17th Century Caerlaverock...

I'm now on holiday.  Hoorah!  No more archaeology for ten whole days!!!  (Huh - who am I trying to kid???)

I got all my OASIS records finished off today, got up to date with almost everything else, and while the photo record for the heavy anti-aircraft battery isn't quite up-to-scratch, it can wait.  Oh, and I was so carried away with what I was doing that I forgot to finish work on time and wound up missing my train! 

I have my bi-annual haircut fitted in for tomorrow, and the Busman's Holiday is organised.  Unfortunately, I can't speak a word of Greek (apart from really useful things like agoge, and helot, and democratas.  These will, of course, prove most useful in the local taverna).  I can't read Greek either.  At least I've got some kind of grip on the cultural side of things.  I have no books, so I'll just have to fit in a couple of showings of Bettany Hughes 'The Minoans'.  Good old television history programmes!  What would I do without them?

The weather's a bit dull, so I won't post any garden photos today.  I've a feeling I'm going to miss the Lathyrus flowering this year, which is disappointing.  I'll give you an update at some point over the weekend, just to show you how things are progressing.

Now to Caerlaverock...

After its trials and tribulations during the Scottish Wars of Independence, Caerlaverock Castle saw something of a renaissance in the 1630s. This was all down to Robert Maxwell, 1st Earl of Nithsdale, who built some more luxurious lodgings on the site of the medieval castle.  They're built in typical Scots Jacobean style, and they're remarkably similar to the 17th century structures at Newark Castle, Port Glasgow, which are also a former Maxwell family residence.

Here's the former entrance to the 17th century 'Nithsdale Lodgings':-

 

And this is a view of the facade, with its ornately carved pediments over the windows.  I'll post some detailed shots of these carvings tomorrow.  The scenes, I think, are largely derived from Classical mythology, which was all the rage at the time...
 

 
 

And another view, looking from the former entrance of the Nithsdale Lodging towards the surviving medieval gatehouse:-

 

And a last atmospheric view of the interior, with some nice moulding around the wallhead:-

Tomorrow, I'll post some close-ups of the 17th century carvings and tell you all about the castle's sad demise in 1640.  The information in today's post was derived from Grove's 1994 publication Caerlaverock Castle, part of the Historic Scotland Guidebooks series (HMSO),

17th Century Caerlaverock...

I'm now on holiday.  Hoorah!  No more archaeology for ten whole days!!!  (Huh - who am I trying to kid???)

I got all my OASIS records finished off today, got up to date with almost everything else, and while the photo record for the heavy anti-aircraft battery isn't quite up-to-scratch, it can wait.  Oh, and I was so carried away with what I was doing that I forgot to finish work on time and wound up missing my train! 

I have my bi-annual haircut fitted in for tomorrow, and the Busman's Holiday is organised.  Unfortunately, I can't speak a word of Greek (apart from really useful things like agoge, and helot, and democratas.  These will, of course, prove most useful in the local taverna).  I can't read Greek either.  At least I've got some kind of grip on the cultural side of things.  I have no books, so I'll just have to fit in a couple of showings of Bettany Hughes 'The Minoans'.  Good old television history programmes!  What would I do without them?

The weather's a bit dull, so I won't post any garden photos today.  I've a feeling I'm going to miss the Lathyrus flowering this year, which is disappointing.  I'll give you an update at some point over the weekend, just to show you how things are progressing.

Now to Caerlaverock...

After its trials and tribulations during the Scottish Wars of Independence, Caerlaverock Castle saw something of a renaissance in the 1630s. This was all down to Robert Maxwell, 1st Earl of Nithsdale, who built some more luxurious lodgings on the site of the medieval castle.  They're built in typical Scots Jacobean style, and they're remarkably similar to the 17th century structures at Newark Castle, Port Glasgow, which are also a former Maxwell family residence.

Here's the former entrance to the 17th century 'Nithsdale Lodgings':-

 

And this is a view of the facade, with its ornately carved pediments over the windows.  I'll post some detailed shots of these carvings tomorrow.  The scenes, I think, are largely derived from Classical mythology, which was all the rage at the time...
 

 
 

And another view, looking from the former entrance of the Nithsdale Lodging towards the surviving medieval gatehouse:-

 

And a last atmospheric view of the interior, with some nice moulding around the wallhead:-

Tomorrow, I'll post some close-ups of the 17th century carvings and tell you all about the castle's sad demise in 1640.  The information in today's post was derived from Grove's 1994 publication Caerlaverock Castle, part of the Historic Scotland Guidebooks series (HMSO),