Great royal castles like Stirling were designed as much for show as for shelter. And there was no greater ‘showman’ than James IV, grandfather of Mary Queen of Scots. Around 1500, James embarked on a major building programme at Stirling, the highlight of which was to be a monumental banqueting hall, the Great Hall. But before the visitor could take their seat therein, they had already been made to feast their eyes on the mighty Forework Gate.

The Forework Gate is dominated by two towers that project boldly out from the wall. Originally they rose to more than twice their present height, and at their summit were steep conical turrets, stepped gables and gilded stone lions and unicorns. Visitors wouldn’t have seen any stonework. The walls were covered in ‘king’s gold’, a lovely golden yellow coating of lime such as that now gracing the restored Great Hall. And proudly displayed above the central doorway were King James’s royal coat of arms, the Lion Rampant, and the arms of the dynastic houses of Stewart and Tudor, emblazoned in a riot of colours.

James IV was fascinated by the code of chivalry and the legends of King Arthur, and his Forework Gate was seen as a breathtaking processional entrance into the royal castle. Just what he needed to impress his young queen, Margaret Tudor, daughter of Henry VII of England, and the royal families of Europe as they arrived in 1503 to celebrate the dynastic union of Scotland and England - a marriage that would in due course result in a Scot becoming king of England.

Somehow, despite the ravages of Cromwell’s guns a century and a half later, the great Forework Gate still manages to inspire awe in those who pass through its portals.