Murray Cook on a real Stirling original
Stirling attracts many superlatives ...
It is , for example the best preserved medieval city in Scotland.
Stirling is also the proud possessor of the oldest football in the world and is the location of Scotland’s first aeroplane flight.
You can also add to the list its place in history as home of our two most important battles .
These are just a few of the things for which out city is rightly famous.
However, what readers might not know is that Scotland’s largest pyramid can also be found here.
This is Salem Rock or the Martyr’s Monument or the Star Pyramid and it sits just to the south of the Stirling Castle Esplanade.
Don’t worry, it is not the burial place of our own King Tut complete with a curse to terrorise tourists.
The pyramid is the main feature of Drummond’s Pleasure Ground and is dedicated to all those who suffered martyrdom in the cause of civil and religious liberty in Scotland.
The structure was commissioned from William Barclay in 1863.
William Drummond’s final resting place, in a handsome polished granite sarcophagus is just to the west.
There used to be two bronze eagles on the globes, in front of the pyramid, but these were stolen in the 1960s or 70s.
At the base of the pyramid are four marble bibles with the names of religious tracts – short pithy extracts from the bible – which were drawn from the business run by William’s brother, Peter.
Between 1848 and 1980, Peter Drummond’s business printed and distributed millions of tracts and other tales of Victorian derring- do and morality.
The Drummonds had made their money as seed merchants and many of the plants available in his shops where used in the garden.
Gardens such as this, which allowed visitors to combine a nice walk with a touch of Christianity, had a purpose.
That was to ensure the working classes had something edifying to do in their free time other than merely drinking and watching football.
Indeed, Peter Drummond, of tract fame, was shocked to find people being ferried across the River Forth to Cambuskenneth to visit the abbey and public houses on Sundays.
Gadzooks, that’s my weekend cancelled!