Stirling CARS Public Realm Improvement
The Public Realm project focuses on three historic lanes within Stirling Old Town:
Kingstables Lane
Kingstables Lane is a steep lane that ascends from St Mary’s Wynd, up to close to the Castle. It had at some point one of Stirling’s royal stables, and built close to it included the married soldiers’ barracks. It remains an example of one of Stirling’s older lanes, but suffers from challenging maintenance, a lack of suitable signage and interpretation, and any visible emphasis of the old stables.
Stirling’s Vennels
Between Baker Street and Spittal Street, two of Stirling’s vennels remain – often called the Upper Vennel, and the Sma’ Vennel.
Project Inclusion
The Stirling Town & Royal Park Conservation Area Character Appraisal, August 2014, highlights in part 6.8 ‘Opportunities for Enhancement’ the Kingstables Lane and Baker Street vennels as in need of repair and enhancement.
Kingstables Lane has been chosen as it is an important but underused historic route from Stirling Castle to St Mary’s Wynd, used by tourists to go up to the castle, but also important to Stirling residents along the lane.
The vennels represent important remains of the medieval street plan, linking Baker Street to Spittal Street.
The lane and vennels provide characterful and interesting pedestrian routes that add to the quality and intimacy of experiencing Stirling’s old town. Views into historic vennels and closes can add interest to the character of the conservation area, but these areas are currently under-utilised and in poor condition. The CARS is a chance to remove these issues, shining a light on the significant heritage merit and their potential to add to the heritage experience of living in and visiting Stirling. There is significant community concern regarding anti-social behaviour and safety in these spaces which Stirling Council is eager to address.
Updates
In Summer 2023, Ironside Farrar was appointed to develop the initial designs for the CARS Public Realm project that were developed in 2019. Design work is ongoing, and will see meaningful change to these significant spaces of medieval and early modern Stirling. The brief for Ironside Farrar includes both the surface materials of each space and the lighting for each.
In addition, to inform the design work of Ironside Farrar, in April 2024, under instruction from AOC and the council’s archaeologist, Dr Murray Cook, volunteers helped excavate the historic medieval surface of Kingstables Lane – discovering the early modern lane surface and more clues about Stirling’s royal stables. In addition, ivy was cleared from the wall – a process which will allow proper recording of the wall during the CARS.
This work complemented the research into the lanes by local historian John Harrison, who produced a historical analysis of the three lanes. The archaeology and historical research will help inform design and interpretation of the three lanes.