Bothwell Castle

Bothwell Castle
Bothwell, South Lanarkshire, Scotland UK grid reference NS688593
South-east tower of the castle
Bothwell Castle
Coordinates	55°48′34″N 4°05′41″W / 55.8095°N 4.0948°W / 55.8095; -4.0948
Type	Castle of enceinte
Site information
Owner	Historic Scotland
Controlled by	De Moravia family England Earl of Douglas Earl of Angus
Open to the public	Yes
Condition	Ruined
Site history
Built	Begun 13th century
Built by	Walter de Moravia
Materials	Coursed red sandstone rubble

Bothwell Castle is a large medieval castle sited on a high, steep bank, above a bend in the River Clyde, in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is located between Bothwell and Uddingston, about 10 miles (16 km) south-east of Glasgow. Construction of the castle was begun in the 13th century by the ancestors of Clan Murray, to guard a strategic crossing point of the Clyde. Bothwell played a key role in Scotland's Wars of Independence, changing hands several times.

The huge cylindrical donjon was built in the 13th century, but before the rest of the castle was completed it was severely damaged in a series of sieges. Rebuilding in the early 15th century enlarged the castle, but it was abandoned by the 18th century. The present ruin is rectangular, with the remains of the donjon to the west, and the later Great Hall to the east. The courtyard is enclosed by long curtain walls, with round towers at the south-east and south-west corners. The castle was described by Scottish archaeologist William Douglas Simpson as one of the "foremost secular structures of the Middle Ages in Scotland".

King David I granted the barony of Bothwell to David Olifard (or Olifant), Justiciar of Lothian, in the mid 12th century. The lands passed to his descendents and by 1252 the barony became the property of Walter de Moravia, or Walter of Moray, who had married the last Olifard baron's heir. He began construction of the castle, but by the start of the Wars of Scottish Independence in 1296, only the main donjon, the prison tower, and the short connecting curtain wall were completed. Foundations of the remainder were probably in place, and would have been defended by a wooden palisade.