NS67NW 8 60632 78386

(NS 6063 7838) Woodhead House (NR) (Remains of)
OS 6" map, (1958)

Woodhead was built by John Lennox, 6th of Balcorrach, perhaps soon after he succeeded his brother Duncan in 1572 (Cameron 1892). John Kincaid-Lennox, who succeeded to the property in 1833, then built Lennox Castle, and when this had been done, part of the old Woodhead was pulled down and the remainder preserved as a picturesque ruin; the basement was used unsuccessfully as an ice-house. The surviving structure is much overgrown with trees and shrubs, which, with the accumulated debris, tend to obscure its features. The origingal building was L-shaped on plan, comprising a main block, 41'5" NE-SW by 25'5" and a small stair-tower projecting from its S corner in alignment with the SW gable. It contained three storeys and an attic. The composition agrees with a date in the latter 16th century, though a number of minor alterations were made in the 17th century. The walls are of random rubble roughly brought to courses, and the gables, of which only the NE one survives, have been finished in crow-steps.
J Cameron 1892; RCAHMS 1963, visited 1953.

The remnant of Woodhead House is in a ruinous condition, and the walls are crumbling and ivy-covered. The NE gable stands almost to its original height, but the other walls only to a maximum of 4.0m. There is a ruinous stair tower at the S angle, and a small turret attached to the N angle.
Visited by OS (J L D) 22 March 1957

Woodhead House is still as described and illustrated by the RCAHMS and previous OS field surveyor.
Visited by OS (W D J) 3 May 1966.

No change to the previous reports.
RCAHMS 1982.

If the castle was commissioned in 1837, can this edifice be considered a "true" castle?

Lennox Castle, is not a castle, it's a grand mansion which replaced Woodhead Castle as mentioned in my original post.
The mansion itself though, is set in such a spectacular location, dominating the Blane/Glazert valleys where they meet source, and facing directly onto the mass of the Campsie Fells directly opposite Crow Rd, the pass over to Fintry. It is a very noteworthy building, which sadly has been in decay since the closure of the hospital. It is well worthy of it's A-listing, as a building of national importance.