Dumbarton Castle, Governor's House

NS 398 744 to NS 401 745 A watching brief was undertaken at Dumbarton Castle in February 2006 while sub-contractors excavated service tracks for the installation of CCTV cables around the Governor's House. The network of cabling required for this security system was restricted to the garden to the E of the building with minimal ground disturbance. This garden area has been subject to various phases of work in the form of service installation as well as re-landscaping through gardening. The depth of the trenches excavated was relatively shallow but revealed the mortared surface adjacent to the Battery wall. This feature is likely to be contemporary with the construction of the wall.

This area of the castle has in its time been subject to major reconstruction work in the early 18th century, when the medieval Gatehouse was demolished and replaced by the current Governor's House. This Gatehouse extended into the present garden where its remains may still be in situ.

Archive to be deposited in NMRS.

Sponsor: Historic Scotland.

C Shaw 2006

NS 4001 7440 On 18–19 February 2008, in advance of the construction of new toilets, a small trench was excavated by the NW corner of the Governor’s House. No finds or features dating to before the construction of the Governor’s House in 1735 were recorded.

Archive: RCAHMS (intended)

Funder: Historic Scotland

Alan Radley (Kirkdale Archaeology), 2008

NS 4001 7440

A watching brief was carried out 17 November–8 December 2009 during excavations to determine the location and line of a burst pipe in the Governor’s Garden. The junction between a lead and an iron pipe was located, but there were no finds or features of archaeological significance.

Archive: RCAHMS (intended)

Funder: Historic Scotland

D Murray 2010

NS 4001 7440 A watching brief was maintained on 18 October 2010 during the removal of an existing fence and the excavation of four trenches to house a new fence to the E of the Governor’s House. The area was found to have been disturbed in modern times during the installation of services and there were no finds or features of archaeological significance.

Archive: RCAHMS (intended)

Funder: Historic Scotland

Kirkdale Archaeology, 2011

NS 4000 7441 A watching brief was carried out on 7 March 2013 during excavations to expose existing drains in advance of the installation of new drains. The area lay immediately N of the inner (N) face of the 18th-century rampart and associated stone drainage channel.

The remains of a wall, probably representing an earlier version of the southern defences of the castle and predating the 1735 building campaign, were recorded. Although only revealed in a small trench, they appear to show the upper limits of a wall on a different alignment to the 18th-century layout. The masonry lies beyond the assumed limits of the 17th-century plan, and is probably part of the medieval defences associated with other known residual elements, such as the medieval gatehouse.

Archive: RCAHMS (intended)

Funder: Historic Scotland

John Godbert, Kirkdale Archaeology, 2013

(Source: DES)

NS 40005 74402 A watching brief was undertaken, November 2017 – March 2018, during the installation of a new waste water drainage system in the grounds of the castle. The hand and machine excavated trenches mostly followed the line of the previous drainage works to minimise any damage.

The main trench excavation, which ran along the western side of Governor’s House, contained the only significant archaeological remains. These included various culverts, surfaces and walls, all of which had been truncated by previous drainage works. These are thought to relate to the construction and use of the Governor’s House, but this could not be confirmed due to the limited nature of the trenches.

Leah Watt – CFA Archaeology Ltd

(Source DES vol 19)

OASIS ID: cfaarcha1-313474