Caerlaverock Castle - Scotland

Caerlaverock Castle is located in Caerlaverock, Dumfries, Scotland on the Solway Firth.  The estate was the family seat of the Maxwell family from 1220 when Alexander II granted the land to Sir John Maxwell, a nobleman and loyal defender of Scotland.  For 50 years the family resided at a castle 200m away, but when Sir Herbert Maxwell became Lord of Caerlaverock in 1266 he decided to relocate to a new location where he could build a larger castle.  Construction on this newer residence began in 1277.  In 1300 Edward I laid siege to the castle during his invasion of Scotland.  The fortress of 60 soldiers held off Edward’s 3,000 strong army for two days before they fell.  The castle remained in English hands until 1312 when Sir Eustace Maxwell declared his loyalty to Robert Bruce, who ordered the castle demolished to keep it out of English hands.  The Maxwells switched allegiance several times during the Wars of Independence, but managed to retain Caerlaverock along the way.  Beginning in the 1370s they began to repair and restore the castle, a job which lasted into the late 1400s.  The end for the castle came in 1640 when Robert Maxwell, Earl of Nithsdale, resisted Charles I’s attempt to impose Episcopalianism on Scotland.  He held out in Caerlaverock for 13 weeks before the invading Covenanting army forced him to surrender. The army dismantled portions of the castle to render it useless in further defense.  The Maxwell family soon fell out of favor, and the castle soon fell into disrepair.  Through the years the Dukes of Norfolk inherited the estate and in 1946 it was given to the State.  It is now in the care of Historic Scotland.

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