Mearns Castle
Mearns Castle Details
Mearns Castle, private occupied C15 tower and lost courtyard built by the Maxwells and abandoned by the Stewarts ?C17
- Closest To: Newton Mearns, Barrhead, East Kilbride, Glasgow
- Access: No Access
- Grid Reference: NS552553
Mearns Castle is an impressively sited rectangular great tower built for the Maxwell family in the 15th century on land they had already held for over 100 years. Once surrounded with a towered curtain wall and gatehouse (possibly of earlier date) it now stands alone, with an incongruous church building attached to it. Access to the interior is not permitted, although it is relatively straightforward to see the outside.
The castle had an uneventful history and was handed over to King James VI in 1589 without complaint by the Catholic William Maxwell. The king regranted it to another member of the Maxwell family, but when it passed to the Stewarts in the mid 17th century it was allowed to f all into decay. The original conversion to church use was in the 1960s, but it was only used for about ten years before a new church was erected. It is still owned by the church.
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