A Triangular Castle and a Tapas Dinner
A Brief Recap
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| Scotland |
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| Dumfries & Galloway |
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| Findochty, Dumfries and the Dumfries & Galloway District |
The River Nith
After a sandwich and a cup of tea in the town centre, we returned to our hotel, picked up the car and
drove the 11km south-east to Caerlaverock Castle, following the River Nith almost to the Solway Firth. I
finished the previous post with Burn's ode ‘The Banks o’ Nith’ but I do not
think it was this bit of the Nith he was eulogising. For its final few kilometres,
the river is tidal. At low tide it is a narrow stream running between wide muddy
banks while at high tide inflow exceeds outflow, and for an hour or so the Nith becomes more a lake than a river.
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| The River Nith when the tide is in |
Caerlaverock Castle
Caerlaverock Castle was built in the 13th century as a stronghold for Clan Maxwell. At the time, I presume, it overlooked the river mouth but that is now hidden behind Castle Wood. The area had previously accommodated a Roman Camp and then a Brittonic hill fort
Scotland has a wealth of wonderful place names that roll off the tongue and entice the imagination, but Caerlaverock is not one of
them, it just feels wrong.
What’s in a Name?
13th century Dumfries was linguistically diverse but Gaelic and Norse were in decline, Norman French was confined to the nobility and Early
Scots was emerging as the dominant language – though whether Scots
is a language or an English dialect can become a heated debate. Laverock is
Scots for ‘skylark,’ but what warlord in his right mind would invoke the power
of a skylark?
‘Caer’ means 'fort', not in Gaelic (that would be dùn – as in Dumfries) but in Welsh, where it is a common prefix in place names - Caerdydd
(Cardiff), Caernafon (Carnavon). Llafar (a single ‘f’ is pronounced as ‘v’ in Welsh)
means ‘talking’ and there is more than one Afon
Llafar in Wales – like a babbling brook - but with
alliteration only in the second syllable. -Og, meaning ‘having the quality of’
is a suffix in Welsh place names like Ffestiniog.
Having translated the implausible Caerlaverock to the plausible Caerllafarog, we appear to have a Welsh place name in Scotland. So that needs explaining
Some History
When the Romans arrived, the island they called Britannia was occupied by a patchwork of tribes speaking various Brittonic
dialects and living in peace with their neighbours, except when they quarrelled
or felt like some raiding. The Romans introduced order, law and peace. Some
tribal leaders bought into this, adopting Roman names and Roman lifestyles but few did as well as King Tiberius Claudius Togidubnus of the Atrebates in what is
now Sussex. His huge palace with baths, underfloor heating and mosaic floors, was
rediscovered in 1960 and visited
by us in in in 2008.
In 410 the Romans went home, taking the rule of law with them. Petty kingdoms sprouted and withered. Their inhabitants did not write much, and what is known comes largely from oral history written
down in the 11th and 12th centuries
In 537 King Gwenddoleu ap Ceidio was defeated and killed by King Rhydderch Hael of Strathclyde at the Battle of Arfderydd, Gwenddoleu’s
bard, Myrddin Wyllt, reportedly went mad and ran into the forest. Arfderydd was
near Caerlaverock and all the names are Welsh. Myrddin the bard may even have featured
in the Arthurian legends (other claimants exist).
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| Britain in 800 CE |
By 800 the petty kingdoms of what is now England (more or less) had been reduced to seven as shown on the map.
The problem with the map (apart from labelling Wales 'North Wales' and Cornwall ‘West Wales’) is that it makes no distinction between two very different Brittonic languages. The Kingdom of Dalriada, just north of Strathclyde was the land occupied by the Scoti when they migrated from Ireland (late 4th/early 5th centuries), bringing the Gaelic tongue with them. The Picts disappeared, probably merging with the Scoti, leaving some enigmatic stone carvings, but little more. The Gaelic language was very different from the Old Welsh used in Strathclyde, Wales and Cornwall.
Gaelic became the dominant language in the north of what is now Scotland, while by the 11th century English had become dominant in what would become southern Scotland and Cumbria. It is, however, very possible that some anglicised versions of Old Welsh names survive - like Caerlaverock.
Enough of this, Back to the Castle
Castles are usually highly visible, that is the point of them, but Caerlaverock remains hidden from a distance, being being built in a slight dip.
It is also triangular. The apex facing inland is truncated, with two round towers merging to form a gatehouse
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| Caerlaverock Castle |
A closer view shows the moat is still present, but the drawbridge has been replaced by a fixed bridge.
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| A fixed bridge where once was a drawbridge, Caerlaverock Castle |
Above the door, in carved sandstone is the crest of the Clan Maxwell, ‘a stag couchant under a holly bush.’ The inevitable erosion
of softish stone means the bush is barely recognisable as holly.
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| The Clan Maxwell crest over the gate |
Sadly, the gate is currently locked and visitors are not allowed inside. Scottish Heritage own Caerlaverock, and many other piles of
old stone, and after a recent rockfall they have temporarily closed
several ruins so they can be surveyed and, if necessary, made safe. I have no
desire to be crushed by tumbling rocks, and there was no charge for the visit,
so I cannot complain.
The photo of the gate rather foreshortens the castle, and loses its triangularity. A drone would be useful here. I do not have one,
but Simon Ledingham does and he has kindly donated the photo below to Wikipedia. I reproduce it here under CC BY-SA 2.0.
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| Simon Ledingham's aerial view of Caerlaverock Castle. It really is triangular! The cuboid building with nine windows, looks out of place in a medieval castle. It is the Nithsdale Lodgings - see later |
Caerlaverock in the First Scottish War of Independence
The First Scottish War of Independence lasted from 1296 to 1328, which make it sound worse than it was. Some years there were summer
campaigns by one protagonist or another, some years nothing happened.
Scotland had a succession problem, and rather
foolishly had asked Edward I of England to choose their new king. He wanted to
answer ‘ME!’ but instead appointed John Baliol, a man so pliable Edward could
have used him as a glove puppet. Edward was a first-class war lord – not a
quality I admire, but he was good at it and would probably have ruled Scotland
but for his death from dysentery while marching north in 1302. His son Edward
II was very different and after losing to Robert the Bruce at Bannockburn in 1314 it
was all over bar the shouting – which lasted 14 years.
The important battles, Stirling Bridge (1297) and Bannockburn were fought in or near Stirling. We visited both sites in 2022, and
there is more about this war in my Stirling post.
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| The eastern Gatehouse Tower and East Range |
Sir Herbert Maxwell and his garrison were besieged in Caerlaverock in 1300 by Edward I with a force of 3,000 well-armed men. After two days spirited
defence Maxwell surrendered. Finding the castle was garrisoned by only 50 men. Edward
was impressed they had held out so long.
In 1312 Sir Eustace Maxwell (Herbert had died) swapped sides and the castle was returned. Edward II even paid to upgrade the fortifications.
He then promptly swapped sides again. This led to a second English siege which was repulsed, but Sir Eustace part dismantled his
own castle to prevent the English gaining such an important stronghold. Robert
the Bruce paid him for this service.
Caerlaverock in the Second Scottish War of
Independence 1332-57
King Robert I (the Bruce) died in 1329 aged 54. His son King David II was aged two, so Edward Baliol (son of John) saw an opportunity.
Aided, and sometimes hindered by Edward III (son of Edward II) he fought a
series of regents for the crown. Edward was distracted by French threats of
invasion and in 1336 decided to invade France himself and press his claim to be the King of France. Much of the latter part of the war involved David raiding in
England in support of France. He was captured, spent time in the Tower of
London, was eventually ransomed and became undisputed King of Scotland on
Edward Baliol’s death in 1364.
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| Caerlaverock Castle 1832, JMW Turner Original in Aberdeen Art Gallery |
By 1337 the castle was rebuilt and Sir Eustace declared for Edward Baliol. Some years passed, but inevitably, it was taken by forces loyal to David
II, and part dismantled.
In the late 14th century, Caerlaverock was regained by the Maxwells and Sir Robert Maxwell did much rebuilding from from 1373. Some
decades later another Robert, now styled 2nd Lord Maxwell reconstructed the
gatehouse, among other improvements.
The Reformation
In 1567 Mary Queen of Scots was forced to abdicate. The Catholic Maxwells took up her cause and in 1570 Caerlaverock was besieged by an
English Protestant force. It was, yet again, partly demolished and the
gatehouse was blown up with gunpowder.
In 1619 Robert, 10th Lord Maxwell was in favour with James VI (by then also James I of England). He was appointed to the Scottish Privy Council and made Earl of Nithsdale. To reflect his new status, he started
building the ‘Nithsdale Lodging.’
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| Looking into the castle through the demolished South Range towards the Nithsdale Lodgings |
Judging the great days of castles to be over, the Nithsdale Lodgings were an attempt to turn a medieval castle into a comfortable 17th country
house. They were too soon, the Gordon family made the same mistake at Huntly in Aberdeenshire, but got it right at nearby Fyvie (see Huntly and Fyvie)
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| Close up of the The Nithsdale Lodgings |
In the dark local stone, the Nithsdale Lodgings look forbidding rather than welcoming. The semi-circles above each window have carvings of family arms, scenes of divine and earthly love and episodes from Greek mythology. Their attempt to evoke the Italian Renaissance, now better evokes the Scottish weather.
Being a Catholic in a Scotland now gripped with Protestant fervour was not easy. Six years after the Nithsdale Lodgings were completed, Caerlaverock was besieged by a Protestant Covenanter army and forced to surrender after 13 weeks. The Earl and Countess of Nithsdale and their page were allowed to leave, but the 40 defenders were put to the sword. The south wall and tower were demolished, and the castle was abandoned.
A Tapas Dinner
We too abandoned Caerlaverock, and returned to Dumfries aware that we had neglected to organise dinner. Chips shops are always
available, but a seat in a restaurant in Dumfries on Saturday night, requires booking.
Our affable hosts at the Hill Hotel (which I recommend) had provided us with a list of possibilities yesterday and we started phoning. We eventually found a berth in The Bank Bar and Tapas Restaurant, a newish restaurant and a
newish idea for Dumfries.
We walked into town – after relenting at Caerlaverock, the drizzle had returned – and found the Bank to be a large modern building stuffed with drinkers and diners. It was loud – Scottish bars are often louder than
English bars – and that was not helped by the Hen Party in the corner. They
became quieter when the serious eating started and we had left before the serious
drinking begun.
The Spanish tend to eat their main meal at lunchtime (2.30ish). Those choosing to eat out in the evening normally arrive at restaurants
around 10pm, thus leaving an early spot for bars selling drinks and snacks on small
plates. The first Tapas bars in this country followed the Spanish template, but
our earlier dining time means they have morphed into restaurants selling full
meals, but on multiple small plates – three per average dinner. They have also
forgotten their Spanish roots, our six plates had origins spread across Europe,
Asia and the Caribbean; some were meaty, some fishy, some veggie, some spicy,
some not. Each plate was a complete dish,
the variety was fascinating and we enjoyed the experience far more than we had
anticipated.
The next day we drove home to Staffordshire.
Part 1 Falkirk
Part 2 Banff and Macduff
Part 3 Pitmedden Gardens and Haddo House
Part 4 Lossiemouth to Elgin
Part 5 A Rainy Day in Dumfries (1) Robert Burns
Part 6 A Rainy Day in Dumfries (2) Caerlaverock Castle
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