Success for funds bid to restore historic Falkirk fountain

A crowdfunding bid to repair the vandalised Lion of Scotland on a Falkirk monument has comfortably exceeded its £1,000 target - but every extra penny will be needed.
The memorial fountain as it looked before the Lion of Scotland was wrenched from its base and thrown to the ground.  Now it will be restored to its former glory.The memorial fountain as it looked before the Lion of Scotland was wrenched from its base and thrown to the ground.  Now it will be restored to its former glory.
The memorial fountain as it looked before the Lion of Scotland was wrenched from its base and thrown to the ground. Now it will be restored to its former glory.

The Falkirk-based Society of John de Graeme have led the effort to not only repair the Victoria Park monument but also improve the run-down and shabby plot of land where it has stood for more than a century.

Originally paid for by Falkirk industrialist Robert Dollar the memorial fountain honours the memory of de Graeme, a local knight and right hand man of Sir William Wallace, who was killed at the 1298 Battle of Falkirk.

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With fresh energy and effort now being channelled into the celebration of the town’s history and heritage the Society wants the memorial to be restored to its former glory - on a much-improved site.

Some have suggested its fountain should be restored to working order too.

However the main aim will be to plant trees to screen the site from surrounding buildings, while improving pathways and hedges.

De Graeme is buried in a tomb in the churchyard of what is now Trinity Church, but it is not known exactly where he died - and the precise site of the battle itself is still debated.

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However it’s argued that the memorial to his memory - and by extension to thousands who died in the battle - should be in a public place as originally intended, and that the park remains an ideal site.

Another reason for the location is that the name Grahamston itself is often claimed to have derived from de Graeme.