Pollok Castle
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Pollock Castle, also known as Pollok Castle, was a tower house castle located to the west of modern
Newton Mearns Newton Mearns ( ) is a suburban town and the largest settlement in East Renfrewshire, Scotland. It lies southwest of Glasgow City Centre on the A77 road, main road to Ayrshire, above sea level. It has a population of approximately 26,993, stre ...
in
East Renfrewshire East Renfrewshire (; ) is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It was formed in 1996, as a successor to the Eastwood (district), Eastwood district of the Strathclyde region. The northeastern part of the council area is close to Glasgow and ma ...
, on the opposite side of the M77 motorway from the town. The castle appears on
Timothy Pont Reverend Timothy Pont () was a Scottish minister, cartographer and topographer. He was the first to produce a detailed map of Scotland. Pont's maps are among the earliest surviving to show a European country in minute detail, from an actual surve ...
's map (1583–1596), as a castle named ''Pook'' and also appears on
Joan Blaeu Joan Blaeu (; 23 September 1596 – 21 December 1673), also called Johannes Blaeu, was a Dutch cartographer and the official cartographer of the Dutch East India Company. Blaeu is most notable for his map published in 1648, which was the fir ...
's map of 1654. The castle was rebuilt between 1686 and 1694 by Sir Robert Pollok, 1st Baronet of Pollok, with a new east wing. Further extensions included an enclosing courtyard with an ornate gateway and formal walled garden with corner pavilions. William Roy's map (1747–1755) shows the castle and landscape in detail.Roy Lowlands, 1752-55
Explore georeferenced maps (
National Library of Scotland The National Library of Scotland (NLS; ; ) is one of Scotland's National Collections. It is one of the largest libraries in the United Kingdom. As well as a public programme of exhibitions, events, workshops, and tours, the National Library of ...
) It was destroyed by fire in 1882, but rebuilt afterwards in 1886 in the Scots Baronial Style architecture, incorporating the surviving elements of the earlier structure. It was requisitioned by the
British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...
in 1939 during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, bar one wing occupied by the Pollok family throughout the war and the lands used as an ammunition dump. In 1944, Miss Fergusson Pollok, the then owner, abandoned the castle and it then deteriorated. It was required to be demolished in 1952. In 1970, all that remained of the castle were the two gatehouses, the stable, and the gardener's cottage, the castle's stone foundations, the south entrance steps and a few stones that once formed the castle's massive walls. Some of the ruins were dynamited in the 1970s and a large prefabricated house erected on the castle foundations by Mr Greer, who purchased Pollok Castle Estate from a timber merchant. The gatehouses at each end of the estate were also rebuilt, along with the gardener's house and the castle stables, and sold on as private residences. The prefabricated house was removed and the site cleared in the early 1990s and the castle was again rebuilt in 2003, in the Scottish
Adam style The Adam style (also called Adamesque or the Style of the Brothers Adam) is an 18th-century neoclassical style of interior design and architecture, as practised by Scottish architect William Adam and his sons, of whom Robert (1728–1792) and ...
. Some of the original foundations and castle walls remain, on which the house has been built; notably a portion of the north wall still remains.


Citations


References

*Glasgow University Archaeological Research Division *Blaeu, Joan 1596-167
''Blaeu Atlas of Scotland, 1654''
''National Library of Scotland'' {{coord, 55, 46, 57.4, N, 4, 21, 20.2, W, region:GB_type:landmark, display=title History of East Renfrewshire Former castles in Scotland Demolished buildings and structures in Scotland Buildings and structures demolished in 1952