Mar's Wark

PricingFreeFree for all visitors

Free entry for everyone

Entry

Free for everyone

Pricing details

Free entry for everyone; no membership card is needed.

ParkingNo car park

Arrive on foot, by bike or by public transport.

Parking details

Historic Scotland names no parking: Mar's Wark is at the head of Castle Wynd near Stirling Castle, on the street beside the Church of the Holy Rude. Park in one of Stirling's town car parks and walk up through the old town.

Driving pin: Historic Scotland's own pin on Castle Wynd, at the facade. Historic Scotland gives journey planners only.

About

At the head of Castle Wynd in Stirling's old town, beside the Church of the Holy Rude, stands the elaborate facade of a Renaissance townhouse built by John Erskine, Earl of Mar, keeper of Stirling Castle. He began it soon after 1567, and it was nearly finished in 1570. Mar had custody of the infant James VI and was regent of Scotland from 1571 until his death at the castle in 1572. The 6th Earl refitted the house as a barracks for the Jacobite Rising of 1715 that he led, and after its failure it became the town workhouse, giving it the name Mar's Wark. The facade is a feast of carving: an arched pend between octagonal turrets, statuettes, heraldic panels with the royal arms and those of the regent and his countess, gargoyles carved like cannon and humorous rhyming inscriptions. One figure in a winding sheet is said to be Joan of Arc. The facade is seen from the street; there is no interior.

Check today’s timesSee all times

Mar's WarkOpen at all times; the facade is seen from the street, there is no interior

Opening times may change at short notice.

Historic Scotland: 'Mar's Wark is free to visit and open year-round. Only the frontage survives, so there is no interior to visit. The decorative carvings, statues and heraldic details can be seen.' No closures or notices on 21 October 2026.

A small sign on the street explains the building. Historic Scotland suggests seeing inside another of Stirling's great townhouses on a guided tour of Argyll's Lodging, a short walk up the hill towards the castle.

Photo: The ruined Renaissance facade of Mar's Wark, with its two turrets flanking an arched gateway, heraldic panels and carved figures, above a cobbled street. Robert Cutts, CC BY 2.0. Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mar%27s_Wark_(28623822331).jpg. Licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0. Resized and cropped for display; derivatives retain the source licence.