Key moment as ancient artefact returns home Ancient key said to unlock Port Gate
An ancient visitor with links to the core of the nation’s history was welcomed home last week.
The legendary Stirling Key was returned to Bannockburn House where it was originally uncovered more than a century ago.
But the symbolic artefact dates back even further, to the time of Bonnie Prince Charlie and his Jacobite army.
The key is said to unlock the Port Gate and with it the city of Stirling.
It was handed to the Prince and his forces by the town’s commissioners, to which the forces had lain siege, as a sign of their surrender in 1746.
The historical token was subsequently left behind by the Young Pretender and his men as they marched onwards to Culloden.
It lay undiscovered hidden in a covert recess in a bedroom wall at the mansion, where the Prince resided during his time in the city.
The key, and along with it the legend, was only uncovered in 1902.
Like Bannockburn House itself, which was saved by a public buyout in 2017, it had lain derelict and forgotten.
It was returned to the care of the city in 1961, by businessman Captain
Charles Hepburn, who handed it to the Provost.
The key has been housed since in the Smith Museum and Art Gallery for decades but it made a brief ceremonial visit back to Bannockburn House.
It was welcomed back home by volunteers and trustees from the
Bannockburn House Trust, marking a special moment in recognition of their efforts to preserve vital aspects of the city’s history for future generations.
Penny Ellis, chair of the Bannockburn House Trust, was presented with the key - as Bonnie Prince Charlie had once been - in a symbolic gesture by the Smith Museum’s Curator Caroline Mathers and Head of Collections Michael McGinnes.
Ross Caldwell, Bannockburn House Trust’s event co-ordinator told the Observer: “It was a really special day for us as it marked the first time the key has been back in the house since it was sold at auction in the 1960s, so it’s really been a big thing for the volunteers.
“We really had a good turnout, we had about 40 volunteers there and others from other groups. It’s something we hope to do again in the future because it’s a special link. We do a diverse range of events but it’s important for us to mark the heritage and history connected with it.”
It was a special day for us. It’s really been a big thing for the volunteers