Scheduled MonumentsScotlandCadzow Castle

Cadzow Castle

Scotland
HES SM90342
Nation
Scotland
Boundary

Scheduled area

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Overview

History & significance

Cadzow Castle is a medieval stronghold situated near Hamilton in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. The castle occupies a naturally fortified position on a steep-sided peninsula formed by a bend in the River Clyde, with substantial earthwork defences including a motte and bailey arrangement that reflect its Norman origins in the twelfth century. The site was developed further in later medieval periods, and its strategic location made it an important possession, notably held by the Douglas family during the fifteenth century. The castle remains visible as substantial earthworks and fragmentary stone structures that testify to its considerable defensive capabilities and long period of occupation as a seat of power in the region.

Cadzow Castle is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM90342. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Cadzow Castle?

Cadzow Castle is a medieval stronghold situated near Hamilton in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM90342.

Who is responsible for protecting Cadzow Castle?

Cadzow Castle is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Historic Environment Scotland — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in Scotland. The official designation reference is SM90342.

What other scheduled monuments are near Cadzow Castle?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Hamilton High Parks, earthwork 475m NE of High Parks Farm (0.3 km), Hamilton High Parks, park pale (0.4 km), Netherton Cross, cross, Hamilton Old Parish Kirk (2.1 km).

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Everything a full report reveals about Cadzow Castle

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Cadzow Castle's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:

Overview
An interactive map of the location with every monument and battle plotted, and a plain-language history built only from what the record holds.
Monuments
The legally protected scheduled monuments around the location, each with its period, type and significance.
Battlefields
The battles and sieges fought on this ground, mapped and set on a timeline of the wider conflict.
Roman Britain
The Roman roads, forts and towns near here, and the Iron Age people who held the land before Rome arrived.
Stat Accounts
The parish Statistical Accounts of the 1790s and 1830s, describing life, work and population here.
Civil War
The Civil War fighting, garrisons and recorded militaria in this area, woven into the arc of 1642 to 1651.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back hundreds of millions of years.
Local Names
What the street and field names around here actually mean, and the history buried inside them.
Historical Maps
Ordnance Survey maps from the 1800s, layered over the location as it stands today.
Literature
The books, county histories, charters and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.
Legal
The protected sites nearby and the metal-detecting, access and treasure laws that apply to this ground.
Spotlight
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Target Zones
For detectorists: the most promising ground to search nearby, ranked by confidence, with what to expect.
Timeline
The whole story of the location told era by era, from prehistory to the present day.
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Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.

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The ground beneath

The bedrock under Cadzow Castle

Cadzow Castle stands on Scottish Coal Measures Group, bedrock that formed in the Moscovian. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone, sandstone, coal, ironstone and ferricrete.