Braveheart’s now home to guard Glebe

Brechin City have unveiled their latest towering defender. In a rock solid addition to the line-up at The Glebe, a Braveheart figure now stands guard at the ground.

It is the permanent new home for a William Wallace statue carved a quarter of a century ago by local stonemason Tom Church.

Tom quipped: “It’s probably the most unveiled statue in the world – this is its fourth time – but I’m delighted it’s finally found its resting place.”

Tom modelled the huge figure on Mel Gibson’s portrayal of William Wallace in the 1995 hit movie, which the American A-lister starred in and directed.

The Freedom sculpture was a labour of love for the Angus craftsman as he battled back to health following a triple heart bypass.

Fashioned from Borders sandstone, the statue is more than 12 feet high and weighs in at 13 tonnes.

He spent more than 1,000 hours on the piece. And Tom’s creation found worldwide fame after standing proudly at the foot of Stirling’s Wallace monument for more than a decade.

After its hometown unveiling in 1996, Tom was delighted when tourism chiefs took up his offer to locate the statue at the landmark.

They accepted the loan of the piece to help mark the 600th anniversary of the Battle of Stirling Bridge.

And what was intended as a year-long loan extended well beyond that.

But it provoked controversy during that Stirling stay when vandals damaged its face and poured paint on it.

A banner at the time suggested those responsible were opposed to the Hollywood star portraying the Scottish hero.

However, it proved so popular that Tom even had miniatures made which sold around the globe.

Braveheart came back to Brechin in 2008 and Tom found himself again using the sculpture as a form of art therapy.

He suffered a stroke while working to repair damage caused by Stirling visitors climbing on to the kilted figure.

Tom recovered from the illness and the mason then decided he would create a castellated keep for his creation in the garden of his own home.

But talks between Tom and Brechin City officials have now led to the Braveheart figure being put in place at The Glebe.

It was unveiled by locallyborn STV newsreader Andrea Brymer at the weekend during an event that raised hundreds of pounds for kidney dialysis.

Brechin FC community manager Clark Renilson said: “The statue is a remarkable piece of craftsmanship by a local man who put Brechin on the map with his talents.

“Having previously been on display all over Scotland we are delighted that the statue is situated within our ground for all to see.”

The return of the Braveheart statue to Angus is a story that might go down in Scottish history itself.

Stonemason Tom Church created the 12ft likeness of Mel Gibson as William Wallace as he recovered from a triple heart bypass.

And after an eventful stint at the Wallace Monument in Stirling it has now been officially unveiled – for a fourth time – at Brechin City’s ground.

Quite a mascot for the football club and a proud moment for the local hero who made it happen.

STUFF OF LEGEND: Stonemason Tom Church is delighted by the return of Braveheart.