A remarkable red sandstone monument located on a steep slope on the left bank of the River Tweed in the Scottish Borders, the William Wallace Statue lies on the Bemersyde Estate, a half-mile (0.8 km) north of Dryburgh. This B-listed monument was constructed in 1814, for David Steuart Erskine, 11th Earl of Buchan (1742 -1829), and was the work of the mason John Smith of Darnick (1883 - 1864), who worked from a portrait of Wallace found in France. It portrays Wallace clad in Mediaeval Scottish armour, with a shield hanging from his left arm while he leans upon a sword with his right. The statue is notable for its immense size; standing 6.5m (21½ feet) in height on a 2.9-m (9½-foot) pedestal, giving a total height of 9.5m / 31 feet. The statue is maintained by the William Wallace Trust.
At the base of the statue we are reminded:
Erected by David Stuart Erskine, Earl of Buchan
WALLACE GREAT PATRIOT HERO! ILL REQUITED CHIEF!
MDCCCXIV
Below the statue is a funeral-style urn inscribed as follows:
Sacred to the memory of Wallace
The peerless Knight of Ellerslie [sic]
Who wav'd on Ayr's Romantic shore
The beamy torch of Liberty
And roaming round from Sea to Sea
From Glade obscure of gloomy Rock
His bold companions call'd to free
The Realm from Edward's Iron Yoke.
