Falkirk
has had a Steeple for around 400 years, the present structure being the third
to occupy the site. Little is known about the first Steeple, but by 1697 it
had fallen into disrepair and a local mason, William Stevenson, was given the
task of demolishing it and building a replacement.
It was from the upper floors of the second
Steeple that a number of of townspeople are said to have watched the Second
Battle of Falkirk in January 1746, at which the Jacobite army under Lord George
Murray defeated a force of Government soldiers.
Local legend has it that the commander of
the Government army, General Henry Hawley, broke his sword in disgust against
the Mercat Cross as his troops fled through the town and on to Linlithgow.
The site of the Cross is marked in the cobbles a few yards west of the present
Steeple.
In 1801, a Mr William
Glen, who owned property to the east of the Steeple, was given permission
by Forbes of Callendar to make use of the ground floor of the Steeple provided
he did nothing to endanger the structure of the building. Despite this agreement,
Glen began digging around the foundations of the Steeple which, as a result
of this, began to subside. By 1803, this had become so bad that the building
had to be demolished and, for the second time in just ove 100 years, Falkirk
found itself without a Steeple.
By 1812, the Stentmasters,
a group of men from the town who were responsible for raising money for the
upkeep of public buildings and services, decided it was time to build a new
Steeple. The architect David
Hamilton designed the new structure and, in December 1812, a local builder
named Henry Taylor began the construction. The new Steeple was 140 feet high,
and built of Brightons sandstone. The work cost £1460 and was completed in
June 1814.
The only major work done on the
exterior of the building since then was the replacement of the topmost 40
feet of the tower whch was blown off by a lightening strike in June 1927.
Luckily, a heavy rainstorm had cleared the streets and the falling masonry
claimed only a Barr's delivery horse, named Irn Bru, which was standing below.
Stonework from the damaged tower was found as far away as Bank Street and
Vicar Street.
Internally the Steeple
has four levels. The ground floor was inteded to be the town office and is
today the site of the Information Centre and Box Office. In the upper floors,
there are two prison cells and a jailers room. The Steeple has not been used
as a prison for a great many years, and one of the cell doors has been removed
to Falkirk museum. The doors above the cells contain the Clocks,
the bell and a large number of pigeons ! A system of ladders give access to
the top of the tower.
Falkirk Steeple is today listed
as an ancient monument and as such is protected against external alteration.
A few years ago the sandstone was cleaned and restored to it's natural honey
colour, which did much to improve the building's appearance. Standing in the
middle of the town, the Steeple will remain a symbol to all Falkirk's Bairns
worldwide for many years to come.
This article written by John Walker. |
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Falkirk High Street with Steeple - 1890.
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| The damage to the Steeple after being
struck by lightning in 1927. |
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