Excavations at Bothwell Castle, North Lanarkshire

Proc Soc Antiq Scot, 127 (1997), 687-695 Excavation t Bothwelsa l Castle, North Lanarkshire John Lewis* ABSTRACT The following report describes two small-scale excavations (in 1987-8 and 1991) within the castle enclosure and a watching brief carried out in 1993 during the topsail clearance which preceded the installation of a new car park some 100 m east of the castle. Trenching to the immediate east of the postern revealed traces of what may have been an extension to the south range; and a possible robber trench, perhaps associated with the gatehouse, was uncovered just inside the modern entrance to the castle. The project was funded by Historic Scotland (former SDD/HBM). INTRODUCTION Standin gwoodee th hig n ho d nort hRivee banth f rko outskirtClydee th towe n th o f , nf o so Uddingston and some 13 km south-east of Glasgow (illus 1), Bothwell Castle (NGR: NS 688 593) retains the air of the formidable stronghold that it once was (illus 2). Begun in the mid- or late 13th centur Waltey Williamyb n so f Mora s ro originae hi th r , yo l desigcastle neves th f enwa o r brought to fruition, probably because of the depredations of the Wars of Independence in the late 13th and early 14th centuries. It was not until the early 15th century, following many turbulent years during which the castle changed hands on several occasions, that the enclosure was finally completed somewhaa n the y o wore b ;s nth kwa t reduced scale from that originally conceived (Simpson 1958,14). The most noticeable surviving remnants of the 13th-century arrangement comprise the massive circular donjon, which was partly demolished in the 14th century; the adjacent, south- west sectio curtaie th f no n wall smal;a l prison south-westowee th n ri t angle; and, adjoinine gth prison, a postern which appears to have been altered at a later date (illus 3). Other 13th-century structures are located to the north of the castle enclosure and consist of the foundations of a twin- towered gatehouse, a round tower and connecting curtain walls, none of which was ever raised abov existins eit g levels. The north curtain wall, the adjoining gatehouse and the east curtain wall were added in the late 14th century greae .Th t haleaschapee d th an lcourtyart e n sidth o l f eo d were producte th f so early 15th century, as were the circular south-east corner tower, the south curtain wall and the adjacent south range. Now completely demolished, the south range was upgraded during the early 16th century whe curtaie nth n walheightenes lwa transomed dan d windows inserted int. oit guardianshia castlw e no Th s ei pcare Historisitf th e o n ei c Scotland. Scoti* a Archaeology Limited Hillsid9 ,2 e Crescent, EdinburgF 5E 7 hEH 68 | 8SOCIET ANTIQUARIEF YO SCOTLANDF SO , 1997 ILLUS 1 Location map and plan of Bothwell Castle. (Based on the Ordnance Survey map © Crown Copyright) LEWIS: EXCAVATION BOTHWELT SA L CASTL9 68 | E ILLUS 2 Bothwell Castle, from the south-west (Historic Scotland © Crown Copyright) EXCAVATIONS Three separate archaeological investigations have been carrie t Bothwela t dou l Castle since eth foundations of the gatehouse were uncovered in 1981 (Lewis 1984). Following that excavation, salew ne s outlin e gatehouspoina e th th visitord r f fo an te o buils lai t s dsou wa ewa t within na adjacent breach in the north curtain. Between December 1987 and January 1988, prior to the installatio drainagw ne a f neo system, several trenches were excavated withi castle nth e courtyard by John Cannell. In late 1991, before the sales point was extended into the courtyard, the area immediately insid modere eth n entranc enclosure th o et investigate s ewa Johy db n Lewi Scotif so a Archaeology Limited (illu . Earls3) 199n yi 3 David Ree Scotif do a Archaeology Limited kepa t watching brief durin machine-strippine gth topsoif go l ove larga r e area som m0 e easth e10 f o t castle before that area was laid out as a new car park. All of these investigations were initiated funded an Historiy db c Scotlan predecessorss it d dan . EXCAVATIOE TH 1987-N I 8 Four trenches (A-D) were opened withi castle nth e courtyar anothed dan r trenc outsid) h(E e eth 14th-century north curtain wall largese .Th locates t trencwa ) dh (A adjacen postere e th th o t t n i south curtain wall; the remaining trenches were considerably smaller in size. | SOCIET 690 ANTIQUARIEYOF SCOTLANDSOF , 1997 NORTH-EAST TOWER LATRINE TOWER SOUTH -EAST TOWER |^ late 13th century |:::::::'.::':} 1336-37 late 14th century ^^ early 15th century 16th century castlee ILLUTh ,S 3 showin principae gth l area excavatiof so 1987-n i 199d 8an 1 Trench (illusA 4-6) Measurin gmaximua north/southm m9 , this trench extende eastwardm d6 s fro postere msoute th th n hni curtain wall. The trench was defined on its west side by a retaining wall, 2.25 m high, to the left of which was fligha f stepo t s leading down fro courtyare mth posterne th o dt . This wall comprise dsandstona e rubble core built agains verticaa t l earth baneas s lined it tkan n siddo e with ashlar although facine mucth f hgo stonewor beed kha trenchese n th removed l al n i , s turtopsoid .A fan l overlay deposit disturbef so d clad yan rubble lattee th , r resulting fro partiae mth l demolitio surroundine th f no g building recend san t levelling operations withi courtyarde nth . Towards the north end of the trench were the bottom two to three courses of two walls, forming what appeared to be the north-east angle of a building. Both walls stood on undisturbed, orange-red boulder clay and, in places, bedrock; they were built of mortar-bonded sandstone rubble, the bottom courses of which were steppe norte t th slightly f dou ho wese wal m th f thi .o tl 2 f Abou so wald buildinm an l 3 t g were uncovered remaindee th , eacf o r h structure being overlai rubbly nb clad ean y which remove e coulb t dno d withi time nth e available same th t possibl er reasonno Fo .s determino wa et t ,i fule eth l widt eithef ho r wall although the north wall was at least 1 m wide. There were no positive indications of where the west wall of curtaie th buildint e nth me walld gha , from whic might hi assumee b t d tha buildine tth g abutte curtaie dth n walwasd an l , therefore latea , r structure. rubble Th e that overla wese side th tf y eon walo l also partly obscured wha havy tma e bee sidee nth f so a stone-lined drain, probably contemporary with the building. Further south were the remnants of another, truncated drain which seeme exteno dt d beyon eastere dth ntrenche limith f o t . Within this a drai s nwa (?reused) weeper stone, identica protrudine on o t l g wesfroe base th latm e tth f e walo th e f 14th-centuro l y gatehouse on the north side of the castle (Lewis 1984, 124). It is quite likely that the northernmost drain issued int donjoe oth n moat course southere th Th . f eo n drai havy nema continued belo threshole wth f do the postern although thi ssubstantiated e coulb t dno probabln ca t I . assumee yb e r botdth o f thae ho on t 692 SOCIETY OF ANTIQUARIES OF SCOTLAND, 1997 N RETAINING WALL ILLUS 6 The principal excavated features in Trench A (1987-8) drain beed t belo sha buildinge n se flooe th w th f o r ; althoug htraco n ther s e whatsoeveewa f thao r t floor within the area excavated. Set int slopine oth g ground leadin postere th go t fragmentar nw werfe e eth y remnant stona f so e stair. One course of a chamfered door jamb survived on the east side of the bottom step; the west jamb was missing, perhaps having been lost when the ashlar face of the retaining wall was removed. There was no further evidence that the stair led to the chamber which had housed the mechanism for operating a portcullis abov posterne alses th owa apparent I . t tha partle th t y excavated buildint directlno s ygwa associated with that mechanism. TrenchesB, (illus4)C&D These small trenches were excavate depta o dt f abou ho m3 ,0. t only turf, topsoi recentld an l y disturbed rubble and clays being removed. A brick-built drain, uncovered in Trench B, was presumably part of an earlier attempt to rid the courtyard of excess water; otherwise, nothing of archaeological interest was LEWIS: EXCAVATIONS AT BOTHWELL CASTLE | 693 discovered in any of these trenches. Trench B measured 4 m east/west by 1 m wide and was located approximately 3.5 m from the south curtain wall, midway along its length. Trench C was opened near the centrenclosure th f e o measure d ean north/soutm d3 widem 1 .y hTrencb measurehD d approximatelm y5 east/west by 2 m north/south and was located 2 m east of the moat that protected the donjon tower. None of these trenches was drawn during the excavation, their positions being indicated only by photographs.

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