Bishop's Castle

The castle's origins are unclear. The first development on the ground west of Glasgow Cathedral was probably in the twelfth century, and the place is first recorded in charters in 1258. By the Wars of Scottish Independence it had become an episcopal residence, and in 1296 William Wallace recaptured it from the English. In 1301 Edward I garrisoned it again.

In the fifteenth century Bishop Cameron built a five-storey keep, extended by later bishops with further buildings and fortifications. Archbishop Beaton added a large corner tower and ringed the whole complex with an ashlar wall carrying crenellated and reinforced bastions; Archbishop Dunbar built a round-towered gatehouse in the south-east corner between 1524 and 1547. The central keep, ditched and reached by a drawbridge, was the residence of the bishops and archbishops, and went by the name of the Bishop's Palace.

The castle was drawn into the political fighting of the sixteenth century, including the long struggle between the supporters of Mary, Queen of Scots, and her enemies. It changed hands six times between 1513 and 1570, and was held at one point by French troops. In 1544 it was defended against Regent Arran and Cardinal Beaton; in 1560 it was defended for Arran.

The buildings fell into disrepair during the seventeenth century, despite an attempt at repair by Archbishop Ross in the 1680s. The castle served as the residence of the Archbishops of Glasgow until 1689. After the Glorious Revolution it passed to the Crown, was used as a quarry from 1755, and was gradually dismantled for its stone. It was demolished completely in 1789 to make way for the construction of the Glasgow Royal Infirmary.

Foundations of the castle were uncovered during excavations for the St Mungo Museum of Religious Life and Art in the 1980s; the museum building, by the architect Ian Begg, was designed to echo the style of the Bishop's Castle. A stone from the castle, with a modern plaque, stands in Cathedral Square marking the site of the keep.