Stirling is home to a unique and beautiful sculpture that you likely will have noticed if you have visited its Old Town Cemetery.
The set of three large and ornate stone statues, housed within a glass structure, stands out amongst the nearby gravestones. Like those, though, it is a monument to someone who died.
Looking closely at the set of three statues, two are of young women and one is of an angel. The memorial is dedicated to Margaret Wilson, and depicts her reading the Bible with her younger sister Agnes.
Margaret was one of the 'Wigtown Martyrs', along with Margaret Maclauchlan. They were Scottish Covenanters who were executed by Scottish Episcopalians in 1685 in Wigtown, who tied them to stakes on the town's mudflats and allowed them to drown with the rising tide.
This occurred during the 'Killing Time' in the 1680s, a period of conflict between the Presbyterian Covenanter movement, which was based largely in the south west of the country, and the government forces of Kings Charles II and James VII.
Margaret and her sister were both devout Presbyterians and refused to swear an oath declaring James VII of Scotland as head of the church. As a result, both were tried, and although Agnes was eventually freed, Margaret was sentenced to death.
Her death became part of the martyrology of Presbyterian churches. She is remembered as the most famous of the Wigtown Martyrs due to her young age at the time of her death.
While there is a monument to both women in Wigtown, the memorial in Stirling commemorates Wilson. It was erected in 1859, without its glass casing.
Eight years later, the ornate iron frame and glass was constructed around it. Today, it is among the most distinctive monuments in the whole of Scotland.
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