#dumbarton

taken by me

Dumbarton, Scotland

On November 22nd 1888 the Sword, reputed to be that of Sir William Wallace was taken to The National Wallace Monument, where it has been on display more or less ever since, but not without indecent!

The people of Dumbarton were none too pleased with this and let it be known......

“The Dumbarton Town Council feel aggrieved at the removal of Wallace’s sword from the castle to the Wallace Tower on Abbey Craig, and have resolved to remonstrate with the War Office authorities, and ask that the historic weapon be returned to the place where it has lain for between five and six hundred years.”

The reason it was at Dumbarton Castle is that William Wallace was held there after his betrayal at Robroyston. However, there is no record of the Sword’s whereabouts until 1505 when it was first mentioned in the Accounts of the Lord High Treasurer of Scotland when King James IV ordered for its handle to be repaired.

Charles Rodgers, a principle fundraiser for the Monument, had been trying to move the Sword to the Monument since its completion, but his request was refused by the Colonel of the Royal Artillery at Dumbarton Castle in 1875 and it wasn’t until 1888 that the War Office agreed to transfer of the sword.

The Wallace Sword has always stood for freedom, and is sometimes referred to as Freedom’s Sword. Wallace’s legacy has inspired audiences around the world. Wallace, and his sword, have become symbols used by individuals and groups to bring attention to their cause.

In 1912 suffragette Ethel Moorhead smashed the sword case in the National Wallace Monument to draw attention to the women’s cause for the freedom of political expression.

The Wallace Sword was stolen from The National Wallace Monument on the 8th November 1936 by Scottish Nationalists at Glasgow University, who later returned the sword after realising the distress the theft had caused.