Stirling Castle (26)
The open area stretching from the nearest rampart to the white van, is the Outer Close.  It stretches away to the right, past the wee cottage to the North Gate, which contains the earliest known stonework still standing in the castle, dating back to 1380.  The pend through this gatehouse twists sharply and was clearly designed to provide a well defended back door to the main areas of the castle.  The rooms above the gate have been altered more than once and in their time have held kitchens, a brewhouse and even, allegedly, a mint.

The Outer Close contains the castle well, visible in front of the Master Gunner's House and between 1501 and 1504, a range of kitchens was built along the near wall, conveniently located close to the Great Hall.  By 1689 the need for large scale catering was less pressing than the need for good defences against the Jacobite threat, so the Great Kitchens were filled in and covered over to provide a base for the Grand Battery - the line of 7 guns designed to protect the castle's relatively weak east side.  The Grand Battery also points directly at Stirling Bridge, a mere 800 yards away and it was the guns of the Grand Battery that knocked out Prince Charles Edward Stuart's Jacobite artillery on Gowan Hill in January 1746.
dji092325 stirling stirlingcastle scotland fortress outerclose northgate mastergunnershouse greatkitchens grandbattery