Stirling - Church of the Holy Rood

Buildings ranging from the 16th to the 19th centuries line the bustling Broad Street in the old town. Southeast of the castle, and separated from it by a dip, stands the Gothic Church of the Holy Rood. Its most impressive feature is the main nave with its Transitional-style huge oak ceiling. It dates from about 1270 but was altered in the 15th C. In 1542 at the age of eight months Mary Stuart was crowned Queen of Scotland in the church and, 15 years later in 1567, her one-year-old son James VI received the crown here with the reformer John Knox preaching the sermon.