Partick Castle
Encyclopedia
Partick Castle was located in Partick
, a Western suburb of Glasgow
. It was built in 1611 for the Glasgow
benefactor George Hutcheson and situated on the west bank of the River Kelvin
.
According to the local historian James Napier, it was left empty in 1770 and was unroofed and in ruins by 1783. It was demolished during the 1830s. Another local writer records that its remains were removed in a single night to 'form dykes in the neighbouring fields'. This happened in 1836 or 1837. Napier also provides an anecdotal description of the building in its later days when it was a tenanted property:-
A poem published locally (in the Glasgow Magazine or the Bee) in the nineteenth century describes it thus:
The castle's remains are likely to lie under the south western end of the Tesco
development site in Partick
.. The site was most recently a scrapyard but before that a dyeworks, a foundry and a laundry. Unlike most of the old village of Partick
, the castle's site was not removed by the excavations involved in the construction of the now disused Partick Central railway station
. Rather, the castle site's solum was preserved under the aforementioned industrial buildings.
According to some sources, the site of Hutcheson's building was also the site of a castle and country residence of the Bishops of Glasgow. This is the castle depicted on the former Burgh
of Partick's coat of arms. In 1136, King David
had granted to the land of Partick
(Perdeyc) to the See of Glasgow
. In 1362, a settlement of a dispute between the Bishop and his chapter house was made at his manor-house of Perthic. Glasgow's Bishops
continued to use their residence in Partick until the reformation in 1560, when Bishop James Beaton II fled to France
from there, taking with him the sacred relics from Glasgow Cathedral
. At the marriage of Sir George Elphinstone of Blythswood to Agnes Boyd in 1600, James VI promised the couple a bigger house. Sir George was given the New Park of Partick in order to manage the woodland, introduce deer, and build an 'ample' house for himself and for the king to resort to after hunting. This may have built on the site of the Bishop's residence.
was an important centre for the Kings of Alt Clut/Strathclyde
. According to the Cistercian monk and hagiographer of St Kentigern, Jocelin of Furness, King Rhydderch
had a residence in 'Pertnech' (Partick
). Some archaeologists have deduced that the royal Partick
estate was part of a larger elite centre of the kingdom, which included the ecclesiastical centre just across the River Clyde
at Govan
. The lands of Partick remained royal property until King David
granted them to the Bishops of Glasgow.
There is no primary evidence that the site of Hutcheson's castle was the same as this royal residence.
Partick
Partick is an area of Glasgow on the north bank of the River Clyde, just across from Govan. To the west lies Whiteinch. Partick was a Police burgh from 1852 until 1912 when it was incorporated into the city.-History:...
, a Western suburb of Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
. It was built in 1611 for the Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
benefactor George Hutcheson and situated on the west bank of the River Kelvin
River Kelvin
The Kelvin rises on watershed of Scotland on the moor south east of the village of Banton, east of Kilsyth - . At almost 22 miles long, it initially flows south to Dullatur Bog where it falls into a man made trench and takes a ninety degree turn flowing west along the northern boundary of the bog...
.
Description
Writing in the early eighteenth century, Hamilton of Wishaw described the building:
"...where Kelvin falls into Clyde, is the house of Pertique, a well-built and convenient house, well planted with barren timber and large gardens, which are enclosed with stone walls, and which formerly belonged to George Hutcheson in Glasgow, but now to John Crawford of Myltoun."
According to the local historian James Napier, it was left empty in 1770 and was unroofed and in ruins by 1783. It was demolished during the 1830s. Another local writer records that its remains were removed in a single night to 'form dykes in the neighbouring fields'. This happened in 1836 or 1837. Napier also provides an anecdotal description of the building in its later days when it was a tenanted property:-
The account of the house given to me by a person who had often been in it when it was inhabited, was, that the under flat was partially sunk & vaulted. The second flat was entered by a few steps up, and had a stone floor laid on the arches. There were several apartments in this flat, which formed a sort of hostelry. The top flat had a deal floor and consisted of a large hall which was used for public gatherings, balls, and dancing parties, and over this flat were attics, which were used as bedrooms and for holding lumber. There was a well outside the house. The main entrance door was covered with large-headed nails, so also was a two-leafed door which formed the outer entrance to the grounds. The grounds being surrounded by a stone wall.
A poem published locally (in the Glasgow Magazine or the Bee) in the nineteenth century describes it thus:
Lo, Partick Castle, drear and lone,
Stands like a silent looker-on,
Where Clyde and Kelvin meet;
The long rank grass waves o’er its walls;
No sound is heard within its halls,
Save noise of distant waterfalls,
Where children lavo their feet."
The castle's remains are likely to lie under the south western end of the Tesco
Tesco
Tesco plc is a global grocery and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Cheshunt, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest retailer in the world measured by revenues and the second-largest measured by profits...
development site in Partick
Partick
Partick is an area of Glasgow on the north bank of the River Clyde, just across from Govan. To the west lies Whiteinch. Partick was a Police burgh from 1852 until 1912 when it was incorporated into the city.-History:...
.. The site was most recently a scrapyard but before that a dyeworks, a foundry and a laundry. Unlike most of the old village of Partick
Partick
Partick is an area of Glasgow on the north bank of the River Clyde, just across from Govan. To the west lies Whiteinch. Partick was a Police burgh from 1852 until 1912 when it was incorporated into the city.-History:...
, the castle's site was not removed by the excavations involved in the construction of the now disused Partick Central railway station
Partick Central railway station
Partick Central railway station was a railway station serving the Partick area of the city of Glasgow. Built in the 1890s by the Lanarkshire and Dunbartonshire Railway Company, it sat on a line that ran along the north bank of the River Clyde from Stobcross to Dumbarton.- History :The station was...
. Rather, the castle site's solum was preserved under the aforementioned industrial buildings.
Bishop's Castle
Burgh
A burgh was an autonomous corporate entity in Scotland and Northern England, usually a town. This type of administrative division existed from the 12th century, when King David I created the first royal burghs. Burgh status was broadly analogous to borough status, found in the rest of the United...
of Partick's coat of arms. In 1136, King David
David I of Scotland
David I or Dabíd mac Maíl Choluim was a 12th-century ruler who was Prince of the Cumbrians and later King of the Scots...
had granted to the land of Partick
Partick
Partick is an area of Glasgow on the north bank of the River Clyde, just across from Govan. To the west lies Whiteinch. Partick was a Police burgh from 1852 until 1912 when it was incorporated into the city.-History:...
(Perdeyc) to the See of Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
. In 1362, a settlement of a dispute between the Bishop and his chapter house was made at his manor-house of Perthic. Glasgow's Bishops
Archbishop of Glasgow
The Bishop of Glasgow, from 1492 Archbishop of Glasgow, was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Glasgow and then, as Archbishop of Glasgow, the Archdiocese of Glasgow...
continued to use their residence in Partick until the reformation in 1560, when Bishop James Beaton II fled to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
from there, taking with him the sacred relics from Glasgow Cathedral
Glasgow Cathedral
The church commonly known as Glasgow Cathedral is the Church of Scotland High Kirk of Glasgow otherwise known as St. Mungo's Cathedral.The other cathedrals in Glasgow are:* The Catholic Metropolitan Cathedral Church of Saint Andrew...
. At the marriage of Sir George Elphinstone of Blythswood to Agnes Boyd in 1600, James VI promised the couple a bigger house. Sir George was given the New Park of Partick in order to manage the woodland, introduce deer, and build an 'ample' house for himself and for the king to resort to after hunting. This may have built on the site of the Bishop's residence.
Dark Ages Royal residence
There is some evidence that PartickPartick
Partick is an area of Glasgow on the north bank of the River Clyde, just across from Govan. To the west lies Whiteinch. Partick was a Police burgh from 1852 until 1912 when it was incorporated into the city.-History:...
was an important centre for the Kings of Alt Clut/Strathclyde
Kingdom of Strathclyde
Strathclyde , originally Brythonic Ystrad Clud, was one of the early medieval kingdoms of the celtic people called the Britons in the Hen Ogledd, the Brythonic-speaking parts of what is now southern Scotland and northern England. The kingdom developed during the post-Roman period...
. According to the Cistercian monk and hagiographer of St Kentigern, Jocelin of Furness, King Rhydderch
Riderch I of Alt Clut
Riderch I , commonly known as Riderch or Rhydderch Hael , was a ruler of Alt Clut and the greater region later known as Strathclyde, a Brittonic kingdom that existed on the valley of the River Clyde in Scotland during the British Sub-Roman period...
had a residence in 'Pertnech' (Partick
Partick
Partick is an area of Glasgow on the north bank of the River Clyde, just across from Govan. To the west lies Whiteinch. Partick was a Police burgh from 1852 until 1912 when it was incorporated into the city.-History:...
). Some archaeologists have deduced that the royal Partick
Partick
Partick is an area of Glasgow on the north bank of the River Clyde, just across from Govan. To the west lies Whiteinch. Partick was a Police burgh from 1852 until 1912 when it was incorporated into the city.-History:...
estate was part of a larger elite centre of the kingdom, which included the ecclesiastical centre just across the River Clyde
River Clyde
The River Clyde is a major river in Scotland. It is the ninth longest river in the United Kingdom, and the third longest in Scotland. Flowing through the major city of Glasgow, it was an important river for shipbuilding and trade in the British Empire....
at Govan
Govan
Govan is a district and former burgh now part of southwest City of Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated west of Glasgow city centre, on the south bank of the River Clyde, opposite the mouth of the River Kelvin and the district of Partick....
. The lands of Partick remained royal property until King David
David I of Scotland
David I or Dabíd mac Maíl Choluim was a 12th-century ruler who was Prince of the Cumbrians and later King of the Scots...
granted them to the Bishops of Glasgow.
There is no primary evidence that the site of Hutcheson's castle was the same as this royal residence.