The Beheading Stone, Stirling, Scotland, Uk

Scotland's Stories is at The Beheading Stone.

· Stirling, United Kingdom ·
Most visitors to Stirling focus on the castle, but walk just a little way behind it
to Mote Hill and you'll find another fascinating showpiece.

This big lump of rock protected by an iron cage is the Beheading Stone.

It isn't much of a mystery to figure out what it was used for, the axe marks
embedded in the top might give you another clue.

With Stirling Castle being the most important Royal Stronghold for centuries,
it was a natural place to dish out Royal justice.

We don't have a definitive list of who was executed here
but the most famous was Murdoch Stewart,
Duke of Albany and his sons in the 15th century.

Murdoch was the cousin of King James I and had been captured
while fighting with the English.

During his time as a prisoner, the young James, was also captured and Murdoch's
father Robert swept in to control Scotland.

Robert ruled with an iron fist.

He was a cunning and capable man but one thing
he didn't try hard to achieve was the ransom of his nephew the King.

After 12 years, Robert did manage to secure the release of his own son instead.

I don't think James ever forgot that.

By the time the King returned to Scotland, Robert had died and Murdoch was now in control.

He hadn't wanted to arrange the King's ransom either,
but wasn't as powerful as his father
and felt forced to negotiate.

James must have been furious that he couldn't get revenge
on his uncle but he was more than capable of taking his rage out on his cousin.

Murdoch, two of his sons and his father in law were all arrested and placed on trial for treason.

Whether they were guilty or not didn't matter.

The assembled nobles finally had a King on the throne for the first time in years
and they weren't about to get on his bad side.

If there wasn't already enough evidence, Murdoch's remaining free son started a revolt,
burning Dumbarton.

That was the final nail in the coffin and the men were found guilty.

They were all brought to Mote Hill, also known as Heiding Hill and executed on this stone.

James had only been back for one year and the most powerful family in Scotland
had been completely destroyed.


#YS2022 #TalesOfScotland #visitscotland #visitstirling