The equestrian statue of Robert the Bruce at the Bannockburn Visitor Centre,

Bannockburn Bannockburn () is an area immediately south of the centre of Stirling in Scotland. It is part of the City of Stirling. It is named after the Bannock Burn, a stream running through the town before flowing into the River Forth. History Land in ...

Stirling Stirling (; ; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Central Belt, central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town#Scotland, market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the roya ...

, is a 1964 work by

Pilkington Jackson Charles d’Orville Pilkington Jackson RSA, FRBS, FRSA (11 October 1887 – 20 September 1973) was a British sculptor prominent in Scotland in the 20th century. Throughout his career he worked closely with the architect Sir Robert Lorimer. He ...

Description

The bronze sculpture depicts

Robert the Bruce Robert I (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329), popularly known as Robert the Bruce (), was King of Scots from 1306 until his death in 1329. Robert led Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland during the First War of Scottish Independence against Kingdom of Eng ...

wielding an axe and on a

war horse The first evidence of horses in warfare dates from Eurasia between 4000 and 3000 BC. A Sumerian illustration of warfare from 2500 BC depicts some type of equine pulling wagons. By 1600 BC, improved harness and chariot design ...

. The statue stands on a

plinth A pedestal or plinth is a support at the bottom of a statue, vase, column, or certain altars. Smaller pedestals, especially if round in shape, may be called socles. In civil engineering, it is also called ''basement''. The minimum height o ...

that bears the inscription "ROBERT THE BRUCE KING OF SCOTS 1306–1329". It is located near the site of the

Battle of Bannockburn The Battle of Bannockburn ( or ) was fought on 23–24 June 1314, between the army of Robert the Bruce, King of Scots, and the army of King Edward II of England, during the First War of Scottish Independence. It was a decisive victory for Ro ...

. The statue is a A listed building.

History

The statue was commissioned by the

Earl of Elgin Earl of Elgin ( ) is a title in the Peerage of Scotland, created in 1633 for Thomas Bruce, 1st Earl of Elgin, Thomas Bruce, 3rd Lord Kinloss. He was later created Baron Bruce, of Whorlton in the County of York, in the Peerage of England on 30 Ju ...

in 1964 to commemorate the 650th anniversary of the

. It was sculpted by

using the measurements of Bruce's skull, re-discovered at

Dunfermline Abbey Dunfermline Abbey is a Church of Scotland parish church in Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland. The church occupies the site of the ancient chancel and transepts of a large medieval Benedictine abbey, which was confiscated and sacked in 1560 during the S ...

in 1818, and cast in Cheltenham by H.H. Martyn & Co. The statue was unveiled by the Queen. In 1966, a replica of the statue was placed outside the

Alberta University of the Arts The Alberta University of the Arts (AUArts) is a public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a differen ...

Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. The statue was funded by Canadian lawyer Eric Harvie. From 2009 to 2020, the statue featured on the Clydesdale Bank £20 note. In 2013, the statue was restored in preparation for the 700th anniversary of the

in 2014. The statue which was cast in bronze was slowly turning

green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a com ...

Culture secretary The secretary of state for culture, media and sport, also referred to as the culture secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for strategy and policy across the Department for Cultu ...

Fiona Hyslop Fiona Jane Hyslop (born 1 August 1964) is a Scotland, Scottish politician who has served as Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Net Zero and Just Transition, Cabinet Secretary for Transport since 2024. Hyslop has served in various offices under fir ...

said "The Robert the Bruce statue is an iconic part of the Bannockburn site, and a poignant reminder of the battle". On 11 June 2020, following the actions against memorials in Great Britain during the George Floyd protests, the statue was defaced with graffiti. The Scottish king was branded as a racist, despite not being involved in the

slave trade Slave trade may refer to: * History of slavery - overview of slavery It may also refer to slave trades in specific countries, areas: * Al-Andalus slave trade * Atlantic slave trade ** Brazilian slave trade ** Bristol slave trade ** Danish sl ...

Alyn Smith Alyn Edward Smith (born 15 September 1973) is a Scottish politician. A member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), he served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Stirling from 2019 until 2024 when he unsuccessfully stood for the Stirling and ...

said “I’ve been vocal in my support of #BlackLivesMatter and hope such counterproductive stupidity is an isolated incident.”

References

Equestrian statues in the United Kingdom Buildings and structures in Stirling (city) Outdoor sculptures in Scotland 1964 sculptures Statues in Scotland Listed sculptures in Scotland Category A listed buildings in Stirling (council area) Robert the Bruce Vandalized works of art in the United Kingdom {{UK-sculpture-stub

Description

History

See also

References