About 3.5 miles north of Abington, just west of A73, 1.5 miles north of junction with M74, on east bank of River Clyde, at Bower of Wandel.
Click to view attachment
From the east
On a rocky eminence that may once have been a motte, and surrounded on three sides by the Clyde, part of a basement with gunloops survive of a 15th century tower house.
In the reign of Alexander 2nd, in 1255, the Barony of Wandel was held by the then Sheriff of Lanark, William de Hertisheved (? Hartside, the farm on which the Bower now stands). The site was apparently a property of the Jardines from the 12th to 17th centuries, and their ownership was noted in a charter of David 2nd in the 14thc. It was evidently popular with James 5th as a hunting lodge.
This site may have been one of several occupied by the followers of Baldwin of Biggar. He was an immigrant from Flanders (a Fleming, hence the surname),who came to Scotland in the wake of David 1,(1124-53). Having first held lands in what is now Renfrewshire, Baldwin was granted the lands around Biggar in 1155 and divided them amongst his followers. Baldwin eventually achieved the rank of Sheriff of Lanark (which at that time meant the whole of the shires of Lanark and Renfrew, the latter being detached later.)
Click to view attachment
From the west near Roberton
Many of the local villages took the names of those of his followers granted the lands in the area, ie Wice (Wiston), Robert (Roberton), Lamington (from Lambin Asa, who is known to have built the original Lamington Church), Thankerton from Simon Tancred, Symington, from Simon Loccard). Wandel remains a name of unknown origin, though it has been suggested that it means Wan Dale , ie Pale Valley. The one of the group who settled and built Coulter, or Wolfclyde motte is not known, but his descendants took the name of their settlement, and became the Coulters.
Click to view attachment
Wolfclyde (or Coulter) Motte.
Baldwins own motte remains as the only vestige of Biggar Castle, which was probably later deveolped in stone. It stands in the garden of the manse at Biggar, but photography is pointless due to tree cover and subsequent development.
From Canmore
QUOTE
(NS 9510 2877) Bower of Wandel (NR) (remains of)
OS 6" map (1962)
The remains of the Bower of Wandel stand on a rocky promontory projecting into the River Clyde. The walls, strongly cemented together, are about 4 ft thick and stand 3 ft high. Though traditionally said to be a hunting lodge of James V, this is rather doubtful.
Name Book 1860; G V Irving and A Murray 1864
The ruined walls of this tower survive to an average height of 2.0m. The outer facings of the walls have been much robbed and average about 2.0m thick. The springing of a vault on the internal NW wall is clearly visible and the bases of three internal-splayed windows survive. A gap in the walling on the SE may indicate a former entrance.
The tower stands in a good defensive position, a former water course scarping the slopes of the existing river-loop. On the approach side (NE), disturbed ground precludes the identification of possible outworks. In plan, masonry and architectural description, this structure is best comparable with a 15th - 16th century tower.
Visited by OS (WW) 22 June 1955
Wandel parish seems to have been divided into two portions from an early period. The smaller, known as 'Quendal', belonged to the see of Glasgow about 1116. It is doubtful whether the see of Glasgow would have established a caput within this area but the family who took their name from Hartside (the farm on which this feature is located) may well have resided at the site now known as the 'Bower of Wandel'.
Tradition associates the site with James V and it is possible that the ruined walls that survive belong to the later medieval period. Nonetheless, this rocky promontory could well have been occupied by timber structures prior to this time.
Possible site of timber motte.
C Tabraham 1978
Photographed by the RCAHMS in 1980.
(Undated) information in NMRS.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
References
Irving and Murray, G V and A (1864 )
The upper ward of Lanarkshire described and delineated,
3v, Glasgow, Vol.2, 219,
Ordnance Survey (Name Book) ( )
Object Name Books of the Ordnance Survey
Book No.41, 44,
Tabraham, C (1978 )
'Norman settlement in Upper Cydesdale: recent archaeological fieldwork',
Trans Dumfriesshire Galloway Natur Hist Antiq Soc, 3rd, 53, 1977-8, 120,
OS 6" map (1962)
The remains of the Bower of Wandel stand on a rocky promontory projecting into the River Clyde. The walls, strongly cemented together, are about 4 ft thick and stand 3 ft high. Though traditionally said to be a hunting lodge of James V, this is rather doubtful.
Name Book 1860; G V Irving and A Murray 1864
The ruined walls of this tower survive to an average height of 2.0m. The outer facings of the walls have been much robbed and average about 2.0m thick. The springing of a vault on the internal NW wall is clearly visible and the bases of three internal-splayed windows survive. A gap in the walling on the SE may indicate a former entrance.
The tower stands in a good defensive position, a former water course scarping the slopes of the existing river-loop. On the approach side (NE), disturbed ground precludes the identification of possible outworks. In plan, masonry and architectural description, this structure is best comparable with a 15th - 16th century tower.
Visited by OS (WW) 22 June 1955
Wandel parish seems to have been divided into two portions from an early period. The smaller, known as 'Quendal', belonged to the see of Glasgow about 1116. It is doubtful whether the see of Glasgow would have established a caput within this area but the family who took their name from Hartside (the farm on which this feature is located) may well have resided at the site now known as the 'Bower of Wandel'.
Tradition associates the site with James V and it is possible that the ruined walls that survive belong to the later medieval period. Nonetheless, this rocky promontory could well have been occupied by timber structures prior to this time.
Possible site of timber motte.
C Tabraham 1978
Photographed by the RCAHMS in 1980.
(Undated) information in NMRS.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
References
Irving and Murray, G V and A (1864 )
The upper ward of Lanarkshire described and delineated,
3v, Glasgow, Vol.2, 219,
Ordnance Survey (Name Book) ( )
Object Name Books of the Ordnance Survey
Book No.41, 44,
Tabraham, C (1978 )
'Norman settlement in Upper Cydesdale: recent archaeological fieldwork',
Trans Dumfriesshire Galloway Natur Hist Antiq Soc, 3rd, 53, 1977-8, 120,
and on Wolfclyde
QUOTE
NT03NW 11 0187 3629.
(NT 0187 3629) Mote (NR)
OS 6" map, (1957).
This motte, situated 30yds. from the right bank of the River Clyde, measures c 75' in diameter at the base, 11'6" in height and 45' by 38' across the top. The ditch which probably surrounded the motte has been filled up by cultivation on all sides except the SW, where it has been removed by the construction of a road.
Information from RCAHMS typescript, visited 1957.
As described.
Revised at 1/2500.
Visited by OS (RD) 19 July 1972.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
References
Stevenson, J B (1985 b)
Exploring Scotland's heritage: the Clyde estuary and Central Region,
Exploring Scotland's heritage series, Edinburgh, 84, no. 46,
Stevenson, J B (1995 )
Glasgow, Clydeside and Stirling,
Exploring Scotland's Heritage series, ed. by Anna Ritchie, Edinburgh, (no. 48), 105, 2nd
Tabraham, C (1978 )
'Norman settlement in Upper Cydesdale: recent archaeological fieldwork',
Trans Dumfriesshire Galloway Natur Hist Antiq Soc, 3rd, 53, 1977-8, 121-2,
(NT 0187 3629) Mote (NR)
OS 6" map, (1957).
This motte, situated 30yds. from the right bank of the River Clyde, measures c 75' in diameter at the base, 11'6" in height and 45' by 38' across the top. The ditch which probably surrounded the motte has been filled up by cultivation on all sides except the SW, where it has been removed by the construction of a road.
Information from RCAHMS typescript, visited 1957.
As described.
Revised at 1/2500.
Visited by OS (RD) 19 July 1972.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
References
Stevenson, J B (1985 b)
Exploring Scotland's heritage: the Clyde estuary and Central Region,
Exploring Scotland's heritage series, Edinburgh, 84, no. 46,
Stevenson, J B (1995 )
Glasgow, Clydeside and Stirling,
Exploring Scotland's Heritage series, ed. by Anna Ritchie, Edinburgh, (no. 48), 105, 2nd
Tabraham, C (1978 )
'Norman settlement in Upper Cydesdale: recent archaeological fieldwork',
Trans Dumfriesshire Galloway Natur Hist Antiq Soc, 3rd, 53, 1977-8, 121-2,