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Bower of Wandel

Lanarkshire, Sheet XLIII
Ordnance Survey, 1864

The remains of Bower of Wandel, a ruined 15th century castle, stand on a mound within a bend in the River Clyde.

Despite being overlooked on all sides by hills the castle occupies a good defensive position on a rocky promontory jutting out into the River Clyde, which curves around it on almost three sides. The location is an important strategic one, situated on a valley floor which served (and stills serves) as a main route from north to south.

The castle sits within a plot of around 30 acres known as Bower Park, which contains several other earthworks to the north-east, east and south-east. Some of these features have been identified as glacial moraine knolls, however the to the south-east may have been modified to form a bank for use as a possible siege work.

The fact that there is a motte suggests that this site is contemporary with several other mottes which are located along the same route, such as Coulter, Roberton, Abington, probably giving it a 12th century origin.

Some sources state that the Jardines owned the Bower of Wandel, along with the barony of Wandel, from the 12th century until the 17th century. However the New Statistical Account mentions that the barony belonged to the See of Glasgow in 1116, when it was known as Quendal, and that a William de Hertisheved or William de Hartside, who was the sheriff of Lanark in 1255, held the barony during the reign of Alexander II. It goes on to state that the ownership passed to William de Gardin or Jardin, the ancestor of the Jardines of Applegirth, during the reign of David II (1329 – 1371). The names Hartside of Wandel seem to have been interchangeable and referred to the same barony.

The castle is roughly square in plan, measuring approximately 13.5m south-west to north-east by 10.1m south-east to north-west, and is thought to date to the 15th century. It would likely have replaced or incorporated an earlier stone structure which itself would have superseded a timber tower. The surviving walls stand to an average height of around 2.0m, and consist of a rubble core with facing stones averaging around 2.5m thick. Many of the facing stones are no longer in situ, having either been robbed for other uses or dislodged by cattle rubbing against them.

The east corner of the tower is missing, which may suggest that this was the site of an entrance of some description and possibly a staircase. The basement was vaulted, the springing for the vault still being visible on the north-west wall. The bases of three internally-splayed slit windows also survive in the south-east, south-west and north-west walls.

A tradition states that James V had a mistress at the Bower of Wandel, or may have used it as a hunting lodge.

As previously mentioned the Jardines held the castle until the 17th century. In 1613 it was acquired by William Douglas, 1st Marquess of Douglas and 11th Earl of Angus, and his son Archibald (created Earl of Ormond in 1651), and remained in the Douglas family until at least 1845 (when the New Statistical Account). I haven’t been able to ascertain who currently owns the castle, however it may have stayed with the Douglases and be part of the Douglas-Home family’s Douglas and Angus Estates which owns land in the surrounding area.

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Alternative names for Bower of Wandel

Hartside; Hertisheved; Quendal; Wandel Tower; Wandel's Bower; Wendal

Clans associated with Bower of Wandel

Jardine

Surnames associated with Bower of Wandel

Jardine

Where is Bower of Wandel?

Bower of Wandel is in the parish of Lamington and Wandel and the county of Lanarkshire.

Grid reference: NS 95107 28773

Lat / long: 55.54135500, -3.66380610

Bing Maps | Google Maps | Historic maps (NLS) | OpenStreetMap | Ordnance Survey | PastMap | Streetmap | Wikimapia

OS Map for Bower of Wandel

OS map 335
Lanark & Tinto Hills (Lesmahagow & Douglas)
OS Explorer map 335


Directions to Bower of Wandel

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Weather at Bower of Wandel

20°C
max 20°C / min 20°C
10km/h S
1024mb
69%
93%
03:31 21:01

Overcast clouds
Weather observed at South Lanarkshire at 16:40

References (books)

Anglo-Norman Castles
Robert Liddiard
Woodbridge, 2002
Caledonia (Volume 3)
George Chalmers
Paisley, 1888
New Statistical Account of Scotland
Various
Edinburgh, 1845
Power and Identity in the Middle Ages
Huw Pryce
Oxford, 2007
The Castles of Glasgow and the Clyde
Gordon Mason
Musselburgh, 2000
The Castles of Scotland
Martin Coventry
Prestongrange, 2015
The Castles of South-West Scotland
Mike Slater
Malvern, 1993
The upper ward of Lanarkshire described and delineated (Volume 2)
George Vere Irving
Glasgow, 1864

References (websites)

Listed Building record
Canmore

Castles near Bower of Wandel

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Ancient sites near Bower of Wandel

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Pictish stones near Bower of Wandel

Borthwick Mains Class I symbol stone

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Pictish sites near Bower of Wandel

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Accommodation near Bower of Wandel

Days Inn Abington
hotelAbington
4.4km away
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hotel, restaurantAbington
5.6km away
Tinto House Hotel
hotel, restaurantBiggar
8.1km away
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hotel, restaurant, barBiggar
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hotel, bar, restaurantBiggar
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Cafés, restaurants & bars near Bower of Wandel

Abington Hotel
hotel, restaurantAbington
5.6km away
Tinto House Hotel
hotel, restaurantBiggar
8.1km away
Carmichael Visitor Centre and Farm Shop
caféCarmichael
10.1km away
Shieldhill Castle Hotel
hotel, restaurant, barBiggar
12.9km away
Elphinstone Hotel
hotel, bar, restaurantBiggar
12.9km away
Best Western Cartland Bridge Hotel
hotel, restaurant, barLanark
17.6km away
Dawyck Café
caféStobo
22.5km away
Stobo Castle
hotel, restaurantStobo
23.5km away
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hotel, restaurant, barMoffat
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Published on the 17th of February 2012 at 11:11 pm. Updated on the 10th of May 2020 at 6:11 pm.

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Andy Sweet above Fast Castle

Stravaiging around Scotland is written, photographed and researched by Andy Sweet.
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