Bid for William Wallace memorial attraction at site of his former home in Castlegate, Lanark

A planning application has been made to create a William Wallace memorial site in Lanark.

The application was received by South Lanarkshire Council on March 31 and seeks to create a public art memorial project on the site of Wallace’s former home in Castlegate.

The proposal aims to deliver a heritage interpretation and public art project to add to the Lanark streetscape and act as a visitor attraction.

The site is the former home of Wallace and his wife, where they lived after their marriage in 1297.

There currently is a small plaque on the site which forms part of the In the Footsteps of William Wallace heritage trail.

The current site is slightly hidden and offers no real indication of its prominence, therefore planners are proposing to create a new ‘Home for Wallace’.

Planners are proposing to create an outdoor space which slots between two existing buildings in the town centre.

Within the space, there would be conceptual objects such as the ‘front door’, the ‘door mat’, a ‘fire recess’, ‘bookcase’, ‘rear garden’ and ‘chairs’, all elements which you would expect to see in a typical home – which would all include aspects of Wallace’s life.

The door to the space would be developed by creating an edge onto the street and would display the existing metal plaque and a poem or story engraved into a granite flagstone on entrance.

Tales and information of the connections between Wallace and Lanark will be included into the open plan house.

A vertical garden to the rear of the site will be incorporated which would also help enhance the space and add some greenery to the town centre.

Within the living room of the open plan home, a table in the centre with conceptual artwork taking the shape of a sword will contain various dates and locations important to Wallace’s story.

The roof of the house will be created in the form of murals growing out of the space which will become a canvas for the story of Wallace.

Planners have called the proposal “a new and exciting strategy for art, planting and lighting within the town centre”.

Standard consultation for the development began on April 6 and expires on April 20.

The determination deadline for the application is June 5.