In 1242 Walter of Moray’s  family obtained the land on which Bothwell Castle was built. It is thought either he or William his son – called ‘the Rich’ – started construction of the castle as a show of power and strength.

During the wars of independence there were multiple sieges of the castle using every castle assault method. By far the biggest was Edward I’s great siege of the early 1300’s.

A huge siege engine called ‘le berefrey’ (‘the belfry’) was brought from Glasgow. The siege tower had ladders inside to allow the attackers to fight their way onto the castle battlements.

The Black Douglases took over the castle after the wars ended. They added an  array of fine architectural improvements in their own show of power.

After the Black Douglases’ downfall in 1455 the casstle was absorbed by The Crown. The history of Bothwell’s since has been relatively uneventful.

The Moray stronghold

The Morays built a vast enclosing surround. Most striking is the ‘Donjon’  widely regarded as one of the great stone buildings of medieval Scotland.

The donjon was 20m in diameter and stood more than 30m tall. Partially destroyed in 1337, it was later rebuilt and remains hugely impressive.

Joanna Moray, heiress of Bothwell, married to fearsome Archibald the Grim. Archibald and Joanna rebuilt Bothwell, adding new buildings in keeping with the fashions of the time. The great hall and chapel are still standing.