Monuments are all around us. We walk or drive past them every day, yet
we are often only vaguely aware of their existence. They are in
cemeteries and parks; on busy streets and in lonely places; they stand
by the sea or on the top of hills. Some are very obvious, such as the
Scott Monument, and some are obscure and hidden. They commemorate many
things: often the dead of history in wars at home and abroad and
disasters, both recent and long past, but they also honour the
achievements of our inventors, writers and explorers and our kings,
queens, saints and martyrs. They appear as statues, as windows, as
sculptures, as plaques and sometimes as buildings. Sometimes they take
centre stage in the middle of city squares or on the summit of lonely
mountains. In this book author Michael Meighan examines the stories
behind the monuments and memorials of Scotland, and what they reveal
about the history of the country: its most ancient monuments; wars and
battles; heroes and villains; cultural figures, explorers and
scientists; and disasters, both natural and otherwise. The monuments
range from famous landmarks such as the Wallace Memorial at Stirling and
the Wallace Monument in Aberdeen, the Scott Monument in Edinburgh, to
memorials to Robert Burns, Mary, Queen of Scots and Bonnie Prince
Charlie and the Jacobite Risings at Glenfinnan, Prestonpans and
Culloden, which represent the shaping of Scotland. Other monuments range
from Greyfriars Bobby, memorials to Saint Margaret of Scotland and the
Commando Memorial in Lochaber and many more.
