The Bridge over the Forth at Stirling, is by far the most noted structure of the kind in Scotland. Being the first convenience of the sort, which occurs on the Forth for fifty miles upwards from the mouth of its estuary, and having been, till lately, almost the only access for wheeled carriages into the northern department of Scotland; there can be little wonder that it is so. Furthermore, it is old; furthermore, it is conspicuous in the history of the country. Altogether, it is one of the most notable public objects in the kingdom.

At a very early period, there was a wooden bridge across the Forth, about a mile above the present stone structure; probably it was at first the work of the Romans. It is this bridge which figures on the obverse side of the ancient seal of the town. It was, on the 13th of September 1297, the cause of a decisive victory gained by Sir William Wallace, over the English, under Cressingham and De Warenne. By permitting half of the southern army to cross over, the Scottish hero and his companions destroyed them with great ease. It is said, by tradition, that he gave a blast on his horn, as a signal for the onset, from the top of the Abbey Craig, and that, by causing a man to saw through the bridge below the feet of his enemies, he greatly increased the slaughter. The remains of this bridge are visible at low water, and the place is still a ford. Montrose led his army through the water at this point, when on his march to fight the battle of Kilsyth, in 1645. It is near the mill of Kildean.

The age of the stone bridge is unknown; but it must be at least as old as 1571, when Archbishop Hamilton was hanged upon it, by the King’s faction, under the Regent Lennox. It is of very antique structure, being narrow, high in the centre, and composed of arches. Formerly, it had a gate leading through two small flanking towers, near the south end, and another gate leading through two similar towers, near the north end: there were also two low ones in the centre. A painting over the door of one of the rooms of the Town House, represents the bridge in this state. General Blakeney, the governor of the castle in 1745, caused the south arch to be destroyed, in order to intercept the Highlanders, both in their march south, in parties, to reinforce Prince Charles, and in their retreat northwards on desertion. On this account, when the royal army came to follow Charles to the north, in February 1746, the Duke of Cumberland was obliged to supply the place of the deficient arch, by logs and boards of wood; which was one of the reasons why he never overtook, or came near his enemy, till the battle of Culloden.

For some time, it has been proposed, to substitute a new structure for this venerable one, at some place in the immediate neighbourhood. How many ages must elapse, before it shall acquire the same quality of interesting associations, which our memories connect with the subject of this plate!