Stirling Castle
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Stirling
Stirling’s position at the heart of
Scotland and its dominance of the surrounding flat countryside has made it very
important in Scotland’s history. The volcanic cliff, 350’ high with Stirling Castle
- dominates the carseland, and Stirling Bridge was the first place where the
Forth could be bridged and was therefore of important strategic importance.
There was a fort here in pre-Roman times a stronghold of the Britons, who gave
the area its name, which means ‘striving’. It was earlier called Mons Dolorum -
place of grief or strife. Another derivation of the name may have been from
strath or valley. There are traditionally stories of King Arthur who was a
British prince associated with the castle and in medieval times it was believed
to be the legendary Camelot. The first clear records are of the castle of
Alexander I who died here in 1124 and who had ordered the building of a Royal
Chapel on the site. David I created the Royal Burgh in 1125. It was an
important port by 1150.
The castle became a major Stuart
residence, the birthplace of James III and James V, who called himself the
Guidman o’ Ballengeich, a croft below the castle where the young princes and
princesses went sledging in winter. Both Mary Stuart and James VI were taken
there for safety and James VI was brought up in the castle by Earl of Mar and
George Buchanan and attended the school below the castle gates.
Important courtiers built town
houses close to the Castle.
The castle is situated on
well-jointed dolerite (whinstone) - part of the extensive Midland Valley Sill,
a sheet of igneous rock intruded into Carboniferous sediments around 300
million years ago.
The esplanade has a statue of Robert
the Bruce looking towards Bannockburn.
The outer defences, Gate was built
in 1708 because of Jacobite threat and includes the earlier work by Marie de
Guise from the 1550’s - French spur over the ditch to the outer defences to
protect the ditch. The next defence is
the Forework with the James IV towers and gatehouse which would have had pepper
pot towers like Holyrood and Falkland and gave the impression of a fairy castle
with the romantic connotations of Camelot. The Princes Tower lies to the left
of the forework and with the Palace surrounds the Queen Anne Garden
The King’s Old Building built by
James IV in 1503 is in the inner close of the Castle and is joined to the
Palace, completed by James V. The King’s Old Building was designed by Walter
Merlin and had tiled floors and large windows. The Palace is built round the
Lion’s Den and has separate apartments for the king and queen. The queen was
regarded as the representative of a foreign power and had to be treated as such
with her own court. The Palace was begun by James V for his French bride Marie
de Guise and part of his wedding present from his mother-in-law were French
masons to build it!. Interior decorations included the Stirling Heads, oak
medallions. On the outside wall is a statue of James V as the Guid Man O’
Ballangeich. The lions den courtyard was used in the filming of Colditz.
The Great Hall , recently restored,
was completed in the 1490’s by James IV and was used as a banqueting hall and
parliament hall. The Great Hall has features reminiscent of buildings of the
court of Henry VIII with bay windows, a clerestory and hammer beam roof. The
English connection is because of the marriage of James IV and Margaret Tudor
and the use of English masons. The Hall was used as a barracks when the Castle
was the headquarters of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders
The Chapel Royal, completed in 1540,
was the scene of the coronation of Mary Stuart and baptism of James VI. It was
rebuilt by James VI for the baptism of his son Henry in 1594 and at this time a
fairy castle was built in the grounds like Camelot for jousting. At the
christening banquet in the Great Hall the fish course was brought in on a ship
in full sail with firing canons. The frieze round the Chapel was completed for
the Scottish coronation of Charles I in 1633.
The Argyll and Sutherland Regimental
Museum contains a fine collection of regimental silver.
The Castle was surrounded by a park
laid out by David I for hunting and jousting tournaments took place below the
Castle. These could be watched from the Lady’s lookout on the north
battlements. The lookout was reputedly lowered so that the 4 year old Mary
Stuart could see the events below. Close to the Castle was the King’s Knot
Garden, which was laid out for Charles I in 1633.
Restoration of the Castle
The Chapel was restored because of
damage caused by earlier restoration which was not regarded as being very
authentic. This included a modern replica of the old oak barrel ceiling and a new
oak and Caithness stone floor. The new altar cloth was completed by the
Stirling Embroiders Guild. The walls were lime washed.
The restoration of the Great Hall
has cost £8m over 10 years and was completed by 2000. The army had hacked off
any protruding features and Mann of these were used in other parts of the
building. They had also used old window openings and it was possible by
detective work to draw plans of the way the building had been both inside and
out. The building was originally harled and colour washed and this will be
replaced. The design of the hammerbeam roof was decided from early drawings and
evidence from Edinburgh Castle Hall. It was necessary to build a hut and
envelope over the roof before replacing it completely. The new ceiling is made
from 350 Scottish oak trees which were obtained from coppiced woods owned by
Forest Enterprise. Because the site from which they came was a Site of Special
Scientific Interest they had to be removed by horse. The wood was prepared by
medieval methods and is not seasoned. The jointing systems of the Hall were
designed for green timber which as it contracts will become tighter. Every
stone of the masonry was detailed and drawn. The Hall will be furnished with
hangings including a Cloth of State worked by the Embroiders Guild. The fire
will be usable.
The kitchens were restored to their
17th century state.