Bothwell Castle

Bothwell Castle stands on a steep bank above a sharp bend in the River Clyde, between Bothwell and Uddingston in South Lanarkshire. Built in the 13th century by the ancestors of Clan Murray, it guarded a key crossing point on the Clyde. The castle played a major part in Scotland’s Wars of Independence, changing hands several times. Its great round keep, or donjon, was one of the largest in Scotland when new. After repeated sieges and repairs, the castle fell into ruin by the 18th century. The castle’s long history includes sieges by English forces under Edward I and Edward III. Scottish commanders such as Sir Andrew Murray recaptured it twice, each time slighting its defences to deny use to the enemy. In 1362 Joan Moray married Archibald Douglas, who began rebuilding the castle. Later Earls of Douglas added the Great Hall and chapel, completing the main courtyard. The castle passed through Douglas lines until it was given to state care in 1935. Today the ruin shows the remains of the massive donjon to the west and the Great Hall to the east. Long curtain walls link round towers at the south-east and south-west corners. The courtyard is enclosed by these walls, with traces of the chapel and gatehouse still visible. The thick stonework and sheer scale show why William Douglas Simpson called it one of Scotland’s foremost secular buildings of the Middle Ages. The castle’s story is written into every ruined wall and fallen stone.