Strathblock Castle,
Uphall
Uphall ( sco, Uphauch, gd, Ubhalaidh) is a village in West Lothian, Scotland. It is a swiftly growing village in a conurbation with Broxburn to the east, Dechmont to the west and the major town of Livingston to the south west. Uphall is 30 mile ...
,
West Lothian
West Lothian ( sco, Wast Lowden; gd, Lodainn an Iar) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and was one of its shires of Scotland, historic counties. The county was called Linlithgowshire until 1925. The historic county was bounded geogra ...
, Scotland, was a
motte-and-bailey castle
A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade. Relatively easy to ...
. The castle was the caput of the barony of Strathbrock. The lands were given to
Freskyn, a Flemish nobleman, by King
David I of Scotland
David I or Dauíd mac Maíl Choluim (Modern: ''Daibhidh I mac haoilChaluim''; – 24 May 1153) was a 12th-century ruler who was Prince of the Cumbrians from 1113 to 1124 and later King of Scotland from 1124 to 1153. The youngest son of Malcolm ...
in the 12th century. The castle passed by marriage to the
le Chen family. By 1435, the castle was in the hands of the
Douglas family
Douglas may refer to:
People
* Douglas (given name)
* Douglas (surname)
Animals
*Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking
*Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civil W ...
, and in 1524 the rector of Strathbrock Church lived there. The castle may have been a motte, with later stone buildings, and its remains were visible in the early 18th century. The area, to the south of Uphall's Main Street, is now built up.
References
Further reading
*
*Primrose, James. (1898) Strathbrock, or the history and antiquities of the parish of Uphall. Edinburgh.
Castles in West Lothian
Motte-and-bailey castles
Clan Murray
De Moravia family
Clan Cheyne
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