Hostel History

The Youth Hostel is a largely new building incorporating the facade of the former Church on the site, the Erskine Marykirk.

The original Church on this site was built around 1740 and occupied the ground to the front of the Hostel. Ebenezer Erskine was the founder of this church and when he died in 1754 he was buried in a tomb under the floor of his church. The monument in front of the Youth Hostel was designed by Messrs. Peddie & Kinnear of Edinburgh and was erected in 1859 to mark the spot of Ebenzer Erskine's tomb.

In 1824 the large and influential congregation of the Church embarked on the constructon of a new church on the present hostel site, leaving the site of the original church as open space in front of it. The new church was designed by Allan Johnstone. Its interior was acoustically perfect and had a curved gallery, tiered seating and fine plasterwork.

In 1934, the Erskine Church became the Erskine Marykirk, derived from the merger between the Erskine and the mission church in St.Mary's Wynd.

Over time the congregation dwindled and the Erskine Church was eventually abandoned in 1968. In 1980 the building was largely destroyed by fire leaving only the facade which was retained and incorporated within a new building for the Youth Hostel. Argyll's Ludgin had been the home of the Stirling Youth Hostel since 1962 but with the completion of the new building at the Erkine Marykirk in 1993 Stirling Youth Hostel moved to this new high quality youth hostel for Stirling which matches the best in Europe. The new youth hostel is a modern fully equipped hostel with accommodation for 126 people and offers travellers the opportunity to stay in the historic heart of Stirling.

From archaeological excavation of the area it would appear that during medieval times the area under the actual Youth Hostel was garden ground. Quantities of animal bone, especially sheep, recovered from nearer the street frontage seem to relate to the earlier use of the area as part of the Flesh Market.