"[10a] Wigtown Martyrs Monument #1, Stirling, Scotland [front]"
 

Monuments Class Projects

 

Creator

Architect/Sculptor of Monument

Alexander Handyside Ritchie; John Thomas Rochead (Cupola)

Student Author

Adam Frasher, Sp 2022 Semester

Preview

image 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

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

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

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License

File Format

image/jpeg

Additional Files

  1. Wigtown Martyrs Monument Report.pdf (83 kB)
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