Caerlaverock Castle

Caerlaverock Castle is another one of those Scottish castles that almost everyone can recognise instantly, with its triangular plan and wet moat. It was built for the Maxwell family who were wardens of the West March, and was repeatedly attacked by the English, notably with a siege by the army of Edward I in 1300.

There was another castle of Caerlaverock, which lies a short distance to the south-east. Of a more “normal” quadrilateral design, it was a moated and stone-walled courtyard with complex water defences, but it is believed to have been abandoned by 1270 when the new castle was started, an unusual triangular courtyard with round corner towers and a double-towered gatehouse above which was the great hall. After the 1300 siege, the castle was a focus for English aggression, and in 1312 it was destroyed by the Maxwells at the insistence of Robert Bruce. It was substantially rebuilt in the 14th century, and remodelled repeatedly. In 1640 a royalist garrison was bombarded into submission, at which point the castle was demolished and abandoned.

Official Historic Scotland page

HES Canmore database entry – old castle
HES Canmore database entry – new castle