The story of the 17th century Scottish hospital at the centre of a £3 million rescue bid

This article originally appeared on Culture24.

Trust campaigns to save 17th century almshouse and home of Scotland's second-oldest charity

The £3 million bid to save Cowane’s Hospital, a 17th century almshouse which, among other idiosyncrasies, contains the country’s oldest bowling green, has been backed by 15 members of the Scottish Parliament.

One of them, Bruce Crawford, of the SNP, called the Stirling Old Town building a “remarkable reminder” of the importance charity and trade have played in creating modern Scotland. The Trust which cares for the hospital are asking the Heritage Lottery Fund for £2 million.

“Behind the splendour, the building is in need of urgent repairs simply to survive,” urges Matthew Shelley, one of the Trustees of the hospital created by John Cowane, a 17th century merchant, moneylender, landowner and councillor who was Dean of Guild in Stirling and left a deathbed will of 40,000 merks to provide an almshouse for decayed guild brethren in 1633.

“A sad symptom of its condition is that this year the wooden hand fell off a statue of Cowane himself, which has stood in a niche above the entrance since 1650.

“Though according to local folklore he is not always there, every Hogmanay Auld Staneybreeks, as he is affectionately known, is said to jump down and dance in the forecourt.

“The money is not currently available for even this small piece of restoration so it will be interesting to see if there are reports of spectral jigs by a one-handed man at the dawn of 2015.

“The aim is to restore some rooms and the 18th century gardens, which include Scotland’s oldest functioning bowling green.

“One of the most impressive survivals from the early days of the hospital is the kitchen, which lies in the basement.

“If this can be returned to its original state it would provide a superb contrast to its counterparts in the nearby Argyll’s Lodging and the royal version up at the castle.

“There is also an ambition to recreate one of the bedsit rooms which were shared by two ordinaries, or beadsmen, who lived there.”

Shelley and the team have relied partly on the work of John Harrison, a Stirling-based historian whose research shows that the rooms were comfortable and well appointed.

“The occupants had pewter plates – the beneficiaries of another Stirling charity, Spittal’s Trust, made do with wooden ones,” he says.

“Numbers living in the almshouse were small - 12 at most, but in the 1690s as few as four - and the period during which it was used for this purpose was short – 1671 to around 1700.

“There were strict rules to which they were supposed to adhere. They insist on church attendance, good behaviour and sexual abstinence.

“The last of the rules - numbered eleveinlie and added in a different hand - forbids drunkenness.

“It has been suggested that the rules made some people reluctant to live in Cowane’s, but Mr Harrison has his doubts.

“He says a couple of people who broke the rules were given a bit of a scare by being threatened with expulsion, but in the end they were allowed to stay.”

Set close to the castle and old marketplace, the hospital and its gardens were a statement of the wealth, power and charity of the mercantile class. Known as the Guildhall, it was later transformed into a grand meeting place for the Stirling Guildry, and remained the base for Cowane’s charity work until it was deemed unfit for purpose a few years ago, when the small staff moved to the old bowling pavilion in the gardens.

“The charity still owns the now defunct Stirling harbour, which was once an important source of commerce,” points out Shelley.

“Its work over the centuries reflects the many changes in attitudes and approaches to help for those in need. At first the emphasis was on a small number of males from - or linked to - the merchant class.

“The early idea of providing accommodation was soon superseded by the notion of providing pensions: like today, it was felt that people were often better off staying at home rather than being institutionalised.

“There was also a fundamental shift towards women being the recipients, frequently respectable widows with dependents.

“And even though the value of pensions declined, Harrison says that Cowane’s beneficiaries were maintained in comfort, dignity and security, in sharp contrast to the kirk pensioners.

“Numbers also rose and, in 1860, some 146 weekly pensions were being paid. However, by this time the idea was that charity should be about improving people rather than just supporting them and a large part of Cowane’s resources were being ploughed into education.”

More than a century on, Scotland’s second oldest charity could be responsible for a wide-reaching new tourist attraction with an emphasis on education. A new roof, restored rooms and kitchens, an exhibition, community heritage projects, activities and a restoration of the 18th century splendour of the gardens are part of the proposals.

“These are really exciting plans which will allow this beautiful, important and historic building to have a new future back at the heart of Scottish life,” says Hazel Barton, the Charity Officer of the trust.

“But the sad reality is that if we can’t raise the necessary money then the building will have to close and it will simply continue to deteriorate as there is no money available for the major structural work that has to be done.

“Action has to be taken not just to save the building but to give it a sustainable future. This should be in keeping with John Cowane’s vision of creating a superb building that would benefit the people of Stirling and Scotland.”

• Cowane’s Hospital is open to the public. Visit cowanes.org.uk for more, and the hospital records at Stirling Council Archives.

John Cowane and his hospital

Starting as an apprentice, John Cowane became a hugely successful European trader, known for a hardnosed approach to business.

He was born around 1570 to a prominent local family and though he never married he was fined £6 for fathering an illegitimate son.

At his death in 1633 he left a very large bequest worth more than £2,200 sterling which was to be invested in land, or lent out at interest, for the building and support of an almshouse within the burgh.

A “natural” son of John Cowane called Walter, possibly the offspring of his liaison with the unfortunate Agnes, servant of Duncan Paterson, was one of the charity’s early pensioners.

These were troubled times due to civil strife and pestilence, and the building took from 1636 to 1650 to entirely complete. Even then, its role as an almshouse only began in earnest 20 years later.

Over the centuries it has seen many uses, and was probably a barracks for a while in the 17th century. It was an isolation unit for cholera victims in 1832.

What was in the almshouse rooms?

John Harrison’s research into items bought for the hospital in the late 17th century shows that the rooms (most intended to be shared by two men) were well appointed. Contents included:

enclosed box beds with feather mattresses and bolsters
four pairs of sheets
two chests, a table and chairs
pewter plates
brass candlesticks
a lattice-work girdle used for cooking
a brush, tongs and shovel for a coal fire
five pairs of blankets and four pairs of sheets
two chamber pots.

Good quality clothes, including cloaks and hats, were also provided, as well as generous amounts of money: around £2, 4s Scots a week.

The lives of the ordinaries

Early records offer vivid insights into some of the early “ordinaries” who lived at Cowane’s Hospital. Two of those highlighted by John Harrison are John Baird and one of three men called John Buchanan.

• John Baird, the son of a wealthy merchant, became a guildbrother in 1646. While his brother Andrew was highly successful, John was less fortunate. In 1672-3 he was among the earliest intake at the hospital where he remained until his death in 1686. Significantly, Andrew appears to have been unabashed about his brother living there.

• John Buchanan had been church bellman or beddall but grew frail and could no longer manage even this modest work. He retired on condition of a Cowane’s pension. This was agreed in December 1668. He was duly installed but died a few months later. The charity then funded a good funeral complete with brandy, pipes, and tobacco.

What do you think? Leave a comment below.

More from Culture24's Historic Buildings section:

Drones and 600-year-old timbers to help archaeologists in Anglo-Saxon Shropshire

SAVE campaign celebrates as demolition of terraces around Ringo Starr's birthplace is vetoed

£3.8 million restoration of 17th century Dyrham Park roof begins as organisers thank supporters

Source: http://www.culture24.org.uk//history-and-heritage/historic-buildings/art514218-the-story-of-the-17th-century-scottish-hospital-at-the-centre-of-a-three-million-pound-rescue-bid