Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
castle, taut along the edge of the crag. It's a great way to take in the castle's setting, and
gives panoramic views of the countryside.
Argyll's Lodging
At the top of Castle Wynd • Guided tour only; book on
T
01786 450000 • Entry included with ticket to Stirling Castle; HS
Argyll's Lodging
is a romantic Renaissance townhouse built by Sir William Alexander of
Menstrie in the seventeenth century. Once the home of Alexander, the first earl of Stirling,
it was later used as a military hospital and youth hostel. he oldest part of the building,
with its low ceilings and tiny windows, is the Great Kitchen, whose enormous fireplace
comes complete with a special recess for salt, while the Drawing Room, hung with lavishly
decorated purple tapestries, contains the ninth earl's imposing chair of state.
Mar's Wark and Church of the Holy Rude
Church of the Holy Rude
Easter-Sept daily 11am-4pm
Down Castle Wynd and at the top of Broad Street, a richly decorated facade is about all
that survives of
Mar's Wark
, a would-be palace that the first earl of Mar, regent of Scotland
and hereditary Keeper of Stirling Castle, started in 1570. His dream house was never to be
realized, however, for he died two years later and what had been built was left to ruin, its
degeneration speeded up by extensive damage during the 1745 Jacobite rebellion.
Behind here is the
Church of the Holy Rude
, the oldest parts of which, including the
impressive oak hammer-beam ceiling, date from the early fifteenth century.
7
John Cowane's Hospital
49 St John St • May-Oct 10am-4.30pm, Nov-April Tues-Sun 10.30am-5pm • Free •
W
cowanes.org.uk
Near the Church of the Holy Rude and on the edge of the crag, the rugged,
whitewashed
John Cowane's Hospital
was built in 1649 as an almshouse for, at its
founder John Cowane's request, “decayed [unsuccessful] members of the Guild of
Merchants”. Above the entrance, Cowane, a wealthy merchant himself, is
commemorated in a painted statue that, it is said, comes alive at Hogmanay. he
almshouse now houses a little
café
, and visitors can have a wander round the hall.
Old Town Jail
St John St • End May to Oct daily 10am-5pm • £6.50 •
W
oldtownjail.com
A sweeping driveway leads from St John Street and up to the impressive
Old Town Jail
, built
by Victorian prison reformers as an alternative to the depravity of the medieval Tolbooth.
Subsequently used as a military jail, it was rescued from dereliction in 1994, with part of
the building turned into o
ces and a substantial section used to create an entertaining
visitor attraction. Telling the history of the building and prisons in general, tours are taken
by actors, who enthusiastically change costumes and character a number of times; among
the features of the jail they'll introduce you to is a working example of the dreaded crank, a
lever that prisoners had to turn 14,400 times a day. Take the glass lift up to the prison roof
to admire spectacular views across Stirling and the Forth Valley.
Opposite and just uphill from the entrance to the Old Town Jail on St John Street,
look out for the
Boys' Club
, a 1929 conversion of the town's old butter market, with its
encouraging little mottoes engraved above the door such as “Keep smiling” and
“Quarrelling is taboo”.
Tolbooth
Jail Wynd • Daily from 9am • See website for admission charges •
T
01786 274000,
W
tolbooth.stirling.gov.uk
he town's original medieval prison is the
Tolbooth
, now an innovative music and arts
centre. Originally built in 1705, the striking modern redevelopment received an
architectural award as the UK's best public building. During the renovations a secret
staircase was discovered, as was a complete skeleton, thought to have been that of the
last man publicly hanged in Stirling. Inside there's access to a top-floor viewing
