Tillietudlem
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Tillietudlem is a fictional castle in
Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European literature, European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'' (18 ...
's 1816 novel ''
Old Mortality ''Old Mortality'' is one of the Waverley novels by Walter Scott. Set in south west Scotland, it forms, along with ''The Black Dwarf'', the 1st series of his '' Tales of My Landlord'' (1816). The novel deals with the period of the Covenanters ...
'', and a modern settlement in
South Lanarkshire South Lanarkshire (; ) is one of 32 unitary authorities of Scotland. It borders the south-east of the Glasgow City council area and contains some of Greater Glasgow's suburban towns, as well as many rural towns and villages. It also shares bor ...
, Scotland. Interest in Scott's novel attracted visitors to its supposed inspiration,
Craignethan Castle Craignethan Castle is a ruined castle in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is located above the River Nethan, a tributary of the River Clyde, at . The castle is two miles west of the village of Crossford, and 4.5 miles north-west of Lanark. Built ...
, and a railway station built nearby was named after the fictional attraction. Houses built near the station developed into the modern
hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...
of Tillietudlem, set along Southfield Road and its continuation as Corra Mill Road.


Tillietudlem Castle

In the Autumn of 1799 the poet
Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European literature, European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'' (18 ...
made a brief visit to
Craignethan Castle Craignethan Castle is a ruined castle in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is located above the River Nethan, a tributary of the River Clyde, at . The castle is two miles west of the village of Crossford, and 4.5 miles north-west of Lanark. Built ...
, and was enraptured by the scene. When Scott wrote his novel ''
Old Mortality ''Old Mortality'' is one of the Waverley novels by Walter Scott. Set in south west Scotland, it forms, along with ''The Black Dwarf'', the 1st series of his '' Tales of My Landlord'' (1816). The novel deals with the period of the Covenanters ...
'', published in 1816, he set it in
South Lanarkshire South Lanarkshire (; ) is one of 32 unitary authorities of Scotland. It borders the south-east of the Glasgow City council area and contains some of Greater Glasgow's suburban towns, as well as many rural towns and villages. It also shares bor ...
during the late 17th century conflicts between Royalists and
Covenanters Covenanters were members of a 17th-century Scottish religious and political movement, who supported a Presbyterian Church of Scotland and the primacy of its leaders in religious affairs. It originated in disputes with James VI and his son ...
, with a mixture of fictional and historical names of people and places. The plot largely takes place in and around the fictional Tillietudlem Castle: Scott's biographer
John Gibson Lockhart John Gibson Lockhart (12 June 1794 – 25 November 1854) was a Scottish writer and editor. He is best known as the author of the seminal, and much-admired, seven-volume biography of his father-in-law Sir Walter Scott: ''Memoirs of the Life of Sir ...
later wrote that "The name ''Tillietudlem'' was no doubt taken from the ravine under the old castle of Lanark–which town is near Craignethan. This ravine is called Gillytudlem."
Lanark Lanark ( ; ; ) is a town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, located 20 kilometres to the south-east of Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Hamilton. The town lies on the River Clyde, at its confluence with Mouse Water. In 2016, the town had a populatio ...
is around from Craignethan, and the castle hill looks out over a gorge to the
River Clyde The River Clyde (, ) is a river that flows into the Firth of Clyde, in the west of Scotland. It is the eighth-longest river in the United Kingdom, and the second longest in Scotland after the River Tay. It runs through the city of Glasgow. Th ...
. The
Ordnance Survey The Ordnance Survey (OS) is the national mapping agency for Great Britain. The agency's name indicates its original military purpose (see Artillery, ordnance and surveying), which was to map Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rising of ...
of 1859 names the gorge "Gullie-tudlem". Scott's novel describes Tillietudlem Castle as standing on top of "a very precipitous bank, formed by the junction of a considerable brook with the Clyde." By 1821 people had conjectured that Tillietudlem was Craignethan Castle, though the latter stands about from the Clyde. No castles in the area fully matched the description in the book, the closest being the Castle of Orbiston at the junction of the
South Calder Water The South Calder Water, known locally as "The Cawder", or simply "Calder", is a river in Scotland. It runs west from the high plateau between Shotts and Fauldhouse to its joining with the much larger River Clyde. The high plateau is also the w ...
with the Clyde near
Bothwellhaugh Bothwellhaugh was a Scotland, Scottish coal mining village, which housed Hamilton Palace Colliery workers and their families. Locals referred to the village as The Pailis, and it was located near the towns of Motherwell, Bellshill and Hamilt ...
, but Tillietudlem Castle was essentially fictional. In June 1829 Scott wrote to his friend
James Skene James Skene of Rubislaw (1775–1864) was a Scottish lawyer and amateur artist, best known as a friend of Sir Walter Scott. Life The second son of George Skene (1736–1776) of Rubislaw, Aberdeen and his wife Jane (Jean) Moir of Stoneywood ...
that though he "did not think on Craignethan in writing about Tillietudlem", public taste had adopted it "as coming nearest to the ideal of the place." In the revised Magnum Edition of ''Old Mortality'', published in 1830, Scott added a footnote: "The Castle of Tillietudlem is imaginary; but the ruins of Craignethan Castle, situated on the Nethan, about three miles from its junction with the Clyde, have something of the character of the description in the text".
Gutenberg online edition chapter XIThe Journal of Sir Walter Scott by Sir Walter Scott: June 1829
/ref>


Tillietudlem tourism

Craignethan Castle became a popular place to visit. In notes of his 1833 tour,
Orville Dewey Orville Dewey (March 28, 1794 – March 21, 1882) was an American Unitarian minister. Early life Dewey was born in Sheffield, Massachusetts. His ancestors were among the first settlers of Sheffield, where he spent his early life, alternatel ...
recorded that "We left Tillietudlem, three miles from Lanark, on the right, two miles from the road, and out of sight. I am told an old woman near there was very much vexed by the inquiries of rambling visitors, after the publication of Old Mortality. She could not conceive what sent all these people, all at once, asking about Tillietudlem." Scott's son-in-law
John Gibson Lockhart John Gibson Lockhart (12 June 1794 – 25 November 1854) was a Scottish writer and editor. He is best known as the author of the seminal, and much-admired, seven-volume biography of his father-in-law Sir Walter Scott: ''Memoirs of the Life of Sir ...
took the artist
J. M. W. Turner Joseph Mallord William Turner (23 April 177519 December 1851), known in his time as William Turner, was an English Romantic painter, printmaker and watercolourist. He is known for his expressive colouring, imaginative landscapes and turbu ...
to Craignethan in September 1834, approaching it from the north-east via the Nethan Gorge. The ''Scottish Tourist'' of 1836 also describes the approach from the Nethan Gorge to the castle "standing upon a vast rock overhanging the Nethan", adding that from its proximity to
Lanark Lanark ( ; ; ) is a town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, located 20 kilometres to the south-east of Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Hamilton. The town lies on the River Clyde, at its confluence with Mouse Water. In 2016, the town had a populatio ...
, Bothwell Bridge and
Drumclog Drumclog is a small village in South Lanarkshire, Parish of Avendale and Drumclog, Scotland. The settlement is situated on the A71, between Caldermill and Priestland in East Ayrshire at an elevation of and about west of Strathaven. History ...
, "there is no doubt that it is the prototype of the ''Castle of Tillietudlem''". In their 1836 Gazetteer of Scotland entry on the parish of
Lesmahagow Lesmahagow ( ; or ''Lesmahagae'', ) is a small town in the historic county of Lanarkshire on the edge of moorland, near Lanark in the central belt of Scotland. Lesmahagow was also a civil parish. It lies west of the M74 motorway, M74, and sout ...
,
Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, prais ...
and William Chambers described the "noble ruin" of Craignethan Castle, "which is confessedly the prototype of the Tillietudlem of the author of Waverley", before concluding that, on the whole, the area "is well deserving of a visit from the man of science, and equally from the man of taste." In 1866 the
Caledonian Railway The Caledonian Railway (CR) was one of the two biggest of the five major Scottish railway companies prior to the 1923 Grouping. It was formed in 1845 with the objective of forming a link between English railways and Glasgow. It progressively ex ...
opened its Coalburn branch line, running north–south about to the west of the castle. At this time a driveway from the castle heading west crossed the railway line before going a short distance south to Fence farm. At the farm, a lane running north from
Blackwood Blackwood may refer to: Botany * African blackwood (''Dalbergia melanoxylon''), a timber tree of Africa * African blackwood ('' Erythrophleum africanum''), (''Peltophorum africanum'') also Rhodesian blackwood, trees from Africa * Australian blac ...
joined a lane going east, via a bridge over the railway, downhill to Holmhead Farm at the
River Nethan The River Nethan is a river which flows between Glenbuck in East Ayrshire and Crossford, South Lanarkshire where it feeds into the River Clyde, with the town of Lesmahagow and surrounding villages sitting on the river course. The area of woodla ...
and on to Crossford. In 1876 the railway company added what it called Tillietudlem railway station adjacent to this railway bridge.Lanarkshire, Sheet XXIV - OS Six-inch 1st edition, 1843-1882 - National Library of Scotland
survey date 1858, published 1864.
An 1880 tour guide description of an excursion "To the Falls of Clyde, Tillietudlem Castle, &c," says the station "is but a short walk from the castle". The railway station closed in 1951, ending the passenger service, and the line was closed to freight in 1968. Platforms and a small ruin of a station building have been left in a dilapidated state, with the line overgrown by trees.


The hamlet of Tillietudlem

Scott's novel refers to "a small hamlet adjacent to the Castle at Tillietudlem." The 1898 Ordnance Survey shows the railway station, with
gasworks A gasworks or gas house is an industrial plant for the production of flammable gas. Many of these have been made redundant in the developed world by the use of natural gas, though they are still used for storage space. Early gasworks Coal ...
to its east, and a row of houses named ''Fence Terrace'' further east along the road to Corra Mill.Lanarkshire Sheet XXIV.SE - Ordnance Survey Maps Six-inch 2nd and later editions, Scotland, 1892-1960
1898,
The 1963 revised map shows the driveway to the castle, to the east of the bridge over the disused railway, and the building to the east of the driveway is named as Ashfield House. There has been some further development, and the driveway is now signposted as a
Historic Scotland Historic Scotland () was an executive agency of the Scottish Government, executive agency of the Scottish Office and later the Scottish Government from 1991 to 2015, responsible for safeguarding Scotland's built heritage and promoting its und ...
property open to the public for an admission charge. Southfield Road leads into the village from the west, at Fence Terrace its name changes to Corra Mill Road. Tillietudlem is about from Crossford, via the Corra Mill Road. Crossford itself is on the A72 between
Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...
and
Lanark Lanark ( ; ; ) is a town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, located 20 kilometres to the south-east of Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Hamilton. The town lies on the River Clyde, at its confluence with Mouse Water. In 2016, the town had a populatio ...
.


Notes


References

* {{authority control Fictional elements introduced in 1816 1898 establishments in Scotland Populated places established in 1898 Villages in South Lanarkshire Fictional fortifications Fictional locations in Scotland Works by Walter Scott Fictional buildings and structures originating in literature