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Campsie, Balcorrach Castle
Castle (Medieval)
Site Name Campsie, Balcorrach Castle
Classification Castle (Medieval)
Alternative Name(s) Castle Of Ballecorrauch; Campsie Glen
Canmore ID 45192
Site Number NS67NW 4
NGR NS 613 797
NGR Description NS c. 613 797
Datum OSGB36 - NGR
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/45192
- Council East Dunbartonshire
- Parish Campsie
- Former Region Strathclyde
- Former District Strathkelvin
- Former County Stirlingshire
NS67NW 4 613 797
The castle of Ballecorrauch, or Balcorrach, passed to Donald Levenax in 1421, and was situated close to the bottom of Campsie Glen, on the hillside opposite the present house. The site is described as "A long straight line of stone dyke passes from the glen, a little north of the Bleachworck buildings, eastwards, dividing the hill from the arable ground . In the first field, about halfway eastward, and near the dyke (opposite a lot of old thorn trees growing in the hill ground), you will come on a plateau, upon which, I believe, the tower stood. Near to the centre of it you will see a depression of the surface, curving down towards the site of the old church, which I think was the course of the access road."
J Cameron 1892.
(Area NS 613 797) Balcorrach Castle: Area sited from the above description and with local knowledge from Miss Nelson (J Nelson, Glen Cottage, Campsie). No traces exist of the structure in this area of rough pasture. The 'depression' mentioned by Cameron appears to be a natural gully, but was possibly used as an access road.
Visited by OS (J L D), 25 March 1957.
Field Visit (May 1977)
Balcorrach NS c. 613 797 NS67NW 4
The tower of Balcorrach is said to have stood close to the foot of Campsie Glen.
RCAHMS 1982, visited May 1977
(Cameron 1892, 161, 187-8)
Field Visit (26 September 2016)
Alder Archaeology was commissioned to undertake an archaeological walkover survey on the site of a proposed forestry plantation at Balcorrach, near Lennoxtown. The proposed development area is hillside rough pasture. The work was undertaken in overcast and occasionally wet weather conditions. The requirement was to visually survey the entire development area, with particular attention paid to the possible former location of Balcorrach Castle, in the SW corner of the study area around NS 612 797. No upstanding remains of the castle are known to exist. A series of curvilinear earthwork features was noted in this vicinity, including a sunken track extending for over 100m, close to which lay a small plateau. Both of these features had been described in an 1892 report by J Cameron, in which they were associated with Balcorrach Castle. Accordingly, it was recommended that planting be excluded from a buffer zone around these features to prevent damage to either upstanding or subterranean remains.
Information from Alder Archaeology Ltd.
