Bardowie Castle is located east of

Milngavie Milngavie ( ; ) is a town in East Dunbartonshire, Scotland and a suburb of Glasgow. It is on the Allander Water, at the northwestern edge of Greater Glasgow, and about from Glasgow city centre. It neighbours Bearsden. Milngavie is a commuter t ...

, in

East Dunbartonshire East Dunbartonshire (; , ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders Glasgow City Council Area to the south, North Lanarkshire to the east, Stirling (council area), Stirling to the north, and West Dunbartonshire to the west. East ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. The A-Listed building overlooks Bardowie Loch. The oldest sections were built in the 16th century and additions were made in the 17th and 18th centuries.

History

Bardowie was the property of the Clan Galbraith from 1214, and passed by marriage to John Hamilton of Cadzow in the later 14th century. The tower was built in 1566, with additions made from the late 17th or early 18th century. The later part of the castle is dated 1713. In the mid 18th century the castle passed by marriage to Thomas Buchanan of Spittal-Leny, whose descendants owned the castle until the early 20th century. Thomas' son

Francis Buchanan-Hamilton Francis Buchanan (15 February 1762 – 15 June 1829), later known as Francis Hamilton but often referred to as Francis Buchanan-Hamilton, was a Scottish surgeon, surveyor and botanist who made significant contributions as a geographer and zoolo ...

claimed the chiefship of

Clan Buchanan Clan Buchanan ( ) is a Scottish Highlands, Highlands Scottish Clan whose origins are said to lie in the 1225 grant of lands on the eastern shore of Loch Lomond to clergyman Sir Absalon of Buchanan by the Earl of Lennox."The Scottish Clans and T ...

. In his 1854 ''Rambles Round Glasgow'', Hugh Macdonald wrote that Bardowie Castle was "an edifice of moderate size, somewhat timeworn, yet withal wearing an appearance of quiet cosiness and comfort". The castle was sold several times in the 20th century, including in 1912 and 1951. The castle has been a category A

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

since 1973. LB5726 The description stated: "Tower c.1566, and additions made from late C17th or early C18th onwards. The latter are still occupied as a modern mansion". In 2002, the property was owned by motivational speaker Jack Black, the founder of MindStore, who listed it for sale when he was unable to get a permit to operate his wife's software business from the property. By that time, the interior had been extensively modernized. In 2004, the castle interior was described as including "6 reception rooms, 9 bedrooms, 8 bath/shower rooms, kitchen, library, home cinema, 2 kitchenettes, sauna, gymnasium." The property was listed for sale in June 2019, and the news report photos indicated that the interior had certainly been modernized. The grounds included a former orchard, tennis court, walled garden, two garages and a patio.

References

External links

The Glasgow Story: Bardowie Castle

{{coord, 55.9354, -4.2776, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Castles in East Dunbartonshire Category A listed buildings in East Dunbartonshire Listed castles in Scotland