This illustration dates from 1778 and shows in some detail the ruins of Bothwell Castle. Pictured from the inside, the scene is not too different today. Bothwell Castle’s construction started c1245 but wasn’t finished by the wars of Independence. It fell out of use c1645. It was used as a walled garden for the new Bothwell […]
This fantastic photo from a small publication in 1937 or 1938 shows of course Blantyre Priory with Bothwell Castle in the background. Unlike today , the Priory was not located within dense woodland, but was still partially out on the open, beside the fields which are now Priory Playing fields. The woodland however, has […]
Well, here’s a discovery that took me surprise and hope it does to you too! I was astonished to discover that Queen Victoria’s son, Prince Alfred visited Blantyre in 1864! I’ve never read or seen this discussed before. Prince Alfred, born in 1844, was the second son and 4th child to Queen Victoria and Prince […]
Incredibly, this scene is alleged to date to the 1870’s. Taken by pioneering early photographer J McGhie, is shows the bend in the River Clyde, Blantyre side on the left and Bothwell Castle in the background. At over 140 years old, this was a time in Blantyre right at the start of the coal […]
This incredible Aerial view of Bothwell Castle is from 1969 which looks not too unfamiliar to what it looks like today. However, its the other remarkable image I like best! It’s an illustration of how it once may have looked in the 13th Century from a drawing by Alan Sorrell in 1959. These postcards […]
These photos were incredibly taken in the 1870’s. On an old glass plate by early photographer James Valentine (d1880), the scene at Bothwell Castle and the Blantyre riverbank on the Clyde is captured in some fine detail. How amazing to think that these photos are almost 150 years old!
This wonderful old painting is hanging in the National Gallery of Scotland. The artist is unknown but the content and date is. It features Bothwell Castle in 1779. In the background on the opposite riverbank are the rather substantial ruins of Blantyre Priory. Just a Century later, the ruins were far less substantial and […]