adjoining the park, in order to keep
out the deer. ⁹ In 1649, when the news of the King's
execution reached Edinburgh , his son was proclaimed at
the Cross of Edinburgh "King of Great Britain, France
and Ireland", and on 23rd June 1650 Charles II arrived in
Scotland. A Parliamentary news-letter of 14th July 1650
reports that "Their declared King is at Sterling, where
he hath a Stately house -- the men bring in their plate
to Sterling (where their King is), and the women their
Thimbles and Bodkins, for the carrying on of the present
design against England". ¹⁰ After the surrender of Perth
on 3rd August 1651, Cromwell left Lt.-General Monk to
complete the conquest of Scotland, and the first concern
of the latter was to capture Stirling. On 6th August he
ordered the town to surrender and his men entered it
about one o'clock on the following morning. Next day
he began to construct platforms for his artillery, and in
the meanwhile his men fired on the Castle from the
tower of the parish church (No. 131), being bombarded
in their turn, by the Scots in the Castle. By 12th August
the mortars had begun to play on the Castle from the
new platforms, and the besieged garrison replied with
their great guns. A summons to surrender the Castle was
rejected. Then next day Mr. Hane, Monk's engineer,
"plaid with one of the mortar peeces twice. The second
shot fell into the middle of the Castle, and did much
execucion." On 14th August Monk's great guns were
brought into play, whereupon "The Highlanders and
other souldyers fell into a mutiny", and. after a parley,
the Castle capitulated.
Towards noon Col. Wm. Cunningham marched out
with his men, about 300 in all, drawn from every regiment
in the King's army. Col. Rede then took over for the
Parliamentarians, and entered the Castle "with his owne
and Capt. Badger's company". They found that their
mortars had defaced the Castle "in divers places". Their
booty included forty pieces of ordnance, including eleven
leather guns, together with ammunition, meal, beef, beer
and wine, "two coaches and a sedan, the Earle of Murris
[Mar's] coronet and Parliament roabes, divers of the
Kinges hangings". The burgesses of Stirling having
1 Presumably those shown on Slezer's views, cf. Pls. 57, 58.
2 M.of W. Accts., ii, 170, 179 f.
3 Ibid., 230.
4 Hist. MSS. Comm., Report on the Manuscripts of the Earl
of Mar and Kellie (1904}, 131.
5 M. of W. Accts., ii, 255.
6 Miscellany of the Maitland Club, iii, 369 ff; M. of W. Accts.,
ii, 255 ff.
7 M. of W. Accts., ii, 255 ff.
8 Ibid., 356-71.
9 Hist. MSS. Comm., Report on the Manuscripts of the Earl
of Mar and Kellie (1904), 195.
10 Terry, Life and Campaigns of Alexander Leslie, 454.
-- 187 |
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No. 192 -- CASTLES AND TOWER-HOUSES -- No. 192
placed their gear in the Castle for safety, there was "great
stoare of goods, by which the soldiers got very good
booty by helping to carry them out, and to guard them to
their severall places, the inhabitantes receiving little or
noe damage by any of their goods, but what their owne
souldyers had plundered before they went away."
Incredible as the latter statement may seem, it may still
not be far from the truth "so severe is the Lieut. Generall
and Officers against the Souldiers injuring the Countrey,
to whom we endeavour to shew as much favour as may
be (especially to the poorer sort) to convince them, if
possible, of the slavery they have been under, and free-
dom they may now enjoy under the English". But the
Diarist from whom the information about this siege
has been taken ¹ omitted to mention that the Public
Records of Scotland were also in the Castle, and that
they were forthwith removed to the Tower of London;
the greater part of them was lost at sea on their return
after the Restoration.
A number of miscellaneous Masters of Works
Accounts survive from the latter part of the 17th century.
They show that the Palace block was for the most part
"new rooft, floored, windowed with case Casements and
glass and plaistered" in about 1679 ²; plans of the Castle
were made at the same time ³ and were sent to the King,
but these cannot be traced today unless the reference is
to Slezer's plan and drawings of the Castle which may
have been executed at about this time. ⁴ Slezer's plan
shows a "designed Magazin for Powder" in the Nether
Green, and this may perhaps be the magazine erected by
Tobias Bauchop, master-mason, in 1681. ⁵ If so, it was
replaced in Queen Anne's reign by the structure that
stands there today (cf. p. 218). In 1688 James McClellan,
wright, entered into contract to carry out certain repairs
and alterations within the Castle. These included the
provision of a new door for the sally-port in the Nether
Bailey, the laying of two platforms in the Lady's Hole
(cf. p. 186) and the making of a new door in the place
"Commonly called where the devill flew out", ⁶ now
unfortunately unidentifiable. In 1689 it was suggested
that the sally-port in the Nether Bailey should be filled
up, as it was the weakest point in the Castle, and it was
also stipulated that "the vaults under the long or grand
batterie which bears on the bridge must be filled up with
earth" ⁷; these recommendations seem to have been
carried out, as the sally-port remains blocked to this
day (cf. p. 219) while the kitchen-range below the Grand
Battery (cf. p. 215) was opened up only in 1921. Also in
1689. Tobias Bauchop was engaged in building a three-
gun battery beside the Bowling Green ⁸; this structure
was presumably removed to make way for the Queen
Anne Battery (cf. pp. 215 f.). An account for the years
1699-1703 ⁹ shows that a great number of minor alterations
were being carried out at this time; new partitions and
corridors were constructed on the upper floors of the
Palace and new fireplaces were provided for the rooms
thus formed, while no doubt the upper windows of the
Palace, which pierce the parapet, were also thrown out
now. Much of this work remains today (cf. p. 204).
Andrew Sands, wright, was responsible for the wood-
work while Tobias and Thomas Bauchop were in charge
of the mason-work, the most important part of which was
the erection of a scale stair, six feet in width, to give
access to the second storey of the Palace. The is presum-
ably the stair that stands in the SW. angle of the Upper
Square (cf. p. 203). But in spite of constant patching it
was reported in 1706 ¹⁰ that "The Castle of Stirline -- is
mightily out of repair -- There's no beds within it for
the soldiers to ly in."
Immediately after the Act of Union an extensive
programme of alterations and additions was con-
templated, and, although the proposals then made were
not all completed, the outer defences of the Castle on the
SE. were entirely remodelled between 1708 and 1714.
These outer defences, as they existed about 1680, are
shown on Slezer's plan ¹¹ (Pl. 56). Their most prominent
feature was a projecting forework known as the Spur,
which was capped at its southern extremity ¹² by a block-
house (cf. Pl. 57). The Spur, with its blockhouse, is on
record in 1585 (cf. p. 186) and there are further references
to the blockhouse in the first half of the 17th century. ¹³
The Spur flanked the outer gate of the Castle, which lay
immediately to the SW. of it. On the other side of the
Spur a wall ran northwards to the French Spur, from
which batteries could command the approach road to the
Castle, and the road that led into the town from Stirling
Bridge. The French Spur may have been formed as early
as 1559 (cf. p. 184). Between the Spur and the French
Spur, and running parallel to the wall that joined them,
the outermost defence appears to have been a broad ditch,
presumably the "great fowssie" to which there is a
reference in 1633. ¹⁴ The date at which these defences
were erected is not recorded in the surviving documents,
but they were probably completed before the end of
the 16th century. Alterations and improvements were
evidently made in the 17th century; these included the
dismantling of the old entry in 1616-7 (cf. p. 186), and
the erection of the three-gun battery in 1689 (supra).
In 1708 it was decided to replace the existing outer
defences by a new system of fortification; a number of
different proposals were considered and contemporary
plans of two abortive schemes still survive, ¹⁵ one of them
providing also for elaborate defences in the Nether
1 Scotland under the Commonwealth, S.H.S. ed., xvii, 1-5,
16 n.
2 M. of W. Accts., MS. Vol. 30, 1675-9, Acct., 21.
3 Ibid.
4 Cf. the various editions of Theatrum Scotiae and P.R.O.,
MPF 246; also Pls. 56, 57, 58.
5 M. of W. Accts., Miscellaneous, Stirling Vouchers.
6 M of W. Accts., MSS., portfolio II.
7 National Library of Scotland MS. 577, No. 65.
8 M, of W. Accts., MSS., portfolio II.
9 Ibid.
10 Hist. MSS. Comm., Report on the Manuscripts of the Earl
of Mar and Kellie (1904), 305.
11 P.R.O., MPF 246; cf. also B.M., K. 50, 96 (a) of about the
same period (Pl. 55B).
12 The orientation of Slezer's plan is inaccurate.
13 M. of W. Accts., ii, 26, 364.
14 Ibid., 370.
15 National Library of Scotland MS. 1645, Z 2/16, Z 2/23.
-- 188 |
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No. 192 -- CASTLES AND TOWER-HOUSES -- No. 192
Bailey. The system that was finally adopted comprises
two main lines of defence, the inner one incorporating
barracks with gun batteries above and the outer one
consisting of a fore-wall which terminates in a battery at
its N. end; each line of defence is protected by a fosse
and is pierced by an entrance-gateway (cf. p. 191). This
scheme of fortification was largely conceived by Captain
Theodore Dury, Engineer in North Britain, but James
Smith, Surveyor of Her Majesty's Works in North
Britain, and Talbot Edwards, Second Engineer to the
Board of Ordnance were also associated with the designs. ¹
Work began in 1708, the contractors for the mason-work
being Thomas Bauchop, mason, of Alloa (cf. p. 188) and
James Watson, mason, while Robert Mowbray, carpenter,
was responsible for the wright-work. Gilbert Smith,
Master-mason to the Board of Ordnance in North
Britain, began to work at the Castle in April 1711 and
remained there until the fortifications were completed. ²
One of the new entrance-gateways with its drawbridge
was completed by October 1712, when it was painted by
James Allen, painter, of Alloa; the other was still under
construction in November of the following year. The
account for the glazing of the barracks in 1714 suggests
that the work was approaching completion by this time,
and this is confirmed by the monogram AR (Anna
Regina) which appears on various portions of the
buildings. ³
At the same time proposals were made for extensive
alterations to some of the existing buildings within the
Castle. ⁴ An additional floor was to be inserted in the
Chapel Royal and both storeys were to be used as an
armoury; the Great Hall was to be subdivided, one half
becoming a banqueting hall and the other a chapel, while
an upper floor was to be introduced for use as barrack
accommodation. A new entrance was to be made to the
Palace by the opening-out of the central window of the
King's Guard Hall, and a spacious staircase was to be
erected at the NW. angle of the Palace occupying part
of the site of the old W. quarter. These proposals were
only partially carried out. No alteration seems to have
been made to the Chapel Royal, while in the Great Hall
the only part of the suggested plan to be carried into
effect was the insertion of an upper floor by Tobias
Bauchop, mason, in 1709-10. ⁵ Bauchop also began work
on the new staircase at the NW. angle of the Palace, but
the work seems to have come to a halt after his death in
1710 and the stair was never completed. ⁶
In the '15, Stirling Castle and bridge were of vital
strategic importance. The Castle was held for the
Crown by General Wightman, and was a formidable
obstacle in the way of a Jacobite descent from the High-
lands. An almost contemporary set of plans shows the
arrangement of the Castle at this time. ⁷ In the year 1719,
the building now known as The Mint contained the
brewhouse on the first floor and over that was the
gunners' store. The Palace contained, on the lowest floor,
a stable, cellars for wine and beer, and sutling rooms; on
the principal floor the King's Guard Hall had become a
barrack-room, the Queen's Guard Hall and Presence
Chamber were store rooms, and the other apartments
were unused. On the top floor lay the Governor's apart-
ments, as well as accommodation for the housekeeper.
In the King's Old Building on the W. side of the Upper
Square the first floor of the L-shaped portion at the N.
end had been subdivided into "The Majors Apart-
ments", eight in number. To the S. there was a large
store-room on the first floor and beyond it a number
of smaller divisions comprising a bake-house, a wood-
house, a dovecot, the infirmary and the Governor's
kitchen.
In the '45 Prince Charles Edward, who had set up his
standard at Glenfinnan in August and had reached
Doune on his southward march on 12th September,
successfully by-passed Stirling Bridge by crossing the
Forth at the Fords of Frew (No. 524). He marched
through Stirling on the 14th, the garrison of the Castle
firing only a few shots in the town's defence. In the
following January the Jacobites decided to attack Stirling
Castle, and when the commander, General Blakeney, an
Irishman who had served with Marlborough, refused to
surrender they started siege operations under a French
engineer, Count Mirabelle de Gourdon, who began to
erect siege-works on the Gowan Hill, N. of the Castle.
Blakeney, however, had the Jacobite position under
direct observation, and when Mirabelle had so far
perfected his battery as to play upon the Castle with
"three Battering Cannon -- Generall Blakeny (sic)
firr'd against it with a Battery of nine nine pounders, and
in a few hours time dismounted the three Guns, and
demolish'd the Battery". ⁸ The siege was then abandoned,
as news arrived that Cumberland had reached Edinburgh.
This was the last and perhaps the most futile siege that
the Castle suffered in its long history.
In 1777 the magnificent coffered oak ceiling of the
King's Presence Chamber in the Palace was in a danger-
ous state, some of the carved heads having already fallen
from the compartments, and the authorities were not
inclined to undertake its restoration. On the contrary,
they gave orders that the ceiling and walls should be
stripped and the apartment converted into a barrack-
room. ⁹ The carvings were taken down, some of them
being destroyed and others passing into private hands;
most of the surviving examples have now been re-
assembled in the Smith Institute, Stirling (cf. pp. 400 f.).
The Palace was not the only part of the Castle to suffer
neglect and mutilation, for at about the end of the 18th
century the Great Hall was converted into barracks, an
1 P.R.O., W.O. 49/120; W.O. 51/82 pp. 63, 83.
2 Both Mowbray and Smith were employed in the con-
struction of Inversnaid Barracks a few years later (cf. No. 225).
3 P.R.O., W.O. 51/80, p. 6; W.O. 53/446 passim.
4 National Library of Scotland MS. 1645, Z 2/17.
5 P.R.O., W.O. 53/446, 22 Sept. 1709 and July 1710.
National Library of Scotland MS. 1645, Z 2/18 where the
inserted floor is shown on plan and in section.
6 P.R.O., W.O. 53/446, under dates October 1709 and July
1710. The stair is not shown on the plans of the Castle drawn
up in 1719 (National Library of Scotland MS. 1645, Z 2/18.
7 National Library of Scotland MS. 1645, Z 2/18.
8 Elcho, A short account of the Affairs of Scotland, 382.
9 Lacunar Strevelinense, 4 f.
-- 189 |
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[Plan Inserted]
Fig. 70. Stirling Castle (No. 192); outer defences
-- 190 |
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No. 192 -- CASTLES AND TOWER-HOUSES -- No. 192
alteration which destroyed the whole character of the
building. About 1809 the approach to the Castle was
remodelled to form a parade-ground, land being
purchased from the Burgh for this purpose. ¹ In 1855 the
NW. corner of the King's Old Building, including the
Douglas Room (cf. p. 218) was gutted by fire, but the
part destroyed was immediately rebuilt to the designs of
R. W. Billings, author of the Baronial and Ecclesiastical
Antiquities of Scotland. In 1893 a proposal was made to
restore, at public expense, the Chapel Royal, the Great
Hall, the Palace and the Forework, but the project came
to nothing. A more modest demand for the restoration
of the Great Hall as a memorial of the Second World
War has met with no more success.
ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION
OUTER DEFENCES (Fig. 70). The Castle is approached
from the town by way of Broad Street, Mar Place and the
Esplanade. At the upper end of the Esplanade there is a
deep, dry ditch cut in the living rock and grassed over.
This is the outermost defence. At its N. end it advances
to cover the front of the emplacement called the Spur
Battery; for the remainder of its length it runs straight,
and parallel to a fore-wall which rests on its rocky scarp.
Its S. end is commanded by a caponier, which is
provided with embrasures, and is reached from the
Guardroom Square by a passage which pierces the S.
end of the fore-wall. Further N., beyond the wooden
bridge that spans the ditch and gives access to the Castle,
may be seen a doorway cut in the rock of the scarp; this
door formerly gave access to another caponier in the
outer ditch, now removed. Within, the doorway opens
into a dog-legged stair which rises to a caponier command-
ing the inner ditch and continues thence to emerge in
the undercroft of the Over Port Battery, the emplace-
ment on the N. and higher half of the fore-wall. At the S.
end of this battery and also at the S. end of the fore-wall
there are sentry boxes (Pl. 64 A), circular turrets of stone
with ogival roofs surmounted by finials.
The New Port or outer gate (Pl. 62 A) originally
incorporated a counterpoised drawbridge (cf. p. 189),
which may be seen in the 18th-century drawing of the
Castle that is reproduced as Pl. 60. The gateway itself
is simply an archway set in the fore-wall, rusticated on
the outside and having a keystone and impost blocks on
the inside. This admits to a small quadrangular court-
yard, the Guardroom Square, bounded on the E. by the
fore-wall, on the S. by another wall and on the NW. and
N. by an angled dry ditch, from the scarp of which there
rises, on the N., the Over Port Battery and on the NW.
the Queen Anne Battery. The buildings inside the court-
yard - guardroom, stable, coach-house, sheds, etc. - are
modern, but there was a guardroom in the same position
by 1725 (cf. Pl. 121).
The inner ditch was protected by two caponiers, one
at its E. end, which still stands beneath the present
guardroom, and another at its SW. end, now removed.
This last was reached from one of the barrack-rooms
beneath the Queen Anne Battery; the existing caponier
communicates with the old guardroom beneath the Over
Port Battery.
The N. section of this inner ditch is spanned by a
bridge carried on two rusticated arches (Pl. 62 B). At the
inner end of the bridge an arched gateway and a vaulted
transe beyond it run below the batteries and give entry
to an enclosure which was called the Counterguard in
Queen Anne's time. The gateway, which is known as the
Over Port, is built of ashlar. Its archway, framed within
Doric pilasters, has imposts and a keystone, the latter
carved with the initials AR below a Crown; it is fitted
with massive iron crooks for the gate-hinges. The vaulted
transe has an arched recess at each side, and in either
recess there is a doorway; these are entrances to vaulted
guardrooms. Beneath the Over Port Battery there are
three vaulted barrack-rooms; each apartment formerly
contained two storeys, but the upper floors have been
removed while the level of the ground floor has been
raised, and the stone screens that closed their outer ends
have been replaced by modern screens of wood. The
original arrangement is seen, however, in the six vaulted
barrack-rooms below the Queen Anne Battery. All this
work was completed between 1708 and 1714 (cf. pp. 188 f.),
but a blocked-up gun-loop in the W. wall of the second
of these barrack-rooms from the N. indicates that here
at least the earlier outer defences of the Castle (cf. p. 188)
were not entirely demolished during the alterations of
Queen Anne's reign. To the SW. of the Queen Anne
Battery there is a lower battery designed to cover the
approach to the Castle (Pl. 63 B). Instead of barrack-
rooms, this battery has in its undercroft three open
casemates; the keystones of their arched openings bear
the initials A (nna) R (egina) surmounted by a Royal
crown (Pl. 64 B). On the NE. it is balanced by the
Spur Battery (Pl. 63 A), which stands at the level of
the Counterguard and covers the approach on the SE.;
its main purpose, however, is to command Stirling
Bridge, which lies about 900 yds. distant on the NE. It,
too, has casemates below it, and these are reached by way
of a short stair which descends from the level of the
Counterguard. There is a well beside these casemates.
The Spur Battery stands on the site of an earlier battery
known as "The French Spur", constructed in the 16th
or 17th century (cf. p. 184). Only a short stretch of
walling adjoining the Elphinstone Tower survives from
this earlier battery, the remainder having been rebuilt
in Queen Anne's reign. The masonry of all these 18th-
century works is of rubble with ashlar dressings.
The Counterguard is bounded on the NNW. by the
Forework, a name which may conveniently be given to
the old frontispiece of the Castle which dates from the
latter part of James IV's reign. On the SW. it is enclosed
by a rampart walk which forms part of the early 18th-
century defences. Between this rampart and the roadway
leading from the inner gate to the old gatehouse there is a
Bowling Green, which appears on Slezer's plan of about
1680 (Pl. 56). The Bowling Green is bounded on the SE.
by the Queen Anne Battery, on the NW. by the Lower
1 P.R.O., W.O. 55 / 1614 (7); W.O. 55 / 818.
-- 191 |
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| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_227 |
[Plan Inserted]
Fig. 71. Stirling Castle (No. 192); Elphinstone Tower and Grand Battery
-- 192 |
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No. 192 -- CASTLES AND TOWER-HOUSES -- No. 192
Terrace, which runs beneath this part of the old fore-
wall, and on the NE. by a breast-wall looped for hand-
guns (Pl 64 C). This breast-wall is later in date than the
Forework, but is probably as old as the 16th century.
The Lower Terrace formerly had a balustrade on its SE.
side, no doubt the one supplied in 1628-9 (cf. p. 187),
but of this only a small portion remains at its SW. end.
Access to the Queen Anne and Over Port Batteries from
the roadway is obtained by a ramp rising to the former.
THE FOREWORK. The Forework (Pls. 65 A and 66),
erected between about 1500 and 1510 (cf. p. 183),
runs from one side of the Castle Hill to the other, i.e.
from WSW. to ENE., ¹ and shuts off approach to the
Castle from the SE. It may have replaced an earlier line
of defence in much the same position, although for this
no very definite evidence remains above ground; on the
other hand, the rubble masonry at the base of the fore-
wall may represent an earlier work, this conclusion being
suggested by the masonry at the base of the Prince's
Tower (cf. p. 195). As it stands it is incomplete, yet
enough remains to show how it must have looked when
entire. At each end there is a salient rectangular tower,
the Prince's Tower ² on the W. balancing the Elphinstone
Tower ³ on the E., the former complete to its wall-head
and the latter reduced to its two lower storeys, of which
the upper one supports the Three Gun Battery. In the
middle of the Forework there is a gatehouse, with its
central entrance-gateway recessed between two round
towers, all now considerably reduced in height, while on
either side of this gatehouse may be seen the much
reduced remains of a D-shaped tower. These D-shaped
towers, which appear in Slezer's view (Pl. 57), may
perhaps be the ones referred to in an account of 1687 as
the "Wallace Tower" and the "Colledge Tower". ⁴ If
this suggested identification is correct, and if "Wallace"
is a corruption for "Well-house", as is not improbable,
then the Wallace Tower is the one that stands on the E.
side of the gatehouse, close to the well in the Lower
Square. Apart from alterations, the whole of this fore-
front is built of ashlar. Like the contemporary section of
the curtain-wall beneath the Grand Battery (pp. 215 f.),
the Forework appears to have been equipped for defence
by small cannon or other types of firearms.
On the E. side of the Forework the much reduced
remains of the Elphinstone Tower (Fig. 71) rise from a
splayed plinth about 4 ft. above the present level of the
Counterguard; above this plinth the original masonry
rises to a maximum height of twenty-three courses on
the S. and W. sides, but elsewhere the tower has been
much rebuilt in rubble masonry. This rebuilding dates
from the early 18th century. An original window in the
S. wall at ground-floor level has been slightly enlarged;
there are four openings at first-floor level, the two to the
W. being original windows and the others insertions. In
the re-entrant angle of the tower and the curtain, also at
first-floor level, there is a gun-loop facing NW., now
somewhat disfigured in shape. Between the Elphinstone
Tower and the base of the D-shaped tower to the W. of
it the plinth is stepped upwards. Here the old masonry
rises to a moulded corbel-course, probably the lowest
member of an original corbelled parapet. Above this
point the curtain has been rebuilt, probably in the 19th
century. Close to the D-shaped tower and about 8 ft.
above ground there is a window with chamfered
arrises, apparently a 17th-century insertion. All three
windows below the level of the corbel course are inser-
tions, the two easternmost being rather older than the
other one. The D-shaped tower is reduced to its founda-
tion, but the tusking of its outer walls remain to a
considerable height at each side; the rubble infilling that
today completes the Forework here is modern, as is the
battlement above. Above the tusking there is some old
corbelling in secondary use. A gun-loop, now blocked,
can be seen in the masonry between the tower and the
gatehouse, and a little to the W. there is a vent shaft
visible in the plinth. This presumably served a building
which formerly stood against the inner side of the curtain,
as shown in Dury's plan (cf. Pl. 59).
The gatehouse (Fig. 72) is built of ashlar except at the
base, within the limits of the ramped approach, where
it is of rubble. The slope of the ramp was formerly a
little steeper than it is now, the original sill level of the
entrance doorways having been about 1 ft. higher than
it is at present. Both Slezer and Dury show a pit stretch-
ing between the drum towers and spanned by a wooden
bridge, but of this there is now no trace (cf. Pls. 56 and
59). The superstructure of the gatehouse, some six or
eight courses in height, is modern, and the appearance
of the work when entire can best be appreciated from old
illustrations (cf. Pls. 55 B and 57). Slezer's views indicate
that the gatehouse finished in a corbelled parapet, above
which there rose the conical roofs of the angle-towers. As
it stands at present, the gatehouse has at ground level a
wide central transe flanked at either side by a narrower
one; all are vaulted and have both a portcullis and a door
at each end (Pls 65 A and 65 B). The doorways are round-
arched and have square hood-moulds with carved stops.
The flanking towers are provided with gun-loops of
dumb-bell shape (Pl 65 c).
The D-shaped tower to the W. of the gatehouse
(Pl. 66) rises to a height of about 10 ft. above the Lower
Terrace, but much of the masonry is modern, as is the
infilling along the general line of the Forework. There
is a gun-loop, now blocked, in the curtain between the
tower and the gatehouse. The stretch of curtain running
1 In the description that follows, compass points have been
given on the basis of an alinement from E. to W. The Palace,
the Great Hall, the Chapel Royal and the King's Old Building
have likewise been described as if on true cardinal alinements,
though the last actually runs more nearly from NW. to SE.
2 This name is given on Dury's plan of the early 18th
century (Pl. 59). It may have originated from the use of the
building by Prince Henry, son of James VI, who was born in
the Castle in 1594.
3 This tower probably takes its name from Alexander
Elphinstone of Invernochty, who was appointed Keeper of
the Castle in 1508, when the building was in course of erection
(Reg. Sec. Sig., i (1488-1529), No. 1590).
4 M. of W. Accts., MSS., Miscellaneous Stirling Castle
Accounts, 1667-1705.
-- 193 |
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[Plan Inserted]
Fig. 72. Stirling Castle (No. 192); gatehouse of the Forework
-- 194 |
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| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_230 |
No. 192 -- CASTLES AND TOWER-HOUSES -- No. 192
between the D-shaped tower and the Prince's Tower is
complete. The base of the wall is offset; the masonry
below the splayed offset-course is of rubble, while that
above it is ashlar work, eighteen courses high, and
surmounted by a chequered corbelling. Above this
corbelling, which is four courses high, there is a
crenellated parapet with a moulded cope, four courses
high at the crenelles and six at the merlons (Pl. 66). At
its E. end this parapet rose, probably in order to return
round the adjoining D-shaped tower, and in this higher
part there is a small window, built up on the inside,
which served the cap-house at this end of the Upper
Terrace (cf. p. 197).
The base of the Prince's Tower (Figs. 73, 74, 75;
Pl. 65 A) is built of rubble up to a maximum height of
4 ft. above the Lower Terrace, and the remainder is of
ashlar. On the S. side the ashlar work is set back from
the face of the rubble work, the difference at the W. side
being about 4 in. and on the E. 2 ft. 6 in.; this
suggests that the base may represent a building earlier
than the existing one. The W. side of the tower shows
obvious signs of alteration on the three lowest storeys
(cf. p. 196). The tower rises through four storeys to its
parapet walk, within which there is a gabled garret,
considerably altered. The parapet, which has been cut
down to the level of the base of the crenelles, rests on
chequered corbelling identical with that of the fore-wall,
and it has rounds at the SE. nd SW. angles borne on
conoidal corbelling of slight projection. The last vestiges
of the corbelling of what was probably a cap-house are
seen at the NW. corner, where the tower abuts on the
Palace block behind it, and there is also evidence for a
round at the NE. angle, now almost entirely removed;
the upper part of the tower must therefore once have
stood free. Of the various windows only two remain
unaltered; these are both on the second floor, one facing
S. and the other, now blocked, facing W. The other
windows are later insertions, or enlargements of older
openings. The doorway in the E. wall of the tower,
giving access to the Upper Terrace, has a groove within,
perhaps a frame for the posts of an iron door; there is
also provision for an inner wooden door. It is uncertain
whether this is an original opening. On the W. side of
the tower there is an original opening. On the W. side of
the tower there is a modern screen-wall running W.; this
replaces the S. wall of an earlier building which stood in
the re-entrant angle of the Prince's Tower and the W.
end of the S. quarter of the Palace (cf. p. 196). There is
some older masonry at the W. end of the wall, where the
early 18th-century rampart on the W. side of the Bowling
Green abuts it. An older rampart-wall of 16th- or
17th-century date, part of which runs S. from the S. wall
of the Prince's Tower, formed the W. boundary of the
outer defences of the Castle until the alterations of
Queen Anne's reign were carried out (cf. Pl. 59). At
this time the earlier rampart-wall was largely removed
except at its N. end, where about 20 ft. of walling remains
abutting the S. wall of the Prince's Tower. Neither the
height nor the width of this remaining part of the wall
appears to be original, and the 17th-century balustrading
of the Lower Terrace has been incorporated in its S.
termination. On the wall a detached dormer-pediment
has been set up for preservation; it has thistle finials,
and the tympanum contains a pelta-shaped panel sur-
mounted by a crown and bearing the initials MR.
This is presumably one of the dormer pediments noted
on the upper floor of the Palace in 1887, ¹ but whether
the initials are those of Mary, Queen of Scots, or of her
mother, Mary of Guise, is uncertain.
The arrangement within the Forework is as follows.
In the gatehouse (Fig. 72) the central transe has a
stone bench at each side. The E. transe opens into a
circular vaulted chamber within the E. tower and also
gives entry, by means of a hatch in the floor, to a pit
situated in the undercroft of the tower. The transe has a
loop of dumb-bell shape facing E., in the embrasure of
which a mounting for a hand-gun has been formed at a
later time. The corresponding transe to the W. gives
access to a vaulted chamber and pit within the adjoining
tower. In the original arrangement there was a window
in the W. wall of the transe, to the N. of which there was
a fireplace and beyond it an aumbry. Subsequently a new
sill and lintel were inserted in the window, a smaller
fireplace was substituted for the original one and the
aumbry was remodelled. Lastly both window and fire-
place were blocked up. The two rooms in the frontal
towers are obviously prisons, with pits below them,
Their vaults are flat. Each has a garderobe with a vent,
as well as an aumbry, and each is lit by three loops of
dumb-bell shape. Each of the pits derives its light from
two loops; the W. pit has a garderobe with a vent. Each
pit opens into a larger vaulted rectangular chamber
situated within the main block of the gatehouse; these
rooms, which must also have served as prisons, are unlit.
The central transe is sufficiently lofty to rise a storey
higher than those at its sides, above which the arrange-
ment is generally similar to that of the ground floor and
comprises an oblong vaulted apartment which opens into
a circular vaulted chamber in the adjacent tower. These
apartments were originally reached from twin turnpike
stairs respectively at the NW, and NE. angles of the
gatehouse (cf. Pl. 59), but these stairs have now been
removed and only a few traces of them can still be seen in
the masonry. The E. apartment is entered at its NE.
corner. Beside the entrance there is an embrasure with a
slot for a portcullis in its sole. In the E. wall there is a
plain fireplace, and also what was evidently a window,
with a seat in each jamb, now blocked up and not visible
externally. The S. wall has a small window with a slot
for the portcullis in its sole. The room in the tower is
vaulted and is circular on plan; it has a garderobe with a
vent to the SE., on either side of which there is a loop of
dumb-bell shape. There is an aumbry immediately
opposite the E. slot. A similar arrangement exists on the
W. side of the gatehouse. Nothing now remains of the
original upper storey or storeys.
The surviving part of the Elphinstone Tower (Fig.
71) is entered from a modern stair which leads down
beneath the Three Gun Battery, and opens through a
1 Cast. and Dom. Arch., i, 475 (but cf p. 216, n. 3).
-- 195 |
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No. 192 -- CASTLES AND TOWER-HOUSES -- No. 192
chamfered doorway into the upper of the two surviving
storeys. This is divided into three apartments, but many
of the original internal features have been obscured by
the remodelling of the tower in the 18th century and by
restoration undertaken by the Ministry of Works. Thus
the W. wall has been rebuilt from a height of 5 ft. 3 in.
above floor level and the N. and E. walls from a height
of 3 ft. 3 in. above floor level. The outer room is a kitchen
and contains the remains of a large kitchen-fireplace in
the N. wall. The recess in the W. jamb of the fireplace
is a restoration, but the sink in the E. jamb is original.
In the E. wall there was a window with seats in the jambs,
but the window was removed above sill level when the
wall was rebuilt and thinned in the 18th century. To the
S. of the window embrasure there is an aumbry. The S.
wall of the kitchen is supported on a relieving arch,
probably because it does not stand upon the partition
wall of the floor below; it has been thickened except at
the W. end, where there is a service hatch and a doorway.
This doorway opens into a small lobby situated in the
SW. corner of the tower. On the W. of this there is a
doorway opening on to a turnpike stair, to be presently
described; there is a loop of inverted keyhole shape in
the W. wall. On the S. there is a window, and on the E.
a doorway having a chamfered surround admits to the
third compartment, situated at the SE. corner of the
tower. This contains the remains of a fireplace in the E.
wall and an original window in the S. wall. In the SE.
angle there is a garderobe, now partly blocked, but lit
by two inserted windows on the S.
The staircase on the W. side of the tower is greatly
reduced in height, but there are still vestiges of ten steps
which led upwards to a floor now missing. The lowest
flight of the turnpike is complete, and the stair is spacious
with a fairly heavy newel. On the N., near the present
stair-head, there may be seen a filled-up doorway; this
is not original, but was inserted to give access to an
apartment, now perhaps destroyed, which probably
ran W. from the Elphinstone Tower, parallel to the
Forework. The steps continue past this doorway and
give entry to the outer of two intercommunicating cellars.
Both have very flat irregular vaults springing from N. to
S. The outer cellar has a locker on the E. and a window
to the S. A low, chamfered doorway admits to the inner
cellar. This has a locker in the E. wall and a window in
the N. wall covering the NE. curtain of the Castle. At
the NW. corner, where there is an outcrop of rock, there
is a chamfered doorway, now blocked, which presumably
led into an undercroft on the W., now destroyed or
unexplored. Alternatively this doorway, together with
the one opening off the turnpike, already described, may
have communicated with an extension of the kitchen
range situated below the Grand Battery (cf. pp. 215 f.).
The Prince's Tower (Figs. 73, 74, 75) rises to a
height of four storeys and contains a single apartment
on each floor; communication was originally provided
by a turnpike stair in the NW. angle of the tower, but
this arrangement was subsequently modified. The tower
seems originally to have been free-standing on the W.
except on the ground floor, where there was a single-
storeyed structure, perhaps supporting a terrace or walk
above (cf. p. 199). At some time in the latter part of the
16th century, or in the 17th century, this structure was
remodelled and heightened to form an outshot of three
storeys which stood in the re-entrant angle of the W.
wall of the Prince's Tower and the adjoining portion of
the S. wall of the Palace. At this period openings were
contrived in the W. wall of the tower to give access to this
building, and these openings, now blocked up or turned
into windows, may still be seen in the masonry although
the outshot itself was demolished at some time after
1791 ¹ The turnpike stair in the Prince's Tower is now
entered from a doorway opening off the transe that
runs beneath the S. quarter of the Palace. Immediately
to the E. of this door another leads into the apartment
that occupies the ground floor of the tower. This contains
no features of interest; the window in the S. wall is an
insertion or the enlargement of an older window. Above,
there is a room formerly reached from the turnpike stair
but now entered by an inserted doorway in the E. wall,
which gives access from the Upper Terrace. Both the
fireplace on the N. and the window on the S. are later
insertions or alterations; on the W. there is a cupboard,
which was at one time a doorway giving access to the
outshot. Within the turnpike stair at about this level a
small window, now blocked, looks N., indicating that
before the erection of the Palace in 1540-2 the Prince's
Tower was free-standing to the N. at this level and above.
The room on the second floor is now reached from the
Upper Terrace by a stair, through the doorway described
on p. 195. The apartment itself is lofty; the staircase
projects into the NW. corner but the original access-
doorway is blocked up. On the S. there is an original
window and a modern fireplace. The window facing E.
on the S. side of the present entrance is secondary, as
is the one in the W. wall; the cupboard in the same wall
represents an original window now built up. The top
floor of the tower, originally reached from the turnpike,
is now entered from the top floor of the Palace and
is wholly modern in its arrangement. Two original
windows in the S. wall have been altered, the W. one
now being a door giving access to the parapet and the
E. one having been replaced by a larger window. The
stair at the NW. corner continues to the parapet walk
of the tower and gives access to the roofs of both tower
and Palace.
THE PALACE (cf. pp. 42 f. and Figs. 73, 74, 75). Archi-
tecturally, this is not only the most imposing building
in the Castle, but is also one of the finest Renaissance
buildings in Scotland. It has affinities with the generally
contemporary palaces of Linlithgow and Falkland, and
also with the older version of Holyrood; in a sense it may
be considered their climax. As at Linlithgow, the Palace
of Stirling is quadrangular, and it has corridors or
galleries on two sides, after the fashion of Falkland and
Linlithgow. Its W. side or "quarter" has, however, been
1 It appears in a sketch published in that year (Grose, F.,
The Antiquities of Scotland, ii, 236).
-- 196 |
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| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_232 |
No. 192 -- CASTLES AND TOWER-HOUSES -- No. 192
taken down (cf. p. 187), leaving the back of the gallery
exposed as the outer wall. There are three storeys in the
Palace, respectively devoted to cellerage, State Rooms,
and lodgings. While the existing building dates for the
most part from 1540-2 (cf. p. 184), analysis shows that
some remains of an earlier structure have been incorpor-
ated within it on the ground floor (cf. Fig. 73). This older
building seems to be approximately contemporary with
the Forework, with which it is structurally connected.
The masonry of the outer walls of the Palace is for the
most part of ashlar, relatively untouched but for the
introduction of windows at parapet level at the turn of
the 17th and 18th centuries (cf. p. 188).
Exterior. The Palace has a prominent part in the make-
up of the forefront of the Castle, although only the
upper storeys of its S. side are visible above the Upper
Terrace and the screen wall W. of the Prince's Tower.
The N. and E. façades and the E. half of the S. façade are
identical in treatment (Pls. 67, 70, 75). The walls are
divided into a series of recessed bays or niches which
have segmental arch-heads cusped on their soffits. These
arch-heads spring from boldly carved stops, some
representing monsters and others humans, which also
serve as terminations to bold angle-rolls framing the bays
at each side; these angle-rolls rise from a plinth which
runs the full length of the façades. The original doors
and windows are situated in the wall-face between the
bays, and at the level of the sills of the windows on the
first or principal floor a decorated string-course returns
along the façade; on the E. and N. façades the string-
course is enriched with cherubs' heads. Within each
bay, a corbel, carved as a half-figure, projects to sup-
port a decorated column on the top of which there
stands a human figure. The walls finish in an enriched
corbel-course of two members, the lower being carved
with a ribbon-and-staff motif except on the S. façade,
where there is a plain roll-moulding, and the upper
with a band of carved cherubs' heads. On this encor-
bellment rests the embattled parapet, and from the
face of the parapet there project twisted shafts set out
on grotesque gargoyles in the shape of animal heads
and surmounted by figures about half the size of those
within the recesses below, with which they are centred.
These sculptures are described in detail below (pp. 220 ff).
In the parapet of the S. quarter there are four small
inserted openings, perhaps for hand-guns. The merlons
and embrasures of the parapet are original. Within the
parapet rise the four roofs - one for each quarter - those
running E. and W. being received on crow-stepped
gables surmounted by finials in the shape of crowns,
topped by lions sejant (Pl. 80 B).
The openings remain to be noticed. In the E. façade
(Pl. 70) there are three arched doorways at ground level,
two near the ends, the third at the centre. These have
segmental arch-heads and are moulded with a bold
quirked edge-roll (Pl. 85 E). Four windows are set above
the plinth, one of them quite modern; the other three
are original openings which have been enlarged, and
these too have quirked edge-rolls. Higher up, the great
windows of the State Rooms rise from the continuous
string-course. These are chamfered at jamb and lintel
and are surmounted by segmental relieving-arches
enclosing little pediments. The pediments are moulded
and exhibit at the centre a panel, accompanied by
dolphins and scroll-work and bearing the inscription
I 5 for James V (1513-42). The heavy grilles that bar
the openings have been renewed recently. The three
large windows broken out through the parapet and
encorbellment to light the top floor date from the turn
of the 17th and 18th centuries. The N. elevation (Pl. 75)
has no openings at the lowest level as the level of the
ground rises on this side of the building; the first or
principal floor, in fact, is at ground level at the NW.
corner of the Palace, and advantage has been taken of this
circumstance to place the public entrance to the State
Rooms at this point. The entrance is approached through
a porch situated beneath the stair that gives access to
the second floor of the Palace. The doorway, which is
unusually wide, is wrought on jamb and lintel with a
bold, quirked edge-roll; an old wooden door is still in
position (Pl. 85 B). Apart from the absence of windows on
the lowest floor, this N. façade is generally similar to the
one on the E. There are five great windows above the
string-course, and six bay-recesses, but the westernmost
is incomplete as it abuts on a tusking, perhaps the
remains of a wall which ran N. and so enclosed the N. side
of the Upper Square. The N. portion of such a wall is
shown on Dury's plan (Pl. 59), and part of its founda-
tions are marked by a setting of paving-stones in the
Upper Square (cf. Fig. 86). Most of the crenellation of
the N. side is intact, and is interrupted only by one
inserted window. The figures within the bays are in
better preservation than those on the E.; of the upper
series of statues, however, only one remains - a putto
playing on a pipe.
Of the S. façade (Pl. 67), again, the lowermost part E.
of the Prince's Tower is hidden by the Upper Terrace,
but what is unobscured is generally similar to the sides
already described. There are four recesses, the one next
to the Prince's Tower having no angle-roll on its W.
side; all contain figures, which are still complete although
somewhat weathered. In the lower part of the W. recess
the masonry has been disturbed and contains an opening,
now blocked, which may at one time have given access
from the Upper Terrace to the Queen's Presence
Chamber (cf. p. 202). Beyond the bay to the E. there
seems always to have been a little cap-house, probably
not unlike the present one, which is comparatively
modern. On the W. side of the Prince's Tower the
masonry of the S. wall of the Palace shows traces of dis-
turbance; at ground-floor level it incorporates part of an
older building, apparently contemporary with the Fore-
work. There has been much alteration here and the
building sequence is not clear; two arched openings
occur at ground-floor level and now give access to the
vaulted transe that runs beneath the S. quarter of the
Palace. The opening to the W. seems to be comparatively
modern, but the one on the E. seems originally to have
given access from the single-storeyed structure on the W.
-- 197 |
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| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_233 |
[Plan Inserted]
Fig. 73. Stirling Castle (No. 192); ground plan of the Palace
-- 198 |
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| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_234 |
No. 192 -- CASTLES AND TOWER-HOUSES -- No. 192
side of the Prince's Tower (cf. p. 196) to a building on
the N., most of which was removed about 1540 when
the Palace was erected. Above the level of the ground
floor the walling is for the most part contemporary with
the Place, but the indications are that it was never of
ashlar, not did it incorporate recesses with statues like
the remainder of the façade. The enriched encorbellment,
however, is similar to that which occurs elsewhere on the
Palace, and at the SW. angle a stout shaft is set out from a
great corbel in the form of a lion. The two large windows
at first-floor level are original, but when the single-
storeyed structure to the W. of the Prince's Tower was
heightened to form an outshot of three storeys (cf. p. 196)
these windows were blocked. Subsequently the outshot
was demolished and the easternmost window was un-
blocked and contracted in height and width. Between the
windows, and at a lower level, there is a doorway with
chamfered arrises, now blocked. Like one of the arched
openings on the ground floor, this doorway seems to form
part of an arrangement older than the Palace. It may
originally have given access from a terrace or walk above
the single-storeyed structure to the W. of the Prince's
Tower (cf. p. 196) to the building on the N. that was
largely demolished about 1540 (supra). When the Palace
was built, the doorway was utilised to give access from
the Queen's Guard Hall to the terrace or walk, and sub-
sequently to the three-storeyed outshot that relaced it.
The doorway was blocked up when the outshot was
demolished. The window in the parapet was inserted at
the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries.
Of the original W. façade only a stretch some 35 ft. in
length at the S. end has survived, as the rest was taken
down in the 17th century and never rebuilt (p. 187); but
the gallery on its E. side was spared, and the partition
that separated gallery and "quarter" has become the main
W. wall of the Palace, apart from the fragment just
mentioned. The S. portion of this fragment, some 23 ft.
long, is not in alinement with the partition and is for the
most part earlier in date than the Palace. Both the arched
opening at ground-floor level and the window on the
floor above were inserted in it when the Palace was built.
At the point where the alinement changes there is a rough
tusking, which is usually taken as the scar of the return
of the old S. wall of the missing W. quarter. This is
difficult to reconcile with the existence of an apparently
original and undisturbed window of the type found else-
where in the Palace, a little to the N. of the tusking and
at first-floor level. Whatever may have been the original
intentions of the builders, therefore, it seems that the S.
wall of the W. quarter as built returned, not at the tusk-
ing, but about 12 ft. to the N. of it. The part that was
originally a partition is built of rubble and shows evidence
for three storeys below the parapet; the gallery now
contains four storeys, an additional storey having been
introduced in the 18th or 19th century. Most of the
base of the partition is covered by a modern cook-house
which incorporates earlier masonry in the lower part of
its walls, and the only openings visible on the ground
floor are a modern doorway and window situated
respectively to the N. and S. of the cook-house. Higher
up, however, there are windows dating from the 17th
century. These were made after the W. quarter itself
had been demolished. The original openings traceable
in the partition are a built-up doorway on the first or
principal floor, and three doorways on the floor above,
two of which have been made into windows; these door-
ways formerly led from the gallery to the quarter. There
are also traces of a cross-partition on the top floor, which
shows that the missing quarter was divided in two, at
least on that floor, each part having its own entrance
from the gallery beyond.
The central court of the Palace, known as the Lions'
Den, has yet to be described. The name may derive
from the occasional use of the courtyard as an exercise
ground for the wild beasts of the Royal menagerie. In
December 1537 it was suggested that a young lion, which
had been bought in Flanders, should be presented to
James V, the "Prince delighting in such things". ¹ The
lion seems to have arrived, however, only in 1539, the
year in which the erection of the Palace was begun. ²
Today the court is entered near the SE. and NW.
corners. All its four sides are built of rubble with ashlar
dressings, and there is a splayed intake-course about
11 ft. above ground level. The walls on the N., S. and W.
sides have been raised about 3 ft., and the uppermost
windows have been correspondingly heightened. It will
be convenient to consider the W. wall first. although it
shows many signs of extensive alteration. On the ground
floor there are three inserted windows and an inserted
doorway near the NW. angle, all of 18th- or 19th-
century date. Above these openings, on the first floor of
the gallery, a large central doorway rises through the
intake-course, which ends in a carved stop on each side
of the opening. This doorway, which is an original
feature, has a very bold quirked edge-roll on its jambs
and lintel; it was formerly reached from a forestair rising
from the courtyard. On either side of this doorway there
was a pair of great windows similarly moulded, but these
were contracted in the 18th or 19th century. Above them
there is a tier of three windows, formed in the 18th or
19th century when the new floor was inserted in the
gallery. On the top floor there are three windows which
date from the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries; they
were heightened at some still later date. The E. side of
the courtyard, like the W. side, consists of a gallery, but
in this case the quarter behind it has survived. On the
ground floor there is a gun-loop at each end of the wall
(Pl. 85 F), and between the loops there are two small
windows, of which the N. one has been rebuilt; in 1719
this opening was shown as a doorway opening into the
courtyard. ³ On the first floor there are four small original
windows. The roof of the gallery stops short of the main
wall-head, except at the N. end where there is a little
cap-house which contains a stair. On the top floor there
are three windows, set in the wall of the quarter and
looking out over the roof of the gallery. Of these, the S.
1 State Papers, Scottish, i, 39.
2 Hamilton Papers, i, 56.
3 National Library of Scotland MS. 1645, Z 2/18.
-- 199 |
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No. 192 -- CASTLES AND TOWER-HOUSES -- No. 192
[Plan Inserted]
Fig. 74. Stirling Castle (No. 192); first-floor plan of the Palace
one has survived unaltered from the 16th century, while
the other two have had their heads raised. On the S. side
of the courtyard all the openings on the ground floor
have been rebuilt; the archway, however, through which
the courtyard is entered seems to be old, if perhaps some-
what altered, although it is not shown on the plan of
1719. ¹ On the first floor there are five large original
windows. On the top floor there are seven windows, all
of which seem to date from the turn of the 17th and 18th
centuries although many of them have since been en-
larged and heightened. On the N. side of the courtyard,
at ground level, there is a single window the exterior of
which has been refaced. On the first floor there are four
large original windows, with the relieving-arch of a great
fireplace appearing through the thickness of the wall.
On the top floor there are slight traces of six original
windows; these were replaced at the turn of the 17th
and 18th centuries by larger windows, which were them-
selves heightened when the wall-head came to be raised.
Interior. A glance at the plan of the basement floor
(Fig. 73) reveals some abnormal alinements of walls
only to be explained on the ground that James V's Palace
incorporates an earlier structure, the most considerable
surviving portion of which is a range of cellars on the
ground floor of the present E. quarter. The Palace is
planned around its first or principal floor (Fig. 74),
which is devoted to the State Apartments of James V,
and the plan is probably based upon the arrangement of
the rather earlier palace at Linlithgow, ² in which the
1 National Library of Scotland MS. 1645, Z 2/18.
2 Inventory of Midlothian and West Lothian, fig. 276.
-- 200 |
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No. 192 -- CASTLES AND TOWER-HOUSES -- No. 192
16th-century N. range presumably contained the Queen's
apartments until it was rebuilt by James VI. At Lin-
lithgow the site is level and the upper floors are reached
by the turnpike stairs contained in the four corners of
the courtyard; there is a corridor or gallery only on the S.
side of the courtyard, but there may once have been
another gallery on the opposite side also. At Stirling the
site is very different, with the rock upcropping steeply
on the N. side, so steeply indeed that it was uneconomical
to form an undercroft at the NW. corner and in the
adjoining part of the N. side. But this inequality in
ground levels was not wholly detrimental to the plan.
Indeed, it was turned to advantage, and the plan was so
contrived that both the basement and the principal
floor could be conveniently entered without making use
of a stair. The uppermost floor, however, had to be
reached from a staircase. The present NW. staircase
serving the top floor dates only from the turn of the
17th and 18th centuries, as neither the small stair
in the gallery of the E. quarter nor the turnpike stair
in the Prince's Tower seems to give adequate access to
this floor there may originally have been a stair in the
missing W. quarter. If so, the spacious scale-staircase at
the NW. corner of the Palace, which was begun in 1710
but never finished (cf. p. 189), must have been intended
to replace this earlier stair, which no doubt disappeared
with the rest of the W. quarter in the 17th century.
On the ground floor (Fig. 73) the small doorway at
the N. end of the E. side opens into a cellar situated at
the NE. corner of the Palace, an apartment which served
as the Governor's Wine-cellar in 1719. ¹ This cellar is
vaulted from N. to S., and towards its W. end the under-
lying rock rises and encumbers the floor. The cellar is
lit by a single window looking out on to the courtyard.
There is an inserted doorway in the S. wall, and to the W.
of it an original doorway, now blocked, which formerly
led into a transe on the lowest floor of the gallery that
runs between the E. quarter of the Palace and the court-
yard. The central doorway in the E. façade of the Palace
opens into an angled transe which has doorways opening
off it to N., S. and W. Some of this work is older than the
Palace, as shown on Fig. 73. The W. doorway opens into
the transe in the gallery. This is vaulted, and originally
opened both into the Governor's Wine-cellar on the N.
and into two other cellars on the S., but all these
openings are now blocked. Towards the S. end of the
transe there is a doorway in the W. wall, which was
blocked up when the Palace was built. In the E. wall of
the transe may be seen the sill of a window, which was
no doubt blocked at the same time as the doorway just
mentioned. The doorway on the N. side of the angled
transe leads into a store-room. This compartment is
vaulted from E. to W. and is lit by two windows facing
E., one of them of the date of the Palace, although sub-
sequently enlarged, and the other wholly modern. Two
fireplaces have been inserted in the W. wall. The door-
way on the S. side of the transe opens into the first of two
intercommunicating cellars which served as sutling rooms
in 1719. ² Both cellars are vaulted from N. to S. and each
is lit by a window facing E. The windows have both been
enlarged. The N. cellar has a doorway in its W. wall,
which formerly gave access to the transe in the gallery
but has now been converted into a cupboard. There is an
inserted fireplace in the N. wall, a blocked-up cupboard
in the S. wall, and a service hatch, also blocked, in the
W. wall.
The wide archway at the S. end of the E. façade of the
Palace stands within a recess, framed by a bold angle-
roll. It admits to a vaulted passage, already known in
1633 as "the nether transe under the pallace", ³ which
runs W. below the S. quarter and debouches on the
rampart walk known as the "Lady's Hole" (p. 186). This
transe, angled and irregular, shows obvious signs of
alteration, partly due to the fact that it has been contrived
within the older building that stood on the site of the
Palace. In the S. wall of the transe there is an opening
which leads to a gun-loop in the Forework, now blocked
up externally. Beyond, a doorway leads into the lowest
apartment of the Prince's Tower and another gives
access to the turnpike stair in the NW. angle of the tower.
The two arched openings in the S. wall at the W. end of
the transe have already been described (pp. 197 f.). In
the N. wall of the transe, a doorway at the E. end, now
blocked, formerly gave access to a cellar in the E.
quarter. Beyond, there is a range of five cellars occupying
the ground floor of the S. quarter and each entered from
the transe. These cellars are lit by windows which over-
look the Lion's Den, but some of the cellars formerly had
windows to the S. which acted as borrowed lights to the
transe. These openings have now been blocked and some
of the doors giving access to the cellars have been altered.
Beyond the first cellar from the E. a passage runs at right
angles to the Nether Transe to communicate with the
Lion's Den. In the E. wall of this passage there may be
seen the jamb of a window, evidently forming part of a
wall which must at one time have run from E. to W.,
i.e. parallel to the Forework; when the Palace was built
in 1540-2 this older wall was partially incorporated within
it (cf. Fig. 73). At the W. end of the Nether Transe an
opening on the N. gives access to another transe in the
gallery of the old W. quarter; this is lit by windows to the
E., none of them original.
As mentioned above, the Palace is planned round its
first or principal floor, devoted to the State Apartments of
James V. This floor (Fig. 74) has its own entrance from
outside, situated at the NW. corner of the building and
approached from the Upper Square. Although concealed
since the early 18th century by a porch, this entrance was
intended in the first instance to be an architectural
feature and consequently is on a great scale. As the formal
entrance to the State Apartments, it is situated con-
veniently both for the King's suite and for the Queen's
and opens into the gallery of the W. quarter. The N. part
of the gallery is now partitioned off to form an entrance-
lobby within which there are three doorways. The one
on the S. leads into the gallery of the W. quarter, while
1 National Library of Scotland MS. 1645, Z 2/18.
2 Ibid.
3 M. of W. Accts., ii, 364.
-- 201 |
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No. 192 -- CASTLES AND TOWER-HOUSES -- No. 192
to the W. an inserted door opens on to a short flight of
steps which leads down to the Lady's Hole. To the E.
an original doorway leads into the first of the Royal
apartments, the King's Guard Hall. ¹ Above this doorway
there is another at a higher level, which was no doubt
blocked when the insertion of an additional floor, in the
18th or 19th century, led to an alteration in the floor levels
of the gallery of the W. quarter. The King's Guard Hall,
though now subdivided, was originally a noble room, lit
by three great windows to the N. and another three to
the S., all of them having deep embrasures, with seg-
mental rear-arches, enriched all round with a bold
quirked edge-roll. Between two of the S. windows there
is a great fireplace (Pl. 81 A), its immense lintel supported
on shafted jambs with moulded bases and carved
capitals. These capitals are obviously the work of the
carver responsible for the enriched encorbellment on the
outside of the Palace. ² Each capital (PL. 83 A) has a human
head in the centre, framed in foliage and flanked on each
side by a dog. At the E. end of the Guard Hall there is a
doorway opening into the King's Presence Chamber,
which can also be reached directly from the Great Hall
by means of a bridge; this replaces an earlier bridge in
the same position. The Presence Chamber is only two-
thirds the length of the Guard Hall but none the less it
has been a fine apartment; today, however, it is divided
into passages and offices and its quality is consequently
lost. ³ It is lit from S., E. and N. The S. wall contains a
large fireplace (Pl. 82 A) with shafted jambs, moulded
bases and capitals (Pl. 82 B) carved with eagles and scroll-
work. On the W. of the fireplace there is a recess at a low
level, perhaps a cupboard or the lower part of a doorway,
which originally gave access to the garderobe on the NW.
of the King's Bed Chamber. The Presence Chamber
originally contained a remarkable compartmented ceiling
in which were incorporated the oak medallions known as
the "Stirling Heads". ⁴ Some of the Heads appear to have
been destroyed soon after the ceiling was dismantled in
1777 (cf. p. 189), but many survived, and thirty-one
medallions are now displayed in the Smith Institute,
Stirling, while others are preserved elsewhere, one of
them within the Castle (cf. p. 204). Some of the Heads
represent figures of history and mythology, while others
appear to be portraits of contemporaries. The interest
of the subject-matter and the very high standard of
craftsmanship displayed by the carvers make these
medallions the most notable examples of Renaissance
woodwork now known to exist in Scotland, A con-
jectural reconstruction of the interior of the Presence
Chamber at it was before the destruction of the ceiling
is given in Fig.76, while photographs of a selection of
the Heads may be seen in Pl. 86. On the S. the Presence
Chamber opens into the King's Bed Chamber, a narrower
room, situated at the centre of the E. side of the Palace.
This is lit by two E. windows. In the middle of the wall
opposite there is a particularly good fireplace (Pl. 81 E)
with pilastered jambs bearing panels carved with thistles.
The bases have been renewed, but the capitals (Pl. 83 B)
are intact and are carved with a lion head in front, foliage
at the angles, and a human head on each side. The fire-
place is flanked by two original doorways, the N. one
leading into a garderobe (Pl. 85 C) and the S. one into a
chamber called the King's Closet, ⁵ at the N. end of which
a straight stair, now closed up, originally rose to the floor
above. At the S. end of the King's Closet there is a
small chamber, now subdivided, which has an aumbry
in its S. wall. At the S. end of the King's Bed Chamber,
a modern archway, which replaces the original doorway,
gives access to the Queen's Bed Chamber, situated at the
SE. corner of the Palace. This is lit from S. and E. and
has on the N. a fireplace (Pl. 81 D) with pilastered jambs,
moulded bases and carved capitals. The pilasters are
panelled, the panels being carved with conventionalised
floral ornaments, and their capitals bear cherubs' heads
at the angles. The carving is very similar to some of that
seen on the outside of the building. A doorway in the SE.
corner formerly led into the little cap-house at the E. end
of the Upper Terrace, but in the 18th or 19th century
this doorway was blocked when a staircase was inserted
to give access from the cap-house to the second floor of
the Palace. This stair is supported on a curved screen
inserted rather clumsily into the Bed Chamber. A door-
way on the W. opens into the Queen's Presence Chamber.
This is lit from N. and S. and has, at the E. end of the
N. wall, a good fireplace (Pl. 81 C) with shafted jambs
rising from moulded bases to carved capitals. On the
capitals (Pl. 84) the figure of a man with outstretched
arms supports the abacus, while on either side a female
figure clutches the bottom of his cloak. In the S. wall
there seems originally to have been a garderobe, situ-
ated between the Prince's Tower and the adjoining
window of the Presence Chamber, but this has been
altered, either to give access from the Presence Chamber
to the Upper Terrace or else to form a small chamber
serving the apartment on the first floor of the Prince's
Tower. On the W. a doorway opens into the Queen's
Guard Hall. This has three windows facing N. towards
the Lions' Den, two more looking W. and one looking S.,
together with the embrasure of a second on the S. which
is now blocked externally. Between the embrasures of
these two latter windows, a 19th-century fireplace has
been inserted into what was formerly a doorway giving
access to the outshot in the re-entrant angle of the S. wall
of the Palace and the W. wall of the Prince's Tower
(cf. p. 199). Between the two windows in the W. wall
there is a deep recess just above floor level; this may have
been reduced in height. The original large fireplace still
remains in the S. wall; it has hexagonal jambs which
1 The names of the various State Apartments appear on
Dury's plan of the early 18th century, cf. Pl. 59.
2 The carving of the fireplaces of the State Apartments also
resembles that of the fireplace in the Presence Chamber on the
first floor of the W. quarter of Linlithgow Palace (Inventory of
Midlothian and West Lothian, No. 356).
3 These subdivisions, like those in the King's Guard Hall,
are of a temporary nature and have been omitted from the plans.
4 A full account of these medallions may be found in: The
Royal Commission on Ancient and Historical Monuments
(Scotland), The Stirling Heads, H.M.S.O., Edinburgh, 1960.
5 The name is not on Dury's plan but appears on National
Library of Scotland MS. 1645, Z 2/17, of 1709-10.
-- 202 |
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| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_238 |
No. 192 -- CASTLES AND TOWER-HOUSES -- No. 192
[Plan Inserted]
Fig. 75. Stirling Castle (No. 192); second-floor plan of the Palace
rise from moulded bases to capitals carved with a cherub's
head on the face and a lion couchant on either side
(Pl. 81 B). This fireplace, like the others on this floor, has
a heavy plain lintel with a chamfered arris. A doorway at
the W. end of the N. wall opens into the gallery in the W.
quarter. The windows that light the gallery have been
contracted, but the old entrance-doorway, originally
served by a forestair, remains intact although blocked up.
In the W. wall may be seen a built-up doorway, which
once led into the missing W. quarter, as well as an 18th-
century fireplace. A modern stair within the gallery rises
to an inserted floor which contains no features of interest.
Some of the State Apartments retain old wooden doors
and other fittings (Pl 85 A-D), but these constitute a
mere fragment of their original furnishings. A set of
fifteen oak panels, believed to have come from these
rooms, is preserved in the Smith Institute, Stirling, and
is described on pp. 400 f.
The second floor of the Palace (Fig. 75) is today
reached by two staircases, one at the NW. angle of the
building and the other at the SE. angle. The former dates
from the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries while the
latter is even more recent in origin (cf. pp. 188, 189, 202).
Nothing is known of the original disposition of the rooms
-- 203 |
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| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_239 |
No. 192 -- CASTLES AND TOWER-HOUSES -- No.192
[Illustration Inserted]
Fig. 76 Stirling Castle (No. 192); reconstruction of the King's Presence Chamber in the Palace
on this floor as the present arrangement dates only from
the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries. At this period
new windows were struck out on all sides and others were
altered, while new partitions and fireplaces were also
provided (cf. p. 188). There has since been some further
remodelling. These alterations are shown on the plan
(Fig. 75). None of the rooms is of special interest, but
some retain panelling and bolection-moulded fireplaces
of about 1700. The greater part of the S. quarter is
now utilised as a Regimental Museum, and among the
objects displayed is one of the Stirling Heads (p. 202),
which may represent Judith with the head of Holofernes.
The only other items of interest that call for mention
here are two carved oak panels, which appear to represent
two of the Labours of Hercules. The panels are 14 in.
square and probably date from the 16th century; they
-- 204 |
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| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_240 |
No. 192 -- CASTLES AND TOWER-HOUSES -- No.192
are thought to have formed part of the furnishings of the Castle. ¹
THE GREAT HALL. The Great Hall of Stirling (cf.
p. 42 and Figs. 77, 78, 79), though now sadly mutilated
without and altered almost beyond recognition within,
remains the most important building of its class in
Scotland, as it was once the most splendid. Although
approximately contemporary with the Great Halls at
[Handwritten note in margin] ?1430
Linlithgow Palace ² and Edinburgh Castle, ³ the Hall at
Stirling is larger than either of these and differs from
them in standing detached. ⁴ The Great Hall seems to
have been completed soon after 1500 (cf. p. 183), and
although conceived in the mediaeval tradition the design
exhibits traces of Renaissance influence, particularly in
its details. The first important alteration to the fabric
probably took place in the middle of the 16th century,
when a vaulted transe with a gallery above it was added
to the W. and N. sides of the building. At about the
same time a bridge was erected at the SW. angle to give
access from the Great Hall to the King's Presence
Chamber in the newly completed Palace. More extensive
alterations were planned in 1709-10, but were not
carried out in their entirety; nevertheless an upper floor
was inserted, at least in the N. half of the Hall (cf. p. 189).
The gallery above the transe on the W. side of the Hall
was removed some time during the 18th century. The
building assumed its present form at about the end of
the 18th century when it was converted into barracks. In
this alteration the Hall itself was divided into two storeys
and an attic, each floor containing four large barrack-
rooms and two staircases, while additional partition-
walls were inserted on the ground floor to take the weight
of the new staircases above. The fine timber roof was
replaced, and any carved details or painted decoration
that survived were hidden beneath new plaster. The
windows, apart from those in the gables, were ruthlessly
destroyed and replaced by others strictly utilitarian in
appearance. Old doorways were blocked up and new
ones opened out. The parapets were removed, together
with the open rounds that had graced the externals corners,
and the high roof, shorn of the badges on the ridging
(Pls. 57, 58, 88 A), was extended to the wall-face. The
sweep of the roof was interrupted by dormer windows
and by the chimney flues of the fireplaces introduced
into the barrack-rooms. Finally, and perhaps at a slightly
later date, the bridge leading from the SW. angle of the
Hall to the adjacent Palace was rebuilt.
Exterior. The Great Hall is rectangular on plan and
lies approximately N. and S.; it measures 138 ft. in
length by 46 ft. 9 in. in width over all, and at the S. or
dais end bay-windows project on either side to a distance
of 6 ft. on the E. and about 5 ft. 6 in. on the W. The
masonry is largely rubble, but there is also some ashlar
work, most of it in the upper part of the walls. The
principal façade faces W. and now forms the E. boundary
of the Upper Square. The original design may best be
appreciated by a study of Fig. 80, which is a reconstructed
drawing of the original elevation, based on the evidence
now available. For the purpose of this drawing it has
been assumed that in the original arrangement a timber
gallery was intended to run along the greater part of the
W. wall, giving access by a stair at its N. end to the main
entrance-doorway at first-floor level. Whether or not this
gallery was ever erected is hard to say, but certainly the
vaulted transe that now masks the ground floor, and the
gallery above it, now removed, were not original features
but additions of about the middle of the 16th century.
The evidence bearing on the erection both of the original
gallery and of the structure that replace it is discussed
in more detail on p. 210. On the ground floor there were
doorways giving access to the cellars beneath the Hall,
while above, four pairs of segmental-headed windows,
similar to those that survive in the S. gable, lit the Hall
itself. Between each pair of windows a statuette stood
within a canopied niche. Towards the S. end of the
façade the bay-window rose to light the dais, its walls
finishing in a corbelled parapet at the external angles of
which there were open rounds; the wall-head of the
remainder of the façade was treated in a similar fashion,
and there were rounds at the NW. and SW. angles.
Within the round at the NW. angle a turnpike stair rose
above the parapet to finish in a conical roof. ⁵
The W. wall (Pl. 87 A) is now exposed to its full
height only beyond the S. end of the transe, that is to
say from the bay-window to the SW, angle. To the S.
of the bay-window the lower part of the wall was refaced
when the bridge between the Hall and the Palace was
rebuilt, an alteration which probably took place in the
19th century. An original doorway remains at ground-
floor level and gives access to a cellar within, but it is now
masked by the later masonry. Above the present bridge
the roof raggle of its predecessor of about 1540-2 may
be seen in the masonry. A string-course, enriched with
paterae, returns round the W. and S. sides of the bay-
window between ground- and first-floor levels. Below
the window an original doorway to the N. has been
replaced by a later one situated a little further S. The
old doorway, which formerly gave access to the cellars at this
end of the building, has a square hood-mould with stops,
each of which is carved with a human figure, now much
worn. The upper part of the bay-window, that is, above
the string-course, has angle-shafts, the S. one rising from
the string while the N. one rises from the level of the
transoms. Both shafts have moulded capitals. On the W.
side of the bay there is a central pier with a moulded
base and capital, the latter surmounted by a niche; the
pier originally incorporated a central shaft, the capital
of which no doubt supported a statue in the niche above.
The statue has now disappeared and both shaft and
1 P.S.A.S., lviii (1923-4), 300 f.
2 Inventory of Midlothian and West Lothian, No. 356.
3 Inventory of the City of Edinburgh, No. 1.
4 There may, perhaps, have been a free-standing Great Hall
at Falkland Palace; so much at least is suggested by the outlines
of the foundations of the N. quarter, now demolished. The
proportions of this building, so far as they can be ascertained,
resemble those of the Hall at Stirling (Inventory of Fife, Kinross
and Clackmannan, No. 238, fig. 272.)
5 As shown on Slezer's drawing, cf. Pl. 58.
-- 205 |
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| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_241 |
[Plans Inserted]
Fig. 77. Stirling Castle (No. 192); lower floors of the Great Hall
-- 206 |
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| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_242 |
No. 192 -- CASTLES AND TOWER-HOUSES -- No. 192
capital have been cut back. There were originally two
pairs of windows facing W., one pair on each side of the
central pier. These were either altered or blocked in the
18th century. In the N. return-wall there was a window
above the level of the gallery roof, and this is still partly
visible though it is now blocked up. There is nothing to
suggest that there was at any time a window in the S.
return. The windows in the W. wall of the bay were
transomed and their heads had rounded corners. Above
the capitals of the angle-shafts a moulded string, enriched
with paterae, returns round the bay, breaking upwards
above the niche that surmounts the central pier on the W.
side. Higher up is the encorbellment at the wall-head,
some of it modern. The rounds at the external angles of
the bay-window have been removed, but the profile of
the mouldings is still visible in the masonry a little below
the corbel course.
To the N. of the bay-window the ground floor of the
Hall is now masked by the transe, as was also the first
floor by the gallery above the transe until about the end
of the 18th century. Some of the corbels that supported
the roof of the gallery still remain, while others have been
cut back flush with the wall-face. At first-floor level, the
present level of the Upper Square, there may be seen the
remains of two old doorways, the one to the N., now
contracted in width and blocked up, having been the
main entrance-doorway of the Hall (Pl. 89 G). This door-
way has a moulded surround and the lintel has rounded
corners with carved spandrels; there was originally a
square hood-mould with carved stops but this has been
cut away. About 40 ft. to the S. of this entrance, there
remains one jamb of an inserted 17th-century doorway
(Pl. 88 A), now blocked; otherwise the doors and windows
on this floor are of later date. Above, some traces of the
original fenestration remain among the later windows;
of the canopied niches that originally stood between each
of the four pairs of windows only one survives (Pl. 88 B),
its base carved with the figure of an angel (Pl. 88 C). Part
of another niche may be seen between the S. pair of
windows and the bay-window. The projecting drip-
course of the gallery roof originally ran below the sills
of the windows but has now been cut back flush with
the wall-face. Just above this drip-course and near the
NW. angle there is a small stair-window, now blocked.
The corbelling at the wall-head has been restored at the
NW. and SW. angles where the original open rounds
have been removed.
The E. façade, in its original form, was generally
similar to the W. façade; a suggested reconstruction of
the original design is given in Fig. 81. To the N. of the
bay-window the elevational treatment was modified to
incorporate a turnpike stair which scarcely left room for
four pairs of large segmental-headed windows on the
principal floor, as on the W. façade; the number was
accordingly reduced to three pairs, two to the N. of the
staircase and one to the S. of it, together with an
additional single window between the S. pair and the
bay-window. Canopied niches were set between the
windows as on the W. side. On the ground floor the
arrangement is uncertain, but there was probably a series
of small windows lighting the cellars within. In the NE.
re-entrant angle, between the bay-window and the main
wall of the building, a turnpike stair was corbelled out at
ground-floor level, but it did not rise above the splayed
offset-course that returns along the façade between the
ground and first floors.
As it stands today (Pl. 87 B), the façade to the S. of the
bay-window contains a window at ground-floor level;
this has a square hood-mould with carved stops of which
the one to the N. represents a hare (Pl. 89 D) and the one
to the S. a stag. The round at the SE. angle has been
removed and the corbelling restored; to the N. the
corbelling breaks downward to meet that of the bay-
window. The bay-window, while generally similar to the
one in the W. façade, differs from it in certain particulars
of design and in the more sophisticated treatment of its
ornamental detail. Beneath the window, but only on its E.
side, there is a boldly splayed base-course. Above this,
near the centre of the bay, there is a window, now con-
verted into a doorway (Pl. 89 A); this has moulded jambs
and a lintel surmounted by a square hood-mould with
carved stops. The S. stop represents a griffin (Pl. 89 B)
and the N. one a mermaid (Pl. 89 C). The jambs and
head provide evidence for a stout grille. In the S. return
of the bay there is an inserted window at ground-floor
level. At the angles of the bay, and also at the centre of
its E. side, shafts rise from the offset-course and support
flat niches, now empty; subsidiary niches are set out on
either side of these shafts, about half-way up, and with
one exception still contain figures, very much wasted.
The shafts and their niches enclosed the original lights
of the bay-window; these lights, which were long and
narrow, had transoms, those of the lateral lights being
fancifully linked. The corners of the lintels are rounded
and have carved spandrels. Over all there runs a string-
course enriched with paterae, Beneath the offset-course
that defines the base of the windows a carved stone
seems to have been inserted as an after-thought at each
angle of the bay. On the N. of the bay-window a fore-
stair, which is of 18th- or 19th-century date, masks
the small turnpike stair in the re-entrant angle between
the bay-window and the main wall. None of the open-
ings on the ground floor is original. Above the offset-
course, the two tiers of windows lighting the barrack-
rooms, and the other windows which light the halls
and staircases within, are obvious insertions, but traces
of the original fenestration are still discernible. The
niche between the northernmost pair of windows
survives, and its base is carved with a grotesque head.
Below this niche, and a little to the S. of it, a corbel
projects from the wall; this is unlikely to be an original
feature, and is probably connected with the provision of a
service lobby at this end of the Hall in the 16th century
(cf. p. 213). At the N. end of the wall is a small
stair-window, now built up. An original open round has
been removed from the NE. angle and the corbelling
restored at this point.
The turnpike stair is an original feature, but its upper
and lower parts differ both in the character of the external
mouldings and also in the diameter of the stair within.
-- 207 |
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| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_243 |
No. 192 -- CASTLE AND TOWER-HOUSES -- No. 192
[Plans Inserted]
Fig. 78. Stirling Castle (No. 192); upper floors of the Great Hall
This suggests that there may have been a pause in the
building operations while the Hall was under con-
struction, a suggestion which agrees with the available
documentary evidence (pp, 182 f.). The stair contains an
offset-course that runs along the E. side of the Hall, a
moulded string-course returns round the stair-tower,
and one course below this a second. Immediately below
this second string-course there is an original window on
the E., now built up and replaced by a later window on
the SE. The older window has carved stops at its upper
corners, each in the form of a human head (Pl. 89 E, F).
A third string-course returns round the tower at the
sill level of the original windows of the Hall. Immedi-
ately below this string-course an original window faces
E.; it has carved stops at its upper corners, the dexter
one showing a male figure but the sinister one being
too much wasted for identification. At the same level
a small inserted window, now blocked, faces NE. At a
lower level an original window, now blocked, faces SE.,
and has a straight hood-mould with carved stops in
the form of armorials. Each stop bears a crown in its
upper part; the device below the dexter crown cannot be
identified while the sinister stop has a shield not now
showing a recognisable charge. Above the uppermost
string-course there are four original windows, two of them
now blocked; they have moulded jambs and lintels which
contrast sharply with the plain splayed arrises of the
windows in the lower part of the stair. The stair-tower
originally rose above the level of the parapet and
finished in a conical roof. Slezer indicates that the tower
interrupted the parapet (cf. Pl. 57), but as the corbel
course at the wall-head of the tower appears to be
original it is more likely that the parapet returned round
-- 208 |
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No. 192 -- CASTLES AND TOWER-HOUSES -- No. 192
[Plans Inserted]
[Handwritten on plan] *
< 32ft >
Fig. 79. Stirling Castle (No. 192); plans of the Great Hall, restored
it. This upper portion of the stair was removed at the
end of the 18th century when the present roof was con-
structed. Slezer also shows two chimneys on the E.
façade, one at each side of the stair-tower (Pls. 57, 58;
cf. p. 211); the S. one has disappeared, but the N. one
survives, although rebuilt, and is now blocked. These
chimneys will be discussed below in relation to the
original provision of fireplaces for the Great Hall.
The S. gable (Fig. 82; Pl. 87 B) is built of rubble up to
the sills of the windows and above that level is of ashlar.
A splayed offset-course about 10 ft. above ground level
marks the approximate level of the principal floor.
Below the offset-course there is an original window
which has had a square hood-mould with carved stops,
now cut away. At the level of the offset-course a doorway
was broken out in the 18th century; this is reached from
a forestair and gives access to the bridge that links the
Hall and the Palace. As already explained, this bridge is
probably of 19th-century date, but one springer of its
predecessor can be seen at the SW. angle above the offset-
course, together with the carved stop for the hood-mould
of its arch. Higher up still may be seen one end of a
boldly moulded horizontal panel, presumably one of
a series continuing across the original bridge, some no
doubt being pierced for lighting. The top of the panel
is level with the sills of the windows that lit the principal
floor of the Hall; these have double lights with segmental
heads, both jambs and arch-heads being wrought with a
hollow and an edge-roll moulding as are the original
double windows on the W. and E. façades. Above is the
corbel course at the angles where rounds have been
removed. Above the wall-head two late 18th-century
windows replace the two original windows that remain,
built up, in the upper part of the gable. The chimney
stack situated between the windows has been renewed
and the original crow-steps have been replaced by plain,
tabled skews. The masonry of the gable is pitted in places,
as if by missiles, perhaps a relic of the sieges of 1651 or
1746 (cf. pp. 187 and 189).
The lower part of the N. gable is now masked by the
vaulted transe and gallery that were added in the middle
of the 16th century (cf. p. 210). Above the gallery the
gable wall of the Hall is exposed and contains two pairs
of windows, the mouldings of which differ from those
of the S. gable. Each window contains two square-
headed lights beneath a segmental-arched head. In the
-- O -- 209
[Handwritten] * Cf. H.M. Gen. Register House,
Clerk of Penicuik papers, No. 5013. |
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| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_245 |
No. 192 -- CASTLES AND TOWER-HOUSES -- No. 192
upper part of the gable two 18th-century windows
replace an earlier window, now built up; the chimney is
an addition, and a plain table-course has been substituted
for the original crow-stepped gables. At the angles, where
the rounds have been removed, the profile of the mould-
ings of the two lower courses of the rounds may be seen
in the masonry immediately below the corbel course.
Some of the masonry of the gable is pitted as if by cannon
or musketry fire.
The Transe and Gallery, The remaining external
features are the W. and N. transes and the N. gallery.
It seems fairly clear that some sort of gallery was
always intended to run along the W. wall of the Hall.
This is shown by the absence of a plinth such as is found
on the other walls of the building, by the remains of the
drip course of the gallery roof, still visible beneath the
sills of the principal windows, and by the corbels for the
runners of the roof, some of which still remain. At the
same time it is plain that the present vaulted transe on
the W. side and the transe and gallery on the N. side of
the Hall are not original features, evidence being found
in the clumsy way in which the vault of the transe buts
on to the main walls of the Hall; also by the facts that
the W. transe blinds an original ground-floor window in
the W. wall and that the N. transe overrides the plinth
that may be seen returning along the N. gable. It must
therefore be supposed that the present W. transe and
gallery replace an earlier project of a similar sort (cf.
Fig. 80). The chief purpose of the earlier gallery was
no doubt to provide a covered approach to the main
entrance-doorway at the N. end of the Hall, and it must
therefore have incorporated a staircase; at its S. end the
gallery may have been intended to give cover for the
unloading of stores at the two doorways that give access
to the cellars beneath the Hall. Whether or not a gallery
of this sort was ever erected is uncertain, as fairly soon
after the completion of the Hall it was decided to level
up the steep slope of the Upper Square by raising its E.
side to the level of the first floor of the Hall. This led to
the erection of the present vaulted transe which acted as
a retaining wall to the raised Upper Square and at the
same time allowed access to the ground floor of the Hall.
Above the transe a covered walk or gallery was erected,
its roof at the intended level of the earlier gallery, and both
transe and gallery were extended to run along the N.
gable as well. The exact date of these alterations is
uncertain; they certainly took place before the erection of
the Chapel Royal in 1594 (infra) and may well have
been carried out fairly early in the 16th century. The W.
gallery was removed during the 18th century, but its
general appearance is preserved by a plan and section
drawn in 1719, ¹ and some traces of it can be seen in the
late 18th-century view ² reproduced on Pl. 88 A.
In its present form the W. transe is a long, dark
vaulted tunnel entered from a 17th-century doorway at
its S. end, which no doubt replaces an older doorway in
the same position. The N. end of the transe is screened
off by a modern brick partition; towards the S. end two
original doorways, now built up, may be seen in the W.
wall of the Hall. North of the brick partition there is an
original window in the W. wall of the Hall, and still
further N. an inserted doorway. In the angle formed by
the junction of the N. and W. transes an original window,
which faced N., has been converted into a doorway; to
the W. there is a doorway with chamfered arrises, now
blocked up. This door was partially opened up in October
1957 and was found to have originally given access to an
apartment situated below the E. end of the Chapel Royal.
When the Chapel Royal was built in 1594 this apartment
was filled up with debris and sealed off. Opposite this
doorway may be seen the outline of the vault that con-
tinues the transe along the N. gable of the Hall, but the
N. transe is now sealed off by a partition and is accessible
only from its E. end.
The windows that light the N. transe are modern while
the gallery was partially rebuilt in the late 18th century,
its four easternmost windows being of this period. The
wall-head of the E. portion of the gallery was lowered by
about 4 ft. 6 in. at the same time. The W. end of the
transe and gallery adjoins the E. gable of the Chapel
Royal, but the masonry has been much disturbed at this
point and the building sequence is uncertain; it seems,
however, that the Chapel of 1594 has intruded upon the
W. end of the transe and gallery, which has been some-
what altered in the process. At a slightly later date an
anteroom was formed at the E. end of the Chapel within
the angle formed by the junction of the N. and W.
galleries. As it stands today this W. portion of the gallery
has a penthouse roof with a crow-stepped gable. The
roll-moulded window looking N. dates from the con-
version of this part of the gallery into the anteroom to the
Chapel Royal. The N. transe, which is entered at its E.
end by a doorway broken through the N. gable of the
Hall, contains no features of interest. The N. gallery is
entered at its W. end from the anteroom of the Chapel
Royal; the doorway replaces an older one which adjoined
the NW. corner of the Hall and part of the relieving arch
of the older door may be seen in the external re-entrant
angle between the Hall and the anteroom.
Interior. The undercroft of the Hall (Fig. 77)
originally contained a series of vaulted cellars, most of
which were intercommunicating. This arrangement was
modified, in the late 18th century, by the insertion of
partition walls to support the staircases that were
installed when the Hall was converted into barracks;
further alterations, some of them involving the opening-
out of new doorways, have been made since. These
modifications are all shown on the plan, and the follow-
ing description for the most part takes account of the
original arrangements only. A doorway in the centre of
the N. gable led into a corridor which gave access to a
large cellar at its S. end and to two smaller cellars on the
W. and E. respectively; these latter communicated with
the Hall above by means of turnpike stairs in the NW.
and NE. angles of the building. The large cellar gave
1 National Library of Scotland MS. 1645, Z 2/18.
2 Bodleian Library, Gough Maps, 40, (17537), fol. 5r.
-- 210 |
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| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_246 |
[Blank Page]
Fig. 80 |
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| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_247 |
[Diagram Inserted]
West Elevation of the Great Hall, Stirling Castle |
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| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_248 |
[Blank Page]
Fig. 81 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_249 |
[Diagram Inserted]
East Elevation of the Great Hall, Stirling Castle |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_250 |
[Blank Page]
Fig. 82 |
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| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_251 |
[Diagrams Inserted]
Section and South Elevation of the Great Hall, Stirling Castle |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_252 |
No. 192 -- CASTLES AND TOWER-HOUSES -- No. 192
access by a doorway in its S. wall to a second large cellar
which communicated with the Hall above by means
of the great turnpike-stair and was also accessible from
the Upper Square by an entrance-doorway in its W. wall.
To the S. there lay a third large cellar, and this too had
its own entrance from the Upper Square although it also
communicated with further cellars adjoining it on the S.
The principal entrance to this S. group of cellars was
by a doorway, situated beneath the W. bay-window,
which led into a corridor giving access at its E. end to a
large cellar which occupied almost the full width of the
main block of the Hall. A doorway in the S. wall of the
corridor led into a small cellar situated beneath the W.
bay-window; this cellar has a cupboard in its S. wall
and also a trefoil-shaped light, now blocked. There were
two doorways in the E. wall of the large cellar, the S.
one leading down steps into a small apartment situated
beneath the E. bay-window, and the N. one into a
turnpike-stair which gave access to another small cellar
set below the E. bay-window at an intermediate floor-
level. The window-like aperture in the W. wall of this
last cellar probably served as a borrowed light. A doorway
in the S. wall of the large cellar led into a small cellar
in the SE. angle of the building; this communicated in
turn with a corresponding cellar in the SW. angle which,
however, also had an entrance-doorway of its own to
the W.
The original internal arrangements of the Hall itself
have been almost entirely destroyed, but the principal
features of the plan may be deduced from such evidence
as survives (Figs. 77, 78, 79). The scale of the
building is most impressive, the Hall having measured
126 ft. 6 in. in length, 37 ft. in width and approximately
54 ft. in height. During the banquet that followed the
baptism of Prince Henry in 1594, a model ship, 40 ft. in
height, is said to have stood within the building. ¹ The
entrance-doorway at the N. end of the W. wall no doubt
led into the screens, above which there was a gallery
known as the Trumpeters' Loft. ² At its S. end there was
probably a dais, lit from the bay-windows to E. and W.
The original disposition of the fireplaces is not altogether
clear. The plan of 1719 ³ shows three large fireplaces, one
in the centre of the S. gable and one in each of the side
walls, the two last set almost opposite to each other a
little to the N. of the bay-windows. This agrees well with
the account of Loveday, who, visiting the Castle in 1732,
wrote of the Great Hall, "here are 3 Chimnies". ⁴ This
arrangement makes reasonable provision for the heating
both of the dais and of the main body of the Hall, but
does not allow for two chimneys - one in the N. gable
and the other in the E. wall a little to the N. of the
turnpike stair - both of which appear in the earliest views
of the Castle (cf. Pls. 57, 58), and the resulting problem
is unlikely to be solved unless the building is gutted at
any future time as a preliminary to restoration. The roof
was of hammer-beam construction, like that of the Great
Hall of Edinburgh Castle. ⁵
The Hall was well provided with stairs, but apart
from the great turnpike on the E. side of the building
these are now inaccessible or incomplete. Besides the
small stair in the NE. re-entrant angle of the E. bay-
window, which has already been described and which
did not communicate with the Hall itself, there were
two turnpike stairs at the N. end of the building, one
in the NW. angle and the other in the NE. angle of the
Hall. Both communicated with the screens passage. The
former, which rose to the full height of the building,
probably gave access to the Trumpeters' Loft as well as
to the parapet-walk. The NE. turnpike was probably
used as a service stair; it communicated only with the
undercroft, although access may have been provided at
this level to the service lobby on the E. side of the Hall
(cf. p. 215). The great turnpike on the E. side of the
building, which is the only stair that remains substantially
intact today, rises to the full height of the Hall. From
ground level to the threshold of the Hall itself the treads
occupy the full width of the stair-turret, giving the stair
a radius of about 4 ft 3 in. The treads, and probably the
newel also, were renewed in the 18th or 19th century.
Above the level of the Hall the original stair remains
intact and rises to the wall-head, but does not occupy
the full width of the turret as its radius is only about
3 ft. 7 in. About half-way up this smaller stair there is a
small platform, which formerly gave access to an arched
opening to the W.; this is now blocked up, but a stone
seat remains in the N. jamb to suggest that the opening
once formed the entrance to a small gallery or oriel
overlooking the Hall. In the S. jamb there is a trace of
another stone seat, and above it a break in the masonry
reveals a garderobe vent which presumably served a
garderobe on the parapet-walk. The only other features
of interest that can be seen in the Hall today are the
upper parts of the bay-windows (Pl. 90). The arched
heads of the window recesses are supported by massive
ribs which spring from moulded pilasters, now all more
or less mutilated.
THE CHAPEL ROYAL. The Chapel Royal (Fig. 83)
stands on the N. side of the Upper Square, and in part
occupies the site of an older building, the foundations
of which are known to extend to the S. and SE. of it.
These foundations, which are indicated in Fig. 83, may
be associated with the earlier chapel that is known to
have stood within the Upper Square (cf. p. 185). Those
that lie beneath the Chapel Royal were in part revealed
when a portion of the floor was renewed in March 1959;
the foundations that lie outside are marked by a setting
of paving-stones. The Chapel Royal, which was built
in 1594, is of considerable interest as being one of the
few ecclesiastical buildings erected in Scotland at this
period. ⁶ It is oblong in shape, measuring 112 ft. 6 in.
by 37 ft. 3 in. over all, and its major axis runs approx-
imately from E. to W. The site falls away sharply from
1 Nisbet, A System of Heraldry (1816 ed.), ii, 158.
2 M. of W. Accts., ii, 162.
3 National Library of Scotland MS. 1645, Z 2/18.
4 John Loveday of Caversham, Diary of a Tour in 1732,
Roxburghe Club, 124.
5 Inventory of the City of Edinburgh, p. 21.
6 Post-Reformation Churches, 34f.
-- 211 |
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| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_253 |
No. 192 -- CASTLES AND TOWER-HOUSES -- No. 192
[Plan Inserted]
Fig. 83. Stirling Castle (No. 192); the Chapel Royal
W. to E., and there is consequently an undercroft at
the E. end of the building, while the W. end of the
Chapel floor stands about 3 ft. above the E. part. The
lower part of the undercroft (Fig. 77) appears to be
older than the Chapel itself, and contemporary with the
transe on the W, and N. sides of the Great Hall. Except
on the S. front, which is built of ashlar throughout, the
masonry is rubble with freestone dressings. On the N., S.,
and E. there is a splayed offset-course. The S. font
(Pl. 91 A) has a central arched doorway, slightly advanced
and flanked by twin columns set on pedestals and support-
ing a simple entablature, all of the Composite order (Pl.
91 B, C). Above the entablature, within a moulded frame,
there is a small raised panel dated 1594. Three windows
are set on either side of the entrance, each window having
two lights with semicircular heads set within an outer
order. The tympana of the windows once contained
painted decoration in the form of the Royal Cipher and
Crown, ¹ and slight traces of the design are still visible
upon the stonework.
At the E. end of the S. façade there is an anteroom,
which appears to be slightly later in date than the Chapel
and was probably added early in the 17th century; but
tusking was left at the SE. angle of the Chapel in 1594,
as if the anteroom had been contemplated from the
beginning. The S. wall of the anteroom was largely
rebuilt in the 19th century. The eaves-courses are
moulded and both gables are crow-stepped. At the foot
of the E. gable there is a splayed basement-course which
rises and returns round the small chamfered doorway
that gives entry to the undercroft. Above this doorway
there is a small chamfered window. In the centre of the
gable, above the offset course, there is a long two-light
window with moulded jambs; its semicircular arch-
heads seem to be original, but the transom is modern
and at a lower level than the one shown in a drawing of
1719. ² In the uppermost part of the gable there is a
small window with moulded jambs and lintel. In the
W. gable the only feature to be noticed is a chamfered
doorway, now built up, which admitted to the W. and
higher part of the chapel. In the N. wall there is an
original doorway in which a modern window, now blocked
up, has been inserted, as well as an inserted doorway
towards the E. end of the wall.
Internally the Chapel is bare and unfurnished, and is
open to the roof timbers, which are modern and have
recently been strengthened with steel girders. The
original roof, which was painted (cf. p. 187), was
probably waggon-vaulted. The drawing of 1719 ³
suggests that by that time a flat ceiling had been inserted
below the original one, cutting off the tops of the two E.
windows. The raised W. end of the Chapel floor is
reached by steps placed close to the S. wall.
Quite the most interesting feature of the interior is the
painted decoration of 1628-9 (cf. p. 187) which is
executed in tempera, for the most part in white, yellow
and red. This is carried round all four walls as a frieze,
and originally extended over the coving of the ceiling as
well. On the W. gable Jenkin painted a window to match
the upper part of the E. window, and set out a scroll-
1 M of W Accts., ii, 256.
2 National Library of Scotland MS. 1645, Z 2/18.
3 Ibid.
-- 212 |
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| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_254 |
No. 192 -- CASTLES AND TOWER-HOUSES -- No. 192
work above it, surmounted by the Crown and Crest of
Scotland (Pl. 92 A). At the level of the window-sill there
is a neutral-coloured band or architrave, and immediately
above this comes the frieze in which bunches of fruit
alternate with scrolled cartouches. The latter display the
Crown, with the Sword and Sceptre of the Honours
arranged saltirewise, and in the flanks the initials I and
[Handwritten in margin] 6
in monogram and R separately - presumably for
James VI and I , in whose reigns the Chapel
was decorated and re-decorated (Pl. 92 B). Above the
frieze there is painted a cornice, enriched with egg-and-
dart and dentil ornament. Of the original internal arrange-
ments of the Chapel little is known except that, at the
baptism of Prince Henry in 1594 (cf. p. 186), the pulpit
stood in the middle of the building, while in 1719 it stood
against the S. wall, between the second and third windows
from the E. ¹ An old pulpit from the Chapel Royal is
preserved in the Castle museum and is mentioned on
p. 128. In the anteroom the door to the W., which
formerly led into the Chapel, is now blocked, but to the
E. another doorway gives access to the gallery on the N.
side of the Great Hall.
THE MINT. The building now known as the Mint ²
(Fig. 84; Pl. 93 B) stands at the NE. angle of the Castle,
a little to the E. of the N. end of the Great Hall. The
structure has been much altered at various periods and a
complete structural analysis is now impossible. On the
evidence available today, however, the development of
the building may be summarised as follows. The earliest
structure of which a part still survives was a large
polygonal tower containing on its lowest floor an entrance-
gateway to the Castle. This tower may be identified with
some probability as the N. gateway, the construction of
which is recorded in 1381 (cf. p. 182). At some time
during the 15th century the tower was reduced in width
on its NE. side but extended to the S. and W. At this
period the upper floors were remodelled, the first floor
being converted for use as a kitchen and a large kitchen-
fireplace (p. 215) being formed within a compartment
which had formerly served as a portcullis chamber. At a
later date the upper floors of the tower were again
remodelled as were those of the S. extension, and the
kitchen on the first floor was provided with an additional
fireplace and was linked to the Great Hall by the con-
struction of a service lobby in the space between the
W. wall of the Mint and the E. wall of the Great Hall.
The 15th-century W. extension of the Mint probably
remained in use beneath the service lobby, which no
doubt replaced an older upper floor. These alterations
were plainly connected with the provision of adequate
service facilities for the Great Hall, and were probably
carried out early in the 16th century, perhaps about 1512
when masons are known to have been working on the
structure (cf. p. 183). The last major alteration took place
during the 17th century, when the upper floors of the
tower and its S. extension were again remodelled and
partially raised in height. In 1719 the first floor of the
Mint served as a brewhouse while the second floor pro-
vided accommodation for the gunners' stores. ³ By this
time the service lobby between the Mint and the Great
Hall had probably gone out of use; it eventually became
ruinous and was demolished. The apartment below the
service lobby may have gone out of use at the same time;
it is now filled up with debris. During one of the fore-
going alterations the entrance-gateway on the ground
floor of the Mint seems to have been blocked up; it was
rediscovered only in 1879. ⁴
The buidling comprises three main storeys. In the
NW. wall, at ground-floor level, there may be seen the
original 14th-century entrance-gateway (Pl. 93 C), which
opens into a vaulted transe. The arch of this gateway
has a pointed head, which is chamfered, but the jambs,
although partially renewed on the SW. side, were always
plain. There was originally a portcullis, the chases for
which still remain above the springing level, although the
portcullis chamber above must have gone out of use
when the kitchen-fireplace was inserted into it in the
15th century. The chases do not extend down the jambs.
Immediately behind the portcullis chases there is a
door-check. To the SW. of the main entrance-gateway
there was a postern provided with an inner as well as
an outer door, the former giving access from the transe
to an angled lobby situated behind the latter. The
passage from the transe is now blocked at its inner end.
The inner doorway remains in the SW. wall of the
tower; it has a pointed arch-head and provision for a
sliding draw-bar. The outer doorway is now represented
only by a single jamb-stone at the W. angle of the tower;
this stone has a chamfered arris and a door-check. In the
original arrangement a curtain wall ran SW. from the
outer postern, while above the level of the curtain the W.
angle of the tower was free-standing. In the 16th century,
however, the outer postern and its adjacent curtain were
almost entirely demolished and replaced by the present
curtain-wall, which abuts the main W. wall of the tower.
The line of the older curtain is preserved by an arch
which was thrown across from the W. angle of the tower
to the later curtain-wall at first-floor level. The quoins of
the W. angle of the tower are visible above the remaining
jamb-stone of the outer postern, but the masonry to the
SW. of the quoins, with its large double window, is
of 16th-century date. The NE. wall of the tower is of
14th-century date at ground-floor level, and only here
can the original width of the tower still be seen. At first-
floor level the wall is roughly intaken by about 8 ft., and
above this point most of the masonry is of 15th-century
date although the parapet is as late as the 17th century.
About 10 ft. below the parapet there may be seen a jamb
of an old window or loop, now blocked.
Within the main entrance-gateway the vaulted transe,
which is angled, rises to the Lower Square. On the NE.
1 Ibid.
2 It is commonly said that the building was used as a mint
in mediaeval times. No evidence can be found to support the
tradition, however, and it has been suggested that the mint,
which certainly existed in Stirling at this period, was housed
within the burgh rather than within the Castle (Cochran-
Patrick, G., Records of the Coinage of Scotland, i, xliv).
3 National Library of Scotland MS. 1645, Z 2/18.
4 T.S.N.H.A.S. (1878-9), 67.
-- 213 |
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[Plan Inserted]
Fig. 84. Stirling Castle (No. 192) The Mint and Kitchen Range
-- 214 |
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| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_256 |
No. 192 -- CASTLES AND TOWER-HOUSES -- No. 192
side of the transe and at its lower end a square-headed
doorway gives access to an old window-embrasure, the
daylight of which has been enlarged. The doorway and
the wall in which it is set are insertions of the 17th
century, but the pointed window to the NW. of the door-
way appears to be of 19th-century date. Some of the
vaulting of the transe has been remodelled at various
times, and on its W. side it has been widened to give
improved access for vehicles. A straight joint in the
masonry about 16 ft. from its upper end seems to mark
the limits of the 14th-century work, its S. portion being
an addition of the 15th century. This upper portion of
the transe contains a locker in its E. wall while a doorway
in its W. wall gives access to a vaulted cellar of 15th-
century date. A window in its S. wall was blocked and
another inserted at a higher level in the same embrasure
when the ground level outside was raised in the 16th
century, and this second window is now also blocked.
In the SW. angle of the cellar there is a fireplace with
a segmental-arched head, and in the W. wall an aumbry
checked for a wooden door. At the NW. angle a doorway
opens into another apartment, now inaccessible because
of the debris that fills it, and in the E. wall there is
another aumbry. The N. wall is the original external wall
of the tower and dates from the 14th century. In the
vault there is a hatch, now blocked, which indicates that
there was originally an upper floor; this was replaced in
the 16th century by the service lobby, but the hatch
may have continued in use until the lobby itself was
demolished.
At the S. end of the transe there is a segmental-headed
archway wrought with a double chamfer on the arrises.
Above the arch rises the S. wall of the tower, most of the
masonry being of the 16th century although the upper
part of the wall may have been refaced at a rather later
date. A flight of steps rises against the E. wall of the
tower to give access to a doorway at first-floor level, above
which there is an original window now contracted in
width. The doorway leads into the single large apartment
that now occupies this floor of the tower. This room was
largely remodelled in the early 16th century, but the
large segmental-headed kitchen-fireplace, now blocked,
in the N. wall is of 15th-century date. The arrises of
the voussoirs of the fireplace are wrought with a broad
chamfer; above the arch may be seen the springing of a
vault, earlier in date than the present one and at a lower
level. The fireplace and the springing of the vault are
the only surviving remains of the extensive remodelling
of the first floor that took place in the 15th century, the
rest of the apartment dating from the early 16th century.
In 1955 part of the wall that seals off the fireplace recess
was removed, and a sink outlet, now blocked externally,
was found in the W. jamb of the fireplace (cf. Fig. 84);
as this outlet runs through the portcullis chases of the
gateway below, the portcullis must have gone out of use
by the date at which the fireplace was inserted. As
remodelled in the 16th century the apartment is divided
by two large segmental-headed arches and each division
is roofed with a barrel vault. In the E. wall of the S.
division there is another kitchen-fireplace, now blocked.
In the W. wall there are two service-hatches, while a
third, now blocked, remains beneath the springing of the
dividing arch. To the S. there is a mural recess at floor
level. To the W. of this apartment lie the remains of the
early 16th-century service-lobby which itself replaces
the upper floor or floors of the 15th-century W. extension
of the tower. This area is entered on the level of the first
floor of the tower and of the ground floor of the Great
Hall by a segmental-headed archway which springs from
the SW. angle of the Mint to butt against the E. wall of
the Hall. The apartments within are now roofless and
partially demolished, but enough remains to show that
the area was vaulted and contained an upper floor lit by a
large window on the S, one jamb of which still remains
over the arched entrance to the lower floor. The lower
floor was lit by a double window to the NW. The lobby
communicated with the kitchen on the E. by means of
the service-hatches, already described, and access to the
screens passage of the Great Hall may have been con-
trived by means of the turnpike stair in the NE. angle
of the Hall. The lower part of this stair was removed in
the late 18th century, when new doorways were formed
to the cellars beneath the Hall. On the second floor of the
Mint the evidence suggests that in the 16th century there
was a single large apartment, divided by an arcade of two
arches as on the floor below; these arches remain in
part, but the N. division was remodelled at a later date,
probably during the 17th century, while its wall-head
was raised in height by 2 ft. in the 19th century. In the
S. division an arched recess in the W. wall may once
have communicated with the upper floor of the service
lobby. The straight joint visible externally in the E. gable
may be connected with the 17th-century remodelling
of the upper part of the building, but is not readily
explicable in the absence of any corresponding feature
in the W. gable.
KITCHEN RANGE AND GRAND BATTERY (Figs. 71 and
84). In 1921 excavation by the Office of Works revealed
the kitchen range that was known to exist below the
Grand Battery, immediately inside the main NE. wall
of the Castle, although its vaults had been filled up with
earth in 1689 (cf. p. 188). The kitchens extend SE. from
the E. wall of the Mint, and it is possible that the SE.
end of the range adjoins the N. wall of the Elphinstone
Tower, although, if so, this part of the structure is still
inaccessible (cf. p. 196). The range is of one storey only,
except at its NW. end where it now rises to the height of
four storeys; if the remaining portion ever had an upper
floor this was removed when the Grand Battery was
constructed. The kitchens are built against the main NE.
wall of the Castle, which at this point appears to be con-
temporary with the Forework and may be ascribed to the
first decade of the 16th century. The range itself, which
is only slightly later in date, formed part of the scheme
for the provision of adequate kitchen and service facilities
for the Great Hall; it is thus contemporary with the
upper floors of the Mint as remodelled in the early 16th
century, and with the service lobby that stands between
the Mint and the Hall (cf. p. 213).
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No. 192 -- CASTLES AND TOWER-HOUSES -- No. 192
The range comprises a series of four compartments
and a transe which runs along the greater part of their
SW. side. The NW. end of the range assumed its present
form only in the 19th century, when the NW. gable was
reduced to its foundations and replaced by another wall
about 8 ft. SE. of the original one. On the ground floor
the northernmost compartment of the kitchen range
survives, but it has been much reduced in area because
of the rebuilding of the NW, gable. It is crowned by a
three-storeyed house which is for the most part of 19th-
century date. In the outer face of the SW. wall, however,
at first-floor level, there can be seen an old window,
now blocked, and this indicates that in the original
arrangement the kitchen range contained an upper
storey at its NW. end. The northernmost compartment
is entered by a doorway in the SW. wall; the room was
no doubt vaulted in the first instance, but the vault
was removed during the 19th-century alterations. In
the SE. wall there is a locker, and SW. of it a doorway,
now blocked, which formerly communicated with the
adjoining compartment to the SE. There is an original
window, now blocked, in the SW. wall and a 19th-
century fireplace in the NW. wall. In the NE. wall there
is a mural chamber but this is now inaccessible from
within although it may be entered through a roughly
formed opening in the outer face of the wall. There is
also a window in the NE. wall, but this has been widened
and in the first instance was probably a gun-loop of
dumb-bell shape. The NE. wall of the Castle originally
contained a number of these gun-loops, but when the
kitchen range was built against the curtain the loops were
for the most part blocked up or converted into windows
for the new range; some of them are still visible in the
outer face of the wall (Pl. 94C).
The other compartments are reached by some steps
and a small forecourt, all recently formed. On the NE.
side of the court there is an entrance to the compartment
immediately SE. of the one that has just been described;
while to the SE. of this a wide segmental-headed arch-
way, chamfered and checked, gives admission to the
transe, which is vaulted. The SE. gable and SW. wall of
the transe are featureless, but the NE. wall contains three
borrowed lights and, at its SE. end, a segmental-headed
archway which admits to the largest compartment of
the range, probably a store-room. This room, which is
vaulted, contains two windows in its NE. wall. The
N. window was originally a loop of dumb-bell shape
with an open breast and a very wide rear-arch and was
altered when the adjoining window was made. Both
windows have been protected by heavy grilles. On the
SW. a large locker is set between the two borrowed
lights that open to the transe; on the SE. a wide
segmental-headed archway opens into the compartment
beyond, and NE. of the archway there is a corbelled
shelf. At each end of the store-room there is a kitchen.
The NW. one, which has a separate entry from the small
forecourt, formerly contained ovens and was probably a
bakehouse; it is entered from the store-room by a door-
way, which opens into the back of a large fireplace
occupying the whole SE. wall of the apartment. The
fireplace breast is supported by two segmental-headed
arches which meet on a central pier. In the hearth a
hatch gives access to a small chamber 5 ft. in depth and
measuring 9 ft. 10 in. by 5 ft. over all; this may be an ash
pit. Two openings in the back of the fireplace formerly
gave access to ovens, now removed, the chambers of
which must have projected into the adjoining store-room.
In the NE. wall of the bakehouse there is a large loop of
dumb-bell shape with a segmental rear-arch (Pl. 94 B).
In the SW. wall there is a borrowed light, together with
the other entrance. In the NW. wall there is the built-up
doorway that formerly admitted to the northernmost
apartment of the range. The kitchen to the SE. of the
store-room has a much restored fireplace at its SE. end
(Pl. 94 A), similar to the one in the bakehouse. On the NE.
there is a wide window with a segmental rear-arch and
open breast. On the SW. the wall shows traces of a
double race-bond, but this may not be of any great age.
The Grand Battery (Fig. 71), which stands above the
kitchen range, seems to have assumed its present form
in the early 18th century, and its wide, double-splayed
cannon-embrasures are no doubt of this date. There was,
however, a battery of the same name on this site in the
17th century, ¹ and the smaller embrasures that remain
today in the curtain wall to the NW. and SE. of the main
battery are probably the survivors of this earlier arrange-
ment.
THE KING'S OLD BUILDING (Fig. 85). In 1676 the
range of buildings that occupies the W. side of the
Upper Square was described as the "old building on
the west syde of the upper closs", while in 1687 it seems
to have been referred to as the "King's old work". ² The
remains comprise an L-shaped range of buildings, con-
sisting of a main block which runs approximately N. and
S., together with a wing which projects E. from the N.
end of the main block. The range now rises to a height
of three storeys and an attic, except at the N. end of the
main block where it is of four storeys, but some of the
original floor-levels have been altered and cannot now be
ascertained. The greater part of the structure appears to
be of 16th-century date ³, although some irregular wall-
alinements at the S. end of the main block suggest that
the range may here incorporate an older building. In the
late 16th or early 17th century a stair-tower was added
to the E. front towards its S. end, while a little later in
the 17th century a two-storeyed building was erected
in the SE. re-entrant angle between the stair-tower and
the E. wall of the main block. At the beginning of the
1 Cf. p. 188 and Pl. 56.
2 M. of W. Accts., MSS., Miscellaneous Stirling Castle
Accounts, 1667-1705.
3 Some of the old descriptions of the Castle state that the
dormer pediments mentioned on pp. 184, n. 8 and 195 came not
from the Palace but from the King's Old building (Shearer's
Stirling: Historical and Descriptive (1897), 32; Groome, Ordnance
Gazetteer of Scotland (1901), 1514). In the present account,
MacGibbon and Ross (Cast. and Dom. Arch., i, 475) have been
regarded as the more reliable authorities, but should Shearer
and those who follow him be correct, the King's Old Building
could be dated precisely to the year 1557.
-- 216 |
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No. 192 -- CASTLES AND TOWER-HOUSES -- No. 192
[Plan Inserted]
Fig. 85 Stirling Castle (No. 192); the King's Old Building
18th century the first floor of the main block was utilised
as officers' lodgings (cf. Pl. 59). In 1719 the N. part of
the main block at ground-floor level was occupied by
the Chaplain, and one of the rooms in the wing was used
by the armourer, the remainder of the ground floor of
the main block being devoted to cellarage. On the first
floor the N. portion of the main block and the whole of
the wing formed "The Majors Apartments"; the central
part of the main block was used for storage while to
the S. there was a woodhouse and a bakehouse. The
two-storeyed addition of the 17th century was used as
an infirmary. A sectional drawing of the main block
indicates that it comprised two storeys and an attic at
this date. ¹ In 1855 the N. end of the main block and the
whole of the E. wing were gutted by fire (cf. p. 191); this
part of the structure was then rebuilt, the first floor of
the wing being converted into a museum. The remainder
of the King's Old Building was extensively remodelled
both in the 19th and 20th centuries. Old doors and
windows have been blocked up and new ones inserted,
the floor levels have been altered and the disposition of
the rooms changed. The building is now used for a
variety of purposes and the original features that remain
to be described are comparatively few in number.
The most interesting feature of the E. façade (Pl. 93 A)
is the stair-turret that stands near the S. end of the range;
this appears to be of late 16th- or early 17th-century date.
This tower is rectangular at base but is intaken to a half-
octagon at second-floor level, and above this finishes in
a chequered corbel-course. The roof is crowned with a
stone finial in the form of a lion sejant. The original
entrance-doorway, which has a moulded surround,
remains in the E. wall at ground-floor level but was
blocked up when the stair was remodelled in the 19th
century. Most of the windows in the tower are insertions,
but original windows, now blocked, survive in the N.
wall and traces of others can be seen in the E. and S.
walls. The two-storeyed addition to the S. of the stair-
tower has been very much altered, and now contains
no features of interest apart from the jamb of an original
window, with a chamfered arris, which remains in the E.
wall. To the N. of the stair-tower the original E. wall
of the main block is exposed but has been entirely
remodelled, all the doors and windows visible today being
insertions. The wall finishes in a cavetto eaves-course
which may be original. A turnpike stair originally stood
in the re-entrant angle between the main block and the
E. wing, but this was removed in the 19th century and
replaced by another slightly S. of the original one. At
the same time a single-storeyed outshot was erected
against the S. wall of the E. wing. The extent to which
the older walling remains behind these later additions
may best be appreciated by a study of Fig. 85. The
N. façade of the building is of 19th-century date except
at its W. end, where an original 16th-century outshot
rises to between second- and third-floor levels. A
garderobe shaft projects from the W. wall of the outshot,
while in the E. wall there is a sink outlet between ground-
and first-floor levels. The W. curtain wall runs N.
from the outshot, from which access could formerly be
obtained to the rampart-walk. The access doorway,
which is checked for an external door, is now blocked; it
stands about 4 ft. above the level of the present walk, and
this suggests that both the parapet and the rampart-walk
were originally at a higher level than they are at present.
The W. wall of the range stands on the edge of one of
1 National Library of Scotland MS. 1645, Z 2/18.
-- 217 |
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No. 192 -- CASTLES AND TOWER-HOUSES -- No. 192
the highest parts of the Castle Rock and commands an
extensive prospect to the W. and S. It has been some-
what less drastically remodelled than the E. wall, and
some old windows remain on the ground floor as shown
on the plan (Fig. 85). On the first floor there is evidence
of a range of large mullioned windows which have
evidently lit a spacious apartment within; these windows
are now blocked and have been replaced by later
insertions. In the S. gable of the main block a large roll-
moulded entrance-doorway remains at ground-floor level;
it is now partially blocked up and used as a window.
Internally the King's Old Building has been very much
altered. In the original arrangement the ground floor of
the main block contained a range of some seven compart-
ments, while there was an additional room or pair of
rooms in the E. wing. No doubt all these were vaulted,
though some of the vaults have now been removed, and
most of them probably served as cellars for storage. The
northernmost compartment but one in the main block
is a kitchen, but the large fireplace in the N. wall seems
to be a renewal dating from the 17th or 18th century.
Beneath the northernmost of the two windows that light
this room from the W. there is a sink outlet, now blocked.
There are now no features of interest on the upper floors
of the main block apart from one or two cast-iron fire-
grates dating from the reign of George III, whose cipher
they bear. There is now no access to the outshot at the
NW. angle of the range; on the first floor this seems
originally to have contained a garderobe serving the
northernmost room in the main block, and there may
have been a similar arrangement on the floor above. The
museum already mentioned as occupying the first floor
of the E. wing contains a number of relics from the
Castle, the most interesting of which are the following:
(a) A pulpit of oak from the Chapel Royal, which may
be as old as the 16th century (Pl. 95 A). Its front is
roughly semicircular in plan, containing five straight
sides each of which frames a moulded panel; the back
once carried a sounding board but this is now missing.
(b) A wooden door of 16th-century date containing two
panels carved with figures in relief (Pl. 95 B). (c) A door-
frame in which there are set two plaster panels (Pl. 95 C),
which may be casts of timber originals. The upper one
bears the Royal Arms with the initials I R 6, for James VI,
while the lower one bears within a wreath the date 1578.
A door in the E. wall of the museum leads into the
Douglas Room, so called as being the traditional place
of the murder of William, 8th Earl of Douglas, by
James II in 1452. This room cannot, however, have
existed before 1594, as it is set over the vaulted transe
that divides the King's Old Building from the Chapel
Royal and the transe is in turn contemporary with the
latter building (cf. Fig. 83). A fragment of carved wood-
work, which is said to have been rescued from this room
during the fire of 1855, is preserved in the Smith
Institute, Stirling, and is described under No. 405.
THE NETHER GREEN. The space N. of the King's Old
Building is known as the Nether Green or Douglas
Garden, At its NW. corner there stands a powder
magazine of early 18th-century date, now used as an
armoury. ¹ It measures 51 ft. 3 in. by 27 ft. over walls
6 ft. thick, and is built in rubble with dressed quoins.
The building contains a single vaulted chamber; it is
now entered from the N. by an inserted doorway, but
the original doorway, now blocked, remains in the S.
gable, which is concealed by a later addition. None of the
windows is original. ² In the Nether Green there stands
part of the shaft of a sundial of 17th-century date, of
which the head is missing. The shaft is square in section
and is divided into panels, most of which contain
geometrically-shaped sunk dials.
THE CURTAIN-WALLS (Fig. 86). The N. curtain,
which divides the central portion of the Castle from
the Nether Bailey, runs WNW. from the Mint across
the full width of the Castle Rock. The portion immedi-
ately to the W. of the Mint is of early 16th-century date,
and this has already been described (cf. p. 213); but
about 50 ft. W. of the entrance-gateway below the Mint
a straight joint is visible in the masonry, and beyond
this point the wall is of later date. This may be the part
of the curtain that was reconstructed after the collapse
that occurred about 1583 (cf. p. 185); it contains a
triangular bastion which is provided with a splayed gun-
loop in each of its external walls. Beyond the bastion the
wall shows traces of repairs and alterations and cannot
be dated with any certainty; none of the masonry, how-
ever, is likely to be older than the 16th century, and
much of it is probably considerably later. Nevertheless,
the alinement of the present N. curtain, like that of some
of the other walls of the Castle, may follow an earlier
line of defence.
Of the two remaining stretches of the main curtain-
wall, not already described, one lies W. of the Palace
and borders the platform known as the Lady's Hole.
This wall contains a number of embrasures, now
blocked, in its upper part. An older curtain-wall in this
neighbourhood was probably destroyed during the
collapse or demolition of the W. quarter of the Palace
in the 17th century (cf. p. 187), and the present curtain-
wall is thus most probably of 17th- or 18th-century date.
The second stretch runs N. from the King's Old Building
to meet the W. end of the N. curtain, thus forming the
W. boundary of the Nether Green. It is for the most part
contemporary with the King's Old Building and may be
ascribed to the 16th century, Some of the footings look
older, however, while the upper courses, together with
the parapet, were rebuilt and perhaps reduced in height
in the 18th or 19th century.
Another curtain-wall encloses the Nether Bailey,
which occupies the whole of the N. part of the Castle
Rock; this wall is not older than the 16th century but
may follow the line of an earlier defence of stone or
timber. In its W. part, and a little to the S. of a ruined
dyke which runs off from it at right angles, there may be
1 Cf. p. 188.
2 A plan and a section of this building, made in 1719, may be
seen in National Library of Scotland MS. 1645. Z 2/18.
-- 218 |
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No. 192 -- CASTLES AND TOWER-HOUSES -- No. 192
seen a postern doorway, now built up. The door measures
4 ft. 8 in. in width and has a segmental-arched head
and broad chamfers on the arrises. This may possibly be the
gate that was built in 1530 to give access to the Park on
the W. side of the Castle, of which the ruined dyke
formed the N. boundary wall ¹ (cf. p. 183); certainly the
postern appears to be of 16th-century date, as does also
this section of the curtain except for its upper part which
has been rebuilt in places. The N. and NE. sections,
including an angle on the NE., show extensive traces of
rebuilding; none of the masonry appears to be older than
the 16th century and most of it is no doubt considerably
later. About 55 yds. from the SE. end of the NE. section,
a return in the wall contains a postern doorway facing N.,
which is now blocked. On the lintel is incised: OLD
SALLYPORT. The present doorway and much of the
surrounding walling appears to be of 19th-century date,
but it no doubt occupies the position of the sally-port
in the Nether Bailey, the blocking of which was suggested
in 1689 (cf. p. 188). Slezer describes it as "the Old
Entrie to the Castle" (cf. Pl. 56), and his sketches
suggest that it was once flanked by a fore-wall (cf. Pls. 57
and 58). This seems to be the postern that came to light
during the rebuilding of part of the Castle wall in 1879, ²
and no doubt the present doorway is of this date.
WELLS. Beside the "sally-port" in the Nether Bailey
there is a draw-well, now covered in. Nimmo, writing in
1777, says that this was the supply for the garrison, ³ but
it is clear that the draw-well still seen in the Lower
Square was an older supply. There is a third well in the
Counter Guard (cf. p. 191), and others, now blocked up,
may exist elsewhere in the Castle.
THE KING'S PARK AND THE KING'S KNOT. The King's
Park, which lies immediately SW. of the Castle Rock,
appears to have been a property of the Crown since at
least the end of the 12th century, when William the Lion
first enclosed his Park of Stirling (cf. p. 180). In 1264
Alexander III began to enlarge the area of the original
park by taking in more ground to the S., ⁴ the earlier
and later enclosures becoming known in course of time
as the Old Park and the New Park respectively. In
mediaeval times these "parks" were primarily hunting
grounds, and references to the King's deer are found as
late as the 17th century (cf. p. 187). From about the
beginning of the 16th century onwards, however, the
NE. corner of the Old Park seems to have been set aside
as a garden, for in 1502 mention is made of the new
garden "sub muro castri de Strivelin". ⁵ This new garden
may have been so called to distinguish it from the earlier
garden that is known to have existed within the Castle
itself. ⁶ In the 16th century there are constant references
to the King's orchards and gardens at Stirling, while an
extensive scheme of alterations was evidently carried
out early in the 17th century as is indicated by the account
of 1628-9 already quoted (p. 187). Thereafter little effort
seems to have been made to keep the gardens in good
order, and before the beginning of the 18th century they
fell into disuse. In the plan of Stirling that was prepared
in 1725 ⁷ (Pl. 121), walks and parterres are indicated and
the area is designated the "old gardens", while Sibbald,
writing fifteen years earlier, mentions "an Orchard, and
the Vestiges of a large and spacious Garden". ⁸ Vorster-
man's painting (Pl. 120) shows one of the parterres. The
most useful of the later accounts is that of Nimmo, who
wrote "At the east end -- lay the royal gardens;
vestiges of the walks and parterres, with a few stumps of
fruit trees, are still visible -- In the gardens is a mount
of earth, in form of a table, called the Knot, with benches
of earth around it." ⁹
Today there may be seen a parterre, to the SE. of
which there is an octagonal, stepped mound known as
the Knot (Fig. 113; Pl. 61). The mound, which rises to
a height of about 9 ft. and measures 22 ft. across the top,
stands within a double-ditched enclosure measuring
420 ft. by 425 ft. over all; the S. angle of the enclosure
and part of its SW. side have been encroached upon by
the Dumbarton Road. The word "knot" was used to
describe both a laid-out garden-plot and also a small hill
or eminence, and the arrangement of flower-beds in
fanciful or intricate patterns, which often included a
central feature such as a "mount", was a characteristic
feature of gardens of the 16th and 17th centuries. The
existing remains at Stirling may therefore be supposed to
have originated in the reconstruction of the Royal gardens
that is known to have been carried out about 1627-8.
The Knot evidently lay too far to the W. to be included
in Vorsterman's painting (Pl. 120). No doubt the outlines
of the walks and of the Knot became indistinct after the
gardens fell into disuse, and it is known that a "thorough
restoration and renewal was accomplished" ¹⁰ in 1867. A
comparison of the site as it is today with an 18th-
century plan now preserved in the Public Record Office, ¹¹
London, suggests that in the course of this restoration
the "mount" was considerably altered, while it also
seems possible that the orientation of the entire enclosure
was slightly changed.
Stirling Castle is traditionally associated with the
legendary order of Chivalry known as the Knights of the
Round Table, ¹² and Nimmo, ¹³ and others following him,
have suggested that the King's Knot is none other than
the Round Table itself. Whatever the truth concerning
the association of the Order of the Round Table with the
Castle of Stirling, ¹⁴ there is no reason to suppose that the
Knot is, in origin, anything more than the device of a
17th-century landscape gardener.
1 National Library of Scotland MS. 1645, Z 2/23.
2 T.S.N.H.A.S. (1878-9), 62 ff.
3 History, 250.
4 T.S.N.H.A.S. (1921-2), 92 ff.
5 Excheq. Rolls, xii (1502-7), 76.
6 Ibid., v (1437-54), 597.
7 National Library of Scotland MS. 1645, Z 2/19.
8 Sibbald, History, 46.
9 History, 250 f.
10 T.S.N.H.A.S. (1888-9), 34.
11 W.O. 78/1562.
12 T.S.N.H.A.S. (1888-9), 35 ff; Archaeologia, xxxi, 104 ff.
13 History, 251 footnote.
14 Loomis, R. S., Arthurian Tradition and Chrétien de Troyes,
110.
-- 219 |
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| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_261 |
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FAO Brenda Pollock:- Please do not write in continuous text when transcribing these pages. Please refer to guidelines for more information and examples of transcription.
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FAO Brenda Pollock:- Please do not write in continuous text when transcribing these pages. Refer to guidelines and transcription examples before continuing.
Val Russell Moderator. |
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_314 |
PLATES 2-115
[Blank page] |
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| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_315 |
[Photographs Inserted]
A. BEAKER, SHANKHEAD (p. 22).
B. CEREMONIAL AXE,
STIRLING (p. 21).
C, D. CUP-AND-RING MARKINGS,
TOR WOOD BROCH (44).
PLATE 2 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_316 |
[Photographs Inserted]
STANDING STONES:
A. AIRTHREY CASTLE (W.) (47) from S.
B. AIRTHREY CASTLE (E.) (48) from SE.
C. KNOCKRAICH (60) from W.
D. WATERHEAD (61) from W.
PLATE 3 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_317 |
[Photographs Inserted]
A, B. BOAT-SHAPED BROOCH,
CASTLECARY (p. 23).
C, D. BOAT-SHAPED BROOCH, FALKIRK
(p. 23).
E. GOLD ARMLET, BONNYSIDE (p. 22).
PLATE 4 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_318 |
[Photograph Inserted]]
BROCH, TOR WOOD (100); interior from N.
PLATE 5 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_319 |
[Photographs Inserted]
BROCH, TOR WOOD (100);
A. stair lobby and small recess in wall face.
B. entrance passage from outside.
C. door-check and bar-hole,
N. side of entrance.
PLATE 6 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_320 |
[Photographs Inserted]
A. CAIRN, HILL OF AIRTHREY (6), from SE. -- B. FORT, DUMYAT (68) from SW.
PLATE 7 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_321 |
[Photographs Inserted]
ANTONINE WALL (111);
A. ditch near Watling Lodge
(114), looking W.
B. ditch in Callendar Park,
looking W.
PLATE 8 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_322 |
[Photographs Inserted]
A, B. FIBULA, POLMAISE (p. 36).
C. MERCURY, THROSK, bronze statuette (p. 36).
D. FORTUNE, CASTLECARY (p. 105).
PLATE 9 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_323 |
[Photographs Inserted]
SILVER PIN, DUNIPACE (p. 37);
A. front
B. back.
C, D. showing design on back.
PLATE 10 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_324 |
[Diagrams Inserted]
TURF HOUSE, CARSE OF STIRLING (p. 49);
A, exterior by Farington.
B. in course of construction by Farington.
PLATE 11 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_325 |
[Diagram Inserted]
TURF HOUSE, CARSE OF STIRLING (p. 49); interior by Farington.
PLATE 12 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_326 |
[Photographs Inserted]
A. OLD CHURCH, LOGIE (127), from SE.
B. BLAIRLOGIE CHURCH (129) from S.
PLATE 13 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_327 |
[Photograph Inserted]
CAMBUSKENNETH ABBEY (130); bell-tower from SE.
PLATE 14 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_328 |
[Photographs Inserted]
CAMBUSKENNETH ABBEY (130);
A. bell-tower from NW.
B. SE. angle-buttress of bell-tower.
C. cresset.
D. cap-house of bell-tower.
PLATE 15 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_329 |
[Photographs Inserted]
CAMBUSKENNETH ABBEY (130);
A. entrance-doorway to bell-tower.
B. W. doorway of nave.
PLATE 16 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_330 |
[Photograph Inserted]
HOLY RUDE CHURCH, STIRLING (131), from SE.
PLATE 17 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_331 |
[Photographs Inserted]
HOLY RUDE CHURCH, STIRLING (131); A. from S. -- B. presbytery from SE. -- C. tower from NW.
PLATE 18 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_332 |
[Photographs Inserted]
HOLY RUDE CHURCH, STIRLING (131);
A. cap-house of tower.
B. E. face of tower showing nave-roof levels.
C. remains of W. doorway.
D. detail of buttress, S. nave-aisle.
PLATE 19 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_333 |
[Photographs Inserted]
HOLY RUDE CHURCH, STIRLING (131);
A. detail of parapet,
S. choir-aisle.
B. Niche, N. side of choir.
C. niche, S. side of choir.
D. detail of flagged roof of
presbytery.
E. detail of buttress finials, S. choir-aisle.
PLATE 20 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_334 |
[Photographs Inserted]
HOLY RUDE CHURCH, STIRLING (131);
A. St. Mary's Aisle, remains of entrance-
doorway.
B. St. Mary's Aisle, respond-capital of
entrance-doorway.
C. St. Mary's Aisle, credence and piscina.
D. remains of doorway, N. nave-aisle.
PLATE 21 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_335 |
[Photographs Inserted]
HOLY RUDE CHURCH, STIRLING (131);
A. St. Andrew's Aisle, ribbed vault.
B. St. Andrew's Aisle, N. window.
C. St. Andrew's Aisle, exterior.
D. St. Andrew's Aisle, recess in E. wall.
PLATE 22 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_336 |
[Photographs Inserted]
HOLY RUDE CHURCH, STIRLING (131); -- A. nave from crossing. -- B. choir from crossing.
PLATE 23 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_337 |
[Photographs Inserted]
HOLY RUDE CHURCH, STIRLING (131);
A, B, C, D, E. details of
capitals and bases in nave.
PLATE 24 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_338 |
[Photograph inserted here]
HOLY RUDE CHURCH, STIRLING (131); S. nave-arcade from E.
PLATE 25 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_339 |
[Photograph Inserted]
HOLY RUDE CHURCH, STIRLING (131); roof of nave.
PLATE 26 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_340 |
[Photographs Inserted]
HOLY RUDE CHURCH, STIRLING (131);
A. N. choir-arcade.
B. detail of capital, S. choir-arcade.
C. detail of base, S. choir-arcade.
D. Easter Sepulchre
E. pulpit.
PLATE 27 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_341 |
[Photographs Inserted]
HOLY RUDE CHURCH, STIRLING (131); A. ribbed vault, S. choir-aisle. -- B. wall-shaft, S. choir-aisle.
PLATE 28 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_342 |
[Photographs Inserted]
HOLY RUDE CHURCH, STIRLING (131); A. barrel vault over presbytery. -- B. wall-shaft, S. side of presbytery.
C. wall-shaft, N. side of presbytery.
PLATE 29 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_343 |
[Photographs Inserted]
OLD CHURCH, ST. NINIANS (133) ; A. steeple from NW.
B. chancel from S.
C. fragment of pier capital.
PLATE 30 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_344 |
[Photographs Inserted]
A. NORTH CHURCH, AIRTH (136),
from N.
B. NORTH CHURCH, AIRTH (136);
S. elevation, architect's drawing.
C. LARBERT PARISH CHURCH (146)
from S.
PLATE 31 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_345 |
[Photograph Inserted]
OLD PARISH CHURCH, AIRTH (137); general view from SW.
PLATE 32 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_346 |
[Photographs Inserted]
OLD PARISH CHURCH, AIRTH (137);
A. interior looking E.
B. capital of nave-arcade.
C. niche, Airth Aisle.
PLATE 33 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_347 |
[Photographs Inserted]
OLD PARISH CHURCH, AIRTH (137);
A. carved panel.
B. carved fragment.
C. carved panel.
PARISH CHURCH, FALKIRK (140);
D. crosshead
E. roof boss.
PLATE 34 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_348 |
[Photograph Inserted]
PARISH CHURCH, FALKIRK (140), from SW.
PLATE 35 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_349 |
[Photographs and Drawings Inserted]
MANUEL NUNNERY (144);
A. remains of W. end.
B. W. end by Cardonnel.
C. church from SE. by
Cardonnel.
D. church from N.,
18th-century drawing
PLATE 36 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_350 |
[Photographs Inserted]
A. OLD CHURCH, KILLEARN (161), from SW.
B. NORTH CHURCH, BUCHLYVIE (170), from S.
PLATE 37 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_351 |
[Photographs Inserted]
A. PARISH CHURCH, SLAMANNAN (145), from SW.
B. PARISH CHURCH, SLAMANNAN (145); detail of ceiling.
C. CHURCH, EDINBELLIE (168), from S.
D. OLD PARISH CHURCH, KIPPEN (171); bell-cote.
PLATE 38 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_352 |
[Photographs Inserted]
A. PARISH CHURCH, KILSYTH (154), from S.
B. THE HIGH CHURCH OF CAMPSIE (156);
font from the old parish church (157).
C. THE HIGH CHURCH OF CAMPSIE (156) from S.
D. PARISH CHURCH, FINTRY (169), from S.
PLATE 39 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_353 |
[Photographs Inserted]
A. ERKINE MARYKIRK, STIRLING (132), from NE.
B. PARISH CHURCH, MUIRAVONSIDE (143), from S.
PLATE 40 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_354 |
[Photographs Inserted]
A. PARISH CHURCH, GARGUNNOCK (172), from W.
b. PARISH CHURCH, BALDERNOCK (159), from S.
PLATE 41 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_355 |
[Photographs Inserted]
A. OLD CHURCH, LOGIE (127); hog-backed stone.
B. OLD CHURCH, ST. NINIANS (133); early headstone.
C. OLD PARISH CHURCH, AIRTH (137); mediaeval tombstone in re-use.
PLATE 42 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_356 |
[Photographs Inserted]
A, B, C. CAMBUSKENNETH ABBEY (130); coped stones.
PLATE 43 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_357 |
[Photographs Inserted]
A, B. OLD PARISH CHURCH, AIRTH (137); grave-slabs.
C. LARBERT PARISH CHURCH (146); grave-slab.
D. HOLY RUDE CHURCH, STIRLING (131); grave-slab in St. Andrew's Aisle.
E. OLD PARISH CHURCH, CAMPSIE (157); grave-slabs.
PLATE 44 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_358 |
[Illustration Inserted]
OLD PARISH CHURCH, AIRTH (137); effigy in Airth Aisle.
PLATE 45 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_359 |
[Photographs Inserted]
A, B. PARISH CHURCH, FALKIRK (140); effigies.
PLATE 46 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_360 |
[Photographs Inserted]
A. PARISH CHURCH, FALKIRK (140); Murehead monument. -- B. HOLY RUDE CHURCH, STIRLING (131); headstone.
PLATE 47 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_361 |
[Photographs Inserted]
A. LARBERT PARISH CHURCH (146); headstone.
B, C, D. PARISH CHURCH, BOTHKENNAR (139); headstones.
PLATE 48 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_362 |
[Photograph inserted]
HOLY RUDE CHURCH, STIRLING (131); Wilson monument.
PLATE 49 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_363 |
[Photographs Inserted]
A. CALLENDAR HOUSE (311); mausoleum. -- B. ERSKINE MARYKIRK, STIRLING (132); Erskine monument.
PLATE 50 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_364 |
[Photographs Inserted]
A. THE BUCHANAN MONUMENT, KILLEARN (279). -- B. PARISH CHURCH, STRATHBLANE
(158); Hamilton Monument. -- C. NORTH CHURCH, AIRTH (136); mortsafe.
D. LARBERT PARISH CHURCH (146); Bruce Monument.
PLATE 51 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_365 |
[Photograph Inserted]
MOTTE, FINTRY (185), from SW.
PLATE 52 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_366 |
[Photograph Inserted]
STIRLING CASTLE (192); aerial view from S.
PLATE 53 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_367 |
[Photograph Inserted]
STIRLING CASTLE (192); from S.
PLATE 54 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_368 |
[Photograph and Diagram Inserted]
STIRLING CASTLE (192); A. from W.
B. view from S.
PLATE 55 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_369 |
[Plan Inserted]
STIRLING CASTLE (192); general plan by Slezer.
PLATE 56 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_370 |
[Diagram Inserted]
STIRLING CASTLE (192); view from SE. by Slezer.
PLATE 57 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_371 |
[Diagram Inserted]
STIRLING CASTLE (192); view from NE. by Slezer.
PLATE 58 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_372 |
[Plan Inserted]
STIRLING CASTLE (192);
plan by Dury.
PLATE 59 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_373 |
[Diagram Inserted]
STIRLING CASTLE (192); the outer defences, 1751
PLATE 60 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_374 |
[Photograph Inserted]
STIRLING CASTLE (192); the King's Knot.
PLATE 61 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_375 |
[Photographs Inserted]
STIRLING CASTLE (192); A. the New Port. -- B. the Over Port
PLATE 62 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_376 |
[Photographs Inserted]
STIRLING CASTLE (192); A. the Spur Battery.
B. the Queen Mary Battery, exterior of lower battery.
PLATE 63 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_377 |
[Photographs Inserted]
STIRLING CASTLE (192); A. sentry box
B. the Queen Anne Battery, interior of lower battery.
C. gun-loop in approach to the Forework.
PLATE 64 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_378 |
[Photographs Inserted]
STIRLING CASTLE (192); A. the Forework. -- B. the Forework, gatehouse from N. -- C. the Forework, gun-loop.
PLATE 65 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_379 |
[Photograph Inserted]
STIRLING CASTLE (192); the Forework and Upper Terrace.
PLATE 66 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_380 |
[Photograph Inserted]
STIRLING CASTLE (192); the Palace, S. façade.
PLATE 67 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_381 |
[Photographs Inserted]
STIRLING CASTLE (192); the Palace, S. façade. -- A. Bay 1. -- B. Bay 1, shaft corbel.
C. Bay 2, shaft corbel. -- D. Bay 3, shaft corbel.
PLATE 68 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_382 |
[Photographs Inserted]
STIRLING CASTLE (192); the Palace, S. façade. -- A. principal figure in Bay 2. -- B. principal figure in Bay 3. -- C. principal figure in Bay 4.
PLATE 69 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_383 |
[Photograph Inserted]
STIRLING CASTLE (192); the Palace, E. façade.
PLATE 70 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_384 |
[Photographs and Illustration Inserted]
STIRLING CASTLE (192);
the Palace, E. façade.
A. principal figure in Bay 5,
perhaps St. Michael.
B. principal figure in Bay 6
(Jupiter).
C. Jupiter, engraving by Burgkmair.
PLATE 71 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_385 |
[Photographs Inserted]
STIRLING CASTLE (192); the Palace, E. façade.
A. Bay 7. -- B. Bay 8, principal figure. -- C. Bay 9.
PLATE 72 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_386 |
[Photographs Inserted]
STIRLING CASTLE (192); the Palace, E. façade.
A. shaft corbel in Bay 7.
B. shaft corbel in Bay 8.
C. shaft corbel in Bay 9.
D. shaft corbel in Bay 6.
PLATE 73 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_387 |
[Photographs Inserted]
STIRLING CASTLE (192); the Palace. -- A. SE. angle with Bay 5. -- B. NE. angle with Bay 11.
PLATE 74 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_388 |
[Photograph Inserted]
STIRLING CASTLE (192); the Palace, N. façade.
PLATE 75 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_389 |
[Photographs Inserted]
STIRLING CASTLE (192); the Palace, N. façade. -- A. principal figure in Bay 11 (James V). -- B. principal figure in Bay 12. -- C. principal figure in Bay 13 (Venus).
PLATE 76 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_390 |
[Photographs Inserted]
STIRLING CASTLE (192); the Palace, N. façade. -- A. principal figure in Bay 14.
B. principal figure in Bay 15.
PLATE 77 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_391 |
[Photographs Inserted]
STIRLING CASTLE (192); the Palace, N. façade.
A. shaft corbel in Bay 11.
B. shaft corbel in Bay 12.
C. shaft corbel in Bay 13.
D. shaft corbel in Bay 14.
E. shaft corbel in Bay 15.
PLATE 78 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_392 |
[Photograph Inserted]
STIRLING CASTLE (192); the Palace, S. façade, figures at parapet level.
PLATE 79 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_393 |
[Photographs Inserted]
[Handwritten next to photos C, D and E] B 78611
STIRLING CASTLE (192); the Palace.
A. S. façade, Bay 1, figure at parapet level.
B. gable finial.
C. E. façade, Bay 6, figure at parapet level.
D. N. façade, Bay 15, gargoyle.
E. N. façade, Bay 15, carved stop.
PLATE 80 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_394 |
[Photographs Inserted]
STIRLING CASTLE (192); the Palace, fireplaces.
A. King's Guard Hall. -- B. detail, Queen's Guard
Hall. -- C. Queen's Presence Chamber. -- D. Queen's
Bed Chamber. -- E. King's Bed Chamber.
PLATE 81 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_395 |
[Photographs Inserted]
STIRLING PALACE (192); the Palace.
A. fireplace in the King's Presence Chamber.
B. detail.
PLATE 82 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_396 |
[Photographs Inserted]
STIRLING CASTLE (192); the Palace. -- A. detail of fireplace in the King's Guard Hall.
B. detail of fireplace in the King's Bed Chamber.
PLATE 83 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_397 |
[Photographs Inserted]
STIRLING CASTLE (192); the Palace. -- A, B. details of fireplace in the Queen's Presence Chamber.
PLATE 84 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_398 |
[Photographs Inserted]
STIRLING CASTLE (192); the Palace.
A. doorway to the Queen's Bed Chamber.
B. doorway to the W. Gallery.
C. doorway to garderobe off the King's
Bed Chamber.
D. detail of door of the Queen's Bed Chamber.
E. doorway, E. façade.
F. gun-loop, Lion's Den.
PLATE 85 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_399 |
[Photographs Inserted]
STIRLING CASTLE (192); examples of the Stirling Heads.
PLATE 86 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_400 |
[Photographs Inserted]
STIRLING CASTLE (192); the Great Hall. -- A. W. façade.
B. from SE.
PLATE 87 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_401 |
[Drawing and Photographs Inserted]
STIRLING CASTLE (192);
A. the Great Hall and Palace, 18th-century drawing.
B. the Great Hall, niche in W. façade.
C. detail of niche in W. façade.
PLATE 88 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_402 |
[Photographs Inserted]
STIRLING CASTLE (192); the Great Hall. -- A. door-head in E. façade. -- B, C. details of door-head in E. façade.
D. detail of window-head in E. façade. -- E, F. details of window-head
in stair-tower. -- G. remains of principal entrance-doorway in W. façade.
PLATE 89 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_403 |
[Photographs Inserted]
STIRLING CASTLE (192); the Great Hall.
Details of vaulting over heads of bay-windows.
PLATE 90 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_404 |
[Photographs Inserted]
STIRLING CASTLE (192); the Chapel Royal. -- A. S. front. -- B. entrance-doorway. -- C. detail of entrance-doorway.
PLATE 91 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_405 |
[Photographs Inserted]
STIRLING CASTLE (192); the Chapel Royal.
A. painted decoration on W. gable.
B. detail of painted decoration on
W. gable.
PLATE 92 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_406 |
[Photographs Inserted]
STIRLING CASTLE (192);
A. the King's Old Building from E.
B. the Mint from S.
C. the Mint, entrance-gateway.
PLATE 93 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_407 |
[Photographs Inserted]
STIRLING CASTLE (192).
A. Kitchen Range, fireplace in kitchen.
B. Kitchen Range, gun-loop in bakehouse.
C. Kitchen Range. gun-loops in E. curtain.
PLATE 94 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_408 |
[Photographs Inserted]
STIRLING CASTLE (192); the King's Old Building, Museum Room. -- A. pulpit. -- B. door with carved panels. -- C. plaster panels.
PLATE 95 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_409 |
[Photographs Inserted]
THE BLAIR. BLAIRLOGIE (193); A. older portion from W. -- B. balustrade on stair landing.
C. door of locker.
PLATE 96 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_410 |
[Photograph Inserted]
OLD SAUCHIE (195) FROM S.W.
PLATE 97 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_411 |
[Photographs Inserted]
OLD SAUCHIE (195);
A. from NW.
B. SE. angle-turret.
C. S. wall, window and supposed
peep-hole.
D. S. wall, gun-loop and corbelled
base of stair-tower.
PLATE 98 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_412 |
[Photographs Inserted]
A. PLEAN TOWER (197) from W. -- B. SKAITHMUIR TOWER (201) from W.
PLATE 99 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_413 |
[Photographs Inserted]
A. DUNMORE TOWER (198) from W.
B. DUCHRAY CASTLE (211) from S.
C. CULCREUCH CASTLE (213) from SE.
PLATE 100 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_414 |
[Photographs Inserted]
AIRTH CASTLE (199); A. from S. -- B. N. façade.
PLATE 101 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_415 |
[Photographs Inserted]
STENHOUSE (200);
A. from S.
B. SE. angle-turret.
C. detail of ceiling in lobby.
D. dormer pediment.
PLATE 102 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_416 |
[Illustration and photograph Inserted]
ALMOND CASTLE (202); -- A. view from E. by Archer. -- B. view from E.
PLATE 103 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_417 |
[Photographs Inserted]
ALMOND CASTLE (202);
A. interior of main block.
B. slop-sink in kitchen.
C. oval window in SE. addition.
D. kitchen fireplace.
PLATE 104 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_418 |
[Photograph Inserted]
CASTLE CARY (203) from S.
PLATE 105 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_419 |
[Photographs Inserted]
CASTLE CARY (203);
A. from NE.
B. yett.
C. gun-loop, S-wall.
D. stone corbel of hall ceiling-rafter.
PLATE 106 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_420 |
[Photograph Inserted]
MUGDOCK CASTLE (207); SW. tower from SW.
PLATE 107 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_421 |
[Photographs Inserted]
MUGDOCK CASTLE (207); -- A. SW. tower from NE. -- B. SW. tower and postern from NW.
PLATE 108 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_422 |
[Photographs Inserted]
MUGDOCK CASTLE (207);
SW. tower.
A. doorway and window-
embrasure on third floor.
B. ribbed barrel-vault,
on first floor.
C. ogival-headed window,
on third floor.
D. fireplace, on second floor.
PLATE 109 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_423 |
[Photographs Inserted]
MUGDOCK CASTLE (207);
A. latrine tower with garderobe chutes.
B. remains of portcullis chase in gatehouse.
C. inverted key-hole loop in SW. curtain.
D. doorway in NW. tower.
PLATE 110 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_424 |
[Photograph Inserted]
BARDOWIE CASTLE (208) from S.
PLATE 111 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_425 |
[Photograph inserted]
BARDOWIE CASTLE (208); arch-braced roof.
PLATE 112 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_426 |
[Photographs Inserted]
DUNTREATH CASTLE (209); -- A. tower from N.
B. entrance-doorway and stair-tower.
PLATE 113 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_427 |
[Photographs Inserted]
DUNTREATH CASTLE (209); -- A. iron gate, external face.
B. iron gate, internal face.
C. fireplace in NW. compartment on first floor.
D. fireplace in NW. compartment on second floor.
PLATE 114 |
|
| stirling-1963-vol-1/05_428 |
[Photographs Inserted]
A. BRUCE'S CASTLE (196); jamb of fireplace. -- B. AIRTH CASTLE (199); carved stone, Elphinstone of Airth.
C. BARDOWIE CASTLE (208); carved lintel, John Hamilton and Marion Buchanan.
D. DUNTREATH CASTLE (209); carved stone, Sir James Edmonstone.
PLATE 115 |
|
|
|
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