Gilbertfield Castle facts for kids
Gilbertfield Castle is an old castle ruin in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. It was built a long time ago, in the early 1600s. You can find it on the side of Dechmont Hill, close to a town called Cambuslang, which is near Glasgow.
A Look Back in Time
The land where Gilbertfield Castle stands was once part of a large area called the barony of Drumsagard. This land belonged to the Hamilton family. The castle itself was built in the early 1600s. A special stone panel above the main door shows the year 1607.
Later, around the early 1700s, a man named William Hamilton of Gilbertfield lived here. He was a retired soldier and a writer. William was friends with another famous poet, Allan Ramsay. William Hamilton is known for translating a very old and long poem. This poem was called The Actes and Deidis of the Illustre and Vallyeant Campioun Schir William Wallace. It was originally written by Blind Harry.
Exploring the Castle
Gilbertfield Castle is designed as an "L-plan" tower house. This means it has a main rectangular building with another part sticking out, making it look like the letter 'L'. The part that sticks out is a stair tower. It was big enough to hold several rooms and a square staircase.
Inside the Castle
The lowest floor of the castle had strong arched ceilings. This level held storage rooms, called cellars, and a kitchen. The kitchen had a very large fireplace and an oven for cooking. A smaller staircase connected the kitchen to the main hall above.
The main hall had its own fireplace, though it was smaller. It also had large windows to let in light. Between the windows, there were small openings called gunloops. These were used for defense. Above the hall, there were two more floors. Each of these floors had three rooms. Two rooms were in the main part of the castle, and one was in the 'L' shaped wing.
At the very top of the castle, in the attic area, there were two round towers. These towers stuck out from the corners of the building. The castle did not have a walkway around the top, which is called a parapet.
The Castle Today
Today, Gilbertfield Castle is a neglected ruin. Part of its east wall fell down in the 1950s. Only the stone supports of the north-west tower remain. This tower itself fell down in the late 1960s or 1970s. The castle is now considered very dangerous because more of its stonework falls each year. Gilbertfield Castle is protected as a Scheduled Ancient Monument. This means it's an important historical site that needs to be preserved.
