Just down from Dumfries, on the edge of
the Caerlaverock National Nature Reserve, there sits the rather spectacular
ruin of Caerlaverock Castle, and that is where I headed off to today. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get to go inside as,
at the time of writing, it seems to be that every building in the care of
Historic Environment Scotland is shut and nestled in scaffolding. This makes it great fun when trying to
photograph somewhere, to see how one can avoid the unsightly skeleton of metal
poles sprouting out at the exact point where the building looks best. I gave it a good try, though sometimes I
think it would be easier to photograph the scaffolding and forget about the
building.
The Caerlaverock Castle I visited today
is actually the second of two castles sharing the same name. The first is just down the road with only the
foundations and moat now remaining. It
was abandoned due to it getting flooded in several storm surges, and was replaced
by the second castle, which was completed in around 1290.
Caerlaverock Castle was built in a
unique triangular shape with towers at each corner and is surrounded by a moat.
The castle was originally a stronghold
for the Maxwell family, being built for Sir Aymer Maxwell, with his son Sir
Herbert de Maxwell and his household, becoming the first occupants.
In 1300 the castle was besieged by King Edward
I of England and his army. This was in
retaliation for an attack on the English held Lohmaben Castle, which had been
carried out by the garrison stationed at Caerlaverock. The garrison, which consisted of only sixty
men, managed to repel the full might of the English army several times before
being forced to surrender. The castle
was then in English hands for a while before eventually being returned to the
Maxwell family. However, due to them backing
the wrong side between those vying to be the Scottish king, the castle was
again captured and taken from them in around 1355, and this time it was also
partially dismantled.
A few years later the Maxwells got hold
of the castle again and Sir Robert Maxwell (no, not the infamous fat one who
owned the Daily Mirror) rebuilt much of the castle between 1373 and 1410. Family descendants of his then carried out a
whole lot more building work, making the castle quite fancy with a nice, comfortable mansion
in it.
Unfortunately for the Maxwells, who were
Catholic, the rise of Protestantism in Scotland didn’t bode well for them. In 1640 an army of Covenanters besieged Caerlaverock. The siege went on for thirteen weeks before
those inside were forced to surrender. The
Covenanters then let Lord Maxwell, his wife and their page go free, but executed everyone else, around forty people, who had been defending the castle. The castle, which had been
badly damaged during the siege, was never occupied again.
On my wanders around the castle grounds, I
found a little nook in the drawbridge wall and left a Skulferatu there.
The coordinates for the location of the
Skulferatu are –
Latitude 54.976054
Longitude -3.524122
what3words: metals.loudness.redouble
I used the following sources for information on Caerlaverock Castle -
Canmore
Wikipedia
Caerlaverock Castle -
Wikipedia
Seventh Report with Inventory
of Monuments and Constructions in the County of Dumfries
Royal Commission on the
Ancient and Historical Monuments and Constructions of Scotland
by Herbert Maxwell &
others
1920
The Castellated and Domestic Architecture of Scotland from
the Twelfth to the Eighteenth Century
Volume One
By David MacGibbon and Thomas Ross
1887