In
Across the road from the Tolbooth stands the 17th Century house
of the Town Clerk, James Norie. He was a lawyer, and the carved
stone head of a lawyer in a wig sticks out near the roof top.
Carved initials including those of Norie and his wife can be
seen on the frontage. The tall houses in Broad Street were
joined together, and in each house lived several families.
Most have now been rebuilt.
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reach the backyards there were narrow pends or closes roofed
over with houses above them. Behind the houses were long
narrow plots of land. Here residents grew vegetables and
kept hens and other livestock. Wooden stalls - medieval shops
- were built onto the front of the houses. |
"James
Norie was a lawyer and town clerk in Stirling and built
his fashionable new house in 1671.... it even had it's
own well!
The site belonged to his wife's parents and the family
initials can be seen over the windows, along with latin
mottoes such
as 'wisdom is the tree of life'. At the top of the roof
you can see Norie's wigged head looking down at you. Other
lawyers
and rich merchants also lived in this area."
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