Lamington Tower

Lamington Tower is a badly ruined 16th century tower house built on a low rise of ground and surrounded by farmland. Access is by foot only from the nearby farm steading, which bristles with security cameras. It was built by the Baillie family before 1565, who had acquired the lands by marriage two centuries earlier. The tower had an uneventful history, and was occupied up to 1750. In 1780 the tower was blown up by the estate factor for building materials, and debris from this violent end can still be seen on site.

There is no evidence to support Blind Hary’s assertion that Lamington was linked to William Wallace, and it is probably this assertion that is behind the suggestions of an early castle here. In fact the estate passed to the Seton family by the 1320s, when Hary tells us there was a laird called Hugh de Lamington whose daughter married a Baillie. Instead all the remains are consistent with a 16th century build, as was the armorial panel which was removed and taken to the chapel nearby. It is an interesting site, but the mound is badly overgrown, particularly in the summer.

HES Canmore database entry