Stirling History

The great town and Castle of Stirling lie at the crossroads of Scotland, which many account for the derivation of the name, which means "place of strife". The castle has been a silent witness to many of the greatest events in Scottish history, most of which have been associated with strife, murder and battle.
Thoraldus, who appears in a charter of David I granted around 1147, held the lands of Cadder. His descendent, the fifth Laird of Cadder, Sir Alexander de Strivelyn, died in 1304. His heir, Sir John de Strivelyn, was killed at the Battle of Halidon Hill in 1333. His grandson, Sir William, had two sons. The succession passed through the line of his first son, William, for four generations, and then passed to the grandson of the second son, Sir John de Strivelyn, third Laird of Cragernard. Sir John was governor of the royal Castle at Dumbarton and sheriff of Dunbartonshire. He was appointed armour bearer by James I, and Comptroller of the Royal Household, and knighted in 1430. His son, William acquired the lands of Glorat from the Earl of Lennox. He also held Dumbarton Castle, an appointment later passed to his son, George, who defended it for the Crown from 1534 to 1547. His great-grandson, Sir Mungo Stirling of Glorat, was a staunch adherent of Charles I, who knighted him. Sir Mungo' s son, George Stirling, was created a Baronet of Nova Scotia in 1666. The family was also granted a royal augmentation to their arms of a double tressure, similar to that which appeared on the royal arms of Scotland, in recognition of their loyalty to the Stuart dynasty.
The Stirlings obtained the lands of Keir in Perthshire in the mid fifteenth century. When Prince James, son of James III, rebelled against his father, Sir William Stirling of Keir was one of his supporters. His descendent, Sir Archibald Stirling of Keir, from whom the Stirlings of Garden also descend, supported the king during the civil war, and on the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660 was appointed to the Supreme Court with the title of "Lord Garden". The Lairds of Keir remained loyal to the Stuarts, and fought in both the risings of 1715 and 1745. James Stirling of Keir was imprisoned and his estates were forfeited for his part in the Fifteen, but they were later restored.
William Stirling of Keir became MP for Perthshire and succeeded his maternal uncle in the Maxwell baronetcy of Pollock in 1865. The Stirlings of Faskine in Lanarkshire claim descent from a nephew of William the Lion, but were actually a collateral branch of the Stirlings of Cadder. John Stirling, descended from this house, became Lord Provost of Glasgow. Sir Walter Stirling of Faskine served in the Royal Navy. His eldest son, an MP, was created a baronet in 1800.
The Stirling family' s connection with Dumbarton Castle was continued when Sir George Stirling, ninth Baronet of Glorat, was appointed keeper in 1927. Today, the family still hold high office. The present chief succeeded on the death of his father in 1986.