Southwest view of the castle

Southwest view of Bothwell Castle, showing the red sandstone curtain wall and cylindrical tower.
Bothwell Castle from the southwest, photographed by M J Richardson on 8 July 2012. The view shows the surviving curtain wall and cylindrical tower; it is not a reconstruction of the unfinished original plan. Geograph photograph 3057879, Wikimedia Commons item, licensed CC BY-SA 2.0.

Construction and form

HES dates the earliest parts to the second half of the thirteenth century and attributes the initial building to Walter de Moray or his son William. The intended design was a five-sided curtain-wall castle dominated by a large circular tower at the south-west angle, with additional towers and a twin-towered gatehouse. The plan was never completed as intended: the surviving and excavated remains include the south-west tower, south curtain wall and one angle tower, with footings indicating the larger intended footprint. The castle occupies a prominent terrace about 30 metres above sea level. HES designation

Rebuilding and regional conflict

The castle was remodelled in the late fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries, with further sixteenth-century changes. HES relates its history to the Wars of Independence and to the Moray and Douglas families, making it a major military and political site in the Clyde valley. These developments are relevant regional context for the landscape opposite Blantyre; they do not establish a direct administrative relationship with the historical parish of Blantyre. HES designation

Blantyre Priory and Bothwell Castle are linked in the surviving view across the Clyde and in modern heritage descriptions. The priory, however, was probably founded by Patrick, Earl of Dunbar, and affiliated to Jedburgh Abbey, while the castle's early history is associated with the Morays. The crossing, river terraces and intervening valley form a shared setting for distinct institutions. HES, Bothwell Castle · HES, Blantyre Priory