Bathgate Castle

Bathgate Castle now lies entirely hidden beneath the 9th and 10th holes of Bathgate Golf Course, and consists primarily of an oval mound measuring perhaps 50 metres by 75. As this is part of a golf course, access is only possible for members or by prior arrangement with the club, where access will clearly be limited.

Examination of LIDAR imagery on the National Library of Scotland website reveals that at the south-eastern edge of the mound is a well-preserved section of outer earthworks, and there are vague hints of this extending around to the north-east and the western parts of the mound. the northern part of the site is destroyed and lies under railway sidings. These outer earthworks consist of two parallel banks and three ditches, which is unusual for a medieval castle, and suggests that in fact the site had previous use, perhaps before the medieval period. It is, however, most likely that the rectangular feature that can be seen is due to modern landscaping rather than hiding a lost tower.

The castle was the seat of the barony of Bathgate, which was a royal barony. In 1292, the revenues from it had been granted to the King of Norway as dowry for his marriage to Margaret. The lands and barony was granted by Edward II of England to Robert Hastang, sheriff of Roxburgh in 1311 after they had been forfeited by Thomas de Somerville. After Bannockburn, Robert the Bruce granted the barony as dowry to Walter Stewart in 1315 when Stewart married Bruce’s daughter Marjory, and the barony remained technically Stewart property thereafter, and it is commonly said to have fallen out of favour after Walter died there in 1327. However, in 1319 an English cleric was presented to the church of Bathgate, and Edward II resumed ownership of the lands in 1323, paying cash compensation to Robert Hastang. In November 1335 the English Council were at Bathgate to meet with the Regent Sir Andrew Murray if he wished to do so,  and in 1336 the barony was granted to Sir John de Stirling by Edward III. It was noted in 1339 that the barony was back in Scottish hands, and at this point references to it cease in records in England. Parts of the barony were then granted out by the Stewarts, and it may be that the castle, such as it was, was destroyed early in the reign of David II, when the area was ruled over by the English, or perhaps in 1339. It is also notable that references are consistently to the lands and barony of Bathgate – and not the castle.

Official Website of Bathgate Golf Club

Canmore Database Entry