The Falkirk Steeple is a landmark which dominates the skyline of Falkirk

Falkirk

Falkirk is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies in the Forth Valley, almost midway between the two most populous cities of Scotland; north-west of Edinburgh and north-east of Glasgow....

 in central Scotland. The present structure on the High Street was built in 1814, and replaced an earlier steeple dating from the late 17th century, which itself replaced a still earlier structure. The Falkirk Steeple is protected as a category A listed building. A stylised image of the steeple appears on the crest of Falkirk Football Club

Falkirk F.C.

Falkirk Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in Falkirk. It is one of two professional football teams from the town, the other being East Stirlingshire...

.

The present steeple dates from 1814, and was designed by the architect David Hamilton

David Hamilton (architect)

David Hamilton was a Scottish architect based in Glasgow. He has been called the "father of the profession" in Glasgow. Notable works include Hutchesons' Hall, Nelson Monument in Glasgow Green and Lennox Castle. The Royal Exchange in Queen Street is David Hamilton's best known building in Glasgow...

 in a classical style

Classical architecture

Classical architecture is a mode of architecture employing vocabulary derived in part from the Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, enriched by classicizing architectural practice in Europe since the Renaissance...

. It is 43 metres (141.1 ft) high, with cells on the upper floors and a clock in the third of the four stages of the building. It was damaged in 1927 when it was struck by lightning, causing the spire to be destroyed. So harsh was the lightning strike, parts of the roof were found scattered several metres away. One casualty from the incident was "Irn Bru", a Barr's

A.G. Barr

A.G. Barr plc or commonly known as Barr's is a British soft drinks manufacturer, based in Cumbernauld, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is particularly notable for the manufacture of the popular Scottish drink, Irn-Bru. A.G. Barr is the largest manufacturer of soft drinks in the United Kingdom...

 delivery horse. The upper 9 metres (29.5 ft) of the steeple was rebuilt.

A family living in property adjacent to the Steeple had a miraculous escape. The masonry crashed through the roof of their house trapping them. Mrs Isabella Barr, age 21, her sons James age 2 and Andrew age 1, were buried in the rubble. Newspapers at the time described that the 'clothes had been torn from their bodies'. Mrs Barr also suffered a broken leg and deep lacerations. Mrs Barr died in 1991, her son James died in 2001 and the last survivor of this tragedy, Andrew, died in February 2010. Mrs Barrs Grand Children, Great Grand Children and Great Great Grand Children still live in the Falkirk area. (This edit was inserted on 19th June 2011 by Mrs Barrs son, Stephen)

The previous steeple, which stood on the same site, was constructed in 1697 and served as the town's tolbooth

Tolbooth

Tolbooth or tollbooth may refer to:* Tolbooth, a traditional Scottish 'town hall' for the administration of burghs, usually providing a council meeting chamber, a court house and a jail.* Toll house, a place where road usage tolls are collected...

 and temporary gaol until the late 18th century. This was demolished after construction of an adjacent building in 1803 caused the steeple to subside

Subsidence

Subsidence is the motion of a surface as it shifts downward relative to a datum such as sea-level. The opposite of subsidence is uplift, which results in an increase in elevation...

. Little is known of the earliest steeple, though its demolition in 1697 is recorded.

External links

• Falkirk Steeple, Falkirk Online
• Walk 2, Falkirk Town Centre 2, Falkirk Local History Society