(Ordnance Survey Map grid reference: 71 NS 815 463)
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Situated about 4.5 miles (7 km) WNW of Lanark and 8 miles (13 km) SE of Hamilton. It is about 2 miles (3.5 km) NE of junctions 9 and 10 at Kirkmuirhill on the M74 motorway. The castle was built on a ridge above the river Nethan. As with many Scottish castles the oldest part is a tower house. In this case it dates from about 1530 and was built by Sir James Hamilton of Finnart, Master of Works to King James V. The Hamilton family took sides with Mary Queen of Scots in the civil war after her abdication in 1567 and she spent some time at Craignethan castle in 1568. By 1579 her faction had been defeated and the castle's defences were largely destroyed on official orders.
A feature of the castle's defences, now unique in Britain, is the caponier. After the destruction of the defences mentioned above, the caponier remained buried under the rubble of the west rampart until the 1960s when the west ditch was excavated. A caponier (from the Italian 'capannata' -- little hut) was a vaulted stone roofed gallery which ran across the width of a defensive ditch in order to provide flank defence. Gunners inside could fire along the ditch.
The historic sites mentioned above are all administered by 'Historic Scotland'. This is an organisation which maintains ancient monuments on behalf of the government. A small admission charge is charged at many of the sites (to help pay for the continuing maintenance). Various types of season ticket are available which make charges even more reasonable since once purchased you can visit an unlimited number of sites free of charge. These season tickets are available from sites which charge for admission and have a custodian.
© Copyright Len Nicholson, 1996