Partick Castle was located in
Partick
Partick ( sco, Pairtick, Scottish Gaelic: ''Partaig'') is an area of Glasgow on the north bank of the River Clyde, just across from Govan. To the west lies Whiteinch, to the east Yorkhill and Kelvingrove Park (across the River Kelvin), and to t ...
, now a Western suburb of
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
. It was built in 1611 for the
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
benefactor
George Hutcheson
George Hutcheson (died 1639), of Lambhill, Lanarkshire, was joint-founder with his younger brother Thomas Hutcheson, of Hutchesons' Hospital, Glasgow.
Life
George Hutcheson became a public writer and notary in Glasgow, and by his success in bus ...
and situated on the west bank of the
River Kelvin
The River Kelvin (Scottish Gaelic: ''Abhainn Cheilbhinn'') is a tributary of the River Clyde in northern and northeastern Glasgow, Scotland. It rises on the moor south east of the village of Banton, east of Kilsyth. At almost long, it init ...
.
Description
Writing in the early eighteenth century, Hamilton of Wishaw described the building:
"...where Kelvin falls into Clyde, is the house of Pertique, a well-built and convenient house, well planted with barren timber and large gardens, which are enclosed with stone walls, and which formerly belonged to George Hutcheson in Glasgow, but now to John Crawford of Myltoun."
According to the local historian James Napier, it was left empty in 1770 and was unroofed and in ruins by 1783. It was demolished during the 1830s. Another local writer records that its remains were removed in a single night to 'form dykes in the neighbouring fields'. This happened in 1836 or 1837. Napier also provides an anecdotal description of the building in its later days when it was a tenanted property:
The account of the house given to me by a person who had often been in it when it was inhabited, was, that the under flat was partially sunk & vaulted. The second flat was entered by a few steps up, and had a stone floor laid on the arches. There were several apartments in this flat, which formed a sort of hostelry. The top flat had a deal floor and consisted of a large hall which was used for public gatherings, balls, and dancing parties, and over this flat were attics, which were used as bedrooms and for holding lumber. There was a well outside the house. The main entrance door was covered with large-headed nails, so also was a two-leafed door which formed the outer entrance to the grounds. The grounds being surrounded by a stone wall.
A poem published locally (in the Glasgow Magazine or the Bee) in the nineteenth century describes it thus:
Lo, Partick Castle, drear and lone,
Stands like a silent looker-on,
Where Clyde and Kelvin meet;
The long rank grass waves o’er its walls;
No sound is heard within its halls,
Save noise of distant waterfalls,
Where children lave their feet."
The castle's remains are likely to lie under the south-western end of the
Tesco
Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Welwyn Garden City, England. In 2011 it was the third-largest retailer in the world measured by gross revenues and the ninth-largest in th ...
development site in
Partick
Partick ( sco, Pairtick, Scottish Gaelic: ''Partaig'') is an area of Glasgow on the north bank of the River Clyde, just across from Govan. To the west lies Whiteinch, to the east Yorkhill and Kelvingrove Park (across the River Kelvin), and to t ...
. The site was most recently a scrapyard but before that a dye-works, a foundry and a laundry. Unlike most of the old village of
Partick
Partick ( sco, Pairtick, Scottish Gaelic: ''Partaig'') is an area of Glasgow on the north bank of the River Clyde, just across from Govan. To the west lies Whiteinch, to the east Yorkhill and Kelvingrove Park (across the River Kelvin), and to t ...
, the castle's site was not removed by the excavations involved in the construction of the now disused
Partick Central railway station
Partick Central railway station was a station serving the Partick area of the city of Glasgow. Built in the 1890s by the Lanarkshire and Dunbartonshire Railway Company, it sat on a line that ran along the north bank of the River Clyde from S ...
. Rather, the castle site's solum was preserved under the aforementioned industrial buildings. As part of Scottish Water's Glasgow environmental improvement programme, part of the castle was uncovered & excavated by GUARD Archaeology.
Bishop's Castle
According to some sources, the site of Hutcheson's building was also the site of a castle and country residence of the
Bishops of Glasgow
The Archbishop of Glasgow is an archiepiscopal title that takes its name after the city of Glasgow in Scotland. The position and title were abolished by the Church of Scotland in 1689; and, in the Scottish Episcopal Church, it is now part of the ...
. This is the castle depicted on the former
Burgh
A burgh is an autonomous municipal corporation in Scotland and Northern England, usually a city, town, or toun in Scots. This type of administrative division existed from the 12th century, when King David I created the first royal burghs. Burg ...
of Partick's coat of arms. In 1136,
King David
David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
had granted to the land of
Partick
Partick ( sco, Pairtick, Scottish Gaelic: ''Partaig'') is an area of Glasgow on the north bank of the River Clyde, just across from Govan. To the west lies Whiteinch, to the east Yorkhill and Kelvingrove Park (across the River Kelvin), and to t ...
(Perdeyc) to the See of
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
. In 1362, a settlement of a dispute between the Bishop and his chapter house was made at his ''manor-house of Perthic''.
Glasgow's Bishops continued to use their residence in Partick until the reformation in 1560, when Bishop
James Beaton II
James Beaton (1517 – 24/25 April 1603) was a 16th-century archbishop of Glasgow. He served both pre- and post-Reformation therefore representing both a Catholic Archbishop and a Protestant Archbishop.
Life
He was the son of James Beaton ...
fled to France from there, taking with him the sacred relics from
Glasgow Cathedral
Glasgow Cathedral ( gd, Cathair-eaglais Ghlaschu) is a parish church of the Church of Scotland in Glasgow, Scotland. It is the oldest cathedral in mainland Scotland and the oldest building in Glasgow. The cathedral was the seat of the Archbishop ...
. The remains of that castle may have been discovered near the mouth of the River Kelvin during work to install sewage pipes in 2016.
At the marriage of Sir
George Elphinstone
George Elphinstone of Blythswood (died 1634) was a Scottish landowner, courtier, and Provost of Glasgow.
Life
George Elphinstone was the son of George Elphinstone of Blythswood (died 2 April 1585), a leading Glasgow merchant and shipowner, and ...
of
Blythswood to Agnes Boyd in 1600, James VI promised the couple a bigger house. Sir George was given the New Park of Partick in order to manage the woodland, introduce deer, and build an 'ample' house for himself and for the king to resort to after hunting. This may have been built on the site of the Bishop's residence.
Dark Ages Royal residence
There is some evidence that
Partick
Partick ( sco, Pairtick, Scottish Gaelic: ''Partaig'') is an area of Glasgow on the north bank of the River Clyde, just across from Govan. To the west lies Whiteinch, to the east Yorkhill and Kelvingrove Park (across the River Kelvin), and to t ...
was an important centre for the Kings of
Alt Clut/Strathclyde. According to the
Cistercian
The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint ...
monk and hagiographer of
St Kentigern
Kentigern ( cy, Cyndeyrn Garthwys; la, Kentigernus), known as Mungo, was a missionary in the Brittonic Kingdom of Strathclyde in the late sixth century, and the founder and patron saint of the city of Glasgow.
Name
In Wales and England, this s ...
,
Jocelin of Furness
Jocelyn of Furness ( fl. 1175–1214) was an English Cistercian hagiographer, known for his Lives of Saint Waltheof, Saint Patrick, Saint Kentigern and Saint Helena of Constantinople. He is probably responsible for the popular legendary asso ...
, King
Rhydderch had a residence in 'Pertnech' (
Partick
Partick ( sco, Pairtick, Scottish Gaelic: ''Partaig'') is an area of Glasgow on the north bank of the River Clyde, just across from Govan. To the west lies Whiteinch, to the east Yorkhill and Kelvingrove Park (across the River Kelvin), and to t ...
). Some archaeologists have deduced that the royal
Partick
Partick ( sco, Pairtick, Scottish Gaelic: ''Partaig'') is an area of Glasgow on the north bank of the River Clyde, just across from Govan. To the west lies Whiteinch, to the east Yorkhill and Kelvingrove Park (across the River Kelvin), and to t ...
estate was part of a larger elite centre of the kingdom, which included the ecclesiastical centre just across the
River Clyde
The River Clyde ( gd, Abhainn Chluaidh, , sco, Clyde Watter, or ) is a river that flows into the Firth of Clyde in Scotland. It is the ninth-longest river in the United Kingdom, and the third-longest in Scotland. It runs through the major cit ...
at
Govan
Govan ( ; Cumbric?: ''Gwovan'?''; Scots: ''Gouan''; Scottish Gaelic: ''Baile a' Ghobhainn'') is a district, parish, and former burgh now part of south-west City of Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated west of Glasgow city centre, on the south ba ...
. The lands of Partick remained royal property until
King David
David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
granted them to the
Bishops of Glasgow
The Archbishop of Glasgow is an archiepiscopal title that takes its name after the city of Glasgow in Scotland. The position and title were abolished by the Church of Scotland in 1689; and, in the Scottish Episcopal Church, it is now part of the ...
.
[Macquarrie, Alan (1993) ''The Kings of Strathclyde, c.400–1018'' pp. 1–19 in Medieval Scotland: Government, Lordship and Community: Studies Presented to G.W.S. Barrow. Edited by A. Grant and K.J. Stringer]
There is no primary evidence that the site of Hutcheson's castle was the same as this royal residence.
See also
*
History of Partick
This article deals with the history of the Partick area of Glasgow in Scotland.
Etymology of Partick
The place name ''Partick'' is derived from the Cumbric word for 'thicket'. This etymology reflects the fact that the inhabitants of the Glasgo ...
References
External links
Partick Castle in the ''Glasgow's Story'' website
{{coord, 55.868389, -4.304559, type:landmark_region:GB_source:enwiki-osgb36, display=title
Castles in Glasgow
Former castles in Scotland
Partick