The Mosaics
As part of the Stirling 900 celebrations, on Saturday 11 May 2024, the Friends of Kings Park presented a guided walk round the public park to tell some of its history as represented by 9 mosaic panels dotted around the park. Together, they form a heritage trail illustrating historical events in the park and of the wider, ancient Royal Park of Stirling. The walk was led by Lidia Becci, committee member and former Chair of the group.
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The idea for the panels for the mosaic came from the Friends of Kings Park and its Kings Park History leaflet. The mosaics were developed in 2011 from artwork by students at St Modan's High School, supervised by artist Meredith Crone and supported by the Friends of Kings Park.
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The stories that the mosaics tell is given here and is summarised below:
Roman Road
The centurion represents the Roman army’s presence in the park. The exact route of an ancient road though the park is not known but excavations revealed it probably ran from Beechwood Park, through the Kings Park’s main entrance area and onwards to the Kings Knot and Raploch.
The Wolf
The wolf is the symbol of Stirling. Legend states that around 900 AD, the wolf saved Stirling from attack by howling during a night-time, Viking raid on the town, so alerting the citizens and saving it from pillage.
James IV
Few records exist of the old park until the 1493 -1507 period when James IV commissioned the redesign of the park. It was called the Kings Park and encompassed a hunting park and included the Kings Knot, the Haining, a tiered orchard site under the castle and grazing cattle land.
Stirling Races
Horse racing took place in the Kings Park before and during the 19th C. Around 1800, the park loch was drained and a raised embankment formed to create a flat, horse-racing circular route around the park. The Stirling Races were popular, with the Stirling Gold cup, the main prize.
The Knight
Jousting in early medieval times tended to be fierce, bloody affairs so the tournaments were probably held some distance away from the Castle, possibly near Victoria Square but in 1506 they moved to directly beneath Stirling Castle, known as the Butt Park.
Park Loch
One of James IV’s improvements to his park was the creation of a loch as a Royal water feature. It appeared to cover 6 acres, was well stocked with fish and attracted herons and swans. In 1434, Treasurer accounts referred to payment made to the loch keeper for a net for fishing.
Golfer
Golf had been a popular sport of monarchs in Scotland since the 14thC. James IV is said to have purchased golf balls for his game in the Royal Park in 1505. Stirling Golf club dates from 1869 with a seven hole course but extended to a full, 18 hole course in 1912.
World War 1
In October 1914, 4,000 troops, including army reservists and territorials, arrived in Stirling to prepare for service in the Great War. A temporary training camp was set up in Kings Park with 500 men from the City of Glasgow Argyll Brigade billeted.
Circuit of Britain Air Race
In May 1911, the Daily Mail sponsored a “Circuit of Britain Air Race” with a £10,000 prize. Starting in Surrey with 17 competitors and 11 stops on route, the race reached Stirling where the event triggered great excitement with 8,000 people gathered in Kings Park when the first plane landed on 25th July.