As I've already mentioned Stirling Castle in my adventures with my mom, here I will only seek to give some history of the castle. Stirling Castle's first contraction dates are unknown. It is first mentioned in history around the year 1110 when Kind Alexander I is said to have dedicated a chapel there. It remained in Scottish hands until 1174 when Richard I of England defeated King William I of Scotland. Richard demanded all the castles in Scotland be signed over to him however it remained uninhabited by the English afterwards. Many years later when the Wars of Scottish Independence began, the English occupied Stirling and held it as a military strong hold. After a year they were defeated and driven out of the castle by Sir Andrew Murray and William Wallace following the Battle of Stirling Bridge. The Scots were only able to hold the castle for a year before having to abandon it after an English victory at Falkirk. The Scots were not to be outdone and laid siege to the castle under Robert the Bruce. In 1299 the English garrison within was forced to surrender yet again. The castle exchanged hands throughout the Wars of Independence which lasted for sixty years. It was not until 1375 that the castle returned to and stayed in Scottish hands. The family name most associated with Stirling Castle is that of the Stewart monarchs. It was under the early Stewarts, such as Robert II and III, that the castle was built up and expanded. In 1424 Stirling Castle was made part of the marriage settlement between James I and Joan Beaufort. James gave the castle as a gift to his queen and it became tradition to do so in the Stewart family. After James was murdered in 1437, Joan and her young son James II sought refuge in the castle. James III was later born in the castle. The next four Stewart kings (all named James) greatly added to the castle to make it worthy of their great family. This contraction lasted from 1490 until the early 1600's. In 1543, following the death of James V, his baby daughter was brought to the castle for safety. She was crowned Mary, Queen of Scots, that year though she was still an infant.
Stirling remained the foremost residence of the Stewards until Mary's son James VI of Scotland became James I of England and took up residency in London. Afterwards, the castle became little more than a military fortress and only housed one last monarch, Charles II of Scotland. The castle was used as a prison at times, even housing some of the captured Covenanters. The Stewarts were falling out of power in England however so James VII decided to store huge supplies of gun powder at the castle. In the later Jacobite Rebellions, Stirling did not play a featured role. Edinburgh was now the seat of power and was desired by those wishing to rule Scotland. However, during the second Jacobite Rebellion in 1745, after being defeated at Edinburgh, Bonnie Prince Charlie and his Highland garrison retreated to Stirling Castle. They were easily defeated and were forced to flee further northward.
The castle then fell under a different ownership, that of the National War Office. From 1800 until 1964 the castle served as the barracks of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlander regiment. Naturally, many of the grand rooms were converted into hospitals, mess halls, and powder magazines. The castle is in fact still the headquarters of the Highlanders but the regiment is not garrisoned there anymore. Efforts have been made since the 1960's to restore Stirling Castle to its former glory. Many of the lodgings and halls have been refurbished, the art work salvaged and, recently, the tapestries preserved. The Hunt of the Unicorn tapestries have been completely restored and now hang in the Queen's Presence Chamber. It is predicted that all construction at Stirling Castle should be finished by 2014.
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