#1 & #65 Caerlaverock Castle
Dumfriesshire, Scotland
1280; 1452-88; and later
This is NOT an official Lego site

Castle Caerlaverock was built between 1280-90 by the Maxwells, and due to its location less than 10 miles from England (as the crow flies), its history is long and eventful!  By 1300 was already besieged by Edward I during his war against John Balliol, his appointee as the Scottish king. This war is still remembered for the brave resistance put up by the Scots under Sir William Wallace. When the constable, Sir Eustace Maxwell, suddenly sided with Balliol's rival Robert the Bruce, the castle was back in Scottish hands by 1312, and dismantled at Bruce' request and it deteriorated. This castle is the only triangular castle in the United Kingdom. The castle was repaired in the 1330s, and in 1347 Herbert Maxwell submitted to King Enward III.  However, just 10 years later Roger Kirkpatrick retook the castle for the Scots.  He was later murdered there. The Maxwells were by no means done with Caerlaverock: between 1452 and 1488 Robert, 2nd Lord Maxwell, did extensive remodeling, including machicolating the towers, strengthening the massive gatehouse, adding residential quarters, and inserting gun-ports to aid in the defense of the castle.
The castle was part of a negotiated settlement with the English in 1545, but was soon recaptured by the Scots.  It was retaken and partially dismantled by English forces under the Earl of Sussex in 1570, but ornate residential ranges were added in the 1630s by Lord Nithsdale, a sharp contrast to the double moats and earthen ramparts that needed to be crossed by attackers before the daunting gatehouse and machicolated parapets were even addressed.  Sadly the current Earl of Sussex surrendered the castle to the Covenanters in 1640, after a 13 week siege. The one corner tower and adjacent curtain walls were demolished at that time.  The Maxwells moved on to Terregles and then Traquair House.  The ruin soon became a popular tourist destination, and the Duke of Norfolk transferred the castle to the care of the State in 1946.  All the photos on this page were taken by me at the castle in August 2000. The signs at the left and right depict life at Caerlaverock in 1290 and 1640 respectively.


 

Ground Floor Plan
Gatehouse Detail

 

Photos of the Lego Model
Built Oct-Dec 1997
First version built
in 1986
East View
Entrance
Front View
Northeast View
South View
West View


Build Your Own
Front View
Top Down #1
Top Down #2
Top Down #3
West View



Other Caerlaverock pages:
http://www.aboutscotland.com/caer/caer.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caerlaverock_Castle
https://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/dumfries/caerlaverock/index.html
https://www.exploring-castles.com/uk/scotland/caerlaverock_castle/

Return to the main castle page.

Castles created by Robert Carney
Page designed by
Anne Sullivan
Page maintained by
Robert Carney