Monuments Class Projects
Architect/Sculptor of Monument
Alexander Handyside Ritchie; John Thomas Rochead (Cupola)
Preview
Identifier
07a
Medium
photograph, carte-de-viste
Keywords
Wigtown Martyrs Statue; Stirling, Scotland; Margaret Wilson; Margaret MacLachlan; Ladies' Rock, Mar Place Cemetary; Solway Tide, 1685
Physical Dimensions
60x105 mm
Date of Publication
18uu
Name of Monument
Wigtown Martyrs
Date of Creation of Monument
1859
Date of Completion or Dedication of Monument
1867
City of Monument
Stirling
Location within City
Ladies' Rock, Mar Place Cemetery
State/Province of Monument
Stirling
Country of Monument
Scotland
Description
A carte-de-visite photograph depicting the Wigtown Martyrs statue in Stirling, Scotland. Erected in 1859, the statue stands in Mar Place Cemetery and memorializes the two Margarets, Margaret Wilson and Margaret MacLachlan, both of whom were drowned by the Solway Tide in 1685.
School of Art/Architecture
Neoclassical Sculpture
Digital Date
1-19-2022
Copyright
Original physical carte-de-viste is in the public domain. Digital copy scanned by Rod Library, ©2022 Rod Library, University of Northern Iowa.
Rights Advisory
Original print carte-de-visite card is in the public domain; U.S. and International copyright laws protect this digital object. Commercial use of this digital object is not permitted without prior permission of the copyright holder.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
File Format
image/jpeg
Comments
Background
The Wigtown Martyrs statue commemorates the two Margarets, Margaret Wilson (1667-1685) and Margaret MacLachlan (1620s-1685), who were drowned in the Solway Firth on May 11th, 1685. The two Margarets were killed for their refusal to take the oath against James Renwick and his Apologetic Declaration. Renwick was a popular preacher amongst the Covenanters, which was a religio-political movement in 17th century Scotland. The Scottish government issued Letters of Intercommuning against Renwick, calling for his immediate arrest, and he responded with his Apologetic Declaration. The Declaration was considered an act of treason against the government and ownership of, or simply not disowning it, would lead to one’s immediate execution. Margaret Wilson and her younger sister Agnes were to be put to death, but their father saved Agnes. Margaret would still be executed, but now alongside Margaret MacLachlan. The two Margarets were tied to stakes, with Wilson placed closer to the shore so she could witness MacLachlan’s drowning and be convinced to change her beliefs. Wilson refused to change her beliefs and take the oath against Renwick, saying, “I will not, I am one of Christ’s children, let me go (Scottish Covenanter Memorial Association),” before having her head submerged by soldiers.
174 years after the two Margarets’ drowning, a statue commemorating their martyrdom was designed by Alexander Handyside Ritchie (1804-1870). The statue was created by William Drummond, a Presbyterian agriculturalist in the town of Stirling.
The monument was done in a neoclassical style, as evidenced by the use of pillars and simplistic design of the statues. Neither Margaret and Agnes, nor the angel have overly detailed facial features or clothing, or anything of the sort. The monument was initially designed by Alexander Handyside Ritchie in the late 1850s. In 1867, a cast iron frame and glass cupola, designed by John Thomas Rochead (1814-1878), were added to the monument to protect the statues from the elements. The Wigtown Martyrs Monument is located in Mar Place Cemetery in Stirling, Scotland. The statues depicted on the monument are of Margaret Wilson and her younger sister Agnes, with a lamb at their feet and an angel over their shoulder. The younger Margaret is reading the Scriptures to Agnes. The lamb is representative of Margaret’s innocence, as she was still a child when she was murdered. The inclusion of the lamb is also a clear reference to Jesus Christ being the Lamb of God and making a sacrifice for others.
The monument also features an inscription at the bottom that reads, “Margaret, Virgin Martyr of the Ocean Wave, with Her Like-Minded Sister, Agnes. ‘Love Many Waters Cannot Quench - God Saves His Chaste Impearled One! In Covenant True. O Scotia’s Daughters! Earnest Scan the Page’ And Prize this Flower of Grace Blood-Bought For You. Psalms IX. XIX. Rev XXII 13-21 (Forsyth, 2020).”
Works Cited
Forsyth, V.alerie. (2020, June 3). A walk in the past: History of the martyr's monument in Stirling. Alloa Advertiser. Retrieved May 5, 2022, from https://www.alloaadvertiser.com/news/18492348.walk-past-history-martyrs-monument-st irling/
James Renwick. Center for reformed theology and apologetics. (n.d.). Retrieved April 21, 2022, from https://reformed.org/master/index.html?mainframe=%2Fmisc%2FJames_Renwick.html
Mar's Wark Cemetery, Stirlingshire, Scotland.
Mar's Wark Cemetery, Burial Records - Stirling, Scotland. (2020, May 6). Retrieved April 21, 2022, from http://www.interment.net/data/scotland/stirling/mars-wark/index.htm
Reformation history. (n.d.). Retrieved April 21, 2022, from https://reformationhistory.org/twomargarets.html
Scottish Covenanter Memorial Association. (n.d.). Wigtown Martyrs Monument. Stirling Wigtown Martyrs. Retrieved May 4, 2022, from http://www.covenanter.org.uk/stirling_wigtown_martyrs.html 3