Excavation

Date 29 August 2001 - 6 October 2001

Event ID 1084918

Category Recording

Type Excavation

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/1084918

NS 7347 5376 As part of a three-year programme of excavation and survey, two areas of the inner ward of Cadzow Castle (NMRS NS 75 SW 8) were excavated in August and September 2001.The castle is thought to date from the second quarter of the 16thcentury, the work of Sir James Hamilton of Finnart, on behalf of the 2nd Earl of Arran. It resembles Finnart’s other great work at Craignethan, and is presently interpreted as a similar early artillery fortification. The castle is thought to have been slighted after the siege of 1579 by forces on behalf of the Earl of Mar, Regent of James VI and his allies, against the Hamilton family. The castle featured as part of the formal landscape associated with Hamilton Palace, the work of William Adam in the earlier 18th century. It was subsequently altered during later works on the park by the10th Duke of Hamilton in the early 19th century.

Area 1 was centred on the SE tower, part of the inner ward defences, associated with the curtain wall and a further tower at the SW corner of the inner ward defensive circuit. A large area was opened over and around the site of the SE tower and showed that post-demolition restoration works on both the fabric of the tower and revealed parts of the rampart/curtain dated to the landscaping of the site, probably during the early years of the19th century. The tower showed signs of having been modified during its active life in that there was evidence that doorways,and possibly an outer ditch, were infilled prior to its demise in the late 16th century. Large numbers of glazed floor tiles were retrieved from the area around the demolished tower – a significant percentage of which were decorated with a ‘J&M’ design. The ‘J&M’ in question may refer to James V and his marriage to Mary of Guise (1538), although an identical single example found at Linlithgow Palace was ascribed to the marriage of James IV and Margaret (1503). The tower stood to at least three storeys, leading to a wall head circuit – this is indicated by fragments of masonry provisionally defining the N limits of the tower at its upper level.

The summit of the mounded interior of the inner ward (Area 2)was also excavated with several trenches, all of which revealed how traumatic the demolition of the inner elements of this part of the castle must have been. Considerable blocks of masonry still in bond were found upside down, suggesting the use of explosives.

A combination of excavation evidence and survey data suggests that the inner ward had a central tower-like structure of apparently two storeys, the uppermost of which was some sort of hall with a vaulted roof. Access to this upper floor was from the N via some form of stair tower linked with a N range and courtyard complex immediately opposite the apparent bridging/crossing point from the outer ward.

In general conclusion it is clear that 19th-century landscaping considerably changed the aspect and setting of the site as it presently stands. This is most graphically reflected by the infilling of the rock-cut ditch (to the S of the inner ward), to accommodate a new access road linked to the present Duke’s Bridge (1863).

G Ewart, D Murray, D Stewart 2001

Sponsor: Historic Scotland

Kirkdale Archaeology