Comyns Castle East Kilbride

The remains of Comyns Castle near East Kilbride are in the field of a working farm, and access can be awkward. It consists of a large courtyard at the edge of a steep slope , and there is no extant masonry above ground. The defences consist of a double ditch either side of a substantial bank; the bank has a gap on the north-east side but this seems to be modern. The courtyard area is roughly kite shaped, and there are significant disturbances at the southernmost point where one might presume the main residential complex could have been. Other possible robber trenches can be found along the western side, and there is no evidence of mural towers or a gatehouse – the inner ditch may itself even be a robber trench.

The barony of Kilbride was a Valognes property which passed to David Comyn by marriage by 1215, and remained in the hands of his family into the early 14th century, when it was confiscated by Robert Bruce. In 1382 the barony was granted to John Lindsay of Dunrod, and although the old castle may have remained in use for a while, the Lindsays eventually abandoned it in favour of a new tower known as Mains Castle, and presumably used masonry from the old castle to build it. It may be that the last usable parts of the Comyn castle was the chapel.

HES Canmore database entry