Strathaven Castle

Strathaven Castle stands in the centre of the small town of Strathaven in South Lanarkshire. The ruin is closed to the public and has been for five years. A Friends of Strathaven Castle Group was set up in February 2023 to promote repair and renewed access. The castle is also known as Avondale Castle and is now a Scheduled Ancient Monument. It is built on a rocky, partly artificial mound beside the Powmillon Burn. The castle’s origins go back to about 1350 when it was built by the Bairds. Later it passed to the Sinclairs and then to the Earls of Douglas. After James II suppressed the Earls of Douglas in 1455 the castle was sacked and slighted. Sir Andrew Stewart rebuilt or replaced the castle in 1457. In 1534 Sir James Hamilton of Finnart expanded the buildings. The last occupant was Anne, Duchess of Hamilton, who left in 1717. The remains show a three-storey rectangular block with a four-storey round tower at the north-west corner. The north wall and the tower still stand almost complete. Inside, the remains of a collapsed basement vault can be seen. A remnant of 15th-century-style corbelling remains visible. The round tower has wide gunloops and an unusually low entrance. A local tradition tells of a lady walled up alive in the castle wall.