Battlefields›Siege of Stirling Castle (1304)

Medieval

Siege of Stirling Castle (1304)

Q: When did Siege of Stirling Castle (1304) take place?

Siege of Stirling Castle (1304) took place in 1304, in Stirlingshire, Scotland. After a four-month bombardment with twelve siege engines (including lead balls, Greek fire, stone balls and a gunpowder mixture) and the construction and testing of the giant trebuchet 'Warwolf', the Scottish garrison of about 30 men under Sir William Oliphant surrendered on 24 July 1304; Edward I spared the Scots but had one Englishman (who had previously handed the castle to the Scots) executed, and Oliphant was imprisoned in the Tower of London.

Q: Who won Siege of Stirling Castle (1304)?

England was victorious. The defeated side was Scotland. After a four-month bombardment with twelve siege engines (including lead balls, Greek fire, stone balls and a gunpowder mixture) and the construction and testing of the giant trebuchet 'Warwolf', the Scottish garrison of about 30 men under Sir William Oliphant surrendered on 24 July 1304; Edward I spared the Scots but had one Englishman (who had previously handed the castle to the Scots) executed, and Oliphant was imprisoned in the Tower of London.

1304

Stirlingshire, Scotland

Era

Medieval

Battle Type

Siege

Location

Stirlingshire, Scotland

Status

Unregistered

The Combatants

Who Fought

Defeated

Scotland

Victor

England

Forces involved

Scottish garrison of approximately 30 men under Sir William Oliphant; English besieging force equipped with 12 siege engines including the trebuchet Warwolf, built by Master James of St George with 5 master carpenters and 50 workmen

Outcome

After a four-month bombardment with twelve siege engines (including lead balls, Greek fire, stone balls and a gunpowder mixture) and the construction and testing of the giant trebuchet 'Warwolf', the Scottish garrison of about 30 men under Sir William Oliphant surrendered on 24 July 1304; Edward I spared the Scots but had one Englishman (who had previously handed the castle to the Scots) executed, and Oliphant was imprisoned in the Tower of London.

The Battle

History & Significance

There have been several sieges of Stirling Castle, a strategically important fortification in Stirling, Scotland.

Siege of Stirling Castle (1299), successful Scottish siege of an English garrison

Siege of Stirling Castle (1304), successful English siege of a Scottish garrison

Siege of Stirling Castle (1314), successful Scottish siege of an English garrison preceding the battle of Bannockburn

Siège of Stirling Castle (1337), unsuccessful siege by Andrew Murray

Between 1571 and 1585, the castle was besieged three times by Scottish factions during the reign of James VI.

Siege of Stirling Castle (1651), successful siege by Oliver Cromwell during the Third English Civil War.

Siege of Stirling Castle (1746), unsuccessful siege by Charles Edward Stuart during the Jacobite rising of 1745

Confirmed battlefield location

The ground

The ground they fought on

The site of Siege of Stirling Castle (1304) lies on Unnamed Igneous Intrusion, Carboniferous To Permian, bedrock that formed in the Permian. The rock here is dolerite and tholeiitic basalt.

Questions & Answers

Frequently Asked Questions

Unlimited access

Everything a full report reveals about Siege of Stirling Castle (1304)

This page covers Siege of Stirling Castle (1304). A full Aubrey report for the area pulls together this battle alongside scheduled monuments and everything else the record holds within a few miles:

Overview

An interactive map of the location with every monument and battle plotted, and a plain-language history built only from what the record holds.

Monuments

The legally protected scheduled monuments around the location, each with its period, type and significance.

Battlefields

The battles and sieges fought on this ground, mapped and set on a timeline of the wider conflict.

Roman Britain

The Roman roads, forts and towns near here, and the Iron Age people who held the land before Rome arrived.

Stat Accounts

The parish Statistical Accounts of the 1790s and 1830s, describing life, work and population here.

Civil War

The Civil War fighting, garrisons and recorded militaria in this area, woven into the arc of 1642 to 1651.

Geology

The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back hundreds of millions of years.

Local Names

What the street and field names around here actually mean, and the history buried inside them.

Historical Maps

Ordnance Survey maps from the 1800s, layered over the location as it stands today.

Literature

The books, county histories, charters and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.

Legal

The protected sites nearby and the metal-detecting, access and treasure laws that apply to this ground.

Spotlight

A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.

Target Zones

For detectorists: the most promising ground to search nearby, ranked by confidence, with what to expect.

Timeline

The whole story of the location told era by era, from prehistory to the present day.

First month just £4.99, then £9.99 a month. Unlimited locations, cancel anytime.

Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.

Start your Siege of Stirling Castle (1304) report

Or see a real report first

Protected heritage nearby

Scheduled Monuments near Siege of Stirling Castle (1304)

Stirling, town wall & bastion & Port Street Bastion at 44 Bastion Wynd

Scheduled monument · ~0.3 mi

Stirling town wall and bastion is a defensive structure built to protect the royal burgh of Stirling on its elevated site above the River Forth. The fortification occupies the rising ground at 44 Bastion Wynd, where the bedrock of Permian dolerite and tholeiitic basalt provides a naturally strong…

Stirling, remains of former bridge to N of Stirling Old Bridge

Scheduled monument · ~0.6 mi

Stirling, remains of former bridge to N of Stirling Old Bridge is a masonry bridge structure of unknown date situated on the River Forth immediately north of the medieval Stirling Old Bridge. The monument consists of fragmentary stonework visible in the riverbed and banks, testimony to an earlier…

King's Park,cup & ring mark

Scheduled monument · ~0.8 mi

King's Park cup and ring mark is a prehistoric rock carving located in Stirlingshire, Scotland. The motif consists of a cup—a small circular depression—surrounded by concentric rings pecked into the living rock surface. Such carvings are characteristic of later Neolithic and Bronze Age societies…

Abbey Craig,fort

Scheduled monument · Iron Age · ~1.6 mi

Abbey Craig fort is an Iron Age hillfort situated on a prominent rocky outcrop near Stirling in Perthshire, Scotland. The fort exploits the natural defensive qualities of its location, built upon bedrock composed of Permian-age igneous intrusion dominated by dolerite and tholeiitic basalt, which…

Gillies Hill,fort

Scheduled monument · Iron Age · ~2 mi

Gillies Hill is an Iron Age fort situated in Stirlingshire, Scotland. The fortification commands views across the surrounding landscape from its position on bedrock formed by Permian-age igneous intrusion, comprising dolerite and tholeiitic basalt. This volcanic geology provides the natural found…

Wallstale,dun

Scheduled monument · Iron Age · ~2.1 mi

Wallstale Dun is an Iron Age dun situated in Stirlingshire, Scotland, and is protected as a scheduled monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM2110. The monument represents a form of defensible settlement characteristic of the Iron Age in Scotland, typically comprising a small…

Stirling, Mar's Wark, uncompleted residence

Scheduled monument · ~0.2 miles

Stirling,Argyll Lodging,house

Scheduled monument · ~0.2 miles

Other Medieval Battles

Sack of York (1069)

1069

North Yorkshire, England

Battle of Mechain

1069

Wales

Siege of Durham Castle 1069

In the same landscape

Battles near Siege of Stirling Castle (1304)

Airdrie, Battle of Aerderyth

~18.4 miles away

Anglo-Swedish skirmish (1695)

Explore the history of Stirlingshire

Aubrey Research

Explore the landscape around Stirlingshire

Aubrey generates in-depth historical research for any location in the UK — drawing on Domesday records, scheduled monuments, Victorian OS maps, geological data and archaeological archives to tell the full story of a place.

Research a location near Stirlingshire View a sample report

Sources

Siege of Stirling Castle · Wikidata
Sieges_of_Stirling_Castle · Wikipedia
Siege of Stirling Castle (1304) · Wikipedia

All Battlefields