Received from the Standing Stones Group : The following report was taken from the Press and Journal newspaper today, May 7th 2001. It's yet another example of the contempt and hostility that is shown to Scotland's cultural and historic sites. Although it isn't directly related to our own campaign, I hope it will motivate everyone to keep up the pressure, as our victory could ensure that other sites are also preserved. WALLACE SITE AT RISK FROM DEVELOPERS, SAYS SOCIETY. Campaigners say Wallace's Well has come under threat - from housing put up by a North-east developer - after being deleted from Historic Scotland's list of protected monuments. More that 800 houses have already been built in the deveopment close to the site. The Society of William Wallace said yesterday that the well at Robroyston, Glasgow, was one of only a handful of remaining sites directly associated with Scotland's great hero. The Society's vice-chairman, Duncan Fenton, said;"Only in Scotland could an historuc site like Wallace Well be allowed to come under threat. It would be a tragedy if we lost this site. It is one of the few remaining tangible links that we have in Scotland with our national hero. The preservation of sites of historic interest in Scotland has never been as good as in other countries - England in particular." The Society of William Wallace is calling for people to monitor bulldozers' progress near the well, and inform the society of future plans to develop the site. William Wallace was captured at a farmhouse just a few yards from the well 696 years ago, an August 5, 1305. He was in Rab Raa's Toun - Robroyston - on his way to Glasgow to plead with the Bishop of Glasgow, Robert Wishart, for help in his fight for Scottish Independence. The sympathetic bishop had supplied him with money, arms and food while he was on the run from the English. Wallace was betrayed by the farms owner, Rab Rae, brother of his mistress, Ailish Rae, to the "Scots" noble Sir John Mentieth, and through that captured late at night by English troops, before being taken to Lodon where he was hanged, drawn and quartered on a dubious charge of treason, although he owed no allegiance to Edward I and had never sworn it as many of his compatriots had. Wallace's close friend, Kerlie, who was with him when he was captured, was killed near the well. Historis Scotland deleted the site from a list of protected properties in March 1993, despite historians' certainty that Wallace spent some of his last moments as a free man drinking from the spring. The site of the nearby farmhouse was marked with a Celtic Cross in 1900. Mr Fenton said;"In recent years, the area around the monument and Wallace's Well, has been extensively developed. Although the cross is listed, the possibility of the well being swept away by an unsympathetic building contractor is very real. The most respected historians throughout centuries of written documentation, are in agreement that it is more probable than possible that William Wallace took his last drink as a free man at the spring. It would seem that the views of these experts is not enough proof to protect the site. For centuries people have called the site Wallace's Well. Our greatest fear is that without protection, it could disappear overnight, as happened to Cathcart Castle in 1980". Wallace's Well was statutorily listed in 1970. Historic Scotland says that the well was delisted after a change of criteria, and it was decided that the site was of insufficient interest to warrant protection. It says that Wallace's connection to the site is unsubstantiated in documentary evidence. A spokesman for Stuart Milne Homes, which recently gained permission to build 250 more homes near the well, said the company had employed archaeologists to try to substantiate the Wallace link. Spokesman Alasdair Landells added; "We are well aware of the interest in the Robroyston development and its connection with William Wallace. We are in talks with the bodies involved, and at the moment we are happy to work with them. We are not insensitive to their needs and concerns". Return to Articles Index |
