Women in Stirling Trail
In honour of International Women’s Day, we decided to take a closer look at the significant contributions of women to Stirling’s history. This is the 900th anniversary of Stirling becoming a royal burgh, and we want to celebrate the pivotal role of women in its history. Below is a trail that you can follow when in Stirling, each stop highlighting some remarkable women and their stories.
Marie de Guise, attributed to Corneille de Lyon
1. Stirling Castle – We start our trail at Stirling Castle and look at one of the most famous women in Scottish history – Mary Queen of Scots. She was born on 8th December 1542 to Marie de Guise and King James V of Scotland. On 14 December 1542 James V died, leaving his infant daughter to become Mary Queen of Scots while Marie de Guise became Regent of Scotland until her death in 1560. Mary was crowned on 9th September 1543 at Stirling Castle. She spent her childhood in the Royal Palace until she was sent to France for protection. The Royal Palace was built for Marie de Guise and you can see a lot of her French heritage represented there. Marie also constructed the French spur at the castle and supposedly helped influence the design of the city walls.
Mary Queen of Scots, François Clouet
The world’s oldest football was discovered behind a paneling installed in the roof of the Queen’s Chamber in the 1540s, the time Mary Queen of Scots lived in the palace. We know that Mary was keen on sports she played football, tennis and golf so it’s possible that the oldest football in the world belonged to her! You can see the football at the Stirling Smith Art Gallery and Museum.
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2. The Old Town Cemetery – Walk down from Stirling Castle and head to the Old Town Cemetery – only a few minutes by foot. At the cemetery you will also find the Virgin Martyrs Memorial which was erected in 1859 by the Drummond family. The monument commemorates two young girls Margaret and Agnes daughters of Gilbert Wilson. They were followers of the Covenanters and were arrested for their beliefs and sentenced to death by drowning. The freedom of Agnes was purchased by their father but sadly Margaret was left to drown at the Solway Firth.
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3. Mar’s Wark – Heading out of the cemetery stop to admire the façade of Mar’s Wark. These are the ruins of the townhouse of John Erskine, The Earl of Mar. He was granted keepership of Stirling Castle in 1567 and it is believed that he began building Mar’s Wark soon after. Can you see a statue of a woman in a winding sheet? This is said to be Joan of Arc (Jeannie Dark). The figure is said to be in Stirling courtesy of the French masons who worked on James V’s royal palace. You can see a reconstruction of Mar’s Wark with Stirling’s augmented reality app – Stirling XP. Find more about it here.
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4. Tolbooth Stirling – The Tolbooth is just across the road from the Old Town Cemetery. It was once a jail and a courthouse. The last of the Stirling witches were held here before their trial. An estimated 4000 people were accused of witchcraft in Scotland . Just to understand how massive this was the greatest number per head of population in Europe. A high proportion of the accused, 84%, were women. There are many accounts of witches in Stirling. Most of the women accused of witchcraft were folk healers or women who challenged authority. In 1659 Bessie Stevenson, Magdalena Blair and Isobel Bennet were tried on witchcraft-related charges at the Tolbooth. This was the largest ever witch trial in Stirling involving 12 people. Bessie confessed to performing charms and folk cures at St. Ninian’s Well involving washing the clothes of the sick and transferring the disease to the clothes. To discover more about the witch trials you can see the interactive map created by the University of Edinburgh which shows the places of residence for accused witches as well as locations of their trials and deaths.
Today, the Tolbooth is open to the public as a music and arts venue. There are regular music events and exhibitions and you can also grab coffee and home-baked cakes from the Tolbooth café. For the full programme visit Stirling Events.
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5. Codebase Stirling – Head over to the city centre and at Corn Exchange you will see the old Municipal Building which now hosts Codebase Stirling. Look about the central entrance and you will see a statue of Mary Queen of Scots above its entrance. She is flanked by William Wallace and King Robert the Bruce.
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6.The Albert Halls – Just down the road from Codebase Stirling you will find Stirling’s Albert Halls. The halls opened to the public in 1883. Posters saved from the years after the halls opened show performances by women. On 21st December 1883 Arthur Lloyd and his wife Katty King performed a two-hour comedy show. Katty was an actor, comedian and vocalist.
Albert Halls Poster 1883
Another poster from 1888 promotes a recital by Sir Charles Halle and Madame Neruda. She was a quite well known Czech virtuoso violinist, chamber musician and teacher.
Albert Halls Poster 1888
Today, the Albert Halls hosts many concerts and performances. You can find the full programme here.
7. The Stirling Smith Art Gallery and Museum – A few minutes walk from the Albert Halls you will find the Stirling Smith Art Gallery and Museum. There are many artefacts that relate to women at the museum. Below are two of the most remarkable ones that you shouldn’t miss on your visit there.
The Siege of Stirling fan is a truly rare and beautiful object from a key moment in Stirling’s history. It is a piece of anti-Jacobite propaganda, made for a lady to show her loyalty to the Crown when the Duke of Cumberland was handed the Freedom of the town in April 1746. Look closely and you will see recognisable Stirling landmarks, from the castle perched on its hill to the church of St Ninian and the winding loops of the River Forth. St Ninian’s Church was used by the Jacobites during their occupation of Stirling to store their ammunition – it catastrophically blew up with the loss of nine lives but the tower survived and can still be seen today.
Siege of Stirling Fan
Model of a Broch – This model was made by Christian Maclagan (1811–1901) and presented by her trustees to the Smith in 1903. Christian Maclagan was a remarkable Scottish antiquarian, early archaeologist, philanthropist, and feminist. She is known for her collection of Celtic crosses and Pictish stone rubbings from across Scotland and was a pioneer of stratigraphic excavation. This model includes details such as standing stones in the walls as she considered them to be foundations for these Iron Age structures.
Broch created by Christan MacLagan
8. The National Wallace Monument – Our next stop of the trail is the National Wallace Monument. On the first level gallery you will find the Wallace sword. Did you know that on 29th August 1912, suffragette Ethel Moorhead (under the alias of Edith Johnston) smashed the Wallace sword case? She wanted to draw attention to the women’s cause for the freedom of political expression. The sword has always stood for justice, and is sometimes referred to as ‘Freedom’s Sword’. The following message was found inside the glass case, hand printed in small capital letters: –
YOUR LIBERTIES WERE WON BY THE SWORD. RELEASE THE WOMEN WHO ARE FIGHTING FOR THEIR LIBERTIES. STOP THE FORCIBLE FEEDING. A PROTEST FROM DUBLIN.
Read more about Ethel Moorhead, The Wallace Sword and the Chieft Constable of Stirlingshire on the Stirling archives blog.
Stirling Journal 29th August 1912
Continue to the second level gallery where you will see the Hall of Heroes. First opened in 1886 when the marble bursts of Robert Burns and King Robert the Bruce were unveiled, the Hall of Heroes had 14 busts of famous Scotsmen who each had secured their place in history. In early 2019, the Hall of Heroes got two new additions – Scotland’s Heroines Missionary Mary Slessor and co-founder of the Maggie’s Centre, Maggie Keswick Jencks. The two women were selected after the public voted between 14 shortlisted women who have played special role in Scotland’s history.
The National Wallace Monument’s ‘Scotland’s Heroines’ project
Sculptors, Graciela Ainsworth (orange top) and Csilla Karsay (pink hair)
are putting the finishing touches to two busts depicting iconic Scottish women.
The busts of Mary Slessor (left sculpture) and Maggie Keswick Jencks (right sculpture) will join a collection of busts of Scottish heroes at The National Wallace Monument in Stirling. They will be the first busts of women to be added.
For more details, see press release from
Rebeca Moss at REPRESENT.
0131 526 3190
rebeca@representcomms.co.uk
PIC PHIL WILKINSON
info@philwilkinson.net
www.philwilkinson.net
01316186373 – 07740444373
Mary Slessor (1848-1915) has been described as the most celebrated Scottish missionary since David Livingstone, who inspired her to a life of service. Determined to overcome the challenges of her early years, and largely self-taught, she combined her missionary zeal with a practical approach to helping those in need, and she worked tirelessly to improve the quality of life for the people of Calabar, in Nigeria – against a background of prejudice and opposition.
A writer, gardener, and designer from Dumfries, Maggie Keswick Jencks (1941-1995), with her husband Charles founded the Maggie’s Centres, which offer practical, emotional and social support to people with cancer, their family and friends. She designed the blueprint for the centres, the first of which opened in Edinburgh in 1996, while she herself was facing cancer.
Queen Margaret of Denmark by Hugo van der Goes
9. Cambuskenneth Abbey – After a visit to the monument discover more of area by heading over to Cambuskenneth Abbey. Founded in about 1140 by King David I to serve Stirling Castle, there you will see the resting place of Queen Margaret of Denmark and King James III. Margaret was the daughter of King Kristian I of Denmark, Norway and Sweden. She married King James III in July 1469 at the age of 13. They had three children, the oldest of whom later became King James IV of Scotland. Queen Margaret died at Stirling Castle in 1486 and was buried at Cambuskenneth Abbey.
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10. Dunblane Cathedral – Our last stop of the trail is in the town of Dunblane and visit Dunblane Cathedral. Built on a ground sacred for well over 1000 years, Dunblane Cathedral dates back to the 12th century. The cathedral was left in ruin following the Protestant Reformation of 1560. Part of the cathedral were restored in 1816-17 by the Scottish Architect James Gillespie Graham (1776-1855). The naïve and the main body were restored by another Scottish architect Sir Robert Rowand Anderson in 1888-1893. The second restoration works were carried out thanks to a major donation by Janet Wallace of Glassingall.
Inside the cathedral you will also find the plaques for the Drummond Sisters – Margaret, Euphemia and Sibylla Drummond. They were the daughters of John Drummond, 1st Lord Drummond. Margaret was the mistress of King James IV and there were rumours that the couple had been secretly married. She gave birth to the king’s daughter Margaret. Margaret and her sisters died after eating a meal at Drummond Castle. It is believed that they had been poisoned. They were buried beneath the slabs in the choir of the Cathedral.
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These women are just a few of those of have helped create the Stirling we see today.Have you found any interesting women from Stirling’s history? We’d love to hear from you.
With thanks to Dr Murray Cook, Stirling Archives and The Smith Art Gallery and Museum.