Crawford Castle, substantially in ruins, is located on
the north bank of the River Clyde, around half a mile north of Crawford,
South Lanarkshire, Scotland. The ruins stand on an earlier motte and
bailey earthwork. The castle is also known as Lindsay Tower, after its
former owners, the Lindsay family. The strategic location of the castle,
at NS954213, guards the strategically important Mennock Pass from
England into the upper Clyde Valley.
Archaeological excavations
to the north-west of the castle have shown that a Roman fort, with a
garrison of perhaps 300, existed at this site between 80 AD and 170 AD.
This site was the administrative centre for the Barony of Crawford,
at that time the largest and most influential barony in southern
Scotland. The Barony was established before 1100 when records of the
period show Sveinn, son of Thor, as Lord of Crawford. From this line
descended the surname of Crawford as the original occupants of the
barony. Crawford Castle was in existence by 1175, and was probably built
as an earthwork and timber castle some time before this by Sveinn's
father Thor, sheriff of Edinburghshire, or indeed by Thor's father
Sveinn.
The Lindsay family inherited the barony of Crawford when
William Lindsay married ca. 1154 the younger daughter of Thor, sheriff
of Edinburghshire, and granddaughter of Sveinn, Lord of Crawford.
Following the death of Thor in about 1165, it was probably William
Lindsay who built the stone castle in 1175. He is recorded as Lord of
Crawford by 1185/1190. Crawford Castle is located in Crawford Parish.
From an early date, the Clan Carmichael of Meadowflat acted as
hereditary constables of the castle, retaining this post under
successive owners.
In 1398, Robert II granted the title of Earl
of Crawford to David Lindsay, who had won great praise on St George’s
Day, 23 April 1390 for bravery in a duel with the Englishman Baron
Welles on London Bridge after Welles, at a banquet in Edinburgh, and
presumably after too much alcohol issued, as Champion of England, the
challenge: "Let words have no place; if ye know not the Chivalry and
Valiant deeds of Englishmen; appoint me a day and a place where ye list,
and ye shall have experience."
At the accession of James IV in
1488 the barony of Crawford was transferred to
Archibald Douglas, 5th
Earl of Angus for supporting his father, James III, against the young
prince's rebellion. The Earls of Angus held the castle until 1578, when
their estates were forfeited by the young James V. James used Crawford
as a hunting lodge until his own death in 1542. His mistress, Elizabeth
Carmichael, was the daughter of the hereditary constable.
After
1542 the barony was returned to the Earls of Angus, the keepership of
the Carmichaels of Meadowflat coming to an end in 1595. In 1633 the
11th
earl was created Marquess of Douglas, and the castle was probably
rebuilt after this date. The castle then passed to the Duke of Hamilton,
before being sold to Sir George Colebrooke in the 18th century. After a
period of use as a farmhouse, the building was abandoned at the end of
the 18th century, and much of the stone reused to build the present
Crawford Castle Farm. Four stone tablets bearing coats of arms, one with
the date 1648, are built into the west and south walls of the Castle
Crawford House.
The early earthworks of Crawford Castle comprise
a motte around 5m high, with a surrounding ditch and a bailey some 45m
by 33m to the south-west. On the motte are the remains of a curtain
wall, surrounding an enclosure around 20m square. There may have been
round towers at the corners of this enclosure, which probably dates to
the 16th or early 17th centuries. A range of buildings on the south-west
side of the castle were built at around the same time. This tower-like
range was of three storeys, plus an attic, with a vaulted basement and
projecting chimney-breast. To the south-east, a second range was added
later in the 17th century, providing more spacious accommodation with
larger windows. The prominent arched recess in the east wall suggests
that a single storey building of some kind projected from the main
structure at this location.[9] Much of the present remains probably date
from the 17th century rebuilding by the Marquess of Douglas.
Crawford Castle is specified in a list of monuments published by the
Minister of Public Building and Works under the Ancient Monuments
Consolidation and Amendment Act 1913. It is now a Scheduled Ancient
Monument. The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments
of Scotland lists the site as a castle or motte.
Castle Crwaford
House, which is nearby, is said to be partially constructed with stone from the castle.
Four stone tablets bearing coats of arms, one with the date 1648, are built into the west and south walls of the Castle Crawford House.
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