Bothwell Castle

Bothwell Castle

Bothwell Castle
Castle Avenue
Bothwell
Glasgow
Larnarkshire
Scotland
G71 8BL

Tel: 0131 668 8600
E-Mail: hs.members@scotland.gsi.gov.uk

Web: Bothwell Castle

About Bothwell Castle

One of Scotland’s greatest castles

Bothwell Castle is one of the outstanding monuments of medieval Scotland.

It owes its origins to Walter of Moray, a northern aristocratic family who acquired Bothwell in 1242. He (or his son William, known as ‘the Rich’) created the mighty castle in a spectacular display of feudal pride.

Their dream was never completed, probably because of the outbreak of the Wars of Independence in 1296. No matter, for what they did achieve – and what still holds us enthralled today – is the great donjon, or tower. Dr W. Douglas Simpson, erstwhile librarian of King’s College at the University of Aberdeen, has justifiably described the building as ‘the grandest piece of secular architecture that the Middle Ages has bequeathed to us in Scotland’.

Not surprisingly, the Morays’ great castle figured prominently in the Wars of Independence with England. Siege followed on siege. The most momentous was Edward I’s great siege of 1301.

After the wars, Bothwell Castle passed to another powerful noble family, the Black Douglases. They rebuilt it in a form not envisaged by their predecessors. This too is impressive, with an array of fine-quality later-medieval secular architecture. After the Black Douglases were overthrown in 1455, the castle reverted to the Crown, and its later history was relatively uneventful.

The 13th-century Moray stronghold

The Morays envisaged a vast stone castle of enclosure covering 1.5 acres (0.75 hectares). This was to have had a mighty twin-towered entrance gatehouse and other circular towers projecting from its formidable curtain wall. Only the donjon, the main residential tower, was ever fully built. It measured 20m in diameter, and stood over 30m high. Although it was partially destroyed in 1337, it is still remarkably impressive – one of the greatest military works of medieval Scotland.

The great siege of 1301

In August 1301, when the Wars of Independence with England were at their height, Bothwell endured a major siege. Edward I of England, ‘Hammer of the Scots’, brought 6,800 soldiers to the castle. A huge siege engine, called le berefrey (‘the belfry’), was hauled from Glasgow. It was a tall siege tower, with ladders inside to enable the attackers to fight their way onto the castle battlements. The garrison surrendered within the month.

The 14th-century Black Douglas stronghold

After the last recorded siege in 1337, the mighty donjon was partially dismantled. The castle lay derelict until 1362, when Joanna Moray, heiress of Bothwell, married Archibald ‘the Grim’, 3rd Earl of Black Douglas. Archibald and Joanna completely rebuilt Bothwell to a different design. This included a lofty new tower house (now gone), with a great hall and chapel beside it. The hall and chapel still stand, and are impressive examples of later medieval castle architecture.