Cowane's Hospital in Stirling was built by a local merchant in 1637 as an Almshouse for 'decayed members of the Guild of Merchants'. John Cowane was a very wealthy Stirling merchant and Dean of the Merchant Guild who left funds for this almshouse and the maintenance of 13 elderly Guild members. It now houses a excellent coffee house for tourists during the spring and summer months and has a glow of eeriness about it during the winter months.