John Cowane's House

John Cowane’s House is a Category A Listed ruin situated on St Mary’s Wynd below Stirling Castle.

Built during the 16^th or 17^th centuries, John Cowane’s House was owned by the Cowane family, whose most famous member is the philanthropic merchant John Cowane. John Cowane left a bequest which established Cowane’s Hospital, and both the Hospital and House are owned by the Cowane’s Trust. Used as a grand residence between the 16^th and 18^th centuries, by the 19^th century it had become a subdivided tenement and a wrights workshop. The house eventually became severely dilapidated and as a result its roof and upper storey were removed in the second-half of the 19^th century after they were declared unsafe.

In 2015 a masonry lintel in the House was found to be unsafe and access to the site has been restricted since then. The Stirling Conservation Area Regeneration Scheme (CARS) is working with Cowane’s Trust to make the House safe, securing its future and creating a public garden for Stirling’s residents as well as visitors to the city. You can find out more here.