Descriptive Gazetteer Entry for Stirling

Stirling (old forms Strivelin, Striveling, Strivelyn, Strewelin, Sterling), a market town, a royal and parliamentary burgh, and the county town of Stirlingshire, occupying part of the parish just described, but having outlying suburbs extending into the parishes of St Ninians and Logie. Standing on the river Forth 165/8 miles from its mouth opposite Kincardine, the town is connected with Leith by steamer, but in consequence of this having to accommodate itself to the tide, and owing also to the winding course of the river, there is but little river trade. Stirling is, however, a railway centre, the joint line used by both the Caledonian and North British companies between Larbert Junction and Perth passing through it, and lines belonging to the latter company also branching off to the eastward through Fife, and westward along the valley of the Forth. It is by rail 7 miles W of Alloa, 10 NW of Falkirk, 13 W by S of Dollar, 24 W by S of Kinross, 29 NE of Glasgow, 30 ENE of Balloch on Loch Lomond, 33 SW of Perth, 36 WNW of Edinburgh, and 84 ESE of Oban. The town owes its origin to the well-known castle of Stirling, which holds such a prominent position in Scottish history. The castle occupies the summit of an isolated hill of intrusive basalt, which, springing abruptly from the valley of the Forth, presents a precipitous front to the NW, and slopes from this eastward. It has been often compared to the Acropolis at Athens, and bears a considerable resemblance to the long ridge of the old town of Edinburgh, extending from the Castle to Holyrood, but the ridge at Stirling is much shorter. The more modern districts of the town and the suburbs extend over the flatter ground around the base. The higher parts of the rock-particularly along the Back Walk, and still more in the Castle gardens NW of the Douglas Room and SW of the Palace-command very fine views. ` Who, ' says Dr Macculloch, ` does not know Stirling's noble rock, rising, the monarch of the landscape, its majestic and picturesque towers, its splendid plain, its amphitheatre of mountain, and the windings of its marvellous river; and who that has once seen the sun descending here in all the blaze of its beauty beyond the purple hills of the west can ever forget the plain of Stirling, the endless charm of this wonderful scene, the wealth, the splendour, the variety, the majesty of all which here lies between earth and heaven.' The foreground is everywhere a rich alluvial plain, fertile, highly cultivated, and well wooded, with here and there an abrupt protruded hillock, starting abruptly from the flat, and relieving it from tameness. To the N and NE are the woods about Bridge of Allan and Dunblane, and the hillscreened vale of Allan Water, then the picturesque wood-crowned cliffs of Abbey Craig, and the soft pastoral slopes of the Ochils. To the E and SE are the fertile carses of Stirling and Falkirk, with the Forth winding her silvery course to the sea, and beyond, the distant hills of Fife and the Lothians; while to the SW is the termination of the Lennox Hills. To the W and NW are the flat valleys of the upper Forth and Teith with winding rivers and wooded policies, and shut in by the Campsie Fells, the Monteith Hills, the Braes of Doune, and behind and beyond, sweeping round from W to N, are a great semicircle of distant peaks, the most conspicuous of which are Ben Lomond (3192 feet), Ben Venue (2393), Ben A'an (1851), Ben Ledi (2875), Ben Voirlich (3224), and Uamh Mhor (Uam Var; 2179). ` Eastward from the castle ramparts, ' says Alexander Smith, " stretches a great plain bounded on either side by mountains, and before you the vast fertility dies into distance flat as the ocean when winds are asleep. It is through this plain that the Forth has drawn her glittering coils-a silvery entanglement of loops and links-a watery labyrinth- which Macneil has sung in no ignoble numbers, and which every summer the whole world flocks to see. Turn round, look in the opposite direction, and the aspect of the country has entirely changed. It undulates like a rolling sea. Heights swell up into the blackness of pines, and then sink away into valleys of fertile green. At your feet the Bridge of Allan sleeps in azure smoke-the most fashionable of all the Scottish spas, wherein, by hundreds of invalids, the last new novel is being diligently perused. Beyond are the classic woods of Keir; and ten miles further, what see you ? A multitude of blue mountains climbing the heavens! The heart leaps up to greet them-the ramparts of the land of romance, from the mouths of whose glens broke of old the foray of the freebooter; and with a chief in front with banner and pibroch in the wind, the terror of the Highland war. Stirling, like a huge brooch, clasps Highlands and Lowlands together. '

History.—When the first fort or village was formed at Stirling must remain doubtful, for though the isolated position of the rock, and its nearness to what must always have been the principal ford along the lower part of the Forth, point it out as the natural key of the Highlands and an important strength, it is extremely difficult to say whether it was so occupied prior to and during the Roman times or not. Situated near the skirts of the great Caledonian Forest, and in the midst of a flat that must at that time have been, to a considerable extent, a marsh, we might expect to find it one of the strongholds of the Damnonil who inhabited the district, but Ptolemy places their chief town Alauna -not to be confounded with Alauna of the Gadeni-to the NW on the point at the junction of the Allan and the Forth. The Roman road from Camelon northward passed to the W of the Castle rock, and seems to have crossed the river close to this at a ford called the Drip; but whether the Romans had a camp on the high ground cannot be ascertained, though during the period when they held the district N of Antoninus' Wall they certainly seem to have had an outpost here. At least Sir Robert Sibbald, writing in the end of the 17th or the beginning of the 18th century, says that there was at that time on a stone on the brow of the hill overlooking Ballengeich Road, opposite the old gate of the Castle, an inscription `In excu. agit. leg. II., ' which has been extended into In excubias agitantes legionis secundæ, the suggested rendering being ` for the daily and nightly watch of the second legion. " The inscription was obliterated by the close of the 18th century, but a large boulder with a defaced inscription is still pointed out as ` the Roman Stone. ' It is now marked by an iron rod. What the history of the place may have been from the 5th to the 10th century it is hardly possible to conjecture-probably that of any border fortress lying between two peoples who were often at war, and it is to this period that the modern name- the first part of which is said to be a word meaning strife, is supposed to be due; and hence also a name used by some of the chroniclers Mons Dolorum. Another name, used subsequently and referred to by Sir David Lindsay in his Complaint of the Papino (1539), was Snawdon or Snowdoun, which Chalmers has derived from the British Snuadun, ` the fortified hill on the river. ' According to Boece, followed by Buchanan, the Northumbrian princes, Osbrecht and Ella, in the 9th century subdued the whole country as far as Stirling, where they built a strong fort and also a bridge across the river, but the story is undoubtedly fabulous, for these princes were in reality rival claimants of the throne of Northumbria, and were, in 867, both slain in a battle against the Danes at York, the danger of the realm from the sea-rovers having compelled them to unite their forces. There certainly was war between Alban and Northumbria a century later, about 971 or 975, when, however, the attack was made from the Scottish side by Kenneth III., whom we find also, as a means of protection, fortifying the fords of the Forth, which was the boundary of his kingdom to the S, but no specific mention is made of Stirling.

By the 12th century, when the place finally emerges from its historic obscurity, it must have made considerable progress. Alexander I. died in the castle in 1124; David I., in a grant to the church of the Holy Trinity at Dunfermline between 1124 and 1127, speaks of his burgh of Stirling; in 1175 the case must have been one of the five most important strength in Scotland, for it was one of those selected to be held by English garrisons till the conditions under which Henry II. had released William the Lyon should be fulfilled; and William himself, after holding his last parliament here in 1214, and getting his son accepted as their future king by the bishops, earls, and barons, died in the Castle ` full of goodly days and at a good old age, fully armed with thorough devoutness, a clear shrift, true charity, the viaticum of Christ's body, and the rest of the sacraments." From this time onward the Castle became a favourite royal residence, and here Alexander II. is said to have been when he promulgated his law establishing trial by jury; and here John Baliol held the convention which, in 1295, agreed to the formation of an offensive and defensive league with France against England, and for the marriage of his son Edward with the daughter of the French King. On the approach of Edward I. with his army in 1296 the Castle was either abandoned or at once surrendered, only to be recaptured the following year, after the battle of Stirling Bridge. This was fought at the site of the earliest bridge that existed in the neighbourhood of Stirling, at Kildean, about five furlongs NW of Stirling Castle. Sibbald says that a bridge was built here by Agricola, but there does not seem to be any authority for the statement. That there was one at a very early date is, however, clear, for it is probable that this Kildean bridge is the one mentioned in the old laws printed at the beginning of the Record edition of the Scots Acts. It seems to have been formed by beams resting on stone pillars, remains of which were to be seen till about the end of the 18th century. In 1279, after the departure of Edward I. for Flanders, Wallace, having raised a large army in the districts N of the Tay, and got possession of all the strongholds there, was besieging Dundee when news arrived that the Earl of Surrey was pressing forward at the head of a large English army in order to attack him. He immediately advanced to the Forth, judging that to be the best position for receiving their attack; and took up his position along the loop of the Forth in front of the Abbey Craig, where the massive tower reared to his memory now stands. Terms offered by the English leaders having been rejected, they advanced to the attack. A proposal that a portion of the army should cross by the neighbouring ford was not acted on, and the whole line began to advance by the bridge, which was so narrow that only two persons could pass abreast. When about half of the English force had crossed, a body of spearmen, sent by Wallace for the purpose, dashing suddenly forward, gained and took possession of the end of the bridge, and Surrey and the rest of his forces had to stand helplessly by and see their comrades who had crossed attacked and routed by the Scottish army. Only a few were able again to cross the river in safety, and the body that had not crossed retired in great disorder. Blind Harry accounts for the severance of the two portions of the English army somewhat differently. After recording Wallace's intention—

Bot ner the bryg my purposs is to be
And wyrk for thaim sum suttell jeperté;

he goes on to tell how

on Setterday on to the bryg thai raid,
Off gud playne burd was weill and junctly maid:
Gert wachis wait that nane suld fra thaim pass.
A wricht he tuk. the suttellast at thar was,
and ordand him to saw the burd in twa.
Be the myd streit, that nane mycht our it ga;
On charnaill bandis naid it full fast and sone,
Syne fyld with clay as na thing had beyne done.
The tothir end he ordand for to be.
How it suld stand on thre rowaris off tre,
Quhen ane war out, that the laiff doun suld fall;
Him sclff wndyr he ordand thar with all,
Bownd on the trest in a creddill to sit,
To louss the pyn quhen wallace leit him wit.
Bot with a horn, quhen it was tyme to be,
In all the ost suld no man blaw bot he.

And so when Wallace blew his horn, part of the bridge fell. The cognomen of ` Pin ' Wright was given to the man who undertook to ` louss the pyn; " and a descendant who now lives in Stirling still bears the name, the family having for their coat of arms a carpenter's axe, the crest being a mailed arm grasping an axe, and the motto Tam arte quam marte.

Between this and 1303 the Castle seems to have changed hands several times, but when Edward l. commenced his great invasion in the year just mentioned, it was held by a Scottish garrison. So strong did Edward deem the position that he passed it by when he went north, and did not turn his attention to it till ` all magnates but William Wallace had made their submission unto him, and all castles and towns-except Strivelyn Castle and the warden thereof-were surrendered unto him.' After keeping lent at St Andrews, and holding a parliament at which Sir William Wallace, Sir Simon Frazer, and the garrison of Stirling Castle, were outlawed, he began at Easter 1304 the siege which is memorable for the determination with which the small garrison of less than 200 men held, for more than three months, against the whole English army, this the last spot of ground that was not in the hands of the foreign foe. The Castle seems to have been partly rebuilt, not long before, on the Norman model, and here not only did the strength of the masonry offer stout resistance to the battering machines of the besiegers, but there was the additional difficulty of the steep rock on which the Castle stood. Some of the machines threw very heavy stones, and one is mentioned as being able to hurl against the walls blocks weighing from two to three hundredweights. King Edward himself, though sixty-five years old, was in the midst of the work. ` He was, ' says Dr Burton, ` repeatedly hit, and the chronicles record with reverence the miraculous interventions for his preservation. On one occasion Satan had instigated one of the Scots to draw an arblast and aim an arrow against the Lord's anointed, who was riding exposed in the front. A devil's angel sped the shaft in so far that it pierced a chink of the mail, but then one of heaven's angels came to the rescue and stopped it from penetrating the sacred body of the conquering king-for it is curious to observe, that it is all along not from the justice or holiness of his cause, but from his success as a conqueror that these chroniclers treat his cause as a holy one, and denounce the resistance it met with as unholy rebellion. Stronger evidence still of his fixed determination to leave no means untried for the reduction of the Castle is his bringing the lead from the roofs of churches and religious houses in St Andrews and Brechin to be made into weights in working the siege engines.' He was a superstitious man, and knew that this was sacrilege, but he gave orders that no altar was to be uncovered, and by-and-by, when he had attained his object, payment was made to the Bishop of Brechin and the Prior of St Andrews ` pro plumbo quod dextrahi fecimus tam de ecclesiis quam de aliis domibus ipsorum Episcopi et Prioris apud Breghyn et Sanctum Andream.' When Sir William Oliphant and his garrison were at last driven by famine to surrender, they numbered only 140. From this time the Castle remained in the hands of the English till 1314, when it was surrendered the day after the battle of Bannockburn. In 1333 it was taken by Baliol's party, and though it was besieged in 1336 and again in 1337 by Sir Andrew Moray, it was on both occasions relieved by the English, and did not fall into the hands of David Bruce's friends till 1339. In 1360 Sir Robert Erskine was appointed governor of the Castle by King David, and besides ample allowances for the maintenance of the garrison, obtained a grant of all the feus and revenues in Stirlingshire belonging to the Crown, with the wardships, escheats, and other emoluments annexed to them. This office was hereditary in the Erskine family till the forfeiture of the Earl of Mar in 1715. During the times of Robert II. and Robert III., though the Castle was occasionally the royal residence, there is but little mention of it otherwise.

The warlike operations of the 13th and the beginning of the 14th centuries were by no means in favour of the burgh, for after it had been accidentally destroyed by fire in 1244, it was again burnt in 1298 by Wallace on his retreat from Falkirk, so that it might not afford shelter to the English. It was also burned in 1385 by Richard II., and though its losses were partly compensated by the grants to the burgesses by Robert II. of fishings and petty customs, it was not till the time of James l. that it may be said to have fairly started in its course of progress. The Castle was the birthplace of James II., and after the murder of his father it afforded a place of refuge for him and his mother against the ambitious designs of Sir William Crichton. Subsequently, in 1452, one of the rooms in the Castle was the scene of the murder of the Earl of Douglas, who, having come to Stirling at the King's command and with a royal safe-conduct, and having been ` well received and entertained by the king, who thereafter called him to the supper, and banquetted him very royally, ' yet haughtily refused to break the agreements that he had entered into with the Earls of Crawford and Ross. He even retaliated and ` reproached the king very arrogantly, ' so that at last the royal patience gave way, and James ` took a high anger and thought to do the thing that was less skaith to the commonwealth than to trouble the whole realm therewith; and so he pulled forth a sword, and said, ` ` I see well, my lord, my prayer cannot prevail to cause you desist from your wicked counsel and enterprizes, I shall cause all your wicked conspiracies to cease." Thereafter immediately he struck him through the body with the sword; and thereafter the guard, hearing the tumult within the chamber, rushed in and slew the earl out of hand. ' The Earl's brother and many of his friends were in- the town, and as they were unable to revenge themselves on the king, they wreaked their wrath on the burgesses, which was hardly fair. The Earl's brother ` made a long harangue and exhortation to his friends to siege the Castle and to revenge the unworthy slaughter of his brother with the king's life. But when they saw it was impossible to do, seeing they had no munition fitting for this effect, the Castle being so strong, they gave the king very contumelious words, saying, " that they should never obey nor know him again as a king or prince, but should be revenged upon him and his cruel tyranny or ever they ceased." After this they burned and herried the town of Stirling.' James III. found its retirement congenial to his artistic tastes, and made the Castle his chief residence, while it was also a favourite residence of James IV., who is said to have done penance in the neighbouring church of the Franciscans for the share he had taken in the insurrection that ended with his father's death. James V. was born at Stirling and also crowned there, and the Castle afforded him a place of refuge when he escaped from the power of the Douglases in 1528, and the pass to the NE of it furnished him with the name he so often adopted in his wild incognito rambles and adventures among his people-the Gudeman of Ballengeich. His infant daughter Mary and her mother were brought here in 1543,-Stirling being deemed a safer place than Edinburgh or Linlithgow, on account of its nearness to the Highlands, - and here the infant queen was crowned when scarcely nine months old, the Regent Arran carrying the crown and Lennox the sceptre; and the Estates fixed the Castle as the royal residence for the time being. In the early times of the Reformation it became, in consequence, one of the centres of the influence of Mary of Guise, who was here when the news came of the first outbreak of popular fury at Perth against the Roman Catholic Church in 1559. Later she intended to garrison the place with French soldiers, but was prevented by the Earl of Argyll, Lord James Stewart, and the other Lords of the Congregation, who ` reformed Stirling ' in the usual manner, and also entered there into their third bond of mutual adherence and defence. Stirling is closely associated with many of the important events of Mary's reign after her return from France. In 1561 ` her grace's devout chaplains would, by the good device of Arthur Erskine, have sung a high mass,' but ` the Earl of Argyle and the Lord James so disturbed the quire, that some, both priests and clerks, left their places with broken heads and bloody ears. ' It was here that the special council was held at which she announced her intended marriage with Lord Darnley, and here her infant son, afterwards James VI., was baptized with great pomp in December 1566, the Privy Council levying a sum of £12,000 to defray the expense, the large amount being necessary from the fact that ` sum of the grettest princes in Christendome hes ernestlie requirit of our soveranis that be thair ambassatouris thai may be witnessis and gosseppis at the baptisme of thair Majesteis derrist sone. ' Queen Elizabeth, who was godmother, sent a gold font weighing 333 ounces, which her ambassador was told to ` say pleasantly was made as soon as we heard of the prince's birth, and then 'twas big enough for him; but now he, being grown, is too big for it; therefore it may be better used for the next child, provided it be christened before it outgrows the font." The Countess of Argyll represented the English Queen, and as the ceremony was a Roman Catholic one, and the countess was a member of the Reformed Church, she came under the displeasure of the General Assembly of 1567, which ordered her to make public repentance in the Chapel Royal of Stirling-the place of her offence- ` upon ane Sunday in time of preaching, for assisting at the prince's baptism, performed in a papistical manner., In the following year, Mary having abdicated, James was crowned here, and the Castle remained his residence for the first thirteen years of his life, and was the meeting-place of the parliaments convened by the various regents as well as the scene of several other incidents connected with the struggles for power going on at the time. In May 1569 four priests of Dunblane, who had been sentenced to be hanged at Stirling for saying mass contrary to act of parliament, had their punishment commuted, and were instead chained to the market-cross wearing their vestments, and after they had stood thus for an hour, while the mob pelted them with stones and offered them other indignities, they were loosed, but their vestments, books, and chalices were burned by the hangman. During part of the regency of Lennox the Court of Session sat here, as also did the General Assembly in 1571 and 1578. In the former year also, Stirling was the scene of the execution of John Hamilton, Archbishop of St Andrews, who was captured at Dumbarton Castle early in the year, and hanged at the common place of execution at the market-place of Stirling shortly afterwards on charges of being accessory to the murders of Darnley and the Regent Murray, and of conspiring against King James. In the same year too, while a parliament, summoned by Lennox-contemptuously styled by its opponents the Black Parliament-was sitting, a number of Queen Mary's supporters who had been threatened with forfeiture, sent a party of horsemen, led by Kirkaldy of Grange, from Edinburgh by night, to attempt to surprise and seize a number of the nobles attending the parliament. Reaching the town before daybreak, they surrounded the houses where the leading men were lodged, and meeting with no resistance except from Morton, who would not surrender till his house had been set on fire, they started on their return to Edinburgh, carrying off Regent Lennox and ten other noblemen as prisoners. Some of the followers of Scott of Buccleuch having, however, stayed behind for the purpose of plundering, caused an alarm in the Castle; and the Earl of Mar, marching out with a body of soldiers, soon not only put the plunderers to flight, but, having aroused the townsmen, pursued the main body so hotly that all the prisoners were rescued, the Regent being, however, mortally injured in the struggle. In 1578 the first parliament convened by James VI., after he nominally took the government into his own hands, met in the hall of the Castle; but the place of meeting was so displeasing to the party opposed to Morton- who maintained ` that a meeting of the Estates held within a fortress commanded by an enemy of his country was no free parliament '-that its choice almost led to civil war. After a great reconciliation banquet given subsequently in the Castle, the Earl of Athole died suddenly, and it was asserted that he had been poisoned. In 1584 the Earls of Angus and Mar, the Master of Glamis, and others of the Ruthven party, seized the Castle; but being unable to hold it against the force raised by the Earl of Arran, they retired to the Highlands, and finally fled to England, only, however, to return in 1585, when, in the Raid of Stirling, they took possession of the place, where James was himself residing at the time, and procured from the king a reversal of their own forfeitures and the restoration of the Gowrie family to their vast estates. In 1594 the town witnessed the greatest pageant that it ever saw, or probably ever will see, at the baptism of Prince Henry, the eldest son of James VI. ` The noble and most potent prince of Scotland was born in the castle of Striviling, the 19 day of February 1594, upon which occasion the King's majestie sent for the nobles of his land, and to all the capitall burrows thereof,.. and proposed unto them that it was necessary to direct out ambassadours to France, England, Denmark, the Low Countries, the Duke of Brunswicke, his brother-inlaw, and to the Duke of Magdelburg, the queenis majestie's grandfather, and to such other princes as should be thought expedient. Likewise he thought the castle of Striviling the most convenient place for the residence of this most noble and mightie prince, in respect that he was borne there; as also, it was necessary, that sufficient preparation might be made for the ambassadours that should be invited to come, for honour of the crown and countrey. And besides all this, because the Chapell Royal was ruinous and too little, concluded that the old chapell should be utterly rased, and a new erected in the same place, that should be more large, long, and glorious, to entertain the great number of straungers expected. These propositions at length considered, they all, with a free voluntarie deliberation, graunted unto his majestie the summe of an hundred thousand pounds money of Scotland. ' And so the new chapel was built by the ` greatest number of skilled workmen, ' James himself superintending; and the ceiling was adorned with gold, and the walls decorated with paintings and sculpture. During the two days before the baptism, which took place on 30 Aug., sports were held in ` The Valley.' After all the pompous ceremonial of the baptism, which was too long to be here minutely detailed, a banquet took place in the Parliament House, where ` the kinge, queene, and ambassadours were placed all at one table, being formed of three parts, after a geometricall figure, in such sort that every one might have a full sight of the other. ' During the progress of the feast, a triumphal car, seemingly drawn by a Moorish slave, entered, full of fruits and delicacies, which were distributed among the guests by six damsels clothed in satin and glittering with gold and silver. Thereafter there entered a boat eighteen feet in length, placed on wheels and moved by invisible springs. The masts, which were forty feet high, were red, the ropes of red silk, and the blocks were of gold. The sails were of white taffety, and the anchors were tipped with silver. She was loaded with sweetmeats, and on board were Neptune, Thetis, Arion, and Triton, while three syrens floated in the artificial sea that surrounded the vessel.

In 1637 the meetings of the privy council and of the Court of Session were held at Stirling for several months in consequence of the disturbed state of Edinburgh arising out of the attempted introduction of the liturgy. In 1645 the plague raged in the town from the middle of July till October, and obliged the parliament which had been already driven by it from Edinburgh to adjourn to Perth. During this time the meetings of town council are said to have been held in the Cow Park. In the same year the opposing armies of Montrose and Baillie passed the Forth at Kildean ford on their way to Kilsyth, but they seem both to have avoided the town in consequence of the plague. The Castle was held for the Covenanters. In 1648 the Highland followers of the Marquis of Argyll on their way to join the forces being assembled by the anti-royalist minority of the Estates were attacked and defeated by a portion of the Duke of Hamilton's army under Sir George Munro. Stirling was the rallying point of the force defeated by Cromwell at Dunbar, and afforded at that time a place of refuge for the Committees of Church and State, and the magistrates of Edinburgh who endeavoured to concert a plan of future operations, while at the same time a parliament-afterwards adjourned to Perth, and the last in Scotland at which the sovereign personally presided- was held; and it was thence that Charles II. started in 1651 for the march into England that terminated at the disastrous battle of Worcester. In 1651 the Castle was besieged and reduced by Monk, and the national records, which had been lodged here for safety, were seized and sent to London. At the time of the Union it was declared one of the four Scottish fortresses which were to be ever afterwards kept in repair, and in 1715 it afforded valuable support to the small force with which Argyll held the passage of the Forth against Mar and the Jacobites. In the subsequent rebellion in 1745-46, though the town wall had been repaired in the former year, the inhabitants made no resistance to the Highland army on its retreat, but having sent all their arms into the Castle, and obtained a promise that no man's person should be injured, and all articles required should be paid for, admitted the Jacobites within the town, when they kept their pledge so well that within two hours they had plundered the houses and shops of all the leading inhabitants opposed to their cause. They began to besiege the Castle, but though General Hawley's effort to cause them to raise the siege failed in consequence of the disaster at Falkirk, the attack was made in vain, and was hurriedly abandoned on the approach of the Duke of Cumberland's army. The only other historical event of general note connected with the town is the execution of Andrew Hardie and John Baird, who were in 1820 beheaded in front of the Town House for high treason, they having been two of the leaders of the Radical rising at Bonnymuir. The Highland and Agricultural Society's Show has been held here in 1833, 1864, 1873, 1881.

The last sovereign who resided in the Castle was James VI., but in 1681 the Duke of York, afterwards James VII., was here with his family, including Princess -afterwards Queen-Anne; and in September 1842 the Queen and the Prince Consort were here on their way from Taymouth to Dalkeith, on which occasion her Majesty was presented with the silver keys of the burgh in due form and the Prince Consort was made a burgess. The Prince of Wales visited the town in 1859. Stirling gave successively the title of Viscount and Earl to the family of Alexander of Menstrie and Tullibody, William Alexander having in 1630 been created by Charles I. Viscount Stirling and Baron Alexander of Tullibody, and in 1633 he became Earl of Stirling and Viscount Canada. The title became dormant at the death of Henry V., Earl in 1739, but there are still claimants. The only distinguished native of Stirling may be said to be Dr John Moore (1730-1802), author of Zeluco and other works now forgotten, and father of General Sir John Moore; but of those connected with the place by residence, besides the historical characters already spoken of, we may here mention George Buchanan (1506-82), who was tutor to James VI. during his early residence at the Castle; the Rev. Patrick Simpson, one of the ministers, who about 1600 published a History of the Church; the Rev. Henry Guthrie (1600-76), another of the ministers, author of Memoirs of Scotch Affairs from 1637 to 1649; the Rev. James Guthrie" his successor, one of the leading Remonstrants, who was executed in Edinburgh in 1661; Lieutenant-Colonel John Blackader (1664-1729), deputy-governor of Stirling Castle; the Rev. Ebenezer Erskine (1680-1754), one of the founders of the Secession Church; Dr David Doig (1718-1800), rector of the grammar school, a literary opponent of Lord Kames, whom Burns, who met him while at Stirling in 1787, describes as ` a queerish figure and something of a pedant; ' and the Rev. John Russel (1740-1817), the ` Black Russel " of The Holy Fair, who was translated from Kilmarnock to Stirling in 1800" and who is buried in the old churchyard.

Lines of Street, etc.—The Castle Hill proper and some other heights associated with it form a triangular group to the NW of the town, the apex of the triangle being to the W, and the rock occupied by the Castle buildings and the Esplanade in front lying along the SW side. Along the NE side of the Castle Rock is the deep hollow known as Ballengeich, and beyond this is the undulating height known as Gowling or Gowan Hill. This was the site of one of the Jacobite batteries during the siege of the Castle in 1746. Near the N corner is the rounded grassy summit called the Mote Hill or Heading Hill, the

sad and fatal mound!
That oft hast heard the death-axe sound.
As on the noblest of the land
fell the stern headsman's bloody hand."

It was the scene of the execution of the Duke of Albany, his two sons, and his father-in-law, the Earl of Lennox, in 1425; and as the Castle and Braes of Doune are visible from it, Albany's last glance must have been over his own wide domain. It seems to have been here also that in 1437 Sir Robert Graham and those of his associates in the murder of James I. who were executed at Stirling had an end put to their torments. The Mote Hill is known locally as Hurly-Haaky, a name said to be derived from an amusement indulged in here by James V. when he was young, and alluded to by Sir David Lindsay, who says

Some harlit hym to the Hurlie-Hackit.

It seems to have consisted in sliding down a steep bank in some sort of sleigh. Sir Walter Scott says the Edinburgh boys in the beginning of the present century indulged in such a game on the Calton Hill, ` using for their seat a horse's skull; ' and as hawky or haaky is a Scottish word meaning a cow, it is possible that a cow's skull may have been used formerly for the same purpose. All this tract of ground is now open to the public, and walks beginning here extend round the base of the Castle Rock and along the wooded slopes to the SW of the old town, the principal path in this latter portion being the Back Walk with its fine trees. It was laid out in 1724 at the instigation of William Edmonstone of Cambus wallace. To the S of the Esplanade, and between it and the NW end of this walk, is a flatbottomed hollow now occupied by part of the cemetery, but known particularly as ` The Valley, ' and said to have been the ground used for tournaments and sports in the time of the Stewart Kings. A rocky eminence on the S side, called The Ladies' Rock, is traditionally the spot whence the ladies of the Court surveyed the feats of strength and skill. To the SW of this were the Royal Gardens or Haining, now simply laid out in grass, and with but few traces of the terraces and canal that once existed, though in this respect the Government have in recent years caused considerable improvement to be made. The canal seems to have been near the line of the modern Dumbarton Road. Near the extreme SW side of the gardens is an octagonal earthen mound with terraces and a depressed centre known as the King's Knot, and probably the place where the old game called The Round Table was played. The older name of the mound seems to have been also The Round Table, and it must have been here from a very early date, for Barbour speaks of King Edward and some of his followers who had in vain sought refuge at Stirling Castle after the battle of Bannockburn going

Rycht by the Round Table away;

so that it must have been there in his time; and Sir David Lindsay, in his Farewell of the Papingo (1539), also mentions it:—

Adew fair Snawdoun. with thy towris hie,
Thy Chapill royall, Park, and Tabill Round.
May, June, and July waid I dweil in thee,
War lane man, to heir the birdis sound
Quhilk doth agane thy Royall Rocke resound."

To the S of the Knot is the King's Park, 2 miles in circumference, which was in the time of the Stewarts stocked with deer and partially wooded. It is now a stretch of fine sward used as a drill ground and public park. It was here that Argyll's army was encamped in I1715. From the higher part of the ground to the W there are excellent views. The racecourse in the north-eastern part was formed in comparatively modern times, but has been disused for a considerable period.

The old town of Stirling, with its narrow and winding streets, lies along the ridge to the SE of the Castle. To the NE of the Esplanade are Upper and Lower Castle Hill and Barn Road, the former turning southward to Broad Street, at the E end of which St Mary's Wynd passes off to the N, while Bow Street on the S leads into Baker Street, the line of which eastward is continued by King Street. Parallel to Broad Street but farther to the S is St John Street, which is continued eastward by the very narrow Spittal Street, the latter, which is parallel to Baker Street, entering King Street near the centre of the S side. Running in the same line, from SE to NW, but on the opposite side of the ridge, is the Back Walk already mentioned; and passing northward from the E end of Baker Street is Blackfriars Street. The N and S line of streets begins at the E end of King Street, that leading to the N being Port Street. The part of the town just mentioned may be taken as that included within the precinct of the old town-wall, but there are now very extensive suburbs extending to the N and E, and S and S W. King Street is wide and well built, and its neighbourhood may be taken as constituting the business centre of the town, and Broad Street is also spacious; but the others present a curious mingling of modern and antique-houses of all ages, from the 15th century downwards, being to be found. The road to Airth passes off from the E side of Port Street, and along it is the small suburb known as The Craigs. The line of Port Street is continued to the S by Melville Place and Pitt Terrace, with a line of fine old trees along each side; and beyond these the road leads on to the villages of Newhouse, Belfield, and St Ninians, all of which are included within the parliamentary boundary. Between Melville Terrace and Newhouse on the W side of the road is Randolph Field, the traditional scene of Randolph's victory over the English cavalry under Sir Robert Clifford, who attempted to relieve Stirling Castle the day before the battle of Bannockburn. The line of Airth Road across Port Street is continued westward by the broad open Albert Place leading onward to Dumbarton Road. Albert Place, and the whole district between this and Melville Terrace, are occupied by villa residences, the principal thoroughfares being Abercromby Place, Clarendon Place, Victoria Place, Park Terrace, Snowdon Place, Drummond Place, Southfield Terrace, Gladstone Place, Glebe Crescent, and Allan Park.

From St Mary's Wynd, already mentioned, a line of newer streets passes northwards by Upper Bridge Street and Lower Bridge Street to the Old Bridge of Stirling; and from Lower Bridge Street a road passes round the end of the Heading Hill, and on west-north-westward to Callander. From the S end of the same street, Union Street passes NE to the Bridge of Stirling; while from the N end of Upper Bridge Street there is a line of thoroughfare-with the successive names of Cowane Street, Barnton Place, and Murray Place-southward to Port Street. From Barnton Place, Queen Street and the narrow Irvine Place lead north-westward to Upper Bridge Street and St Mary's Wynd, and at its N end Wallace Street strikes off northward to the Bridge of Stirling. Off Murray Place, near the centre of the E side, a short street leads to the railway station, and at the N end Shore Road branches off north-eastwards to the steamboat quay at the river. Most of these streets are wide, well-built thoroughfares, with minor streets passing off from them. The town of Stirling proper, from the Old Bridge on the N to Randolph Field on the S, extends over a distance of 1¼ mile; and from the King's Knot east-south-eastward to beyond The Craigs, the distance is 5/6 mile. The length of the parliamentary burgh, however-which extends from the Forth below Kildean southward to beyond the village of St Ninians-is 3 miles; and the breadth at right angles to this most of the way, except on the extreme S, where it tapers to a point, is 5/6 mile. As might be expected in the case of the town recognised as the key of the Highlands, Stirling seems to have been well protected by a wall and ditch all round, except on the NW, where the Castle works were considered a sufficient defence. Part of the wall still remains at the E end of the Back Walk; and Port Street gets its name from the old South or Borough Port or gate which was originally at a point in the wall about 100 yards W of the line of the present street. After the extension of the town to the E in 1591, a new gate was formed farther to the E, but it was removed about the middle of last century, in order to render the access to the town from the S more convenient. The road to the N was by St Mary's Wynd, leading to the Old Bridge. The early recognition of the value of the fords at Stirling, as affording a direct passage to the N of Scotland, has been already noticed, as has also the first bridge at Kildean, where the battle of Stirling Bridge took place. The present Old Bridge is fully 1 mile to the ESE of this; and though the date of its erection is unknown, it must, judging by its style, have been built about the end of the 13th or the beginning of the 14th century. It has four arches, and is narrow and high in the centre. It had formerly two low towers at the centre, and two small flanking towers and iron gates at each end. In 1745 the south arch was destroyed by General Blakeney, governor of the Castle, in order to embarass the Jacobite army; and when the Duke of Cumberland's forces passed northward in the following year they were delayed here till the damage was roughly repaired. About a hundred yards farther down the river is the wider and more convenient modern bridge, erected in 1831, from designs by Robert Stevenson, at a cost of £17, 000; and about the same distance farther down still are the viaducts, crossed by the main line of the Caledonian railway and by the Stirling and Dunfermline branch of the North British system.

The Castle, etc.—The Castle is approached by Broad Street and Mar Place, which lead to the spacious Esplanade or parade-ground, on the NE side of which is a gigantic statue of King Robert Bruce, erected in 1877 on a spot from which are visible the fields of Stirling Bridge and Bannockburn. The statue, which is 11 feet high, and represents the king in chain armour looking towards Bannockburn as he sheathes his sword, was executed by Currie. The entrance to the Castle is in the centre of the curtain wall at the NW end of the Esplanade, the outer wall being protected by a ditch with a drawbridge. The inner ditch and entrance are commanded by the Overport Battery, while the bomb-proof structure on the left, known as Queen Anne's Battery, with the adjacent unfinished works, was erected in Queen Anne's reign-whence the name -when the Castle was enlarged. The Queen's initials and the date, ` A. R. 1794, ' may be seen on the second arch. To the N are the gun sheds, and adjoining them on the NE is the Spur or French or Ten-gun Battery, built by the French engineers of Mary of Guise in 1559, and overlooking Ballengeich and the Gowan Hill. At the SW end of the gun sheds is the old entrance, with two towers-not now so high as they formerly were-and a flagstaff. To the left of it is the Princes Walk, and inside the entrance is the open space called the Lower Square, on the NE side of which is the Grand Battery, while to the left is the Palace. This building, commenced by James V. and finished by Queen Mary, surrounds a central quadrangular court, and is very fantastic in its architecture-the N, E, and S sides having five or six curious pillars, formed by emblematic figures standing on carved balustrade columns, with pediments supported by grotesque figures. All the statues are much-defaced, but those on the E side, which is the most richly-or wildly-ornamented, are supposed to represent Diana, Venus, Omphale, Perseus, and other mythological personages. Those on the N side include figures of James V. and his daughter, and one showing Cleopatra with the asp on her breast. The statue of James represents him with a bushy beard and wearing a hat. Over him is an allegorical personage holding a crown and a scroll with the kingly title; and he is attended by a royal lion and a cup-bearer, the former crouching at his feet, and the latter a beardless youth holding forth a cup. In the small interior square is the Lion's Den, said to have been the place where lions were kept for the royal amusement. Defoe waxes quite eloquent in praise of this building: ` King James the Fifth, ' he says, ` also built a noble Palace here, adorn'd without with Pillars finely engrav'd, and Statues as big as the Life at the Top and Bottom. In this Palace is one Apartment of Six Rooms of State, the noblest I ever saw in Europe, both in Heighth, Length and Breadth: And for the Fineness of the Carv'd Work, in Wainscot and on the Cieling, there's no Apartment in Windsor or Hampton-Court that comes near it. And at the Top of this Royal Apartment, the late Earl of Mar, when he was Governor, made a very convenient Apartment of a Dozen Rooms of a Floor, for the Governors to lodge in. Joining to the Royal Apartments aforemention'd, is the Great Hall of Audience, roof'd at the Top with Irish Oak like that of Westminster-Hall at London: And in the Roof of the Presence-Chamber, are carv'd the Heads of the Kings and Queens of Scotland. ' Though Defoe's description is not quite clear, it is evident that the latter part of it refers not to the palace but to the Parliament Hall mentioned below, The oak carvings of the heads of the kings and queens, known as 'the Stirling heads, ' were taken down in 1777, as they had become insecure, and one of them had fallen on the head of a soldier. The burgh prison afforded them a place of refuge during 40 years of subsequent neglect, and since then they have been scattered. A few are preserved in the Smith Institute. The spacious rooms of the palace itself have since Defoe's time also suffered badly, some of them having been partitioned off as barrack stores, and the others for similar purposes.

To the N of the Palace is the Upper Square, the S side of which is formed by the Palace itself. On the E side is the Parliament Hall or Parliament House, erected by James III. It was originally a fine building, the hall proper having been 120 feet in length, but it has, like the other buildings, suffered greatly by being converted into barrack rooms. On the N side of the square is the building erected by James VI. as a chapel, but used as a store, and generally called the Armoury. It at one time contained 15, 000 stand of arms and many pieces of old armour, but most of these have now been removed to the Tower of London. There seems to have been a chapel in the Castle founded by Alexander I., and attached to the monastery at Dunfermline, and the Capella Castelli de Strivelin is mentioned in a deed of David I. (1124-53), and in another in the reign of William the Lyon (11651214). What the original dedication was is unknown, as the earlier documents mention only the King's Chapel, but in the 14th century, perhaps earlier, there is mention of the chapel of St Michael, which may probably date from the time when St Malachi or Michael-the Irish ecclesiastic-visited David I. at Stirling Castle and healed his son Prince Henry. The chapel was rebuilt in the early part of the 15th century, but it was not till the time of James III. that it became a foundation of importance. That monarch seems to have added to his other artistic tastes a great love of music, and this led him to determine that St Michael's Chapel should be rebuilt and constituted both as a royal chapel and as a musical college, and in the High Treasurer's accounts for 1473 and 1474 we find a number of entries of expenses in connection with the new building. He also endowed the new foundation with the rich temporalities of the Abbey of Coldingham, the annexation of which interfered with the interests of the powerful family of Home, and so led to the downfall and death of James himself. The chapel thus erected was the scene of the penitence of James IV., who, after the victory at Sauchie, ` daily passed to the Chapel Royal, and heard matins and evening-song; in the which every day the chaplains prayed for the king's grace, deploring and lamenting the death of his father; which moved to be counselled to come against his father in battle, where-through he was murdered and slain. To that effect he was moved to pass to the dean of the said Chapel Royal, and to have his counsel how he might be satisfied, in his own conscience; of the art and part of the cruel deed which was done to his father. The dean, being a godly man, gave the king a good comfort; and seeing him in repentance, was very glad thereof. ' Whether from this penitence or from a devotion to music itself, James IV. carried out his father's purposes, and endowed the foundation with large revenues. The deans of the chapel, who were first the provosts of Kirkheugh at St Andrews, afterwards the bishops of Galloway, and eventually the bishops of Dunblane, possessed in their capacity as deans an episcopal jurisdiction, and in 1501 the chapel was erected into a collegiate church. The chapel erected by James III. seems, however, to have been a poor structure, for in 1583 mention is made that ` the thak thair of resavis weit and rane in sic sort that the King is hieness may nocht weill remane within the same in tyme of weitt or rane, ' and as ` the ruif thairof hes bene wrang wrocht mekil under square that the thak of the same is aff skailze, and is ane werray licht thak, ' and as there are ` many kyppillis thairof broken, swa it is necessary to put ane new ruif upone the said Chapell, ' and so on, the whole structure being evidently in very ruinous condition. Nothing was, however, done till 1594, when James VI. pulled the old building down and erected on its site the very poor erection now standing, which was the scene of the baptism of Prince Henry. It was subsequently destroyed internally by being converted into an armoury. It is to be hoped that the singularly inappropriate use to which the old portions of the Castles of Stirling and Edinburgh are put, may finally cease and determine under the regime of the coming Secretary of State for Scotland. The buildings on the SW side of the Upper Square are partly older in date than the others, some of them having been erected in the end of the reign of James I. They are now used as officers' quarters and offices, the officers' mess-room being what is known as Queen Mary's Boudoir. Over the gable window are the letters M. R., with a crown and thistle, and over another window the monogram M. R., with the date 1557. A passage to the W of the Chapel Royal leads to a garden opening off which is the Douglas Room or King's Closet, the reputed scene of the murder of the Earl of Douglas by James II. The skeleton of an armed man found in the garden in 1797 is supposed to have been that of Douglas. This portion of the Castle was destroyed by fire in 1855, but was, in 1856, restored from designs by R. W. Billings, in keeping with the old design. In the small closet opening off the room is a stained-glass window with the Douglas arms and the motto, ` Lock Sicker. ' A small door opening off at one side leads to an underground passage, which is supposed to have come out at Ballengeich. Round the cornice of the closet is the inscription: Pie Jesus Hominum Salvator P1a Maria Salvete 1gem, and beneath, Jacobus Scotor. Rex. In the Douglas Room itself may be seen the communion table used in the Castle by John Knox, an old pulpit from the Chapel Royal, an old clock from Linlithgow, several personal relics of the Stewart sovereigns, and a number of pikes used at the Bonnymuir rising in 1820. From the ramparts on the N side of the garden there is a magnificent view. The best is from what is called Queen Victoria's Look-out at the NW corner-though the Queen saw but little when she was there as the day was misty-but good views may also be obtained from Queen Mary s Look-out on the W, and from the Ladies' Look-out Battery SW of the Palace, where the rock is steepest. To the N of the buildings just described, but at a lower level, is a rampart-protected plateau on which are the magazines. The Castle is now used as an infantry barracks, forming the head-quarters of the 91st regimental district, and the depôt for the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, formerly the 91st and 93d regiments, with whom are associated as 3d and 4th battalions the Highland Borderers Militia (Stirling) and the Royal Renfrew Militia (Paisley).

To the SE of the Esplanade is the spacious quadrangular edifice called Argyll's Lodging. It is Jacobean in style, and was built in 1630 by the first Earl of Stirling. On his death in 1640 it passed into the possession of the Argyll family, and was the temporary residence of Charles II. in 1650, of the Duke of York in 1681; was the headquarters of the Duke of Argyll in 1715; and was occupied by the Duke of Cumberland in 1746 when he was on his march to the north. It was purchased by the government in 1799 and converted into a military hospital, for which it is still used. Above the doorway are the arms of the Earl of Stirling, with the mottos Per mare per terras, and Aut spero aut sperno. Above some of the windows is the boar's head of Argyll. Farther to the S is the ruin known as Mar's Work, the remains of the palace built by the Earl of Mar in 1570, and a notable specimen of the work of that age. Sir Robert Sibbald says that ` the Earl lived splendidly here, ' and that James VI. and his Queen resided in it till a portion of the Castle was got ready for their reception, but of the buildings which once surrounded a central quadrangular court only the front portion now remains, and it is very doubtful whether this was ever finished. Over the entrance gateway are the royal arms, while on the towers at either side are those of the Earl and his wife. As the stones used were taken from the Abbey of Cambuskenneth, the noble builder was at the time charged with sacrilege. The inscriptions on three tablets built into the wall seem to give his answer. The first is inscribed—

I pray al luikaris on this lugging
With gentile to gif thair juging.

Another—

The moir I stand on oppin hitht.
my faultis moir subject ar to sitht.,

And the third—

Esspy speik furth and spair notht,
Considdir weil I cair notht.

The 'luging' became in its turn a quarry, whence stones were procured for a churchyard wall at St Ninians, and had it not been that it sheltered the market-place from the west winds it would probably have been entirely removed. Opposite Argyll's Lodging was a house with a projecting turret, said to have been the residence of George Buchanan when he was here during the minority of James VI. Regent Morton's house occupied a site near the S corner of Broad Street; and E of Cowane's Hospital is a house said to have belonged to the Earl of Bothwell, and called Bothwell House or Bogle Hall. At the foot of Broad Street is Darnley House, bearing a tablet with the inscription ` The nursery of James VI. and his son Prince Henry; ' and at the S end of Bow Street was a house used as the mint. It was removed in 1870. Many of the houses in Broad Street and Baker Street are characteristic specimens of old Scottish architecture, and several of them have the quaint mottoes which our ancestors of the 16th and 17th centuries were so fond of. One at least takes a somewhat unusual form:—

Heir I forbeare my name or armcs to fix,
Least I or myne should sell these stones and sticks.

On another house is a stone tablet-possibly older than the house itself-with a tailor's scissors, and the inscription, ` This hous is foundit for support of ye puir be Robert Spittal, taill your to James ye 4th. Anno 1530, R. S.,

Other Public Buildings.—The Old Town House, built in 1701, is at the NW end of Broad Street, and contains the burgh court rooms and the police and parochial board offices. There is a tower with an illuminated clock and containing several good bells. The oldest has the inscription, ` The Counsell bell of Sterline. Overogge Fecit, 1656; ' another, ` Sit nomen Domini benedictum. Petrus Hermony me Fecit. Amstelodami, a. d. 1669.' There is also a chime of fifteen bells, one having the date 1729. In front stood formerly the town cross, formed by a pillar surmounted by a unicorn, and raised on four steps. It was removed in 1792, but the unicorn is preserved over the doorway of the town house. This was the place of public execution, and it was here that the priests were scoffed at in 1569; that Archbishop Hamilton was executed in 1571; that two poor rhymesters were hanged in 1579 for writing a satire on Regent Morton; and that Hardie and Baird were beheaded in 1820. Behind the Old Town House are the old county buildings and jail. The new Town Buildings-formerly the Athenæum-containing the council chamber and corporation offices, are at the junction of Baker Street and Spittal Street. The style is poor Italian, and there is a spire. Over the entrance is a statue of Sir William Wallace, executed by Handyside Ritchie at the expense of Mr William Drummond. The new County Buildings, on the E side of Barnton Place, were erected in 1874-75 at a cost of over £15, 000. The building is modified Scotch Baronial in style, and has a frontage of 120, and a depth of 80, feet, with turrets at the angles, and an ornamental porch at the main entrance. It contains a fine room for the justiciary courts, 56 feet long, 36 wide, and 26 high; sheriff and justice of peace court rooms, and the various county offices, including the headquarters of the county police. The new jail is on a commanding site to the SW of the Old Town House, and is a prominent castellated building erected in 1846-48 at a cost of more than £12, 000. The grounds cover a space of about 1 acre, and there is accommodation for 60 prisoners.

The Public Halls in Albert Place, between Port Street and Dumbarton Road, were erected in 1881-83 by a joint-stock company at a cost of about £12, 000, of which the Guildry of Stirling contributed £1000 in return for the use of the halls for guildry purposes. The internal arrangements are convenient and good. The east wing has a front of 98 feet, and the side to Albert Place a length of 157 feet. The large hall is 80 feet long, 67 wide, and 40 high, with accommodation for an audience of 800 in the area and 500 in the gallery. The platform at the W end is 4 feet 6 inches from the floor, and is 43 feet wide and 33 deep. Complete preparations have been made for theatrical performances, and the organ, constructed by Willis of London, cost £2000. The smaller hall to the E has accommodation for 250 persons. Over the centre doorway are the burgh arms. The building occupies the site of the old royal fish ponds. Some distance farther W is the Smith Institute, a plain but well designed building, Italian in style, erected in 1873-74 at a cost of over £6500. This building is due to a bequest of £22, 000 from T. S. Smith, formerly of Glassingall (1817-69), along with all his own paintings and those of other artists in his possession at the time of his death. Mr Smith intended to erect and endow the institution in his own lifetime, but this was prevented by his sudden death, and the design has been carried out by his trustees. The building contains two picture galleries 105 by 43 feet, and 43 by 27 feet; two museums measuring respectively 148 by 30 feet, and 44 by 24 feet; a library and reading-room 50 by 28 feet, besides offices and stores. Besides the founder's own works the galleries contain good pictures by John Phillip, David Cox, David Cox, jun., Harding, Maris, Ten Kate, George Cole, and Drummond. In the museum are a number of interesting objects, including the Stirling Jug, which, as the standard of the old Scotch pint, has been in the keeping of the town council since 1457, and possibly from an earlier date; the- old Linlithgow wheat firlot, made of wood hooped with brass, and adjusted at Edinburgh in 1754 to contain 21 pints and 1 mutchkin of the Stirling Jug, as settled by the Act of Parliament in 1618; or 73 lbs. and ¾ oz. French Troyes weight of Edinburgh fountain water. It contains 2197.34 cubic inches. There are also the standard bushel (1824), the chair of the Rev. James Guthrie already mentioned, a jougs, the axe and mask used at the execution of Baird and Hardie in 1820, and in the vestibule are several of the ` Stirling Heads ' from the Castle. The reading-room and library have the ceiling finished in the style of the old roof of the Parliament Hall, and contain the books belonging to the old Stirling Library (1804), and those since acquired by the trustees of the late John Macfarlane of Coneyhill. The Macfarlane Library was opened in 1882, and as the trust funds admit of a considerable sum being spent yearly on books, the library will in course of time become a very large and valuable one. Visitors, other than inhabitants of the parishes of Stirling, Kinbuck, and Dunblane, pay a small sum for admission. Cowane's Hospital, now the Guild Hall, high up on the ridge to the N of the Smith Institute, is a quaint old building of 1639. It owes its first name to a bequest of John Cowane, merchant in Stirling, and Dean of Guild from 1624 to 1630, and from 1631 to his death in 1633, who bequeathed £2222 sterling, or ` fortie thousand merkis usual money of this realme, to be employed on annual rent for building and erecting ane Hospitall or Almowshous wtin. the said Burt to be callit in all tyme cumyng Cowane's Hospitall. ' Twelve decayed members of the Guildry were to be maintained in the hospital, but it has been found more convenient to abandon the monastic system, and out of the annual income, which now amounts to over £2000, yearly allowances are paid to both male and female members of the Guildry varying from 3s. to 10s. per week. There are about 120 pensioners, and the patrons are the town council and the minister of the first charge. Over the doorway is a statue of the founder, and the inscription, " This Hospital was erected and largely provyded by John Cowane, Deane of Gild, for the Entertainement of Decayed Gild Breither. John Cowane, 1639. I was hungrie and ye gave me meate, I was thirstie and ye gave me drinke, I was a stranger and ye tooke me in, naked and ye clothed me, I was sicke and ye visited me. Matt. xxv. 35. ' Elsewhere on the E are-` And he which soweth bountifully shall repe bountifully. 2d Corinth. 9, 6. John Cowane; ' and ` He that hes mercie on the poor lendeth unto the Lord, and that which He Hath given He will pay him agane. Prov. 19, 17. John Cowane.' The great room now used as the Guild Hall has in the E end a stained-glass window in memory of the founder. It contains a number of interesting objects, including palmers' hats, several old Bibles, including that which belonged to Cowane himself, a fine old carved oak chest which also belonged to Cowane, a pulpit from the East Church, the old guildry and town flags, the standard wine gallon of 1707, with the crown, the initials A.R., and ` Anno Regni Vio.,' the old standard ell of 45 inches, the new yard and ell which ` wes adjusted at Edinburgh 26th of Feby. 1755 with great care by the Revd. Mr Alexr. Bryce; ' a set of old standard weights, running from ¼ lb. to 28 lbs., and a new set, dated 1707, running from 1/8 oz. to 28 lbs. The Guildry is said to date from the time of Alexander II. in 1226, who gave to the burgesses of the town ` ane mercat day, to witt the Saturday of everie week,' and ` lykwayis that they shall have their gildrie of merchds. excepting out of the same cloathe wakers and dyceplayers. We discharge and prohibit lykwayis stricklie that no man dwelling within the sherifdo. ne of Stirling without the burt shall make any cloathe ather litted or schorne after it is waked or cause make the same except our burgesses of Stirling who are of ye gildrie of ye merchds. ' This charter is known only from a confirmatory one by David II., but the latter monarch granted also in 1364 a general charter in favour of all the burgesses of Scotland, which the Stirling guildry were successful in enforcing in 1697 in a lawsuit in which it is recorded that they not only produced David's general charter but also ` the great Ring gifted by him to them.' This ring. which is unique, and was probably gifted to the brethren in 1360 when King David granted the charter to the burgh, still exists, and is a handsome gold hoop, with five stones set in the form of a cross. The whole weighs balf an ounce, and of the stones only a ruby and a garnet are real. On the outside of the hoop is the inscription in bold Roman capitals, ` Yis for ye deine of ye geild of Stirling.' It seems to have been originally intended to be worn on the forefinger, but it is now suspended from a chain, and used as one of the badges of the Dean of Guild for the time being. The Guildry Arms is the figure 4 reversed, in allusion, it is said, to Stirling being one of the ` four burghs.' Adjoining Cowane's Hospital is a good public bowling-green and a terrace on which are two of the cannon captured at Sebastopol. The Trades Hall, off the SW side of Spittal Street, is used as a meeting-place for the members of the incorporated trades, and has become associated with Spittal's Hospital. This latter, the oldest of the Stirling charitable endowments, originated with Robert Spittal, tailor to James IV., who about 1530 bequeathed certain lands to be held in trust to the town council, and the income derived from them applied to the support of decayed members of the seven incorporated trades. The plan of the beneficiaries wearing a particular dress and all living together has here also been abandoned, and the annual income, which now amounts to about £800, is divided among them in allowances varying from 2s. to 7s. weekly. In the hall is a tablet with the inscription, ` In order to relieve the distress of useful members of society, the ground within this wall, with the adjoining Hospital and lands for supplying it, were given to the Tradesmen of Stirling, in the year 1530, by Robert Spittal, who was Tailor to King James the Fourth of Scotland. He likewise gave part of his wealth for building useful bridges in this neighbourhood. Forget not, reader, that the scissors of this man do more honour to human nature than the swords of conquerors. To commemorate his benevolence the Seven Incorporated Trades of Stirling have erected this tablet. ' Spittal seems to have been fond of building bridges; that over the Teith at Doune is only one of those erected by him. Stirling has a number of other charitable funds of a like character, which may in this connection be noticed here. Allan's Hospital was founded by John Allan, a writer in Stirling, in 1724, ` for the maintenance and education of the indigent male children of tradesmen belonging to the Seven Incorporated Trades of Stirling and others., The intention here too was that the boys should live in a building to be erected for that purpose, and this was provided; but it is now used merely as a school, the annual revenue, which is about £700, being spent on 30 boys, who are admitted to the foundation at the age of 7 to 9 years, and remain in it for 5 years, during which time they receive free education, books, clothing, and an allowance of half a crown a week. Cunningham's Mortification (1808), with an income of about £200, bequeathed ` for maintaining, cloathing, and educating more poor boys of the guildry and mechanics of Stirling, and putting them to trades or business, " is now spent in the same way as the Allan fund, 18 boys being benefited by it. M `Laurin s Trust, instituted in 1838, for the erection and endowment of a school at Craigs, has funds amounting to over £2000; but they have not yet become available in consequence of being burdened with an annuity, the recipient of which still survives. On the SW side of Spittal Street, near the centre, is the Stirling Royal Infirmary. The building which it occupies, originally the Commercial Bank, was enlarged in 1883 at a cost of £1600. About 200 indoor and 1300 outdoor patients are treated every year. The poorhouse, hospital, and lunatic asylum for the district, erected in 1856 at a cost of £7000, is in Union Street, near the extreme N of the town. There is accommodation for 200 paupers. To the E of the Infirmary is the Corn Exchange, erected in 1838, where the weekly Friday markets are held. The path along the side leads through an opening in the old city wall to the Back Walk. At the corner of King Street and Murray Place is a handsome building, Italian in style, erected in 1863, at a cost of £5000, by Mr Peter Drummond as a tract depôt, and as the office of the well-known British Messenger and other religious publications of a like nature. Over the windows of the ground floors are carved heads representing Luther, Calvin, Zwingle, Wyklif, Knox, Guthrie, Whitefield, and Chalmers. Immediately behind this, between Murray Place and King Street, is Crawford's Arcade, Italian in style, built in 1881-82, with access to both streets, and containing a number of shops and a large central hall with accommodation for 1400 persons. Several of the banks are also good buildings.

Churches and Schools.—The High or Greyfriars Church, comprising the East and West parish churches, stands at the NW end of St John Street to the W of the Old Town Hall. The division into two churches took place in 1656. The building, which is 200 feet long, and has a massive square tower 90 feet high at the W end, consists of two portions of very different appearance and age. That to the W is the older and finer, and dates probably from the middle of the 13th century. The date generally given is 1494, but that is probably only the year when the monastery of the Greyfriars was founded, and the church became that of the convent. The massive round pillars of the four bays to the W, the flutings on the two pillars at the E end, and the style of the capitals and bases, as well as the appearance of the tower and the clerestory windows, all point to a date during the early period of the Early English style. The later appearance of the tracery of the aisle windows may be due to subsequent alteration. The large window at the NW corner was originally a doorway leading to a small chapel now unroofed and nearly level with the ground, but which at even a recent date had a roof on it. It is traditionally known as Queen Margaret's Chapel, and the rose and thistle on either side of the present window seem to indicate an English Queen Margaret. The wife of James IV. has been adopted as fulfilling the condition, but this window is so unlike those of the East Church, which dates from her time, that the identification of the Queen Margaret of the chapel with the wife of James IV. may probably be set aside as due merely to the common date of 1494. If this be so, the only queen who will answer is Margaret, the wife of Alexander III., and this brings us again to a date corresponding with the architectural style of the church. Two churches in Stirling are spoken of in the time of David I., one of them being the chapel-royal, which was dedicated by Alexander I., and the " vicar ' of the ` Kirk of Stirling ' is mentioned in 1315, and in the time of David II., and there are also notices of it in the reigns of Robert II. and Robert III., when it is designated as the church of the Holy Cross of Stirling, and the present West Church is in reality this parish church rebuilt during the reign of Alexander III. The fluted pillars at the E end may indicate the greater amount of elaboration always bestowed on the part nearest the altar. The church seems to have suffered injury by fire in the beginning of the 15th century, and grants for repairs were made by the exchequer in 1407 and 1410, and there is fresh mention of ` Ecclesie Sanete Crucis de Streveling' in 1450; while in the treasurer's accounts for 1500-1 there is a charge for repairing the windows of the Greyfriars Church at Stirling, a word which would hardly have been used had the church been new, and the windows in process of insertion for the first time. The choir, which now forms the East Church, was begun in 1507, and additions were made to it by Archbishop James Beaton (1523-39), the eastern window and chancel still retaining the name of Beaton's Aisle. The transept has never been erected. In the tower, from the top of which there is an extensive and beautiful view, are four bells, one of which, remarkable for its fine tone, is supposed to date from the 14th century. The church is connected with many important historical events. It was here that in 1543 the Regent Arran publicly renounced the Protestant religion; and here, too, in the following year, the convention met that appointed Mary of Guise regent. The convent, which seems to have stood on the site now occupied by Cowane's Hospital, was totally destroyed by the Reformers in 1559, but the church, though `purged' of its images, was not otherwise injured, and so was all ready, in 1567, to be the scene of the coronation of James VI., then an infant thirteen months old. In 1651 while General Monk was besieging the Castle, the tower was one of the points of vantage seized by his soldiers, and the little bullet pits all over it show how hot must have been the fire directed against its holders. It was also held by the Highlanders in 1746, and the bells rang out a merry peal in honour of the victory of Falkirk. It is wonderful that Cumber. land did not cause them to be broken. The West Church, which was extensively repaired in 1816, contains about 1100 sittings, and a proposal for its entire restoration is now under consideration. Underneath the W window behind the pulpit are marble tablets erected by the town council to William Drummond, Alexander Cunningham, John Allan, John Cowane, Robert Spittal, John M`Gibbon, and Thomas Stuart Smith - benefactors of the town. There are a number of other monuments - one being to Lieutenant-Colonel John Blackader (1664.1729), deputy governor of Stirling Castle - and a commencement has been made in inserting stained-glass windows. Ebenezer Erskine was one of the ministers. The East Church, which contains about 1100 sittings, was improved in 1808, and underwent thorough repair in 1869, since which time a large number of stained-glass windows have been introduced. One of the ministers was James Guthrie. An institute (1884) in connection with the East Church stands in Spittal Street, and cost, with the site, £1200. To the W of the High Church is the old churchyard with several noteworthy stones, the oldest bearing date 1523. Many of them have the reversed figure 4, showing that it marks the grave of a guild brother. One has the quaint inscription:—

Our life is but a winter day:
Some only breakfast, and away;
Others to dinner stay, and are full fed.
The oldest man but sups, and goes to bed.
Large is his debt that lingers out the day;
He that goes soonest has the least to pay.

To the N of the churchyard is the beautiful new cemetery, occupying ` The Valley ' already mentioned. In both 1745 and 1746 the ground here was selected by the Highland army as the site of batteries. In the cemetery there are statues of John Knox, Andrew Melvil, Alexander Henderson, James Renwick, James Guthrie, and Ebenezer Erskine, and a fine marble group, executed by Handyside Ritchie, commemorative of the heroism of the Wigtown Martyrs. At the base of the statue of Knox is the Rock Fountain, and on the N side of the ground is the structure known as the Star Pyramid or Salem Rock, with Scripture texts and symbolical designs. To the W of it is a granite cross, erected to the memory of the officers and men of the 75th (Stirlingshire) Regiment who fell in the Indian Mutiny. This portion of the ground was purchased and presented to the town by the late William Drummond (1792-1868), to whose generosity are also due the Star Pyramid, the statues of the heroes of the Reformation, and the memorial of the Wigtown Martyrs. Mr Drummond is buried near the pyramid.

A Dominican monastery, founded by Alexander II. in 1233, with a church and burying-ground, stood to the E of the present Blackfriars Street (formerly Friars Wynd), outside the old city wall, and on the site now occupied by the National Bank. It was here that Albany and his sons and the Earl of Lennox were buried, as also the pretended Richard II. The buildings, which formed the residence of Edward I. in 1298, were destroyed in 1559, but the churchyard was used till comparatively modern times, though the ground is now all appropriated for other purposes. A chapel dedicated to St Ninian stood near the South Port; and a copious spring near it, called St Ninian's Well, furnished the town till 1774 with the greater part of its necessary supply of water. Another important spring was the Butts Well behind the Smith Institute. The North Parish Church, on the E side o Murray Place, erected in 1842, is a good Norman building, with a low, massive, square tower. It contains about 1100 sittings. Marykirk, in St Mary's Wynd, formerly a mission church, belonging to Miss MacLagan of Ravenscroft, but now belonging to the Church of Scotland, has 481 sittings. The North Free Church, on the W side of Murray Place, is a good Early English building, with tower and spire, erected soon after the Disruption, and containing about 1000 sittings. The South Free Church, off the SW side of Spittal Street, has 760 sittings. The Craigs Free Church, which was, down to 1876, a Reformed Presbyterian church, was originally built in 1783, but was renovated in 1874. It contains 320 sittings. The Free West congregation erected a new church in Cowane Street in 1881-82 at a cost of £3000. It is a handsome building, with a tower having a fourdial clock and a bell. The Erskine United Presbyterian Church is within an enclosed plot on the SW side of St John Street, immediately SE of the prison, and was erected in 1826 in room of a previous church of 1740. It was considerably improved in 1876, and is a Romanesque building, with 1400 sittings. In the centre of the plot in front is a small mausoleum marking the burial-place of Ebenezer Erskine. This spot was, in the old church, immediately in front of the pulpit, but the new church was placed farther back. Viewfield U.P. church, on a small eminence at the corner of Barnton Place and Irvine Place, is a plain Gothic building, with a spire, erected in 1860 in place of a previous church. It contains about 750 sittings. Allan Park U.P. church, on the N side of Albert Place, is an Early English building, with tower and spire; was erected in 1865-67; and contains about 1000 sittings. The Congregational church, on the W side of Murray Place, reconstructed in 1842, is a good Tudor building, with 400 sittings. The Baptist church, on the E side of Murray Place, erected in 1854, has a good Gothic front, and contains 380 sittings. The Wesleyan church, on the SW side of Queen Street, is a plain building, with 550 sittings. The Episcopal church (Holy Trinity), in Albert Place, to the W of the Public Halls, is a fine First Pointed building, erected in 1875-78, at a cost of £10, 000, from designs by Dr Rowand Anderson, and containing 500 sittings - somewhat of a change since Bishop Gleig was incumbent, just a century ago, when the congregation of 50 met in a room in an old house in Spittal Street. The Roman Catholic church (St Mary's)" in Irvine Place, is a Gothic building, erected in 1838, and containing 500 sittings.

The High School is a handsome Elizabethan building, designed by Messrs Hay of Liverpool, and erected in 1855 at a cost of about £5000, of which sum £1000 was contributed by Colonel Tennent, £1000 by the town-council, and £3000 by public subscription. The original design embraced buildings round three sides of a quadrangle, but of these only the portion facing the street and containing class-rooms has been erected, the other two sides intended to contain a hall" lecture-room, and museum yet remaining unbuilt. There is accommodation for 414 pupils, and instruction in the usual branches are given by a rector, two masters for English, three for mathematics, two for classics, one for modern languages, one for drawing, and one for gymnastics. The High School superseded the old burgh schools for English, classics, and mathematics. It is one of the secondary schools scheduled under the Education Act, and is now managed by the burgh school board (9 members), under whom are also Allan's, Craigs, Raploch, St Ninian's, the Stirling Infant, and the Territorial schools, which, with accommodation for 347, 450, 54, 348, 233, and 236 pupils respectively, had, in 1884, attendances of 279, 408, 36, 183, 218, and 230, and grants of £247, 13s. 6d., £391, 12s. 1d., £28, £165, 2s. 6d., £154, 13s., and £192, 12s. In the same year the elementary department of the High School had an attendance of 192, and a grant of £200, 10s. There are also a School of Art in connection with South Kensington, Episcopal and Roman Catholic day schools, and two industrial schools - one for boys and one for girls. The Territorial school, a good building beside the West Free Church, was greatly enlarged in 1884.

Trade, etc.—Cotton manufacture in connection with the Glasgow cotton trade was largely carried on in the end of last and the beginning of the present century, but has since declined. The manufacture of shalloons was carried on to a considerable extent, so far back as the end of the 16th century, chiefly for export to the Netherlands, but it has long disappeared, having been replaced shortly after the beginning of last century by the manufacture of tartans. This industry flourished till about 1750, but thereafter fell off so much that in 1792 the weaving of tartans was almost entirely neglected, though the making of carpets was extensively carried on. It revived again, however, about 1820, in consequence of the Highland fever that sprang up after the publication of Waverley, and again made great progress about 1865; so that along with the kindred branches of tartan-shawls, tweeds, winceys, carpets, and yarn-spinning and dyeing, it is now the principal manufacture of the neighbourhood, the annual value of the produce being about £300,000. The preparation of leather, brewing, coach-making, and the manufacture of agricultural implements are also extensively carried on. The quay, or rather jetty, is about 1 furlong NE of the main part of the town at the point where Shore Road touches the river, but the shipping trade is now almost entirely superseded by the railway traffic. The port has, since 1707, been a creek under Alloa, and the depth of water at the wharf is 5½ feet at neap tides, and 11 feet at spring tides. A steamer plies daily to and from Leith, but its sailings are very inconvenient, as they require to be regulated by the hour of high water, and the windings of the Forth make the voyage rather tedious. The railway station, near the centre of the E side of the town, is, as has been already remarked, an important centre of communication. A tramway line from Port Street to Bridge of Allan was constructed in 1874.

Municipality, etc.—Stirling, as we have already seen, is mentioned as a burgh in the reign of David I., but the earliest known charter is one granted by Alexander II. in 1226. The original deed is lost, but the purport is engrossed at full length in the earliest charter now in existence - that granted by David II. in 1360. Confirming and extending deeds have been granted by later monarchs, the last and governing charter being that given by King Charles I. at Holyrood in 1641, in which the burgh is referred to as `ane of the maist ancient burghes of this his Hienes Kingdom of Scotland, being erected before the days of umquhile King Alexander.' It was one of the four burghs - the others being Edinburgh, Berwick, and Roxburgh, or, when Berwick and Roxburgh were in the hands of the English, Edinburgh, Linlithgow, and Lanark - constituting the Curia Quatuor Burgorum, a partly legislative, partly judicial, body, which afterwards grew into the Convention of Royal Burghs. The older of the two burgh seals shows a bridge of seven arches, with a cross rising over the centre one, with Christ extended. Above His right hand is a star, and above His left a crescent. To the right of the cross are three soldiers with bows, and on the left three armed with spears. The motto is, Hic armis Bruti Scoti stant hic cruce tuti. On the opposite side of the matrix is a castle with trees, and round about is the motto, Continet hoc in se nemus et castrum Strivelinse. The one in use is smaller, and shows a wolf couchant over a rock, and the motto is Oppidvm Sterlini. The register of sasines commences in 1473, and the regular series of Council records in 1597, though some fragments exist of others extending back to 1561. Some of the early entries refer to matters which still require looking after. For instance, in 1561 `the consall ordanis' that `tavernares sall all stamp thair stowpis;' and that `nane wyne be sauld derrar nor xiiid. the pynt, under the paine of confiscing oft the pece;' and in 1562 `the counsall, havand consideratioun that thair is certane puir barnis greting and crying nychtlie under stairis for falt of lugeing, hes grantit that olklie ane laid of colis be laid in to the almous hous for lugeing of the saidis puris during this winter tyme.' In 1594 we find them, in view of the `baptisme of the Prince,' making rules as to the price of wine - which, having been bought `upone verray hie prices,' was to be sold at seven shillings a pint - and the rent of rooms, which was to be five shillings for `ane chalmer weill provydit in all necessaris, honest in apparrell, everie bed being within the chalmer,' while the rent of `chalmeris and bedding in simple sort' was to be settled `at the discretioun of the magistrat of the quarter.' In the same year it was also found necessary to fix fines for absent and late members of council; while in 1597 watches were set at the bridge and port, to prevent all and sundry from entering therein unless they could give an account of themselves. In 1773 three members of the council - which was then elected under the old close system - having entered into an illegal combination to keep themselves and their friends in office for life, the matter was taken to the Court of Session, and by the casting-vote of the lordpresident the election was declared `null and void,' and the town was deprived of its corporate privileges. An appeal was taken to the House of Lords, when Boswell was one of the counsel, some of his arguments being furnished by Dr Johnson; but the decision was confirmed, and till 1781 there was no corporation. In that year the king granted the petition of the inhabitants, praying him to restore the burghal privileges; but the set was altered, and the franchise vested in the burgesses all together; and this continued to be the case till the passing of the Municipal Reform Act of 1883. Since that time the Police Act has also been adopted. The modern town council consists of a provost, 4 bailies, a treasurer, a dean of guild, and 14 councillors - the town being, for municipal purposes, divided into four wards. The magistrates acquired, in 1501, the hereditary sheriffship of the burgh, and the provost is also styled highsheriff, and the bailies sheriffs. They have inside the burgh concurrent jurisdiction with the sheriff. The corporation revenue was, in 1832, £2295, in 1884, £2721. The town council acts also as the police commission, and maintains a police force of 15 men (1 to each 1067 of the population), under a superintendent with a yearly salary of £150. Water was introduced from Gillies Hill in 1774, and the present supply comes from the Touch Hills. The works are managed by a body of water commissioners elected partly by the town council and partly by ratepayers. Gas is supplied by a jointstock company, with works near the station. Besides the guildry there are seven trades incorporated by royal charter, viz., hammermen, weavers, shoemakers, tailors, butchers, skinners, and bakers, and four incorporated by seal of cause from the magistrates - mechanics, barbers, carters, and maltmen. The town has a head post office, with money order, savings' bank, and telegraph departments, branch offices of the Bank of Scotland, British Linen Company, Clydesdale, Commercial, National, Royal, and Union Banks, a National Security Savings' Bank, and agencies of 47 insurance companies. There are a number of excellent hotels. A religious newspaper called the British Messenger is published monthly, and the newspapers are the Conservative Stirling Journal (1820), published on Friday; the Liberal Stirling Observer (1873), published on Thursday; the Conservative Reporter (1859) and the Liberal Stirling Saturday Observer (1836), both published on Saturday. Among the miscellaneous institutions may be noticed a subscription reading-room in Murray Place, a Natural History and Archæological Society (formerly the Field Club), an Agricultural Society, a Horticultural Society, a Choral Society, cricket, football, curling, and angling clubs, a Religious Tract Society, a Young Men's Christian Association, and the usual religious and philanthropic associations. There is a weekly market every Friday, and cattle fairs are held on the first Fridays of March, April, and May; horse and cattle fairs on the first Friday of February and the last Friday of May; and there is a hiring fair on the third Friday of October. There is a resident sheriff-substitute, and ordinary courts are held every Tuesday and Thursday during session, and small debt courts every Thursday. A justice of peace small debt court is held on the first Monday of every month, and for other business as may be required. Quarter sessions are held on the first Tuesday of March, May, and August, and on the last Tuesday of October. Stirling unites with Inverkeithing, Dunfermline, Queensferry, and Culross in returning a member to serve in parliament, and is the returning burgh, but under the Redistribution of Seats Bill now before Parliament, it is proposed to assign a member to Stirling and Falkirk. Parliamentary constituency (1885) 2048; municipal, 2085, including 464 females. Valuation (1865) £43,158; (1875) £57,854, inclusive of £3686 for railways and £49 for tramways; (1885) £77, 760, inclusive of £3823 for railways and £104 for tramways. Pop. of royal burgh (1841) 8307, (1861) 10,271, (1871) 10,873, (1881) 12,194. Pop. of parliamentary burgh, the size of which has been already indicated, (1861) 13, 707, (1871) 14,279. (1881) 16, 013, of whom 7588 are males and 8425 females. Of these 13,167 are in Stirling parish and 2845 in St Ninians, 1647 being in St Ninians village. Houses (1881) 3369 inhabited, 270 uninhabited, and 99 being built. Of these 2760, 185, 90 were in Stirling parish, and the rest in St Ninians parish, 371, 64, 0 being in St Ninians village. Of the whole population in 1881, 630 men and 154 women were connected with the civil and military services and with professions, 126 men and 832 women were domestic servants, 673 men and 20 women were engaged in commerce, 160 men and 86 women in farming and fishing, 3132 men and 1073 women in handicrafts or dealers in manufactured substances, and there were 2695 boys and 2709 girls of school age.

See also Sir Robert Sibbald's History and Description of Stirlingshire (Edinb. 1710); Nimmo's History of Stirlingshire (1st ed., Edinb. 1777; 2d, Stirling, 1817; 3d, Edinb. 1880); Sutherland's General History of Stirling (Stirling, 1794); Chalmer's Caledonia (180724); Mrs Graham's Lacunar Strevilense (1817); R. Chambers' Picture of Stirling (Edinb. 1830); History of the Chapel Royal of Stirling (Grampian Club, Edinb. 1882); a number of papers in the Proceedings of the Natural History and Archæological Society; Local Notes and Queries reprinted from the Stirling Observer (Stirling, 1883); and Charters and other Documents relating to the Royal Burgh of Stirling (Glasg. 1884).


(F.H. Groome, Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland (1882-4); © 2004 Gazetteer for Scotland)

Linked entities:
Feature Description: "a market town"   (ADL Feature Type: "cities")
Administrative units: Stirling Burgh       Stirlingshire ScoCnty
Place names: STIRLING     |     STRIVELIN
Place: Stirling

Go to the linked place page for a location map, and for access to other historical writing about the place. Pages for linked administrative units may contain historical statistics and information on boundaries.