Why is there a beautiful replica of one of the Stirling Heads on the ceiling of a house in Gargunnock?.
Our recent public talk about the heads attracted a lot of interest, not least from Niall McClure who contacted us later to ask if we could shed any light on why his home contains a lovely plaster copy of one of the 16th -century originals.
The picture he sent showed a splendid replica of what has come to be called the Musical Head, after an unusual sequence of markings round the edge were identified as possibly being Scotland’s earliest ‘written’ instrumental musical notation. The answer is – we’re not sure and would love to hear if readers have any suggestions.
However, there are some clues which point to a very interesting possibility. The house was built in 1830 by Charles Alexander Graham who took the surname Moir when he succeeded to Leckie in 1820. It turns out that the Moirs of Leckie had close links with the lieutenant governor of Stirling Castle, General Samuel Graham, and his wife Jane.
Indeed, their daughter Helen Graham, wrote in her diary entry for October 1823, that “Mr Moir is an uncommonly pleasant man in company and tells amusing stories”. This is interesting because Samuel and Jane Graham were deeply interested in the heads – which had once decorated ceilings in the castle’s royal palace. The Grahams had three of them at the castle and used to delight in showing them to visitors.
Jane also travelled far and wide to sketch the other survivors, superbly carved with the faces of monarchs, nobles, court characters and Classical heroes. These were published by William Blackwood of Edinburgh in a book called the Lacunar Strevelinense in 1817. This states that the Musical Head was at that point in the hands of the magistrates of Stirling.
So it seems at least possible that what the McClures have is an original feature, created by the Moirs of Leckie, inspired by their friends at the castle, to give their new home a sense of royal grandeur.
If you have any suggestions please give us your comments below!