Stirling Castle's Stirling Heads
The Stirling Heads at Stirling Castle
© Virtual Scotland
The Stirling Heads at Stirling Castle
The photograph above shows one of the "Stirling Heads" and to the left is a reconstruction of the King's Presence Chamber at the time of James VI. As you can see in the image to the left (click to enlarge) the ceiling was completely covered with panels. In each panel was one of the Sterling Heads.
The carved oak roundels depicted figures set within wreaths of fruit and foliage. A study of the roundels revealed that they were once painted in very bright colours rather than the raw wood we see today. Sadly, in 1777 the ceiling of the King's Presence Chamber collapsed due to the excessive weight of so many Sterling Heads. Each of the heads were separated but, unfortunately, some were lost and those remaining were in poor condition.
The remaining Sterling Heads are being thoroughly researched and conserved. The scientific studies which revealed the use of paint have also led to the discovery of information about the timber such as its age and condition.
It is hoped that further technical analysis will help us to understand the symbolism of the Stirling Heads, what they meant to the members of the royal court, how they were arranged on the ceiling and even who they depicted (classical figures, members of the royal court, royal ancestors or the King and Queen themselves?).
It is interesting to note the use of colour in the Stirling Heads as it would appear that there was widespread use of bright and vivid colours around the castle. Stirling Castle has numerous fine examples of stained glass windows and the Great Hall would have been much the colour it is today (there may have been even more use of colour). The Chapel Royal shows evidence that the walls were once richly and colourfully decorated and is lavishly decorated inside. The outer walls were also lime washed and could have been of a pastel colour.
In his Northern Memoirs(1656) a Cromwellian trooper, Richard Franck, said,
"So let us pass...to the ports of Sterling; where stands a beautiful and imbellished Castle, elevated on the precipice of an impregnable rock, that commands the vallies (as well as the town) and all those habitable parts about it...."
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