Carstairs Castle

Carstairs Castle stood in the east of Carstairs, near the present Carstairs Parish Church. It was a stronghold first recorded in 1126 when it was granted to the Bishops of Glasgow. By 1302, during the Wars of Independence, it housed a garrison of seventy troops. Ten were men at arms, twenty named soldiers and forty footmen. This was more than most local castles, showing its strategic value. Lanark Castle had only about fifteen men at the same time. The site may have been used much earlier. It is thought to occupy the place of a Roman fortification. The castle’s importance grew as bishops used it to control the area. Its position on high ground gave views over the surrounding land. The bishops kept the castle until the 16th century. Today only earthworks and fragments remain. The outline of the castle can still be traced in the field. Visitors walk over the old site and imagine the stone walls that once stood there. The nearby church marks where the castle once protected the community. The field is quiet, with no modern buildings nearby. It is a place where history can be felt in the ground.