Editing Stirling (section)

== History ==
===Ancient history===
A stone [[cist]], found in Coneypark Nursery<ref>{{cite web|title=OS 25 inch map 1892–1949, with Bing opacity slider|url=http://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=16&lat=56.1139&lon=-3.9594&layers=168&b=1|website=National Library of Scotland|publisher=Ordnance Survey|access-date=12 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121130162106/http://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=16&lat=56.1139&lon=-3.9594&layers=168&b=1|archive-date=30 November 2012|url-status=live}}</ref> in 1879, is Stirling's oldest catalogued artefact.<ref name=Canmore>{{Canmore |num=46189 |desc=Cairn (Period Unassigned), Cist(S) (Period Unassigned), Beaker|access-date=11 February 2017}}</ref> Bones from the cist were [[Radiocarbon dating|radiocarbon dated]] and found to be over four millennia old, originating within the date range 2152 to 2021 BC.<ref>{{cite news|last1=McNeill|first1=Alastair|title=Stirling's oldest resident revealed to be 4000-year-old 'Torbrex Tam'|url=http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/local-news/stirlings-oldest-resident-revealed-4000-11449217|access-date=3 November 2017|agency=Daily Record|date=1 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171104034008/http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/local-news/stirlings-oldest-resident-revealed-4000-11449217|archive-date=4 November 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> Nicknamed Torbrex Tam, the man, whose bones were discovered by workmen, died while still in his twenties.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Hutchison|first1=A.F.|title=Transactions 1878–1879|date=1898|publisher=Stirling Field Club (now Stirling Natural History and Archaeological Society)|location=Stirling|pages=13–22|url=https://archive.org/stream/transactions45socigoog#page/n27/mode/2up|access-date=4 November 2017}}</ref> Other [[Bronze Age]] finds near the city come from the area around [[Cambusbarron]].<ref>{{cite web|last1=Paterson|first1=P. T.|title=Byegone Days of Cambusbarron|url=http://cambusbarron.com/about/bygone_days_cambusbarron.html|website=cambusbarron dot com|access-date=7 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170408082316/http://cambusbarron.com/about/bygone_days_cambusbarron.html|archive-date=8 April 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> It had been thought that the Randolphfield standing stones were more than 3000 years old but recent radiocarbon dating suggests they may date from the time of Bruce.<ref>{{cite news|title='Ancient' standing stones are linked to 1314 battle|url=http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/14994252.___Ancient____standing_stones_are_linked_to_1314_battle/|access-date=7 April 2017|agency=Herald & Times Group|work=The Herald|date=30 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170408082321/http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/14994252.___Ancient____standing_stones_are_linked_to_1314_battle/|archive-date=8 April 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> 
The earliest known structures in Stirling are now destroyed but comprised two Neolithic Cursus in Bannockburn.<ref>{{cite web |title=Bannockburn West |url=https://canmore.org.uk/site/47257/bannockburn-west |access-date=21 May 2020 |website=canmore.org.uk}}</ref> To the south of Stirling is [[Gillies Hill]] which contains a series of prehistoric fortifications. Two structures are known: what is currently called Wallstale Dun<ref>{{cite web|url=http://canmore.rcahms.gov.uk/en/site/46232/details/wallstale/|title=Wallstale – Canmore|website=canmore.rcahms.gov.uk|access-date=7 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140508103355/http://canmore.rcahms.gov.uk/en/site/46232/details/wallstale/|archive-date=8 May 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> on the southern end of Touchadam Craig, and Gillies Hill fort<ref>{{cite web|url=http://canmore.rcahms.gov.uk/en/site/46246/details/gillies+hill/|title=Gillies Hill – Canmore|website=canmore.rcahms.gov.uk|access-date=7 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140508111132/http://canmore.rcahms.gov.uk/en/site/46246/details/gillies+hill/|archive-date=8 May 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> on the northwest end of the craig. Both structures were built by Iron Age peoples and Gillies Hill is c 2500 years old while the Wallstale structure is later and is related in form to brochs, these appear to coincide with the Roman period and there are around 40 or so in the wider area. South of the city, the King's Park prehistoric carvings (cup and ring marks) can still be found, these date to c 3000 BC.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://megalithix.wordpress.com/2008/11/25/kings-park-stirling-stirlingshire/ |title=King's Park, Stirling, Stirlingshire " The Northern Antiquarian |publisher=Megalithix.wordpress.com |date=25 November 2008 |access-date=14 July 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090729104220/http://megalithix.wordpress.com/2008/11/25/kings-park-stirling-stirlingshire/ |archive-date=29 July 2009 |url-status=live }}</ref> 

===Roman and early Medieval===
[[File:Stirlingcastle.jpg|thumb|left|[[Stirling Castle]] (southwest aspect)]]Its other notable geographic feature is its proximity to the lowest crossing point of the River Forth. Control of the bridge brought military advantage in times of unrest and excise duty, or [[pontage]] dues,<ref>{{cite book|last1=Fleming|first1=James Sturk|title=The old Castle Vennal of Stirling : and its occupants, with the old brig of Stirling / by J.S. Fleming; illustrated by ... the author; with introductory chapter by John Honeyman|date=1906|publisher=Observer office|location=Stirling|pages=151–160|url=https://archive.org/stream/oldcastlevennalo00flem#page/151/mode/1up|access-date=5 April 2017}}</ref> in peacetime. Unsurprisingly excise men were installed in a covered booth in the centre of the bridge to collect tax from any entering the royal burgh with goods.<ref>{{cite book|last=Durie|first=Bruce|title=The Story of Stirling|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cI_YBAAAQBAJ&pg=PT39|year=2014|publisher=History Press|isbn=978-0-7509-6040-3|page=39}}</ref> Stirling remained the river's lowest reliable crossing point (that is, without a weather-dependent ferry or seasonal [[Ford (crossing)|ford]]<ref>{{cite web|last1=Shave|first1=Paul|title=UPPER FORTH RIVER TO STIRLING|url=http://www.fyca.org.uk/Cruising/CruisingGuide/cruisingP17.htm|website=Forth Yacht Clubs' Association|access-date=11 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140507013258/http://www.fyca.org.uk/Cruising/CruisingGuide/cruisingP17.htm|archive-date=7 May 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref>) until the construction of the [[Alloa Swing Bridge]] between [[Throsk]] and [[Alloa]] in 1885.<ref>{{cite web|title=OS 25 inch, 1892–1905|url=http://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=12&lat=56.0953&lon=-3.7817&layers=168&b=1|website=National Library of Scotland|publisher=Ordnance Survey|access-date=3 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121130162106/http://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=12&lat=56.0953&lon=-3.7817&layers=168&b=1|archive-date=30 November 2012|url-status=live}}</ref>

The city has two [[Latin]] mottoes, which appeared on the earliest burgh seal<ref>{{cite web|title=Stirling (Scotland)|url=http://www.ngw.nl/heraldrywiki/index.php?title=Stirling_(Scotland)#Burgh|website=Heraldry of the World|access-date=3 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170404044525/http://www.ngw.nl/heraldrywiki/index.php?title=Stirling_(Scotland)#Burgh|archive-date=4 April 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> of which an impression of 1296 is on record.<ref>RM Urquhart, ''Scottish Burgh and County Heraldry'', London, 1973</ref> The first alludes to the story as recorded by [[Boece]] who relates that in 855 Scotland was invaded by two [[Kingdom of Northumbria|Northumbrian]] princes, [[Osberht of Northumbria|Osbrecht]] and [[Ælla of Northumbria|Ella]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Nimmo|first1=William|last2=Gillespie|first2=Robert|title=The history of Stirlingshire|date=1880|publisher=Thomas D. Morison|location=Glasgow|pages=63–64|url=https://archive.org/stream/historyofstirlin01nimm#page/64/mode/1up/search/osbrecht|access-date=7 April 2017}}</ref> They united their forces with the Cumbrian Britons<ref>{{cite book|last1=Holinshed|first1=Raphael|title=Holinshed's Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland 1577 (Vol 1)|date=1807|publisher=J. Johnson [etc.]|location=London|pages=203–204|url=https://archive.org/stream/holinshedschroni01holi#page/203/mode/1up/search/the+Britons+had+all+the+lands+from+Sterling+to+the+Ireland+seas|access-date=15 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160413022354/http://www.archive.org/stream/holinshedschroni01holi#page/203/mode/1up/search/the+Britons+had+all+the+lands+from+Sterling+to+the+Ireland+seas|archive-date=13 April 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> in order to defeat the Scots. Having secured Stirling castle, they built the first stone bridge over the Forth.

On the top they reportedly raised a crucifix with the inscription: "Anglos, a Scotis separat, crux ista remotis; Arma hic stant Bruti; stant Scoti hac sub cruce tuti."<ref>{{cite book|last1=Stewart|first1=William|last2=Turnbull|first2=William B.|title=The buik of the croniclis of Scotland : or, A metrical version of the History of Hector Boece|date=1858|publisher=Published by the authority of the Lords Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury, under the direction of the Master of the Rolls – Longman, Brown, Green, Longmans, and Roberts|pages=441–442|url=https://archive.org/stream/buikofcroniclis02boec#page/442/mode/1up/search/Anglos|access-date=14 April 2017}}</ref> [[John Bellenden|Bellenden]] translated this loosely as "I am free [[March (territorial entity)|marche]], as passengers may ken, To Scottis, to Britonis, and to Inglismen." It may be the stone cross was a [[tripoint]] for the '''three''' kingdom's borders or [[March (territorial entity)|marches]];<ref name="archive17">{{cite book|last1=Shearer|first1=John Elliot|title=Shearer's Stirling : historical and descriptive, with extracts from Burgh records and Exchequer Roll volumes, 1264 to 1529, view of Stirling in 1620, and an old plan of Stirling|date=1897|publisher=R.S. Shearer & Son|location=Stirling|page=17|url=https://archive.org/stream/shearersstirling00rssh#page/17/mode/1up/search/merchis|access-date=14 April 2017}}</ref> the cross functioning both as a dividing territorial marker, and as a uniting<ref>{{cite book|last1=Henry|first1=Matthew|title=Exposition of the Old and New Testaments ... with practical remarks and observations (Vol 2)|date=1708|publisher=Nisbet|location=London|pages=103–109|url=https://archive.org/stream/expositionofoldn02henruoft#page/103/mode/1up/search/bridge|access-date=15 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120414174929/http://archive.org/stream/expositionofoldn02henruoft#page/103/mode/1up/search/bridge|archive-date=14 April 2012|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Witness (altar)|witness stone]] like in the Bible story in Joshua 22.<ref>{{cite web|title=Joshua 22|url=https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=joshua+22%3A10-34&version=ESV|website=Bible Gateway|access-date=13 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170414081319/https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=joshua+22%3A10-34&version=ESV|archive-date=14 April 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> "[[Edinburgh Castle#Early Middle Ages|Angles]] and Scots here demarked, By this cross kept apart. Brits and Scots armed stand near, By this cross stand safe here." This would make the cross on the centre of the first stone bridge the [[Centre of Scotland|Heart of Scotland]].

The Stirling seal has only the second part, in a slightly different form:

:'''''Hic Armis Bruti Scoti Stant Hic Cruce Tuti''''' 
:(''Brits and Scots armed and near, by this cross stand safe here.'')

The Latin is apparently{{whom|date=April 2025}} not first rate, as it has four syllables in "cruce tuti". However, the meaning seems to be that the Lowland [[Kingdom of Strathclyde#The Kingdom of Alt Clut|Strathclyde Britons]] on the southern shore and the Highland [[List of kings of the Picts#Kings of the Picts traditionally counted as King of Scots|Pictish Scots]]<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Broun|first1=Dauvit|title=Britain and the beginning of Scotland|journal=Journal of the British Academy|date=5 December 2013|volume=3|pages=107–137|doi=10.5871/jba/003.107 |url=http://eprints.gla.ac.uk/104300/7/104300.pdf#page=19|access-date=20 June 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170923012710/http://eprints.gla.ac.uk/104300/7/104300.pdf#page=19|archive-date=23 September 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> on the northern shore stand protected from each other by their common Christianity.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Marquess of Bute|first1=John|last2=Lonsdale|first2=H. W.|last3=MacPhail|first3=J. R. N.|title=The Arms of the Royal and Parliamentary Burghs of Scotland|date=1897|publisher=William Blackwood & Sons|location=Edinburgh|page=370|url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.c2916083;view=1up;seq=380;size=125|access-date=11 April 2017}}</ref>

A more modern translation suggests that rather than Briton, bruit might be better read as brute, i.e. brute Scots, implying a non-Scots identity was retained in Stirling for some time after inclusion into the land controlled by the King of Scots.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://randomscottishhistory.com/2021/04/01/impressions-of-old-glasgow-and-other-seals-pp-164-166/|title=Impressions of Old Glasgow and Other Seals|date=April 2021 |pages=164–166|access-date=6 November 2022}}</ref>

The second motto is:
:'''''Continet Hoc in Se Nemus et Castrum Strivelinse''''' 
:(''Contained within this seal pressed down, the wood an' castle o' Stirlin' town.'')

It has been claimed that the "Bridge" seal was regarded as the Burgh seal proper, the "Castle" seal being simply a reverse, used when the seal was affixed by a lace to a charter.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Scottish antiquary, or, Northern notes & queries|date=1895|publisher=T. and A. Constable|location=Edinburgh|url=https://archive.org/stream/scottishantiquar10unse#page/24/mode/2up/search/%22the+old+seals+of+stirling%22|access-date=7 April 2017}}</ref> This agrees with a description in an official publication (which spells<ref>{{cite web|title=Beginners' Latin – Problems with Latin and the documents|url=http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/latin/beginners/problems/|website=The National Archives|access-date=8 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170409112518/http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/latin/beginners/problems/|archive-date=9 April 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> Bruti with only one letter t).<ref>{{cite book|title=Charters and Other Documents Relating to the Royal Burgh of Stirling, A.D. 1124–1705|date=1884|publisher=Printer for the Provost, Magistrates, and Council of the Burgh of Stirling|location=Glasgow|url=https://archive.org/stream/chartersotherdo00stir#page/n16/mode/1up}}</ref> Clearer images are available<ref>{{cite web|title=home|url=https://stirlingincorporatedtrades.org/home/|website=Seven Incorporated Trades of Stirling|date=14 October 2014 |access-date=7 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170408082342/https://stirlingincorporatedtrades.org/home/|archive-date=8 April 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> with different lettering.<ref>{{cite book|title=Charters and Other Documents Relating to the Royal Burgh of Stirling, A.D. 1124–1705|date=1884|publisher=Printer for the Provost, Magistrates, and Council of the Burgh of Stirling|location=Glasgow|url=https://archive.org/stream/chartersotherdo00stir#page/n7/mode/2up}}</ref> [[Robert Sibbald|Sibbald]] conflated the two mottos into a single rhyme;<ref>{{cite book|last1=Sibbald|title=Sibbald's History & Description of Stirlingshire Ancient and Modern 1707|date=1707|publisher=R. S. Shearer & Son|location=Edinburgh|page=42|edition= 1892 |url=https://archive.org/stream/SibbaldsHistoryDescriptionOfStirlingshireAncientAndModern1707/Book_Stirling#page/n47/mode/2up/search/seal|access-date=19 June 2017}}</ref> he gave no indication that he was aware of Boece's work.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Ronald|first1=James|title=Landmarks of Old Stirling|date=1899|publisher=Eneas Mackay|location=Stirling|pages=240–285|url=https://archive.org/stream/landmarksoldsti00ronagoog#page/n276/mode/2up|access-date=20 June 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091010075855/http://www.archive.org/stream/landmarksoldsti00ronagoog#page/n276/mode/2up|archive-date=10 October 2009|url-status=live}}</ref>

Stirling was first declared a [[royal burgh]] by [[David I of Scotland|King David]] in the 12th century, with later charters reaffirmed by subsequent monarchs. A ferry, and later bridge, on the River Forth at Stirling brought wealth and strategic influence, as did its tidal port at Riverside.<ref>{{cite web|title=Riverside Heritage Trail|url=http://www.stirling.gov.uk/__documents/temporary-uploads/employment,-community-_and_-youth/sht-2014/communitiesteam_shtriverside-boards.pdf|website=Stirling Council|access-date=3 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170404044346/http://www.stirling.gov.uk/__documents/temporary-uploads/employment,-community-_and_-youth/sht-2014/communitiesteam_shtriverside-boards.pdf|archive-date=4 April 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> As Stirling's economy grew, a Royal Park was established as a landscape setting to the north of the castle in the 12th century.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Harrison |first1=John G |title=The Creation and Survival of Some Scots Royal Landscapes |url=https://www.johnscothist.com/uploads/5/0/2/4/5024620/scottish_royal_landscapes.pdf |access-date=4 March 2025 |date=25 August 2016}}</ref> The short-lived New Park was established in the later 13th century and contains a [[cockshoot|cockshot wood]] (Coxet Hill), likely to have been used as a base in the [[Battle of Bannockburn]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=McNeill |first1=Alastair |title=Stirling's Coxet Hill may have been site of Bruce's Bannockburn headquarters |url=https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/local-news/stirlings-coxet-hill-been-site-24325575 |work=Daily Record |date=15 June 2021 }}</ref> Major battles during the [[Wars of Scottish Independence]] took place at the [[Stirling Old Bridge]] in 1297 and at the nearby village of [[Bannockburn]] in 1314 involving [[Andrew Moray]] and [[William Wallace]], and [[Robert the Bruce]] respectively. After the [[Battle of Stirling Bridge]], Moray and Wallace wrote to [[Hanseatic League]] leaders in [[Lübeck]] and [[Hamburg]] to encourage trade between Scottish and German ports.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Lübeck letter, 1297|url=http://www.scottisharchivesforschools.org/WarsOfIndependence/LubeckLetter.asp|website=Scottish Archives For Schools|publisher=National Records of Scotland|access-date=3 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170401015209/http://www.scottisharchivesforschools.org/WarsOfIndependence/LubeckLetter.asp|archive-date=1 April 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> There were also several [[Sieges of Stirling Castle]] in the conflict, notably in 1304.<ref>{{cite web|title=Stirling Castle Timeline|url=http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/stirling/stirlingcastle/timeline.html|website=Undiscovered Scotland|access-date=8 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170405200159/http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/stirling/stirlingcastle/timeline.html|archive-date=5 April 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Late Medieval and early Modern===
[[File:(Cambuskenneth Abbey, Stirling, Scotland) (LOC) (3449503885).jpg|thumb|The tomb of [[James III of Scotland|James III]], [[List of Scottish monarchs|King of Scots]], and [[Margaret of Denmark, Queen of Scotland|Margaret of Denmark]] at [[Cambuskenneth Abbey]]]]
Another important historical site in the area is the ruins of [[Cambuskenneth Abbey]], the resting place of [[James III of Scotland|King James III of Scotland]] and his queen, [[Margaret of Denmark, Queen of Scotland|Margaret of Denmark]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.historic-scotland.gov.uk/propertyresults/propertydetail.htm?PropID=PL_052&PropName=Cambuskenneth%20Abbey|title=Cambuskenneth Abbey|publisher=Historic Scotland|access-date=5 February 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120111102010/http://www.historic-scotland.gov.uk/propertyresults/propertydetail.htm?PropID=PL_052&PropName=Cambuskenneth%20Abbey|archive-date=11 January 2012|url-status=live}}</ref> The king died at the [[Battle of Sauchieburn]] by forces nominally led by his son and successor [[James IV of Scotland|James IV]]. During the [[Wars of the Three Kingdoms]], the [[Battle of Stirling (1648)|Battle of Stirling]] also took place in the centre of Stirling on 12 September 1648. The fortifications continued to play a strategic military role during the 18th-century [[Jacobite risings]]. In [[Jacobite rising of 1715|1715]], the [[Duke of Mar|Earl of Mar]] failed to take control of the castle. In [[Jacobite rising of 1745|January 1746]], the army of [[Bonnie Prince Charlie]] seized control of the town [[Siege of Stirling Castle (1746)|but failed to take the Castle]]. On their consequent retreat northwards, they blew up the church of [[St. Ninians (Stirling)|St. Ninians]] where they had been storing munitions; only the tower survived and can be seen to this day.<ref>{{cite book |last=Ross |first=David. R. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jm6FrlKJIEQC&pg=PA79 |title=On the Trail of Bonnie Prince Charlie |publisher=Dundurn |year=2000 |isbn=978-0-946487-68-4 |edition=1st |page=79 |oclc=46513063}}</ref> The castle and the church are shown on [[Joan Blaeu|Blaeu]]'s map<ref>{{cite web|last1=Blaeu|first1=Joan|title=Sterlinensis praefectura, [vulgo], Sterlin-Shyr / Auct. Timoth. Pont.|url=http://maps.nls.uk/atlas/blaeu/browse/125|website=National Library of Scotland|access-date=9 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170311234239/http://maps.nls.uk/atlas/blaeu/browse/125|archive-date=11 March 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> of 1654 which was derived from [[Timothy Pont|Pont]]'s earlier map.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Pont|first1=Timothy|title=[The East Central Lowlands (Stirling, Falkirk & Kilsyth)] – Pont 32|url=http://maps.nls.uk/pont/view/?id=pont32#zoom=6&lat=3284&lon=5309&layers=BT|website=National Library of Scotland|access-date=9 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160817032322/http://maps.nls.uk/pont/view/?id=pont32#zoom=6&lat=3284&lon=5309&layers=BT|archive-date=17 August 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>[[File:Church of the Holy Rude 001.jpg|thumb|right|[[Church of the Holy Rude]] (Holy Cross)<ref>{{cite book |last1=Scott |first1=Hew |title=Fasti ecclesiae scoticanae; the succession of ministers in the Church of Scotland from the reformation |date=1923 |publisher=Oliver and Boyd |location=Edinburgh |pages=[https://archive.org/stream/fastiecclesiaesc04scot#page/316/mode/2up 317]–333 |volume=4 |url=https://archive.org/stream/fastiecclesiaesc04scot |author-link=Hew Scott}}</ref>]]Standing near the castle, the [[The Church of the Holy Rude, Stirling|Church of the Holy Rude]] is one of the town's most historically important buildings. Founded in 1129 it is the second oldest building in the city after Stirling castle. It was rebuilt in the 15th-century after Stirling suffered a catastrophic fire in 1405, and is reputed to be the only surviving church in the United Kingdom apart from [[Westminster Abbey]] to have held a coronation.<ref name=COS>{{cite web|url=http://holyrude.org/history.htm|title=The Church of the Holy Rude|publisher=Church of Scotland|access-date=1 February 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724123631/http://www.holyrude.org/history.htm|archive-date=24 July 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> The death of James V led to the [[Rough Wooing]], a period where Henry VIII of England attempted to marry the infant Mary Queen of Scots to his son.{{cn|date=February 2025}} Stirling responded by constructing a burgh wall to the south of town, which is among the best preserved in Scotland.<ref>{{cite web |title=Stirling, town wall & bastion & Port Street Bastion at 44 Bastion Wyn |url=https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/apex/f?p=1505:300:::::VIEWTYPE,VIEWREF:designation,SM1754 |website=Historic Environment Scotland |access-date=17 February 2025}}</ref> Recent archaeological research has identified  two new bastions or positions of strength on the wall and Stirling's last surviving medieval gate.<ref>{{cite web |title=Case for the defence as Stirling's lost bastion revealed |url=https://www.stirling.gov.uk/news/case-for-the-defence-as-stirling-s-lost-bastion-revealed/ |website=Strling Council |access-date=1 March 2025}}</ref> On 29 July 1567 the infant son of [[Mary, Queen of Scots]], was [[coronation of James VI|anointed]] [[James I of England|James VI of Scotland]] in the church.<ref name=COS/> James' bride, [[Anne of Denmark]] was crowned in the church at [[Holyrood Palace]] in Edinburgh. The Holy Rude congregation still meet and some 19th century parish records survive.<ref>{{cite web|title=Male Heads of families 1834–35|url=http://www.oldscottish.com/stirling-holy-rude.html|website=Genealogy and Family History|publisher=Old Scottish|access-date=3 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170404045658/http://www.oldscottish.com/stirling-holy-rude.html|archive-date=4 April 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> Musket shot marks that may come from [[Oliver Cromwell|Cromwell]]'s troops during the [[Scotland in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms|Wars of the Three Kingdoms]] are clearly visible on the tower and [[apse]] of the church.<ref name=COS/> There are also musket scars on a gravestone in the cemetery indicating the troop movement to the castle.

Economically, the city's port supported foreign trade, historically doing significant trade in the [[Low Countries]], particularly with [[Bruges]]<ref name="The history of Stirlingshire">{{cite book|last1=Nimmo|first1=William|last2=Gillespie|first2=Robert|title=The history of Stirlingshire|date=1880|publisher=Thomas D. Morison|location=Glasgow|page=369|edition= 3rd|url=https://archive.org/stream/historyofstirlin01nimm#page/369/mode/1up|access-date=5 April 2017}}</ref> in Belgium and [[Veere]]<ref>{{cite book|last1=Morris|first1=David B.|title=The Stirling merchant gild and life of John Cowane.|date=1919|publisher=Morris, David B.|location=Stirling|pages=195–210|url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=umn.319510020985415;view=1up;seq=199|access-date=8 April 2017}}</ref> in the Netherlands. In the 16th century there were so many Scots in [[Danzig]]<ref>{{cite book|editor-last1=Cook|editor-first1=W. R. |editor-last2=Morris|editor-first2=David R |title=The Stirling guildry book. Extracts from the records of the merchant guild of Stirling ... 1592–1846|date=1916|publisher=Glasgow, Stirlingshire and Sons of the Rock Society|location=Stirling|page=271|url=https://archive.org/stream/cu31924030086734#page/n282/mode/1up/search/danskin|access-date=13 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170418150245/https://archive.org/stream/cu31924030086734#page/n282/mode/1up/search/danskin|archive-date=18 April 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> in [[Prussia]] that they had their own church congregation and trade is mentioned with that city in Stirling Council's minutes of 1560.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Morris|first1=David B.|title=The Stirling merchant gild and life of John Cowane.|date=1919|publisher=Morris, David B.|location=Stirling|pages=202–204|url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=umn.319510020985415;view=2up;seq=206;size=125|access-date=8 April 2017}}</ref> Around [[Cowane's Hospital#John Cowane|John Cowane]]'s time there is an account which states there were about 30,000 Scots families living in Poland<ref>{{cite book|editor-last1=Steuart|editor-first1=Archibald Francis |title=Papers relating to the Scots in Poland,1576–1793|date=1915|publisher=Printed by T. and A. Constable for the Scottish History Society|location=Edinburgh|url=https://archive.org/stream/papersrelatingto00edin#page/n9/mode/2up/search/thirty+thousand+scots+families|access-date=16 October 2017}}</ref> although that was possibly<ref>{{cite web|title=Scotland in Europe|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/scottishhistory/europe/intro_europe.shtml|website=BBC History|access-date=8 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170411195316/http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/scottishhistory/europe/intro_europe.shtml|archive-date=11 April 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> an exaggeration.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Morris|first1=David B.|title=The Stirling merchant gild and life of John Cowane.|date=1919|publisher=Morris, David B.|location=Stirling|page=204|url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=umn.319510020985415;view=1up;seq=208|access-date=8 April 2017}}</ref> Trade with the [[Baltic region|Baltic]]<ref>{{cite book|last=King|first=Elspeth|title=Old Stirling|year=2009|publisher=Stenlake Publishing|isbn=9781840334517|page=4}}</ref> also took place such as a timber trade with Norway.

After the Jacobite threat had faded but before the railways were established, the Highland cattle drovers would use the Auld Brig on their way to market at Falkirk<ref>{{cite web|title=Scottish Cattle Droving|url=https://must-see-scotland.com/scottish-cattle-droving/|website=Must See Scotland|access-date=10 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170410214737/https://must-see-scotland.com/scottish-cattle-droving/|archive-date=10 April 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> or [[Stenhousemuir]].<ref>{{cite web|last1=Scott|first1=Ian|title=The Falkirk Trysts|url=http://www.falkirklocalhistorysociety.co.uk/home/index.php?id=99|website=Falkirk Local History Society|access-date=10 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170410220445/http://www.falkirklocalhistorysociety.co.uk/home/index.php?id=99|archive-date=10 April 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> Three times a year, tens of thousands of cattle, sheep and ponies were moved together to the trysts in the south with some drovers going as far as [[Carlisle, Cumbria|Carlisle]] or even London's [[Smithfield, London#Origins|Smithfield]].<ref>{{cite web|last1=Clingan-Smith|first1=Oswald|title=Interview with a representative of Art UK|url=https://artuk.org/discover/stories/interview-with-museum-cat-oswald-clingan-smith|website=artuk|access-date=11 April 2017|ref=)|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170307134152/https://artuk.org/discover/stories/interview-with-museum-cat-oswald-clingan-smith|archive-date=7 March 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> There is a record of a four-mile long tailback (of livestock) developing from [[St. Ninians]] to [[Bridge of Allan]] after a St. Ninians tollman had a dispute.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Drysdale|first1=William|title=Old faces, old places, and old stories of Stirling|date=1898|publisher=E. Mackay|location=Stirling|pages=35–36|url=https://archive.org/stream/oldfacesoldplace00drysrich#page/36/mode/2up/search/cattle|access-date=5 April 2017}}</ref>

===Victorian and Modern===
[[File:The Municipal Building, Corn Exchange Street, Stirling (28575910626).jpg|thumb|The [[Municipal Buildings, Stirling|Municipal Buildings]]]]
In the early 19th century an "exceedingly low" cost steamboat service used to run between Stirling and [[Newhaven, Edinburgh|Newhaven]] or [[Granton, Edinburgh|Granton]].<ref>{{cite book|title=The new statistical account of Scotland|date=1845|publisher=W. Blackwood and Sons|location=Edinburgh and London|pages=432–433|url=https://archive.org/stream/newstatisticalac08edin#page/432/mode/2up|access-date=8 April 2017}}</ref> The coming of the railways in 1848 started the decline of the river traffic,<ref name="E. Mackay">{{cite book |last1=Drysdale |first1=William |url=https://archive.org/stream/oldfacesoldplace00drysrich#page/44/mode/2up |title=Old faces, old places, and old stories of Stirling |date=1898 |publisher=E. Mackay |location=Stirling |pages=44–45 |access-date=5 April 2017 |via=[[Internet Archive]]}}</ref> not least because the [[Alloa Swing Bridge]] downstream restricted access for shipping. The railways did provide opportunity too with one Riverside company selling their reaping machines as far afield as [[Syria (region)|Syria]] and Australia. Similarly, in 1861, a company making baby carriages was set up. These prams were exported to Canada, South America, India and South Africa.<ref>{{cite web|title=Riverside Heritage Trail|url=http://www.stirling.gov.uk/__documents/temporary-uploads/employment,-community-_and_-youth/sht-2014/communitiesteam_shtriverside-boards.pdf#page=2|website=Stirling Council|access-date=3 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170404044346/http://www.stirling.gov.uk/__documents/temporary-uploads/employment,-community-_and_-youth/sht-2014/communitiesteam_shtriverside-boards.pdf#page=2|archive-date=4 April 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>

The [[Princes Street drill hall, Stirling|Princes Street drill hall]] was completed in 1908<ref>{{cite web|url=https://canmore.org.uk/site/221329/stirling-princes-street-drill-hall|title= Stirling, Princes Street, Drill Hall|publisher=Canmore|access-date=27 June 2017}}</ref> and the [[Municipal Buildings, Stirling|Municipal Buildings]], which formed the headquarters of Stirling Burgh Council for much of the 20th century, were completed in 1918.<ref>{{Historic Environment Scotland|num=LB41105|desc= Municipal Buildings, 8-10 Corn Exchange Road, Stirling |access-date=20 July 2021}}</ref>

After the blockades of the World Wars there was some increase in the use of the port including a tea trade with India. However, with normal shipping lanes open, the growth of the railways including The [[Forth Rail Bridge]], left the harbour uneconomical and by the mid 20th century the port had ceased to operate.