William Wallace time in and around Glasgow - a lot more than you might expect - before he was executed in 1305 for his part in the First War of Scottish Independence.
Glasgow very nearly had it’s own towering Wallace monument, one that could have rivaled the monolithic tribute at Stirling. In 1819 an architect called William Reid designed a ‘Triumphal Arch’ which was set to be erected along the banks of the Clyde at the foot of Stockwell Street. It would have included a statue similar to the Duke of Wellington statue at GOMA with Wallace atop a horse. The project never came to fruition.
Of course the story of the Scottish leader, renowned worldwide, has been told so many times that many of the facts have become muddled in mythmaking - history is written by the victors.
We can however confirm places he went, battles he fought, and some of the high-profile friends and enemies he made. Along the way, a lot of the William Wallace story was influenced by Glasgow. Of course back then Glasgow was a very different place: it was pretty much just a castle, some old streets, and a cathedral - so William wasn’t getting the ales in at The Scotia in between battles, as epic as that would be. He did end up getting huckled in Robroyston though.
Take a look below to peruse some of the known, and rumoured, connections that William Wallace had to Glasgow and the surrounding area.
1. Wallace’s Well
William Wallace is said to have drunk from the well in Robroyston whenever he visited Glasgow and also just before his capture by English troops commanded by Sir John Mentieth.
2. Necropolis Wallace Monument
A monument memorialising the ‘Bell O’ the Brae’ a battle in which William Wallace forced the English garrison of Glasgow Castle to flee their post.
3. Wallace Oak
Over in Port Glasgow, there is said to be the ‘tree where Wallace bled’ - or the Wallace Oak - a popular landmark in the work where the medieval freedom fighter William Wallace was said to be chained to after he was captured in Robroyston in 1305. Sadly the ancient oak was toppled during a storm in 1992.
4. Wallace’s Monument (Glasgow edition)
William Wallace’s story ended in Glasgow - Wallace was asleep in a cottage in Robroyston, supposedly waiting to make contact with Robert the Bruce, when he was captured and taken to Dumbarton Castle - chained of course to the Port Glasgow tree along the way. The cottage was supposedly still standing until 1827, Sir Walter Scott even took a bit of the roof timber to make a chair. In 1900, Glasgow erected a stone cross in memoriam of William Wallace’s final place of rest.