On the 25th of May, Deacon Bruce Wood and Late Deacon Nina Baker attended the Stirling Marches to celebrate Stirling’s 900th year as a Royal Burgh.
The Walking of the Marches is an important part of Stirling’s heritage, where inspectors known as Birlawmen travel around Stirling, ensuring that the boundaries or Marches are intact. Traditionally, Birlawmen would use picks or shovels to turn over a sod of grass to mark points in the boundaries, but these were later replaced by March stones. None of the original stones remained after the 19th Century, but a replica was created in 2014 by Historic Scotland and the Forth Valley College Stirling Campus.
The 2024 Walking of the Marches was organised in part by the Hammermen of Stirling. The morning began with an introduction from the Provost and Bellman of Stirling, followed by a message from the Captain of the Birlawmen confirming the Marches had been inspected and were intact.
The procession passed through the city centre, then onto the Smith Art Gallery and Museum where a toast to the Marches occurred, then finally on to Cowane’s Hospital guild hall. Deacon Bruce and Late Deacon Nina joined the organisers and other supporters including the Irvine Hammermen for a lunch in the guild hall which included fascinating historical talks.
Deacon Bruce and Late Deacon Nina were thrilled to be a part of the day and to have helped a fellow Hammermen organisation build momentum behind such a historic event.
