The Cunninghame Graham Memorial is a stone monument dedicated to the memory of 'Don Roberto'

Robert Bontine Cunninghame Graham Robert Bontine Cunninghame Graham (24 May 1852 – 20 March 1936) was a Scottish politician, writer, journalist and adventurer. He was a Liberal Party Member of Parliament (MP); the first ever socialist member of the Parliament of the United Ki ...

(1852–1936) 15th of Gartmore and 19th of Ardoch, a Scottish author, politician, traveller and horseman . The

cairn A cairn is a human-made pile (or stack) of stones raised for a purpose, usually as a marker or as a burial mound. The word ''cairn'' comes from the (plural ). Cairns have been and are used for a broad variety of purposes. In prehistory, t ...

was designed by Alexander Wright and was erected in June 1937, a year after Cunninghame Graham's death, on land that he had given to the

National Trust for Scotland The National Trust for Scotland () is a Scottish Building preservation and conservation trusts in the UK, conservation organisation. It is the largest membership organisation in Scotland and describes itself as "the charity that cares for, sha ...

at Castlehill,

Dumbarton Dumbarton (; , or ; or , meaning 'fort of the Britons (historical), Britons') is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde where the River Leven, Dunbartonshire, River Leven flows into the Clyde estuary. ...

. The monument, which is built of Scottish stone, contains stones from Argentina (top), Uruguay (left) and Paraguay (right), countries in which Don Roberto had lived in his youth and about which he had written. Between these stones is a medallion of Cunninghame Graham (in his latter years) by the Liverpool born artist Alexander Proudfoot, RSA, who taught sculpture at

Glasgow School of Art The Glasgow School of Art (GSA; ) is a higher education art school based in Glasgow, Scotland, offering undergraduate degrees, post-graduate awards (both taught and research-led), and PhDs in architecture, fine art, and design. These are all awa ...

. Below the medallion is an

epitaph An epitaph (; ) is a short text honoring a deceased person. Strictly speaking, it refers to text that is inscribed on a tombstone or plaque, but it may also be used in a figurative sense. Some epitaphs are specified by the person themselves be ...

, which reads: "Robert Bontine Cunninghame Graham 1852–1936 – Famous Author – Traveller and Horseman – Patriotic Scot and Citizen of the World – As Betokened by the Stones above. Died in Argentina, interred in Inchamahome – He Was a Master of Life – A King Among Men" On the Argentinian stone, there is a portrait of his favourite horse ''Pampa'', an Argentine mustang which he had rescued from pulling trams in Glasgow and rode for some 20 years and the inscription: "To Pampa my black Argentine who I rode for twenty years without a fall. May the earth lie light upon him as lightly as he trod upon its face. Vale...or until so long. Don Roberto." One of Pampa's hooves is buried beneath the monument. At the opening ceremony, which was attended by the

Duke of Montrose Duke of Montrose (named for Montrose, Angus) is a title that has been created twice in the Peerage of Scotland. The title was created anew in 1707, for James Graham, 1st Duke of Montrose, James Graham, 4th Marquess of Montrose, great-grandson o ...

(for Scotland), Dr

Alberto Guani Alberto Guani Carrara (14 June 1877 – 26 November 1956) was a Uruguayan jurist, diplomat and the Vice President and President of the Senate from 1943 to 1947. Alberto Guani was born in Montevideo on 14 June 1877. He studied law, and became a we ...

(for Uruguay) and Cunninghame Graham's friend and biographer,

Aimé Tschiffely Aimé () is a French masculine given name. The feminine form is Aimée, translated as "beloved". Aimé may refer to: Given name * Saint Amatus or Saint Aimé (died 690), Benedictine monk, saint, abbot and bishop in Switzerland * Aimé, duc de ...

(for Argentina), a wreath was laid by his great-nephew, Robert Elphinstone Cunninghame Graham. The monument suffered considerable damage through vandalism during the 1970s and was moved in May 1981 to the village of

Gartmore Gartmore (Scottish Gaelic ''An Gart Mòr'') is a village in the Stirling council area, Scotland. It is a village with a view of the Wallace Monument in Stirling, almost 25 miles away. In the Land Registration County of Perthshire, it is one mi ...

(where, until 1900,

Gartmore House Gartmore House is a country house and estate in the village of Gartmore, Stirling, Scotland. It was built in the mid-18th century for the Graham family on the site of an earlier house. William Adam prepared plans for Nicol Graham of Gartmore ...

had been the principal seat of the Cunninghame Graham family), and was unveiled on Cunninghame Graham's birthday (24 May) by the Argentinian Ambassador. It is currently in the care of the National Trust for Scotland Despite the removal of the monument to Gartmore, the Cunninghame Graham Memorial Park at Castlehill is affectionately known as "the Mony" and the original site of the Memorial marked by a stone. In 2012 the National Trust for Scotland carried out significant conservation work on the monument which was completed in time for the 160th anniversary of Cunninghame Graham's birth. A new stone was added to commemorate another of Don Roberto's horses, ''Pingo'', and a new information panel was placed nearby.

References

{{coord, 56.14726, N, 4.37913, W, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title National Trust for Scotland properties Buildings and structures in Stirling (council area) Monuments and memorials in Scotland