Wallace Letters
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Object number20012
TitleWallace Letters
Creator John McAdam
DescriptionThis ornate frame contains letters of support for the building of a national monument to William Wallace, one of the great leaders in the Scottish Wars of Independence. The Abbey Craig near Stirling was chosen as the site for the Wallace Monument, the land gifted by the Patrons of Cowane’s Hospital. It overlooks both Cambuskenneth Abbey and the site near Stirling Bridge that was the place of Wallace’s victory in 1297.
The laying of the foundation stone in 1861 was the start of an eight-year building project which was funded by contributions from subscribers from all over the world. The funding campaign was boosted by John McAdam, a political reformer and owner of the Hydepark Pottery in Glasgow. He persuaded prominent European figures to support the cause. Their original letters are displayed in this frame.
You can see the words of the Hungarian nationalist Lajos Kossuth, socialist reformers Karl Blind and Louis Blanc, and republicans Giuseppe Garibaldi and Giuseppe Mazzini. Garibaldi, known as ‘the Wallace of Italy,’ wrote “William Wallace, Scotland’s noblest hero, sheds as bright a glory on his valourous nation, as ever was shed upon their country by the greatest men of Greece and Rome.”
The letters were framed in 1868. The frame is made from the Wallace Oak, one of two ancient trees that stood near Wallace’s home at Elderslie. It is decorated with symbols befitting the subject: Scotland’s national flag appears in each corner, linked by tendrils of leaves and flowers from the thistle. The Lion Rampant sits at the centre under a helmet worthy of Wallace himself.
Production placeGlasgow
Production period1860's
Object nameLetters
Materialoak
Dimensions
Height: 610 mm
Width: 770 mm
Width: 770 mm