Caerlaverock Castle

Caerlaverock Castle
11 km (7 mi) south of Dumfries, Dumfries and Galloway GB grid reference NY024655 in Scotland
Caerlaverock Castle from the air
Location within Dumfries and Galloway
Caerlaverock Castle
Coordinates	54°58′32″N 3°31′26″W / 54.9756408°N 3.5239534°W / 54.9756408; -3.5239534
Site information
Owner	Historic Environment Scotland
Open to the public	Yes
Condition	Partially demolished
Site history
Built	Late 13th century
Built by	Clan Maxwell
Demolished	1640 (partial demolition)
Events	Sieges in 1300 and 1640 among others

Caerlaverock Castle is a moated triangular castle first built in the 13th century. It is located on the southern coast of Scotland, eleven kilometres (seven miles) south of Dumfries, on the edge of the Caerlaverock National Nature Reserve. Caerlaverock was a stronghold of the Maxwell family from the 13th century until the 17th century, when the castle was abandoned. It was besieged by the English during the Wars of Scottish Independence, and underwent several partial demolitions and reconstructions over the 14th and 15th centuries. In the 17th century, the Maxwells were created Earls of Nithsdale, and built a new lodging within the walls, described as among "the most ambitious early classical domestic architecture in Scotland".^[1] In 1640 the castle was besieged for the last time by the Protestant Covenanter army and was subsequently abandoned. Although demolished and rebuilt several times, the castle retains the distinctive triangular plan first laid out in the 13th century. Caerlaverock Castle was built to control trade in early times.^[2]

The castle, which is protected as a scheduled monument, is in the care of Historic Environment Scotland,^[3] and is a popular tourist attraction.