Gavler's Castle is located in the centre of the small town of Strathaven

Strathaven

Strathaven is a historic market town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. The town was granted a Royal Charter in 1450, making the Town of Strathaven a burgh of barony. The town's principal industry was primarily weaving in the 19th and early 20th centuries, however this declined when faced by...

, in South Lanarkshire

South Lanarkshire

South Lanarkshire is one of 32 unitary council areas of Scotland, covering the southern part of the former county of Lanarkshire. It borders the south-east of the city of Glasgow and contains many of Glasgow's suburbs, commuter towns and smaller villages....

, Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

. The ruin is publicly accessible, and can be found at grid reference . Also known as Avondale Castle, the ruin and mound is now a Scheduled Ancient Monument

Scheduled Ancient Monument

In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a 'nationally important' archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorized change. The various pieces of legislation used for legally protecting heritage assets from damage and destruction are grouped under the term...

.

History

The origins of the castle are obscure, but it is believed to have been built around 1350 by the Bairds, on a bend of the Powmillon Burn. Later the castle passed to the Sinclairs and then to the Earls of Douglas

Earl of Douglas

This page is concerned with the holders of the extinct title Earl of Douglas and the preceding feudal barons of Douglas, South Lanarkshire. The title was created in the Peerage of Scotland in 1358 for William Douglas, 1st Earl of Douglas, son of Sir Archibald Douglas, Guardian of Scotland...

. After the suppression of the Earls of Douglas by James II

James II of Scotland

James II reigned as King of Scots from 1437 to his death.He was the son of James I, King of Scots, and Joan Beaufort...

 in 1455, the castle was sacked and slighted

Slighting

A slighting is the deliberate destruction, partial or complete, of a fortification without opposition. During the English Civil War this was to render it unusable as a fort.-Middle Ages:...

. Little or nothing of the early castle remains.

In 1457 Strathaven was granted to Sir Andrew Stewart, an illegitimate grandson of Murdoch Stewart, Duke of Albany. Stewart, who later became Lord Avondale

Lord Avondale

There have been several peerage titles created with the name Avondale , referring to the dale of the Avon Water in Scotland. The word strath also means valley, and the area is now better known as Strathaven....

, either rebuilt the earlier castle, or built a new castle on the same site. In 1534 it passed to Sir James Hamilton of Finnart

James Hamilton of Finnart

Sir James Hamilton of Finnart was a Scottish nobleman and architect, the illegitimate son of James Hamilton, 1st Earl of Arran, and Mary Boyd of Bonshaw....

, who expanded the buildings. A letter of 1559 mentions that it was here, at 'Straverin', that Master Patrick Buchanan, brother of George Buchanan

George Buchanan

George Buchanan may refer to:*George Buchanan , Scottish humanist*Sir George Buchanan , Scottish soldier during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms*Sir George Buchanan , Chief Medical Officer...

, taught the children of Regent Arran.

It changed hands one last time in 1611, when the castle was sold to James, Marquis of Hamilton

James Hamilton, 2nd Marquess of Hamilton

James Hamilton, 2nd Marquess of Hamilton and 4th Earl of Arran KG PC , styled Lord Aven from 1599 to 1604, was a Scottish politician. He was the son of John Hamilton, 1st Marquess of Hamilton....

. The last occupant was Anne, Duchess of Hamilton

Anne Hamilton, 3rd Duchess of Hamilton

Anne Hamilton, 3rd Duchess of Hamilton was a Scottish peeress.The daughter of Sir James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Hamilton and 3rd Marquess of Hamilton, Scottish General and premier peer of the realm, and Lady Mary Feilding, daughter of William Feilding, 1st Earl of Denbigh and Lady Susan Villiers, a...

 (1632-1716), whose main residence was Hamilton Palace

Hamilton Palace

Hamilton Palace was a large country house located north-east of Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Scotland. The former seat of the Dukes of Hamilton, it was built in 1695 and subsequently much enlarged. The house was demolished in 1921 due to ground subsidence despite inadequate evidence for that...

. The castle was abandoned in 1717.

The castle

Strathaven Castle is built on a rocky, partly artificial mound, and was defended to the east, south and west by the steep banks of the Powmillon Burn. A barmkin surrounded the top of the mound, traces of which remain to the west of the castle.

The castle comprised a three-storey rectangular block, around 11.2m by 21.2m, with a four-storey round tower at the north-west corner, and a small projecting wing at the south-east. Of this, the north wall and the tower remain almost complete, with fragments of the other walls. Internally, the remains of a collapsed basement vault can be seen.

Modern concrete infill has obscured much of the original detail, although a remnant of 15th-century-style corbelling remains visible. The round tower has several wide gunloops, and was probably added in the 16th century, and incorporates an improbably low entrance. Salter (1993) concludes that, although the door must originally have been larger, it "does not appear to have had a lower threshold, as a plinth continues below".

When part of the castle walls collapsed, or were demolished, a human skeleton was supposedly found. An information board outside the castle expands on the story:

"According to tradition, the wife of a past lord so greatly displeased her husband that she was walled up alive in part of the Castle wall. Nothing is recorded of her crime, yet it is said that she was led into a small purpose-built niche, blessed by a priest, given some food and water, and then walled up forever. When a portion of the walls fell down in the middle of the 19th Century human bones were discovered, giving some credence to this story.".

The information board records the local tradition that several ley tunnels

Ley tunnel

Ley tunnels are a common element of the local folklore tradition in the United Kingdom and they also occur in Europe. In Norwegian a ley tunnel-like passage is called a "lønngang" and in Swedish a "lönngång"...

run from the castle to the Sweetie's Brae, the Mill brae, and to the tower. When the road was built below the castle no sign of these tunnels was found.

External links

• Strathaven Castle Website