Commune with Stirling's dead: from heroes to slave owners!

Can you help Stirling's Historic Cemeteries?

Stirling’s Dead Centre

Death and taxes are famously the only certainties in life but while all of will die not all of us will be buried in a cemetery like the countless generations before us. I for one am going to donate my body to medical science…..and yes I can hear the jokes…what is it about my unique appearance and body that is so attractive to medical science?

Anyway as many of you know I often lead tours through the Old Town Cemetery. Its wonderful and unique in Britain. At no other cemetery is so much history crammed into such a small space. There are perhaps 1000 years of burials, its enclosed by the City Wall (the best preserved in Scotland), its where Edward I set up the world’s largest trebuchet the infamous Loup de Guerre (The War Wolf), Mary Queen of Scots held her famous triumph here, celebrating the baptism of the future James VIth and its where vicious street fighting took place in 1650 and where Bonnie Prince Charlie initially besieged the Castle in 1746. The cemetery is full of heroes and villains from across Britain’s imperial past from Generals who relived Lucknow to slave owners, from SAS members who went missing in action in occupied France to men who fell storming the beaches on D-Day. The youngest veteran is a 14 year old drummer boy James Macdonald of the 72nd Highlanders who died in April 1869. The oldest marked burial (not the oldest gravestone) is a friar who made have met Wallace, Edward I and Robert the Bruce.

James MacDonald’s grave.

It along with the Castle Esplanade is Stirling’s only 24/7 attraction…I have watched both the sun rise and set from the Ladies Rock, I have seen the Northern lights from the esplanade and watched meteor showers amongst the dead (though not for long as I got scared!).

There is still much to learn and explore and I’m hoping in 2025 to organise volunteers to help with a bit of gardening: snip tree saplings before they become trees, maintain views of the lost bastion built to protect Stirling’s last surviving medieval gate, plant border to mark the watch house built to deter grave robbers, plant wild flowers to help bees. If your interested in helping please let me know m.j.cookstirling35@gmail.com

My next guided walk of the cemetery is Sunday 6th of October…watch this space for how to book

A Pictish Imperial Plantation: Logie Old Kirk

For my many sins I am the chair of Friends of Logie Old Kirk and this wonderful wee church has been managed and looked after for the last 10 years and all started by the wonderful Joe and Eleanor Young.

This kirk was likely founded after 685 when the Picts chased the Northumbrians out of what would become Scotland and established the Forth as the Frontier, a situation that would endure till c 1124. While a quiet wee backwater now the church was so significant around 900 that it has up to four Viking hogbacks. It has an amazing collection of 17th and 18th century stones. The volunteers help cut the grass and give guided tours but there is again also a chance to change the planting and to help bees and birds.

If you’ve not been for a look…shame on you but your welcome to come. If you fancy helping please contact us.

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A Lost Monastery and a Pictish Mystery: Old Kilmadock

The most beautiful of all of Stirling’s historic cemeteries is Old Kilmadock (kil-mo-dock, the church/cell of the beloved dock), on the Teith to the west of Doune. For the last few years this has been managed by the ROOKs (The Rescuers of Old Kilmadock), a very welcoming bunch.

Their biggest discovery was a lost Pictish cross which I helped lift and we are currently researching (the following link is to a scan by Dr Megan Kasten of Glasgow University’s OG(H)AM Project). This internationally significant cross, Stirling earliest Christian monument contains both Pictish art and an Irish ogham inscription, a further stone in a cursive script reflect another tradition and appears to be a unique cluster in Scotland. Are there lost Pictish gods in the pattern (the birds heads) diminished by Christ’s triumph?

At the same time OK is the only place in Scotland where three old church names occur at the same spot: Kil- (as we heard above) but also Annet (the burn) and Eggles (Gaelic for church). The site is incredibly important and must be a lost monastery. But when was it built? Before or after 685 and what does that mean for Pictish art? And what does that ogham inscription say?

If you want to visit the site or help the ROOKS please get in touch.

The Reverend Reverand Kirk and his Trip to Fairyland

A new addition to our volunteer managed cemeteries is the one at Aberfoyle looked after by the FORKs….(Friends of Robert Kirk) the wonderful Mike and Angie. As you will know the local minster Robert Kirk is claimed to have spent some time with the fairies!

The cemetery itself is a lovely little spot and has the best mortsafes in Scotland (iron covers built to stop graverobbers). The image below is from the following website

Kippen Heritage

For many years the local group in Kippen have been trying to sort their cemetery and church which is closed due to the dangerous nature of their ruinous church and I’m very pleased to let you know that progress is being made and the kirk will soon be safe enough to allow the cemetery to be tackled!

The two most famous burials here are a woman kidnapped by Roby Roy’s son (Jane Kay) and the local minister a Covenanter who took up arms against the state and ended up on the run. His mum died under questioning. Watch this space for how to get involved and when you can visit.

St Ninians

I have of course saved the best for last….the wonderful St Ninians. This I think is perhaps the most important church in Stirling (even more so than the Holy Rude though its a close run thing).

I think this is a cradle of Christianity in Scotland and was visited by the actual St Ninian over 1500 years ago. It was rebuilt by James IVth and blown up by Bonnie Prince Charlie and is currently locked as its so dangerous. We are hoping to gain access and manage the graves, give tours and improve biodiversity. Plans are at a very early stage but if your interested please email me m.j.cookstirling35@gmail.com

Running out of space……

Before I run out of space and time HES have spent a fortune stabilising Dunblane Cathedral cemetery and the volunteers there are running regular tours.

and so are the good people of Gargunnock and their fabby little kirk….

Have a question? Get in contact!

Conclusions….

Our cemeteries are and have been at the centre of our communities for over 1000 years. They are places of commemoration, identity, grief and celebration, public art galleries, places for pollinators, and yes even tourist attractions. If we want them to last another 1000 years they need a little bit of help. Even if you can’t do much, go for a visit and a change of pace and remember that too will end up here one day. Who will tend our graves if we do not care for those that came before us?