Calderwood Castle facts for kids
Calderwood Castle was a historic building located in East Kilbride, Scotland. It stood near the Rotten Calder Water, which is now part of Calderglen Country Park. The first castle was likely built in the early 1400s by the Maxwell family. This original tower fell down in 1773. Later, a large country house called Calderwood House was built there. This house, along with a fancy Gothic-style addition from the 1840s, has also been taken down.
History of Calderwood Castle
People believe an even older building or a fort might have been on or near this spot before the castle. The first known castle at Calderglen was a big, rectangular tower house. It was built in the early 15th century. This building had two towers joined together with a very thick middle wall. Sadly, it collapsed in January 1773 after several days of bad storms.
Later in the 1700s, a large mansion house was built on the same site. It was made even bigger in the 1840s. This newer part had a unique and amazing Gothic Revival design. The famous architect David Rhind is thought to have designed it. He was friends with the Maxwell family who owned Calderwood. Rhind might have also designed the Maxwellton Schoolhouse nearby, which is still standing today.
In 1904, the Calderwood estate was sold to the Scottish Co-operative Wholesale Society (SCWS). They used the land for farming. They also opened the glen as a fun place for visitors. For a short time, the castle even became a co-operative museum. During the First World War, about 200 refugees from Belgium stayed in the castle. After being used to house soldiers in the Second World War, the country house started to fall apart. It was also very expensive to keep up. A train station, Calderwood Glen Platform, opened in 1907 to bring visitors to the estate. It closed in 1939.
The estate was bought by the East Kilbride Development Corporation in 1947. By then, most of the castle was already gone. The last parts were blown up in 1951. Today, you can only find buried ruins and rubble. The old walled driveway terrace that was in front of the building is still there.
Across the river from Calderwood Castle are the ruins of Craigneith Castle. This was a decorative ruin, or "folly," built to look nice from Calderwood. It was also a good spot to view the Calderwood Linn waterfall. It even served as living quarters for servants.
Pictures of the Castle
A painting of Calderwood Castle by Robert Purves Bell can be seen in the collection of South Lanarkshire Council.
An old picture of the castle from around 1750 was made by A. Robertson. It was based on a sketch by Paul Sandby. This picture shows the castle from the south. An original watercolor painting of this scene was sold many years ago. Sandby made this painting from a simpler sketch. This original sketch is now kept at the National Library of Wales.
On the same visit, Sandby also sketched the Calderwood Linn waterfall. This sketch was not known until 2015. It is now part of the drawing collection at the National Galleries of Scotland in Edinburgh.
Another picture of the castle appears in a book called Castellated and Domestic Architecture of Scotland by MacGibbon & Ross. This picture is based on a sketch from 1765. For a long time, people thought the sketch was signed "W. Binton." But it actually says "N. Britain," which means 'North Britain' (Scotland). This sketch was also rediscovered in 2015 and is now at the National Galleries of Scotland.
The Calderwood Name
Many family history groups believe that a family named Calderwood once owned Calderwood Castle. The name "Calderwood" is very old. It might even be older than castles as we know them today. Old documents about the Calderwood lands and family are rare. But they suggest the name came from a small village or perhaps an old defended town from the Iron Age. There were several Calderwood landholdings in the area. The people who lived on these lands would have taken the name Calderwood.
See also
- Maxwell of Calderwood baronetcy
