The first written account of Stirling Castle occurred in 1107, when Alexander I wrote of a chapel on the spot where the castle now stands. In 1174, the castle was handed as a ransom to Henry II of England in exchange for William the Lion, the then King of Scotland.
The castle returned to Scottish ownership in 1297, when William Wallace and Andrew Moray defeated the English at the very first battle of Scottish independence – the Battle of Stirling Bridge. This has become a world famous battle as it was the first major Scottish victory in the Wars of Independence, placing the country back under Scottish control and raising William Wallace to a position of political dominance.
