New home for Battle of Falkirk mural in town's Victoria Park

The artwork by mural artist Chris Rutterford has been installed in the town’s Victoria Park alongside the recently refurbished Sir John De Graeme memorial fountain.

The large battle scene mural commemorates the 1298 Battle of Falkirk in which Wallace was defeated by England’s King Edward I. Sir John De Graeme – Wallace’s right hand man at Falkirk – is said to have been carried slain from the battlefield by Wallace who vowed to avenge his death.

The mural depicts the moments before battle and features the faces of over 100 people from around Scotland who helped crowdfund the project in return for appearing in the battle scene.

Part of the mural had been on display in The Howgate Shopping Centre in recent months as part of the battle’s 725th anniversary commemoration events. Now the completed artwork is in the park and a special ceremony was held on Sunday to unveil it.

David Reid, convener of The Society of John de Graeme, said: “It’s been a long process, about four or five years, that we’ve been working to get a mural up on the community centre.

"We went through lots of different processes to get it there, and Covid didn’t help, so it’s a big relief to see it there.

"It’s a great addition to the town.”

David said a comment from local musician Ross Fairweather had planted the seed of having a mural created for the site when he said it was a shame the fountain “had such an ugly building as a backdrop”.

Now, the plain brown wall has gone and instead a colourful mural has taken its place.

David continued: “We had a very short ceremony with a few speeches from the people involved in the project, including Chris Rutterford. A few of the faces from the mural were also there and piper Chris Davidson provided some music for the occasion.”

Local councillor Robert Spears, who has been a big supporter of the society, unveiled the mural.

The artwork’s installation ties in with the 725th anniversary of the Battle of Falkirk, which took place on July 22.

“It’s fitting to have it there now,” said David. “It’s the final part in the main restoration development work of the area, although not all of the work is complete as we still have more castle planters to put in and information boards that will complete a Wallace Trail that will go across the district.

"Places like Lanark and Stirling capitalise on the Wallace story thanks to Braveheart, yet Falkirk is still vitally important, if not more important than Stirling, but in some ways you would never know he was here.

"It’s important to remember the battle as without Falkirk there would never have been a Bannockburn.”

The Battle of Falkirk is the latest crowd mural completed by Chris Rutterford. He has previously completed works of the Battle of Bannockburn, Edinburgh’s Hogmanay and a crowd scene at Reading Football Club.

As well as local faces, the Battle of Falkirk mural features some famous faces including Lorraine Kelly and James Cosmo.