Across the river from Calderwood Castle and to the north-east, perched above a range of cliffs on the Blantyre side or the river, lay Craigneith Castle. This was Blantyre’s castle. The style of masonry suggests erection between 1750 and 1850.
Secondly, the upper floor had a large window in each of the three main faces and a wheel stair gave access to a parapet walk. This suggests that the building was a vantage point from which the scenery of Calderwood Glen could be admired.
Lastly, it was a decorative adjunct to the whole Calderwood Estate and part of the Gothic philosophy underlying the layout of Calderwood Glen.
The battlements visible in the photograph on the top of the round tower were possibly added by Sir John Maxwell to provide a romantic silhouette. The stone used was a local freestone, originally creamy yellow but latterly weathered to a warm silvery grey.
Over the years the building fell in to disrepair. Although tolerably intact in 1951, nothing of this size now remains.
With hardly any stone left, Blantyre’s very own Castle is now largely forgotten about. Pictured above in 1922, it was still impressive 90 years then. On 28th September 2013, i visited the site with the kind assistance of Blantyre man James Brown, who acted as a tour guide. During the very interesting morning, i took these 3 photographs of what remains of Craigneith Castle and he view it would have had.
A Craigneith Servant’s Life
There, dwelt the old, old lady of Craigneith Castle, who would arise each morning between 4:00-5:00 am to cross the river to Calderwood Castle where she would light all 30 fires in the building. She would leave Craigneith Castle, descend the steep cliffs via serpentine paths, through thick foliage, cross the footbridge, ascend the precipice via some steep steps and finally enter Calderwood Castle. Through tempest, rain, gales and the roaring foaming of the murky Calder she would do so every day, all year. She did this all her time there right up to the time of her death.(Her disposition must have been of a most phlegmatic order!)