Cadzow Castle

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View from Duke's Bridge over the Avon Gorge to Cadzow Castle

Cadzow Castle is a ruined castle about 1.6 km southeast of Hamilton city ​​center in the Scottish administrative division of South Lanarkshire . The building, built between 1500 and 1550, replaced an earlier royal castle. The city of Hamilton was formerly called Cadzow or Cadyou before it was renamed in 1455 in honor of James Hamilton, 1st Lord Hamilton . The castle is located above a gorge of Avon Water in what is now Chartelherault Country Park , formerly the hunting and pleasure ground of the Hamilton Palace of the Dukes of Hamilton . The ruin is a Scheduled Monument .

history

Former castle

The ancient kings of Strathclyde are believed to have owned a hunting lodge in Cadzow before their kingdom rose to Scotland in the 12th century. The original Cadzow Castle was built in the 12th century as the occasional royal residence for David I (1124-1153). Royal charters were issued from here as early as 1139. His successors, King Alexander II , Alexander III. and others, up to Robert the Bruce , also used the castle, mainly as a hunting lodge. It is also possible that this previous castle could have been at a different location, now known as "Castlehill". Today there is a residential area.

The old oak forest of Cadzow and white park cattle in the 19th century.

The Cadzow estate was divided in 1222; Cadzow Castle fell to the Cumming clan . After they forfeited their lands to the crown because of their support for John Balliol , Robert the Bruce lent them to Walter FitzGilbert at the beginning of the 14th century . FitzGilbert became the first Laird of Cadzow and is the ancestor of the Dukes of Hamilton. He had a moth erected near the city, the remains of which can still be seen on the M74 motorway.

16th century castle

Sir James Hamilton of Finnart had the current castle built around 1530. The nearby Craignethan Castle was also built on his behalf. Mary Queen of Scots stayed here after fleeing Loch Leven Castle in 1568 . Therefore, the castle was occupied by troops of the Earl of Mar , regent for King James VI. , Destroyed at the end of the 16th century. This was in retaliation to the Hamiltons for their support for Mary Queen of Scots. In the 18th century the castle was partially rebuilt to serve as a folly in the Park des Dukes.

The castle today

The ruins of the castle are owned and administered by Historic Scotland . The ruins are not open to the public as the structures are unstable and mostly supported by scaffolding. The ruins can be seen from footpaths in the landscape park. The Duke's Bridge , which was built high above the Avon Gorge, allows the dramatic view of the ruins on the wooded ravine. Between 2000 and 2003 a number of excavations were carried out on the castle ruins on behalf of Historic Scotland.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ George Chalmers: Caledonia, Or, A Historical and Topographical Account of North Britain from the Most Ancient to the Present Times: With a Dictionary of Places, Chorographical and Philological . Volume 6. A. Gardner, 1890. P. 683.
  2. ↑ Scheduled Monument - Entry . In: Historic Scotland .

swell

  • Cadzow Castle . In: Canmore . Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland. Retrieved March 28, 2017.

Web links

Commons : Cadzow Castle  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 55 ° 45 '37.6 "  N , 4 ° 1' 2.8"  W.