A ‘lost’ castle linked to Mary Queen of Scots, Scotland’s legendary 16th century monarch, may finally have been found, experts reveal.
Artefacts that may confirm the existence of Eddlewood Castle have been uncovered in woodland near Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Scotland.
A cobbled surface, a possible drain and pottery sherds dated to the 14th and 15th century are all thought to have been part of the castle.
Eddlewood Castle was allegedly torn down after the Battle of Langside of 1568 – a seminal Scottish battle that Mary’s forces lost.
However, Mary’s connection to Eddlewood Castle and exactly why it was destroyed by opposing forces are less clear.
What’s more, nothing is known of the castle’s appearance or when it was built – making it one of Scotland’s great medieval mysteries.
Scotland’s beleaguered queen was famously forced to abdicate in favour of her one-year-old son James VI in 1567.
Two decades later, she was beheaded on the orders of England’s Queen Elizabeth I after being implicated in a plot to assassinate her.
Volunteers have discovered artefacts in the Chatelherault Country Park forest near Hamilton which they think is Eddlewood Castle, a lost medieval castle
Mary Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587) was Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. She was executed in February 1587 after 19 years in captivity, when she was found guilty of plotting the assassination of her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I
Successful excavations in July 2024, led by volunteers from Clutha Archaeology Group, were conducted in the Chatelherault Country Park forest near Hamilton.
According to Ailsa Smith, co-founder of Clutha Archaeology Group and member of Scottish Strategic Archaeology Committee, the pottery sherds are confirmed as medieval.
‘We plan to carry out another excavation in 2025 to explore the site further and hopefully find more artefacts and wall remains,’ Ms Smith said.
‘In the meantime, we will continue our archival research to see if we can find earlier historic references to the castle and the Eddlewood estate.’
Archeologists knew about a circular mound labelled ‘castle’ on a plan of the Eddlewood estate prepared for the Duke of Hamilton around 1776.
‘The layout of the castle, mound, wooded area and [nearby stream] Meikle Burn on this map is the same as it is today,’ said Ms Smith.
‘This image is the strongest evidence that Eddlewood Castle ever existed.’
As well as this, there’s a written account from 1889 that mentions Eddlewood Castle and its connection to the Battle of Langside.
‘Castle’: The site is marked on an estate plan prepared for the Duke of Hamilton around 1776
The excavation site is near Chatelherault Country Park in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Scotland
Successful excavations in July 2024, led by volunteers from Clutha Archaeology Group, were conducted in the Chatelherault Country Park forest near Hamilton
The seminal Battle of Langside of 1568 was fought between forces loyal to Mary, Queen of Scots and forces acting in the name of her infant son James VI.
According to the 1889 account, Eddlewood Castle was dismantled after the Battle of Langside, which Mary’s forces lost.
The 19th century record states that the location of the ‘probably dismantled’ castle ‘is marked by a mound of rubbish and the fragment of a wall’.
However, academics say the account was written more than 300 years after the castle was reportedly destroyed and may be unreliable.
It is possible that the link between Eddlewood Castle and the Battle of Langside was created to make the site ‘more interesting’ to visitors in the early days of tourism in Scotland.
For Clutha Archaeology Group, the next step will be matching ‘documentary evidence’ with ‘archaeological evidence’, along with further excavations of the site.
While the new dig seems to provide compelling evidence that Eddlewood Castle existed, establishing the building’s connection with Mary may be a lot more difficult.
A spokesman for Society of Antiquaries of Scotland told MailOnline: ‘We don’t know what connection Mary had to Eddlewood, if any, because we don’t know for sure if there was a castle there at all at the time she was alive.
Eddlewood Castle was allegedly torn down after the Battle of Langside of 1568 – a seminal Scottish battle that Mary’s forces lost. Battle of Langside is depicted here in this artist’s impression
Archaeologists and volunteers will keep looking for below-ground physical remains they can identify and date. If they find them, it might shed some light on that 19th century story
‘That’s what the archaeology is trying to find out.’
Mary became Queen of Scotland in December 1542 – when she was just a few days old – following the death of her father, King James V.
With her country in need of an ally amid incursions by King Henry VIII’s forces, she was sent to marry the future King Francis II of France when she was still a teenager.
But he died in 1560, just two years after they tied the knot and less than 12 months after he had become the monarch.
So Mary, now aged 18, returned to Scotland – where her mother had been governing in her place until her death in June 1560 – to reclaim her throne.
She opted to marry the handsome Lord Darnley as part of her ploy to overcome Scottish lords’ opposition to her return.
In June 1566, seven months before Lord Darnley’s murder, Mary gave birth to their only child, the future King James I of England (James VI of Scotland).
The baby was baptized in the Catholic faith in Stirling Castle in December 1566, causing alarm amongst the Protestants.
The following year, Mary’s Protestant Lords rose against her and her army confronted theirs at Carberry Hill, near Edinburgh, on June 15, 1567.
Mary, Queen of Scots, with her second husband, Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley. Lord Darnley had one child with Mary, the future James VI of Scotland and I of England
Mary surrendered, was imprisoned in Lochleven Castle, Kinrossshire and was forced to abdicate in favour of her infant son.
On May 2, 1568, Mary escaped from Lochleven Castle and an army of her supporters was defeated at the Battle of Langside, near Glasgow, on May 13.
Around 100 of Mary’s men were killed and her army fled, while Mary fled south to England.
Mary had believed that her cousin Queen Elizabeth I would support her cause, but instead she was kept in captivity in England for 19 years.
As Mary was Catholic and Elizabeth Protestant, Mary became the centre of many Catholic conspiracies and plots.
Eventually Elizabeth agreed to Mary’s execution and signed her death warrant when she was implicated in the Babington Plot, a plan to assassinate Elizabeth.
Mary Queen of Scots was beheaded at Fotheringhay Castle in Northamptonshire on the morning of February 8, 1587, at the age of 44.
Scotland during the 16th century
16th century Scotland was marked by a Protestant Reformation and rivalry with England that included military battles.
At the start of the century, James IV (1488-1513) married Margaret, daughter of Henry VII of England.
He was killed during the Battle of Flodden against England in September 1513 and was succeeded by his son, James V.
James V’s reign between 1513 and 1542 witnessed the beginnings of Protestantism in Scotland.
After King Henry VIII broke from the Catholic Church in 1534, James V did not tolerate heresy and during his reign a number of outspoken Protestants were persecuted.
James died in December 1542 following the Scottish defeat at the Battle of Solway Moss to English forces.
His only surviving legitimate child, Mary, succeeded him at the age of just six days old.
Mary Queen of Scots depicted with her son, James VI and I; in reality, Mary saw her son for the last time when he was ten months old
As Henry VII of England’s great-granddaughter, Mary was next in line to the English throne, after Henry VIII’s children.
In England she became a political pawn in the hands of her cousin Queen Elizabeth I and was imprisoned for 19 years in various castles in England.
Mary was found to be plotting against Elizabeth; letters in code, from her to others, were found and she was deemed guilty of treason.
After 19 years in captivity, Mary was found guilty of plotting the assassination of Elizabeth I.
She was executed on February 8, 1587, at Fotheringhay Castle, in Northamptonshire.
Her son, James VI of Scotland, became James I of England through the union of the Scottish and English crowns in March 1603.
Source: historic-uk.com/Encyclopædia Britannica
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