Stanely Castle

Stanely Castle stands in the waters of Stanely Reservoir, south of Paisley in Renfrewshire. Built in the early 15th century on an island in a marsh, it was the seat of the Danzielstons before passing to the Maxwells of Calderwood. The Maxwells sold it in 1629 to Lady Ross of Hawhead, and in the 18th century it became the property of the Boyle Earls of Glasgow. By the early 19th century the castle had been abandoned and was sold to the Paisley Water Company. The company built the reservoir in 1837, which partially submerged the ruins and made them inaccessible. The castle is an L-shaped tower house of four storeys, constructed from local freestone with little weathering. Its walls are made of large, roughly squared blocks laid in rough courses, with dressed corbels and window margins. The windows are small and include keyhole-shaped arrow slits, typical of defensive design. The castle was built in two phases: an original rectangular tower and a later square extension or jamb. The only entrance was on the east side, and a spiral staircase in the northeast corner led to the upper floors. The ground floor contained two cellars, while the first floor housed the kitchen in the jamb and the great hall and private cabinet in the main block. The second and third floors each had two bedrooms in the main block and an additional room in the jamb, each with a privy and fireplace. The Hearth Tax return for 1691 lists eleven hearths, suggesting the presence of attic rooms in the main block. The castle’s masonry remains well preserved despite its partial submersion.