In addition to public subscription, it was partially funded by contributions from a number of foreign donors, including Italian national leader Giuseppe Garibaldi.

[3] The foundation stone was laid in 1861 by the Duke of Atholl in his role as Grand Master Mason of Scotland, with a short speech given by Sir Archibald Alison.

[11] The original Victorian statue of Wallace stands on the corner of the monument and is by the Edinburgh sculptor David Watson Stevenson.

Church leased the statue to Stirling Council, who in 1997 installed it in the car park of the visitor centre at the foot of the craig.

[16] It was returned to Church, who, after an unsuccessful attempt to sell it at auction,[14] reportedly offered it to Donald Trump's Menie estate golf resort.

[17] However, it remained in the garden of the sculptor's home, where it was incorporated into a replica of a castle, and with additions to it that included the head of the decapitated governor of York.