A CLAYMORE-wielding funk musician has pledged to save Scotland’s first monument to William Wallace – but there are claims the Trust he's part of has failed to maintain it.
Kilted Jesse Rae collaborated with celebrated US artists in the 1970s and 80s, even standing on the front of a moving steam train to film videos for his own tracks. More recently he has made headlines as an independent candidate in both Holyrood and Westminster elections.
Now the Borders bassist hopes music will save a 9.5m sandstone sculpture which is understood to be the country’s first monument to Wallace.
The sandstone statue was commissioned by David Stuart Erskine, the 11th Earl of Buchan, in 1814 on land near St Boswells in the Borders, overlooking the River Tweed.
But its sword and Saltire-covered shield are now showing serious signs of wear, with worrying cracks visible on the supporting plinth, which is secured by metal bars.
It was last overhauled in 1991 thanks to £20,000 in funding from the Saltire Society, with restoration work carried out by Edinburgh sculptor Graciela Ainsworth.
Last month Rae – a trustee of the William Wallace Trust and self-described “Scottish funk master” – said he planned to launch a 24-hour funk music channel to raise funds to refurbish the statue and make improvements to the paths and car park that serve it.
Announcing a trial broadcast, Rae said the channel on the YouTube platform – which pays out a share of advertising revenues to posters with large audiences – would “set the path for future generations tae come and visit and care for The Wallace Statue”.
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The page for this channel was not found when The National checked it yesterday, but a post on Rae’s existing YouTube page titled “Immediate Repairs that have tae be Undertaken Wallace Statue” remained on his JesseRae1 account. Dated January 23 2020, it includes images of the damaged stonework spliced with archive footage and states that “£60,000 must be raised to save the Guardian of Scotland”.
Speaking to the Borders Telegraph, Rae said the figure was “in a sad way”, adding: “We know what needs to be done and we’ll make a start with the repairs to the plinth in April.”
However, Rae did not specify how much this would cost or how long the effort would take.
It is understood Rae is one of the few remaining trustees, but says he has “people lined up” and two phases of repairs are planned, stating: “The second phase of works will include the claymore - we need to get the emergency repairs done first.”
However, Wallace Society member Isabelle Hay, who recently surveyed the site for that organisation, has accused the William Wallace Trust (WWT) of a lack of care.
She says the rural site is overgrown and visitor paths and parking – paid for through WWT fundraising in the early 2000s – are “poorly maintained”.
She told The National: “The last repairs were done a significant time ago. It needs maintenance. You should be able to see the statue from the banks of the Tweed but you can’t see anything because it’s so overgrown.
“For a traveller or a visitor, it’s not impressive and it should be. It’s a fantastic statue, it should be an icon that everybody heads to.
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“The William Wallace Trust has not stepped up. We need to do something now. The statue is starting to fall apart.”
As well as the listed statue, Erskine commissioned a classical funeral-style urn at the site, with the inscription: “Sacred to the memory of Wallace/ The peerless Knight of Ellerslie/ 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.”
Rae described his campaigns for office in 2007, 2011 and 2015 as his way of “sticking up for the Borders” as bank closures hit communities.
He was advised not to take his 5ft claymore into polling stations or the count in 2015 and accused officials of trying to “embarrass” him.
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