Braveheart Statue Glebe Park

Glebe Park, Brechin City Football Club's grounds in the Scottish council area of Angus, is known for its hedge, which covers almost an entire side of the field as well as some interesting stands. Perhaps it should instead be better-known as the latest home of this peculiar statue of actor/director Mel Gibson as William Wallace.

The work of local Brechin stonemason Tom Church, this statue is full of detail, from the sculptor's hands in metal beneath the iconic 1995 movie's shout of “FREEDOM” to the thistle on the cuffs, dragon on the shield and decapitated head at Wallace's feet.

Church sculpted the work following his recovery from a life-saving surgery and it was first unveiled in Brechin in 1996. Church made an offer to the authorities in charge of Stirling's Wallace Monument, which was commemorating the 600th anniversary of the Battle of Stirling Bridge, to loan out the statue. His offer was initially accepted for a year-long loan.

I saw the statue myself during a Brechin City match and appreciated the small plaque next to it showing a proud Church. It also explains a bit more about the club's history, having been established after the 1906 merger of Brechin Hearts and Brechin Harp clubs. The statue would therefore also have been first unveiled on the year of the club's 90th anniversary.

During its time in Stirling, the statue was divisive, with many appreciating its artistry and others deriding its unconventional look. Both the 68th Academy Award winner for Best Picture and its director/lead actor are controversial as well. One for its historical inaccuracies and perceived anti-English sentiment, the other for his comments and the content of his work. These are believed to be the main reasons behind the statue having been vandalised on a few occasions until its 2008 return to Brechin.

Back in Brechin, Church first displayed it in its own castle-like stand at his home studio. With Church's name attached to the statue's recognition, and Brechin to Church's by association, the city's football club offered to display the Braveheart statue at Glebe Park instead. The local stadium has been its home since 2021. This led to the statement that the statue has been unveiled 4 times, something few other monuments can boast about.

In person, I found the statue to be quite distinctive. While it's true that it doesn't look like many other, more formal monuments, it's definitely easy to tell what it depicts, memorable too. The level of detail remains one of my favourite aspects of the work. What feels like the most personal gesture to me is the pair of sculptor's hands in metal, potentially modeled on Church's own, a fitting aspect given its origin during a difficult time in the artist's life.