Mugdock Castle
| Mugdock Castle | ||
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 South facade of Mugdock Castle with the only remaining tower |
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| Creation time : | 14th Century | |
| Castle type : | Niederungsburg | |
| Conservation status: | ruin | |
| Standing position : | Scottish nobility | |
| Construction: | Quarry stone | |
| Place: | Mugdock | |
| Geographical location | 55 ° 57 '55.6 " N , 4 ° 19' 28.5" W | |
| Height: | 160 m ASLTemplate: height / unknown reference | |
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Mugdock Castle is the ruin of a lowland castle in Mugdock Country Park just west of Mugdock village . The ruin belongs to the Scottish county of Stirlingshire (now part of the Stirling administrative unit ), although it is only two kilometers north of Milngavie in the East Dunbartonshire administrative unit in the northern suburbs of Glasgow .
history
The Mugdock lands had belonged to the Grahams since the mid-13th century when David de Graham of Dundaff acquired them from the Earl of Lennox . It is possible that the castle was built by his descendant, Sir David de Graham († 1376) or his son in 1372. In 1458 the lands were raised to the baronate Mugdock. In 1505 the Grahams were named Earls of Montrose .
The most famous of the Grahams of Montrose, James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose , may have been born at Mugdock Castle in 1612. In the Episcopal Wars , a prelude to the Wars of the Three Kingdoms , Lord Montrose briefly supported the Covenanters . He was imprisoned in Edinburgh in 1641 for intrigues against Archibald Campbell, 1st Marquess of Argyll , who later became his archenemy . While Lord Montrose was in prison, Lord Sinclair set fire to Mugdock Castle. Lord Montrose did not return there until 1644, when he began his royalist revolt, in which he became the commander of the royal troops in Scotland. Mugdock Castle was burned again that year. After the defeat of King Charles I of England , Lord Montrose was executed in 1650 and forfeited his lands in favor of the Marquess of Aryll. In 1661 the Marquess of Argyll was also executed and Mugdock Castle returned to the Graham family, who renovated the castle for two years. A country house was built within the walls of the old castle . In 1692, the Grahams bought Buchanan Auld House near Drymen , a residence more suited to a marquis, although the official family seat remained Mugdock Castle for some time.
A terraced, fenced-in garden with a pleasure house was built east of the castle in the 1820s. The local historian John Guthrie Smith (1834-1894), a relative of the Smith family from nearby Craigend Castle , leased the property from 1874. He had the 17th century country house demolished and commissioned the construction of a new Scottish Baronial style country house in the ruins of the old castle. It was designed by architects Campbell Douglas & Sellers and expanded in the 1880s based on plans by James Sellers .
The house was requisitioned by the government during World War II . In 1945 Hugh Fraser, 1st Baronet , owner of what is now called the House of Fraser , bought Mugdock Castle from the Duke of Montrose. The 19th century Mugdock House burned down in 1966 along with the remaining 16th century outbuildings. In 1981 Lord Fraser's son, Sir Hugh Fraser, 2nd Baronet , bequeathed the castle ruins and property to the Central Region Administration for use as a country park . Today the property is called Mugdock Country Park and the ruins are open to the public. The remaining 14th century tower has been renovated and now serves as a museum. The castle ruins are considered a Scheduled Monument .
architecture
The castle
The original castle was built in the middle of the 14th century. It could have had the shape of a shield and consisted of towers that were grouped around an inner courtyard and connected with curtains and lines of buildings. In the middle of the south wall was the main gate. The castle stood on a natural mound with steep sides of volcanic rock on the western edge of Mugdock Loch , which was larger than it is today. Only the southwest tower of this early castle is completely preserved and is the most recognizable building of the ruins. The narrow tower has four floors; the entrance is on the first floor and can be reached via an external staircase on the east side. The ground floor has a vaulted ceiling and each floor consists of a single room. The two upper floors have a larger floor plan than the lower ones and are supported with brackets . This gives the tower a top heavy appearance. The only other ruins are the ground floor of the northwest tower, part of the gatehouse and some connecting sections of the curtain wall.
extension
The castle was expanded in the middle of the 15th century, probably around the time the baronate was created. An outer wall was erected that enclosed most of the mound as an outer courtyard. This courtyard had its main entrance in the south, connected to the southwest tower. In the courtyard are the ruins of various stone buildings, most of them from the 16th century. These include a chapel at the northern end of the courtyard and a residential complex in the southwest. Most of the outer curtain wall has also disappeared, only a section has been preserved in the south.
Victorian house
At the end of the 19th century, most of the castle was in ruins. When John Guthrie Smith built his mansion, all of the remains of the eastern towers were removed. The only remaining tower was integrated into the new building and connected to it by a covered corridor on the first floor via a bridge with a wide arch. The house itself was L-shaped and three stories high. It was built in the Scottish Baronial Style. The front door faced the southwest tower; the buildings included a small courtyard. After the fire, this house was largely torn down to the ground in 1967; some walls are still standing up to the level of the first floor.
Individual evidence
- ^ Richard Fawcett: Scottish Architecture from the Accession of the Stuarts to the Reformation 1371-1560 in The Architectural History of Scotland . Edinburgh University, Edinburgh 1994. p. 18.
- ↑ a b c Mugdock Castle Timeline . Mugdock Country Park. Archived from the original on March 29, 2017. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved March 28, 2017.
- ^ Martin Coventry: The Castles of Scotland . 3. Edition. Goblinshead, Musselburgh 2001. p. 327.
- ↑ Mugdock . In: Gazetteer for Scotland . Retrieved November 28, 2017.
- ↑ a b c Entry on Mugdock Castle in Canmore, the database of Historic Environment Scotland (English)
- ^ Mugdock House . In: Dictionary of Scottish Architects . Retrieved November 28, 2017.
- ^ Famous Residents . Mugdock Country Park. Archived from the original on March 29, 2017. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved March 28, 2017.
- ↑ Scheduled Monument - Entry . In: Historic Scotland .
- ^ Richard Fawcett: Scottish Architecture from the Accession of the Stuarts to the Reformation 1371-1560 in The Architectural History of Scotland . Edinburgh University, Edinburgh 1994.
- ^ Maurice Lindsay: The Castles of Scotland . Constable & Co., 1986. p. 386.
