Stirling (redirected from Stirling, James)

Stirling, town, Scotland

Stirling, town (1991 pop. 38,638), Stirling council area, central Scotland, on the Forth River. The center of a large farm district, it has livestock markets and light industries making agricultural machinery, carpets, and meat products (bacon curing). Stirling Castle, on a hill above the town, long rivaled Edinburgh as a royal residence. A mighty fortress 420 ft (128 m) above the Forth, it overlooks several famous battlefields, including Stirling Bridge, where William Wallace routed an English army in 1297, and Bannockburn. The castle may have been built in the 12th cent.; it was the birthplace of James II and (probably) James III and James IV. Many assemblies were held in the castle's Parliament House, built by James III. Other points of interest are the Church of the Holy Rude (13th cent.), where Mary Stuart and James IV were crowned as infants, and monuments to Wallace and Robert I (Robert the Bruce). The Univ. of Stirling (1967) is there.

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Stirling, council area and former county, Scotland

Stirling, council area and former county, Scotland: see Stirlingshire.

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Stirling

Town and council area (pop., 2001: 86,212), south-central Scotland. Located on the River Forth, Stirling has evidence of early settlement by the British Picts. Made a royal burgh c. 1130 and a royal residence in 1226, it was the birthplace of James II of Scotland and site of the coronations of Mary, Queen of Scots, and James VI of Scotland (later James I of England). Two battles were fought nearby: the Battle of Stirling Bridge (1297), where Scottish troops routed the English, and the Battle of Bannockburn (1314). The town flourished until the mid-16th century and shared with Edinburgh the privileges of a capital city. After the union of the Scottish and English crowns in 1603, it ceased to play an important national role. The town is now a commercial centre for an agricultural region. The council area is a centre for electronics manufacture, and there are also papermaking, malting, brewing, and distilling industries. Stirling is the council area's administrative centre and largest town.

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Stirling¹

Sir James. 1926--92, British architect; buildings include the Neue Staatsgalerie in Stuttgart (1977--84)

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Stirling²

1. a city in central Scotland, in Stirling council area on the River Forth: its castle was a regular residence of many Scottish monarchs between the 12th century and 1603. Pop.: 32 673 (2001)

2. a council area of central Scotland, created from part of Central Region in 1996; includes most of the historical county of Stirlingshire: the Forth valley rises to the Grampian Mountains in the N. Administrative centre: Stirling. Pop.: 86 370 (2003 est.). Area: 2173 sq. km (839 sq. miles)