Municipal Buildings

Built on the site of the old Corn Exchange, Stirling’s new Municipal Buildings were designed by John Gillespie, who would later become a partner in the renowned Glasgow-based architecture firm Gillespie, Kidd & Coia.

The foundation stone for the building was laid by King George V on 11^th July 1914, but on August 4^th Britain declared war on Germany and the First World War began, delaying construction.

The buildings were finally opened in 1918, but Gillespie’s plans were never fully realised, and the right-hand wing he had planned was never built. In 1968, a modern extension was designed by his son Walter H. Gillespie, erected where his father’s right-hand wing should have sat.

The façade has a number of sculptures and carvings which relate to the history of Stirling. A sculpture of Mary Queen of Scots sits above those of a cleric and a warrior, carved by sculptor A W Young. His initials, as well as the builders, William Gourlay, can also be spotted on the façade. On the tower, an inscription and pair of scissors pays tribute to Robert Spittal, philanthropist and tailor to royalty, and a medallion resembling the castle’s famous Stirling Heads features a portrait of the merchant John Cowane, another renowned local philanthropist.