Cathcart Castle, Town and Old Village
Now in Linn Park
Cathcart Castle was built in 1450 by Alan Cathcart, 1st Lord Cathcart. There is good reason to believe an earth and timber fortification preceded it, although by how long is uncertain since history prior to the 12th Century is mainly conjecture. In the 1540's, Alan , 3rd Lord Cathcart moved to Auchencruive, Ayrshire, and the Semples of Lochwinnoch became proprietors of Cathcart for the next 200 years. Around 1750, the castle became uninhabitable and was in ruinous condition.
William Shaw, 10th Baron Cathcart, as honor for services rendered the Crown, was created Viscount then 1st Earl, in 1812, and bought back the Castle and policies. The Castle was acquired by the Glasgow Corporation in 1927, and allowed to continue its deterioration.
Cathcart Castle as seen from Court Knowe, April, 1978.
Photo courtesy Ian Millar
In 1979,after weeks of heavy rain, the front wall of the Castle collapsed, and on 18 August 1980, the Castle was demolished by the city of Glasgow, leaving only a few feet of wall.
On Queen's Knowe, a hillock near the ruins of Cathcart Castle, there was formerly a memorial, beleived to have been placed by one of the Lords Cathcart, to mark the spot where Queen Mary (Queen of Scots) watched the progress of the battle of Langside in 1568. The memorial was removed by the city of Glasgow and placed in a spot within the city that was deemed more appropriate.
The map below shows the environs of Glasgow, Scotland. The location of Cathcart Castle and the village of Cathcart are marked by a red and yellow castle icon and the label, "CATHCART CAS". To help you find it, the icon is circled in yellow with a yellow arrow pointing to it.
An earlier photo
Map provided by http://www.castleuk.net/castle_lists_scotland/64/cathcartcastle.htm