Caerlaverock castle

The story of Caerlaverock Castle begins with the granting of lands in the area to Sir John De Maccuswell (or Maxwell), Chamberlain of Scotland, in 1220. He set to work building a stone walled castle 200 metres south of the one you see today. It is still possible to see grassy mounds which define the layout of what he built. Maybe "Old Caerlaverock Castle" was simply too close to the Solway Firth to keep its occupants dry and comfortable, or perhaps the clay on which it was built, even with wooden piling for support, was unable to bear the weight of the structure. Either way, at some point in the 1260s Sir John's brother and heir, Sir Aymer Maxwell, began building a replacement castle on a triangular outcrop of rock a little to the north of the old castle. What we now know as Caerlaverock Castle was completed in the 1270s and was occupied by Herbert Maxwell, son of Sir Aymer and nephew of Sir John. In 1299 the garrison of Caerlaverock Castle attacked the English-held Lochmaben Castle. Retribution arrived the following year when Edward I of England invaded Galloway and successfully besieged Caerlaverock with 87 knights and 3000 men. The siege was supported by a collection of siege engines transported from all over southern Scotland and northern England. The English kept the castle until 1312. They then returned it to Sir Eustace Maxwell, Sir Herbert's grandson, who at the time was a supporter of King John Balliol. Sir Eustace later switched his support to Robert the Bruce, which led to an unsuccessful English siege of Caerlaverock Castle. The Maxwells then slighted the castle to prevent it being used by English forces. It had been repaired by 1337, and following a further switch of sides by Sir Eustace Maxwell, was besieged and captured by Scots in 1356. Most of the remains of the castle on view today date back to the rebuilding that took place through the remainder of the 1300s and most of the 1400s. The west and (largely destroyed) south ranges date back to this time, as does the formidable gatehouse. The castle saw more action in the 1500s, being captured by the English in 1544 and again attacked by them in 1570. However the union of the crowns in 1603 finally offered the promise of peace between England and Scotland after 400 years of sporadic warfare. In 1634 Robert Maxwell, the First Earl of Nithsdale, converted the castle into something more befitting the family's standing and the more peaceful times. He built the magnificent Nithsdale Lodging, the east range whose ornamental stonework still dominates the interior of the castle. But the promise of peace was illusory, and wars between England and Scotland were swiftly replaced by wars of religion, doctrine and kingship. In 1640, just six years after the building of the Nithsdale Lodging, Caerlaverock was held by the Maxwells for King Charles I against a besieging army of Covenanters for thirteen weeks before surrendering . Damage caused by the Covenanters during and after the siege was never repaired and what you see today is pretty much what was left in the Summer of 1640. Caerlaverock Castle was placed in State care in 1946 and is now looked after by Historic Environment Scotland.