Battle of Bothwell Bridge

Who Fought

History & Significance

The Battle of Bothwell Bridge, or Bothwell Brig' took place on 22 June 1679. It was fought between government troops and militant Presbyterian Covenanters, and signalled the end of their brief rebellion. The battle took place at the bridge over the River Clyde between Hamilton and Bothwell in Lanarkshire, Scotland. The battlefield has been included in the Inventory of Historic Battlefields in Scotland and protected by Historic Scotland under the Historic Environment (Amendment) Act 2011.

Following the Restoration of King Charles II, the Presbyterians in Scotland were increasingly persecuted for their beliefs, and a small armed rising had been put down in 1666. Although some Presbyterian ministers were "Indulged" by the government from 1669, allowing them to retain their churches without having to accept Episcopacy, the more hard-line elements continued to hold illegal outdoor meetings, known as conventicles. These were often broken up by squads of government dragoons, including those led by John Graham of Claverhouse. On 1 June 1679, Claverhouse had encountered such a gathering near Loudoun Hill, but his troops were routed by armed Covenanters at the Battle of Drumclog, and he was forced to flee to Glasgow. Following this initial success the Covenanters spent the next few weeks building their strength, as did the government. Charles' son James, Duke of Monmouth was sent north to take command, and the militia were raised.

The Covenanters had established their camp on the south bank of the Clyde, north of Hamilton. The rebels numbered around 6000 men, but were poorly disciplined and deeply divided by religious disagreements. They had few competent commanders, being nominally led by Robert Hamilton of Preston, although his rigid stance against the Indulged ministers only encouraged division. The preacher Donald Cargill and William Cleland, the victor of Drumclog, were present, as were David Hackston of Rathillet and John Balfour of Kinloch, known as Burley, who were among the group who murdered Archbishop Sharp on 3 May. James Ure of Shirgarton led a troop of 200 men from Stirlingshire at the battle and wrote an explanation of why the covenanters lost in his personal memoirs. The government army numbered around 5000 regular troops and militia, and was commanded by Monmouth, supported by Claverhouse and the Earl of Linlithgow. The royalist troops were massed on the northern or Bothwell bank of the river Clyde on sloping ground that included a field that has since become known as the Covenanters Field - not because the battle was fought there but because for many years it was the venue for a covenanters conventicle organised by the Scottish Covenanters Memorial Association.

The ground they fought on

The site of Battle of Bothwell Bridge lies on Scottish Coal Measures Group, bedrock that formed in the Moscovian. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone, sandstone, coal, ironstone and ferricrete.

Frequently Asked Questions

Scheduled Monuments near Battle of Bothwell Bridge

Bothwellhaugh,Roman fort

Scheduled monument · Iron Age · ~1.1 mi

Bothwellhaugh Roman fort is a Roman auxiliary fort situated in Lanarkshire, Scotland, occupying a defensible position above the River Clyde. The site lies upon bedrock of the Scottish Coal Measures Group, comprising mudstone, siltstone and sandstone interspersed with coal seams and ironstone depo…

Orbiston House, tower house

Scheduled monument · ~1.2 mi

Orbiston House is a tower house located in Lanarkshire, Scotland. This fortified dwelling exemplifies the domestic architecture adopted by Scottish landowners from the medieval period onwards, providing both residence and defensible stronghold. The tower house form—a compact, vertical structure w…

Netherton Cross, cross, Hamilton Old Parish Kirk

Scheduled monument · ~1.5 mi

Netherton Cross is a cross located in Lanarkshire, Scotland, near Hamilton Old Parish Kirk. The monument stands upon bedrock of the Scottish Coal Measures Group, a geological formation dating to the Moscovian period, comprising layers of mudstone, siltstone, sandstone, coal, ironstone and ferricr…

BOTHWELL CASTLE

Scheduled monument · ~1.8 mi

Bothwell Castle is a substantial stone fortress situated on a bend of the River Clyde in Lanarkshire, constructed principally during the late thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. The castle's most distinctive feature is its massive red sandstone keep or donjon, which was begun by Walter de Moravi…

Blantyre Priory

Scheduled monument · ~1.9 mi

Blantyre Priory is a Benedictine monastic foundation in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, established in the twelfth century as a daughter house of Kelso Abbey. The priory occupied a site near the River Clyde and served as an important religious and economic centre for the surrounding region during th…

Fairhill, cairn 20m N of 96 Millgate Road

Scheduled monument · ~2.3 mi

Fairhill Cairn is a Bronze Age burial monument situated 20 metres north of 96 Millgate Road in Lanarkshire, Scotland. The cairn is constructed upon bedrock formed from the Scottish Coal Measures Group, a sequence of mudstone, siltstone, sandstone, coal, ironstone and ferricrete deposits that date…

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• Battle of Bothwell Bridge · Wikidata
• Battle_of_Bothwell_Bridge · Wikipedia
• UKFOC 275 · Battlefields Trust (UK Fields of Conflict)
• Battle of Bothwell Bridge · Historic Environment Scotland
• Bothwell Bridge · Canmore
• Battle of Bothwell Bridge · Battlefields Trust