Stirling Smith Art Gallery and Museum

Nestling beneath Stirling Castle, in the King’s Park, the ancient hunting grounds of the Stuart monarchs, is the Stirling Smith Art Gallery and Museum.

The Stirling Smith was founded in 1874 from the bequest of the artist Thomas Stuart Smith (d1869) and is dedicated to the promotion of cultural and historical heritage and the arts, from a local scale to nationally and beyond. The Smith houses many remarkable pieces, including the world’s oldest football (c1540), world’s oldest curling stone (1511), the Stirling Jug (1457), Bannockburn tartans, Wallace and Bruce memorabilia. Scottish history from a Stirling viewpoint including the Jacobite Risings, the 1820 Radical Rising, agricultural improvements, and drawings from the walls of Castlerankine Prisoner of War camp.

The Stirling Smith creates and hosts a wide variety of different exhibitions every year, showcasing many different disciplines including fine art, social history, cultural history and other subjects of local and national interest.

No trip to the Stirling Smith could possibly be complete without a visit to Ailie’s Garden. A popular and acclaimed visitor attraction in its own right, Ailie’s Garden is the culmination of a vast amount of voluntary effort which has resulted in one of the area’s finest sensory and biodiversity gardens.

Visitors can also enjoy the Smith shop and the Gallery Cafe, serving delicious lunches, snacks and a variety of home baking.

The Stirling Smith is a great day out, and regularly hosts events and activities for all ages to enjoy.

Schools

Bring your class to a great Museum experience.

Our Volunteer Guides have a wide range of topics they can support you with.

If you just want to learn about life in our area in days gone by, we can do that.

If you want to home in on Grandparents time, or learn about Wallace and Bruce we can do that.

And don't forget the World's oldest Football, found in 1545 in Mary Queen of Scots' bedroom.

We can show you that!

And it's Free!

Most visits to the museum start at 10.30am and last for up to 2 hours, with your class split into groups and kept active throughout.

You can bring a packed lunch and and eat it indoors or out and play in our brilliant secret garden.