History of Cam'nethan
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Here
are the notes written specially for our event on Sunday 18th January by
local historian Gordon Mason, author of "The Castles of Glasgow and the
Clyde".
In the absence of archaeology and whilst trying to establish the nature of earlier buildings at Cambusnethan, we find that we are limited to visual inspection of the current remains, and a single earlier description.This carries a warning of unreliability. The ‘Memorie of The Sommervilles’ was introduced by Sir Walter Scott with the warning that the reader should not expect historical accuracy from the work. In 1679 Sir James Sommerville had written down his family’s oral history of the site. This may have been exaggerated or adapted to enhance the Sommerville’s standing, or simply suffered from a long term form of Chinese Whispers. On the other hand, when describing the pre 1660 house, he states that he had seen it and so we have an eyewitness account which carries enough detail to suggest a modicum of accuracy. We do have map evidence from 1745-47, and an 18thc sketch, both of which help to illustrate the ‘old house’ of 1661.
According to the records of Kelso Abbey, it was before 1159 when William Finemund granted the church of Cambusnethan to Kelso Abbey. This may have been associated with the establishment of Kelso’s satellite Priory at Lesmahagow in 1144, but more probably after the coronation of Malcolm IV in 1153. Baronies and parishes tended to match, and we know the extent of Cambusnethan. William would therefore have had baronial control over an area roughly 12 miles east west, by 2 north south. According to convention, He would have built a church, or arranged for the support of an existing one. He would then have donated its tithes to an Abbey who would provide a priest. The tithes would have paid for its upkeep and supported the Abbey financially. This would have been the old parish church of St Michaels, along the valley. Whilst there is no currently recognized evidence of an early castle or its site within the barony at that time, having one would have been a necessity to administer such a large area, and convention of the time would have seen it stand within the same general area as the church.
Climatic considerations also suggest that it would have been on the lower fertile ground close to the river. The time period involved has been termed the medieval warm period, when the upland areas would have been drier and less productive. Local patterns of settlement support this with the majority of principal baronial seats in Clydesdale set within a few hundred yards of the river. It may well have been on the present site, which over the centuries may have developed from some form of earthwork castle. The site consists of an oval building platform which, on the west, north and east sides,show slight traces of a possible ditch which have been partly filled by the creation of the current road, landscaping and later extension by the addition of a rectangular building platform to the south. These works are undated and without archaeological assessment it cannot be categorically stated that they originated in the 12thc. It is, nevertheless, highly suggestive of an early castle site. (see Photo 2)
By 1185 Ranulf de Clare was in possession. He confirmed the tithes of the church to Kelso Abbey. This suggests that he had recently taken possession and had the need to confirm the earlier grant. He also gave the monks the teinds of his mill, and the opportunity to use it before anyone else.In exchange he was allowed to build himself a private chapel ‘within his court’. This seems to confirm the existence of a ‘castle’, the word court implying his seat of justice or ‘court-yard’. At this stage it was probably still an earth and timber castle of some sort, though it may have developed to support a simple stone tower or hall. This would have been the main building within a complex consisting of a palisaded courtyard, with subsidiary buildings such as a hall, kitchen, stable,brewery and the chapel.
We know that portions of the original barony were being donated or negotiated away in the period before the Wars of Independence,principally to the church. Gowkthrapple became a Templar property and until the18thc there was a property just south of the Coltness Estate known as Temple Hall. The Garrion portion was granted to the Bishops of Glasgow. Sometime after1232, there was a transfer of the rights of the church at Cambusnethan, from Kelso Abbey, to Glasgow Cathedral.
After the Wars of Independence, we find Cambusnethan granted by Robert the Bruce to Sir Robert de Baird. He built what we know as the Baird Tower which apparently provided the only accommodation on the site until at least 1490. Baird seems to have switched allegiance during the reign of DavidII, and was declared forfeit for having supported the campaign of Edward Balliol to take the Scottish Crown. Cambusnethan was granted to Sir John Edmonstone, but charter evidence confirms that it then passed to the Stewarts of Darnley. They provided it as a dowry on the marriage of a daughter to Somerville of Carnwath c 1390.
‘The Memorie’ describes the Baird Tower as 20 feet square,and 4 storeys high, so slightly smaller in dimension than nearby Hallbar. The Bairds were wealthy and extensive landowners, also having been in possession of the Barony of Avondale, and its likely they would have had proclaimed their status with a larger tower, where the 20ft quoted may well have been an internal measurement. The basic plan would have been the same, vaulted single chamber inthe basement with no external access, entry via a hatch from the hall which would have occupied the whole of the floor above. The entrance would have beenat the level of the hall, via a removable ladder or possibly a drawbridge from the battlement of the surrounding wall (enceinte). Above this would have been a private chamber for the lord. The fourth story may have been identical,possibly providing a room for the lady of the house and her children, or it may have been in the form of a garret, a little bungalow type room as we see at Hallbar, with a wall walk along a battlemented parapet. It’s more likely to have been 4 storeys plus a garret. Garrets often provided accommodation for a constable, or retainer who would have administered the castle and estate in the lord’s absence. Other servants and the like would have slept on the floor of the hall.
Around 1489Cambusnethan was given to a younger son of Lord Sommerville, John of Quothquan.He is said to have built a ‘Great House’ 100 ft long, 30 broad, of excellent ashlar. There were five vaulted rooms on the ground floor, two further storeys above, and a round stair tower in the re-entrant with Baird’s Tower. John died at the Battle of Flodden in 1513,and was succeeded by his son John ‘Red Bag’ Sommerville. Red Bag was allied tohis cousin, the Douglas Earl of Angus, and was one of his party who were attacked by the Hamiltons in the skirmish known as ‘Cleanse the Causeway’. This took place in Edinburgh in 1520. It was an attempt to capture Angus and take control of the infant James V from him. Angus was married to Margaret Tudor, the King’s mother and widow of James IV, whilst the Hamilton Earl of Arran had the best claim to the throne if the child died. On the day Angus overcame the Hamiltons,but lost the overall struggle for control. John was forfeited of his various properties, some of which were granted to his cousin Hugh Sommerville of Carnwath with whom he had a feud. Cambusnethan was granted to Sir James Hamilton (The Bastard) of Finnart. The ‘Memorie’ tells us that Hamilton extended southwards, eastward and northwards from the south west corner of Baird’s Tower, to meet the eastern end of the Sommerville extension, creating a courtyard. It is likely that it was he who added the southern building platform to create the space necessary to support the new buildings. ‘Hamilton’s Worke’ as it was called, was of ‘three quarters’, had 24 rooms over three storeys, each room having space for a bedstead, stairs 12-13 foot square, one window (light)and a s(t)inking privy. It was a building which Sommerville described as‘ridiculous’ and resembling a ‘hospital’, dismal and disappointing for a man of Finnart’s architectural talent. Red Bag gained a larger, though not necessarily improved, Cambusnethan House when restored to the barony in 1539. (see Photo 2)
Pont’s map of c 1596 shows a rough sketch of a large tower,with a full height battlemented stair tower, and a lower battlemented extension from the same side. The sketch is within a crowded area of his map, and is partly written over, obscuring some detail which could easily lead to misinterpretation.
Moving on to the 17thc and we find that the estate had been denuded by the transfer of Coltness, Wishaw and other portions out of the family. Like many landholders during the years of the Civil Wars, Sommerville of Cambusnethan was in debt and sold the estate to his cousin Sommerville of Drum. Around 1661 he sold it on to Sir John Harper, who in that year demolished the old building, and constructed what we now know as the Old House. Evidence from General Roy’s map shows us that a main block ran East-West along the southern side, with small wings on both the east and west allowing for a small courtyard with a gateway facing the north. The lower ground toward the river had a walled garden, and other plots which were probably a formal garden and an orchard. An avenue of trees ran to the river bank aligned with the centre of the house. A late 18thc engraving also illustrates a new, small extension to the east which sat back from the south facade.
On Sir John’s death, the estate was obtained by Sir John Lockhart, Lord Castlehill, whose daughter married Sir John Sinclair. Their children inherited the estate on condition that they retain the Lockhart name,thus the family became known as Sinclair-Lockhart. Fire destroyed the house in1810.
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Gordon MasonFriends of Cambusnethan Priory
A brief history of Cambusnethan. NS64 NS 779519
Cambusnethan was the site of a large tower which appears in Bleau’s Atlas Novus of the 17th century as Kawslethead. Careful examination of Pont’s late 16th century map shows a cluttered and indistict area at this location, out of which sneaks the name Cambusnethan. Bleau’s map, which was based on Pont, allocates the name to a building which corresponds to the 17th century tower at Castlehill. The Barony of Cambusnethan is said to have been held by William Finnemund at the beginning of the 12th century. Ralph de Clare was in possession in c1185, when he granted Kelso Abbey the right to grind its grain before anyone else at his mill at Cambusnethan. In addition he granted them the church of Cambusnethan and ‘the teinds, multure, and exit’ of the mill. In the same year we find favour returned and Ralph is granted the right to build a private chapel. Sometime before 1226 he granted the land of Garrion to Paisley Abbey.
The Barony of Cambusnethan was apparently granted to the Baird’s by Robert I. Sir Robert Baird erected a large square tower of four storeys in the 14th century, and it is said to have remained ‘entire’ until 1661. Sir Robert was forfeited and executed for treason in 1340, possibly a result of having favoured Edward Bailliol in his attempt to take the throne from David II.
King David then granted Cambusnethan to Sir John Edmonstone. His heiress married John, Lord Sommerville who granted it to his son John whose descendants held it for several centuries. Many portions of the Barony were feued out to form separtate estates, or sold off to such as the Hamiltons, who bought Wishaw, and the Stewarts who purchased Coltness. In 1520 John Sommerville of Cambusnethan backed the wrong side in the Edinburgh skirmish known as Cleanse the Causeway. In defeat he was declared forfeit. The victorious Earl of Arran, on the other hand, saw James V award Cambusnethan to Sir James Hamilton of Finnart in 1524. Sommerville was restored to his estate twenty years later. What remained of the estate passed to Sommerville of Drum on the death of the last of the Cambusnethan line in 1659. He then sold it to Sir John Harper in 1661 who found the tower in such a state of decay that he had it pulled down and built the first Cambusnethan House. Sir John left the estate to his daughter who had married Lockhart of Castlehill.
In the early 19th century Cambusnethan House burned down, and the Sinclair-Lockharts commissioned James Gillespie Graham to build anew. The second, splendidly gothic, Cambusnethan House is also known as Cambusnethan Priory and was the family home into the 20th c. It eventually came into use as a hotel. This venture folded in 1984, since when the house has decayed and fallen victim to vandals. It is now on the buildings at risk register.
Other names; Baird’s Tower, Kawslethead
In the absence of archaeology and whilst trying to establish the nature of earlier buildings at Cambusnethan, we find that we are limited to visual inspection of the current remains, and a single earlier description.This carries a warning of unreliability. The ‘Memorie of The Sommervilles’ was introduced by Sir Walter Scott with the warning that the reader should not expect historical accuracy from the work. In 1679 Sir James Sommerville had written down his family’s oral history of the site. This may have been exaggerated or adapted to enhance the Sommerville’s standing, or simply suffered from a long term form of Chinese Whispers. On the other hand, when describing the pre 1660 house, he states that he had seen it and so we have an eyewitness account which carries enough detail to suggest a modicum of accuracy. We do have map evidence from 1745-47, and an 18thc sketch, both of which help to illustrate the ‘old house’ of 1661.
According to the records of Kelso Abbey, it was before 1159 when William Finemund granted the church of Cambusnethan to Kelso Abbey. This may have been associated with the establishment of Kelso’s satellite Priory at Lesmahagow in 1144, but more probably after the coronation of Malcolm IV in 1153. Baronies and parishes tended to match, and we know the extent of Cambusnethan. William would therefore have had baronial control over an area roughly 12 miles east west, by 2 north south. According to convention, He would have built a church, or arranged for the support of an existing one. He would then have donated its tithes to an Abbey who would provide a priest. The tithes would have paid for its upkeep and supported the Abbey financially. This would have been the old parish church of St Michaels, along the valley. Whilst there is no currently recognized evidence of an early castle or its site within the barony at that time, having one would have been a necessity to administer such a large area, and convention of the time would have seen it stand within the same general area as the church.
Climatic considerations also suggest that it would have been on the lower fertile ground close to the river. The time period involved has been termed the medieval warm period, when the upland areas would have been drier and less productive. Local patterns of settlement support this with the majority of principal baronial seats in Clydesdale set within a few hundred yards of the river. It may well have been on the present site, which over the centuries may have developed from some form of earthwork castle. The site consists of an oval building platform which, on the west, north and east sides,show slight traces of a possible ditch which have been partly filled by the creation of the current road, landscaping and later extension by the addition of a rectangular building platform to the south. These works are undated and without archaeological assessment it cannot be categorically stated that they originated in the 12thc. It is, nevertheless, highly suggestive of an early castle site. (see Photo 2)
By 1185 Ranulf de Clare was in possession. He confirmed the tithes of the church to Kelso Abbey. This suggests that he had recently taken possession and had the need to confirm the earlier grant. He also gave the monks the teinds of his mill, and the opportunity to use it before anyone else.In exchange he was allowed to build himself a private chapel ‘within his court’. This seems to confirm the existence of a ‘castle’, the word court implying his seat of justice or ‘court-yard’. At this stage it was probably still an earth and timber castle of some sort, though it may have developed to support a simple stone tower or hall. This would have been the main building within a complex consisting of a palisaded courtyard, with subsidiary buildings such as a hall, kitchen, stable,brewery and the chapel.
We know that portions of the original barony were being donated or negotiated away in the period before the Wars of Independence,principally to the church. Gowkthrapple became a Templar property and until the18thc there was a property just south of the Coltness Estate known as Temple Hall. The Garrion portion was granted to the Bishops of Glasgow. Sometime after1232, there was a transfer of the rights of the church at Cambusnethan, from Kelso Abbey, to Glasgow Cathedral.
After the Wars of Independence, we find Cambusnethan granted by Robert the Bruce to Sir Robert de Baird. He built what we know as the Baird Tower which apparently provided the only accommodation on the site until at least 1490. Baird seems to have switched allegiance during the reign of DavidII, and was declared forfeit for having supported the campaign of Edward Balliol to take the Scottish Crown. Cambusnethan was granted to Sir John Edmonstone, but charter evidence confirms that it then passed to the Stewarts of Darnley. They provided it as a dowry on the marriage of a daughter to Somerville of Carnwath c 1390.
‘The Memorie’ describes the Baird Tower as 20 feet square,and 4 storeys high, so slightly smaller in dimension than nearby Hallbar. The Bairds were wealthy and extensive landowners, also having been in possession of the Barony of Avondale, and its likely they would have had proclaimed their status with a larger tower, where the 20ft quoted may well have been an internal measurement. The basic plan would have been the same, vaulted single chamber inthe basement with no external access, entry via a hatch from the hall which would have occupied the whole of the floor above. The entrance would have beenat the level of the hall, via a removable ladder or possibly a drawbridge from the battlement of the surrounding wall (enceinte). Above this would have been a private chamber for the lord. The fourth story may have been identical,possibly providing a room for the lady of the house and her children, or it may have been in the form of a garret, a little bungalow type room as we see at Hallbar, with a wall walk along a battlemented parapet. It’s more likely to have been 4 storeys plus a garret. Garrets often provided accommodation for a constable, or retainer who would have administered the castle and estate in the lord’s absence. Other servants and the like would have slept on the floor of the hall.
Around 1489Cambusnethan was given to a younger son of Lord Sommerville, John of Quothquan.He is said to have built a ‘Great House’ 100 ft long, 30 broad, of excellent ashlar. There were five vaulted rooms on the ground floor, two further storeys above, and a round stair tower in the re-entrant with Baird’s Tower. John died at the Battle of Flodden in 1513,and was succeeded by his son John ‘Red Bag’ Sommerville. Red Bag was allied tohis cousin, the Douglas Earl of Angus, and was one of his party who were attacked by the Hamiltons in the skirmish known as ‘Cleanse the Causeway’. This took place in Edinburgh in 1520. It was an attempt to capture Angus and take control of the infant James V from him. Angus was married to Margaret Tudor, the King’s mother and widow of James IV, whilst the Hamilton Earl of Arran had the best claim to the throne if the child died. On the day Angus overcame the Hamiltons,but lost the overall struggle for control. John was forfeited of his various properties, some of which were granted to his cousin Hugh Sommerville of Carnwath with whom he had a feud. Cambusnethan was granted to Sir James Hamilton (The Bastard) of Finnart. The ‘Memorie’ tells us that Hamilton extended southwards, eastward and northwards from the south west corner of Baird’s Tower, to meet the eastern end of the Sommerville extension, creating a courtyard. It is likely that it was he who added the southern building platform to create the space necessary to support the new buildings. ‘Hamilton’s Worke’ as it was called, was of ‘three quarters’, had 24 rooms over three storeys, each room having space for a bedstead, stairs 12-13 foot square, one window (light)and a s(t)inking privy. It was a building which Sommerville described as‘ridiculous’ and resembling a ‘hospital’, dismal and disappointing for a man of Finnart’s architectural talent. Red Bag gained a larger, though not necessarily improved, Cambusnethan House when restored to the barony in 1539. (see Photo 2)
Pont’s map of c 1596 shows a rough sketch of a large tower,with a full height battlemented stair tower, and a lower battlemented extension from the same side. The sketch is within a crowded area of his map, and is partly written over, obscuring some detail which could easily lead to misinterpretation.
Moving on to the 17thc and we find that the estate had been denuded by the transfer of Coltness, Wishaw and other portions out of the family. Like many landholders during the years of the Civil Wars, Sommerville of Cambusnethan was in debt and sold the estate to his cousin Sommerville of Drum. Around 1661 he sold it on to Sir John Harper, who in that year demolished the old building, and constructed what we now know as the Old House. Evidence from General Roy’s map shows us that a main block ran East-West along the southern side, with small wings on both the east and west allowing for a small courtyard with a gateway facing the north. The lower ground toward the river had a walled garden, and other plots which were probably a formal garden and an orchard. An avenue of trees ran to the river bank aligned with the centre of the house. A late 18thc engraving also illustrates a new, small extension to the east which sat back from the south facade.
On Sir John’s death, the estate was obtained by Sir John Lockhart, Lord Castlehill, whose daughter married Sir John Sinclair. Their children inherited the estate on condition that they retain the Lockhart name,thus the family became known as Sinclair-Lockhart. Fire destroyed the house in1810.
...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Gordon MasonFriends of Cambusnethan Priory
A brief history of Cambusnethan. NS64 NS 779519
Cambusnethan was the site of a large tower which appears in Bleau’s Atlas Novus of the 17th century as Kawslethead. Careful examination of Pont’s late 16th century map shows a cluttered and indistict area at this location, out of which sneaks the name Cambusnethan. Bleau’s map, which was based on Pont, allocates the name to a building which corresponds to the 17th century tower at Castlehill. The Barony of Cambusnethan is said to have been held by William Finnemund at the beginning of the 12th century. Ralph de Clare was in possession in c1185, when he granted Kelso Abbey the right to grind its grain before anyone else at his mill at Cambusnethan. In addition he granted them the church of Cambusnethan and ‘the teinds, multure, and exit’ of the mill. In the same year we find favour returned and Ralph is granted the right to build a private chapel. Sometime before 1226 he granted the land of Garrion to Paisley Abbey.
The Barony of Cambusnethan was apparently granted to the Baird’s by Robert I. Sir Robert Baird erected a large square tower of four storeys in the 14th century, and it is said to have remained ‘entire’ until 1661. Sir Robert was forfeited and executed for treason in 1340, possibly a result of having favoured Edward Bailliol in his attempt to take the throne from David II.
King David then granted Cambusnethan to Sir John Edmonstone. His heiress married John, Lord Sommerville who granted it to his son John whose descendants held it for several centuries. Many portions of the Barony were feued out to form separtate estates, or sold off to such as the Hamiltons, who bought Wishaw, and the Stewarts who purchased Coltness. In 1520 John Sommerville of Cambusnethan backed the wrong side in the Edinburgh skirmish known as Cleanse the Causeway. In defeat he was declared forfeit. The victorious Earl of Arran, on the other hand, saw James V award Cambusnethan to Sir James Hamilton of Finnart in 1524. Sommerville was restored to his estate twenty years later. What remained of the estate passed to Sommerville of Drum on the death of the last of the Cambusnethan line in 1659. He then sold it to Sir John Harper in 1661 who found the tower in such a state of decay that he had it pulled down and built the first Cambusnethan House. Sir John left the estate to his daughter who had married Lockhart of Castlehill.
In the early 19th century Cambusnethan House burned down, and the Sinclair-Lockharts commissioned James Gillespie Graham to build anew. The second, splendidly gothic, Cambusnethan House is also known as Cambusnethan Priory and was the family home into the 20th c. It eventually came into use as a hotel. This venture folded in 1984, since when the house has decayed and fallen victim to vandals. It is now on the buildings at risk register.
Other names; Baird’s Tower, Kawslethead
Another update: I received some very interesting historical information about the Priory from the North Lanarkshire Heritage Centre yesterday, which I will post on this page.
Here is one extract from 1935. This article is particularly interesting to me as it gives some credence to the old legend that the Monkey Road, which leads from the Larkhall area down to the Clyde and crosses at the old ford, was indeed so-called because of monks, or religious persons, visiting the Priory (the earlier building).
I grew up in an isolated house on this road and the view across the valley to the pinnacles of the Priory was beautiful.
The description of the interior is also fascinating - it's a shame no colour photos survive.
Article taken from the Motherwell Times of 28 June 1935
Cambusnethan Priory
Home of Mr John Craig , CBE
The following article, descriptive of Cambusnethan Priory, the residence of Mr John Craig, CBE, which appeared in the “Glasgow Evening News” on Tuesday, 18th June, should be of interest to Motherwell readers. In the “Evening News” every Tuesday a sketch and description of a Scottish mansion house appears.
In ancient days the district known as Cambusnethan belonged to the Church; and many relics remain of the days when the archbishops of Glasgow and other dignitaries of the Church used the old buildings as summer residences or “mensal kirks”. Cambusnethan Priory, the home of Mr and Mrs John Craig, is one of the many mansions named “Priories” used for this purpose. Burned down in 1810, it was reconstructed in the style of a castle in France, and is an exceedingly handsome building.
An imposing arched entrance leads into the handsome hall which is lined and paved with stone, great pillars and archways and graceful steel balustrades, crested and mottoed adding to the beauty of the interior. The wide fireplace is also of stone, with an array of pewter mugs and plates on the mantelshelf.
Sunshine Walls
The lounge is large and handsome, the tall pointed windows allowing the light to stream in on the sunshine yellow stippled walls and mellow oak roof. The Persian carpet is of bronze and blue colourings, the fireplace of black marble.
The many turrets of the Priory afford great variety to the shapes of the different rooms; the dining-room is particularly lovely, with a large bay window, the ceiling of which is painted to represent the rays of the sun. The walls are orange tinted, the doors of natural wood. A floor, and the handsome embroidered curtains and pelmets pick up the same colour; the mantelpiece is of white marble, and the furniture of mahogany.
The Blue Room
Blue is the keynote of the drawing room, the Chinese carpet being of this soft colour, backed by parchment walls, with curtains and pelmets of pinky beige with a blue border. A tall gilt mirror at one end of the room adds length to the apartment. Again variety is given by the little turret nooks, with the pointed windows for additional interest.
There are many beautiful chairs, most of them covered in gros and petit point tapestry, the clever work of Mrs Craig. Opposite a handsome Chinese cabinet inlaid with ivory figures is a brilliant F.C. B. Cadell picture.
Butterfly Wings
Descriptive of their colour schemes, the bedrooms are attractively named “Rose”, “Heather”, “Rainbow”, “Primrose”, “Green” etc.. The rose room has silver walls as a contrast to the pink hangings, the furniture of rich coloured mahogany; in the Rainbow room is Sheraton furniture and a charmingly furnished modern room has blue and primrose carpet, blue curtains with blue beds and gold accessories. Following the curve of one of the larger turrets is a delightful round bedroom with sunshine yellow ceiling and duck-egg blue walls, with brilliant pictures made from butterfly wings.
Hume Douglas
www.facebook.com/CambusnethanPriory
Here is one extract from 1935. This article is particularly interesting to me as it gives some credence to the old legend that the Monkey Road, which leads from the Larkhall area down to the Clyde and crosses at the old ford, was indeed so-called because of monks, or religious persons, visiting the Priory (the earlier building).
I grew up in an isolated house on this road and the view across the valley to the pinnacles of the Priory was beautiful.
The description of the interior is also fascinating - it's a shame no colour photos survive.
Article taken from the Motherwell Times of 28 June 1935
Cambusnethan Priory
Home of Mr John Craig , CBE
The following article, descriptive of Cambusnethan Priory, the residence of Mr John Craig, CBE, which appeared in the “Glasgow Evening News” on Tuesday, 18th June, should be of interest to Motherwell readers. In the “Evening News” every Tuesday a sketch and description of a Scottish mansion house appears.
In ancient days the district known as Cambusnethan belonged to the Church; and many relics remain of the days when the archbishops of Glasgow and other dignitaries of the Church used the old buildings as summer residences or “mensal kirks”. Cambusnethan Priory, the home of Mr and Mrs John Craig, is one of the many mansions named “Priories” used for this purpose. Burned down in 1810, it was reconstructed in the style of a castle in France, and is an exceedingly handsome building.
An imposing arched entrance leads into the handsome hall which is lined and paved with stone, great pillars and archways and graceful steel balustrades, crested and mottoed adding to the beauty of the interior. The wide fireplace is also of stone, with an array of pewter mugs and plates on the mantelshelf.
Sunshine Walls
The lounge is large and handsome, the tall pointed windows allowing the light to stream in on the sunshine yellow stippled walls and mellow oak roof. The Persian carpet is of bronze and blue colourings, the fireplace of black marble.
The many turrets of the Priory afford great variety to the shapes of the different rooms; the dining-room is particularly lovely, with a large bay window, the ceiling of which is painted to represent the rays of the sun. The walls are orange tinted, the doors of natural wood. A floor, and the handsome embroidered curtains and pelmets pick up the same colour; the mantelpiece is of white marble, and the furniture of mahogany.
The Blue Room
Blue is the keynote of the drawing room, the Chinese carpet being of this soft colour, backed by parchment walls, with curtains and pelmets of pinky beige with a blue border. A tall gilt mirror at one end of the room adds length to the apartment. Again variety is given by the little turret nooks, with the pointed windows for additional interest.
There are many beautiful chairs, most of them covered in gros and petit point tapestry, the clever work of Mrs Craig. Opposite a handsome Chinese cabinet inlaid with ivory figures is a brilliant F.C. B. Cadell picture.
Butterfly Wings
Descriptive of their colour schemes, the bedrooms are attractively named “Rose”, “Heather”, “Rainbow”, “Primrose”, “Green” etc.. The rose room has silver walls as a contrast to the pink hangings, the furniture of rich coloured mahogany; in the Rainbow room is Sheraton furniture and a charmingly furnished modern room has blue and primrose carpet, blue curtains with blue beds and gold accessories. Following the curve of one of the larger turrets is a delightful round bedroom with sunshine yellow ceiling and duck-egg blue walls, with brilliant pictures made from butterfly wings.
Hume Douglas
www.facebook.com/CambusnethanPriory
The next two posts are from a historic newspaper clipping sent in by Simon Sinclair-Lockhart, with a lovely photograph of the Priory from the time it was lived in by the Craig family and a description of the house and gardens.
Below is the second post from the newspaper clipping from Simon Sinclair-Lockhart. This is the first time I have found a description of the gardens which used to surround the house and which are visible on the map from the 1850s posted by Rab of Wishaw Memories. The area now appears to be just farmland.
Below is the second post from the newspaper clipping from Simon Sinclair-Lockhart. This is the first time I have found a description of the gardens which used to surround the house and which are visible on the map from the 1850s posted by Rab of Wishaw Memories. The area now appears to be just farmland.
Here is the 1850s map compared with present day - I imagine that the area on the left in an almost triangular shape could have been one of the walled gardens referred to in the newspaper clipping - can anyone confirm? You can see the shadow of it in the field of the present day map.
https://archive.org/stream/historicalsket00brow/historicalsket00brow_djvu.txt - Historical sketches of Cambusnethan.
https://archive.org/stream/historicalsket00brow/historicalsket00brow_djvu.txt - Historical sketches of Cambusnethan.
