Battle of Langside

Who Fought

History & Significance

The Battle of Langside was fought on 13 May 1568 between forces loyal to Mary, Queen of Scots, and forces acting in the name of her infant son James VI. Mary’s short period of personal rule ended in 1567 in recrimination, intrigue, and disaster when, after her capture at Carberry Hill, she was forced to abdicate in favour of James VI. Mary was imprisoned in Lochleven Castle, while her Protestant half-brother, James Stewart, Earl of Moray, was appointed Regent on behalf of his nephew. In early May 1568 Mary escaped, heading west to the country of the Hamiltons, high among her remaining supporters, and the safety of Dumbarton Castle with the determination to restore her rights as queen. Mary was defeated and went into exile and captivity in England. The battle is generally considered the start of the Marian civil war.

Mary's abdication had not been universally popular, even among sections of the Protestant nobility, and news of her escape were widely welcomed. With an escort of fifty horse led by Lord Claud Hamilton, she arrived in Lanarkshire, soon to be joined by a wide cross-section of the nobility, including the Earls of Argyll, Cassillis, Rothes, and Eglinton, the Lords Sommerville, Yester, Livingston, Herries, Fleming, Ross, numerous of the feudal barons, and their followers. Within a few days, Mary had managed to gather a respectable force of some 6,000 men.

Mary declared at Hamilton that her abdication, and her consent to the coronation of James, had been extorted from her under duress. An act of council was then passed, declaring the whole process by which Moray had been appointed as Regent to be treasonable. On 8 May a bond was drawn up by those present for her restitution, signed by eight earls, nine bishops, eighteen lords, twelve abbots, and nearly one hundred barons. Mary would later write that her enemies were only five miles away.

Robert Melville brought a diamond ring, and four or more brooches to Mary at Hamilton. She gave the brooches to her supporters. The ring, with a heart shaped diamond, had been a gift from Elizabeth I with a promise of help. Mary asked her servant John Beaton to carry the ring back to Elizabeth.

Regent Moray was at Glasgow by 3 May 1567, and wrote letters describing Mary's escape to Hamilton to his diplomat in London Nicolas Elphinstone and the Earl of Leicester.

It was Mary's intention to avoid battle if possible, retiring instead to Dumbarton Castle, still held for her by John Fleming, 5th Lord Fleming. Here she would be in a virtually impregnable position, well placed to receive the expected reinforcements from the north, and then recover her hold over the country by degrees. With the intention of by-passing Moray she marched to Rutherglen Castle meeting loyal supporters and then on a wide circuit past Glasgow, intending to move by way of Langside, Crookston, and Paisley back towards the River Clyde, and then on to Dumbarton on the north side of the Clyde estuary.

The ground they fought on

The site of Battle of Langside lies on Clackmannan Group, bedrock that formed in the Westphalian. The rock here is sedimentary rock cycles, clackmannan group type.

Frequently Asked Questions

Scheduled Monuments near Battle of Langside

Cathkin Park, former football ground, Glasgow

Scheduled monument · ~0.6 mi

Cathkin Park is a former football ground located in Renfrewshire, Scotland, protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM13799. The site occupies land underlain by the Scottish Coal Measures Group, a geological formation dating to the Moscovian period, which comprises mudstone, si…

Cathcart Castle

Scheduled monument · ~1.1 mi

Cathcart Castle is a medieval stronghold located in Renfrewshire, South Lanarkshire, Scotland, with origins dating to the 15th century. The castle comprises a substantial stone tower house that served as a defensive residence for the local nobility, reflecting the architectural traditions of lowl…

Busby Upper Mill, cotton mill 60m N of 1 Cartview Court

Scheduled monument · ~3 mi

Busby Upper Mill is a cotton mill located in Renfrewshire, Scotland, situated approximately 60 metres north of 1 Cartview Court. The mill stands upon bedrock composed of unnamed extrusive rocks of Dinantian age, formed during the Mississippian period as mafic lava and mafic tuff. This dark volcan…

Govan, carved stones and Old Parish Church graveyard

Scheduled monument · Medieval · ~3.1 mi

Govan carved stones and Old Parish Church graveyard is a medieval monument in Lanarkshire, Scotland, comprising a collection of carved stones assembled within the graveyard of the Old Parish Church. The stones represent an important assemblage of medieval sculptural work, likely spanning several…

Forth and Clyde Canal, Port Dundas canal basin, Glasgow

Scheduled monument · Iron Age · ~3.2 mi

Port Dundas Canal Basin is a surviving section of the Forth and Clyde Canal in Glasgow, Lanarkshire, protected as a scheduled monument by Historic Environment Scotland. Constructed in the late eighteenth century, the basin represents an important phase in Scotland's industrial transport infrastru…

North Woodside Flint Mills,Garriochmill Road,North Kelvin

Scheduled monument · ~3.6 mi

North Woodside Flint Mills is a scheduled monument located on Garriochmill Road in North Kelvin, Lanarkshire. The site occupies bedrock of the Clackmannan Group, a Westphalian sedimentary formation typical of Scotland's coalfield regions. This geological foundation supported industrial activity i…

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Battles near Battle of Langside

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• Battle of Langside · Wikidata
• Battle_of_Langside · Wikipedia
• Battle of Langside · Historic Environment Scotland