Strathaven Castle was held in the ownership of several prominent families in Scottish history before falling into decline and abandonment after the death of Ann, Duchess of Hamilton in 1716.

Although little to no trace now remains of the original Strathaven Castle, it is believed to have been built around 1350 by the Baird family, possibly replacing an earlier wooden structure.

Later, it passed to the Sinclair family and then to the Earls of Douglas when Archibald the Grim inherited the Douglas earldom in 1388. Strathaven was one of the Lanarkshire properties brought into the Douglas family by Archibald’s marriage in 1362 to Joanna de Moravia, one of the greatest heiresses of the age.

The Douglases kept possession of Strathaven Castle for a century. Archibald’s son, James The Gross, was created Earl of Avondale in 1437 and he may have resided at Strathaven Castle (it has the alternative name Avondale Castle). Strathaven became a Royal Burgh in 1450 as a reward for the Douglas family’s support and military aid to King James II. However, Douglas loyalty and royal favour were short lived, and five years later the House of Douglas rebelled against the crown and suffered the consequences. In March 1455 the possessions of the Douglases were confiscated and Strathaven Castle was burned down.

Strathaven was granted to Sir Andrew Stewart in 1457. He was the illegitimate grandson of the Duke Of Albany and later became Lord Avondale. Stewart either rebuilt the original castle from the ruins, or built a new one on the site. It was rectangular in plan, measuring around 21.3m x 11.6m and aligned approximately east to west. The new castle is variously described as having been between 3 to 5 storeys in height, and may in fact have consisted of or 3 or 4 storeys plus a garret. The walls were up to 2.1m thick at the ground level and the basement was vaulted, as indicated by some slight remains in the ruins. The Main Hall was on the first floor, while the upper floors consisted of private chambers and other accommodations.

Stewart rarely resided at Strathaven and following his death in 1488 the lands of Avondale, including the castle, passed into the hands of his nephew Alexander Stewart and then to Alexander’s son Andrew. Andrew died at the battle of Flodden in 1513 and was succeeded as 2nd Lord Avondale by his son, also Andrew.

Andrew, 2nd Lord Avondale, got involved in feuds with his neighbours and so he exchanged his lands in Avondale, and the castle, with Sir James Hamilton of Finnart, taking the barony of Ochiltree in return.

In 1534 Strathaven Castle passed into the hands of Sir James Hamilton of Finnart, who was a noted architect, and second cousin of James V. He had been responsible for works on the royal residences of Linlithgow Palace, Blackness Castle, Falkland Palace and Stirling Castle, and had built Craignethan Castle for himself. He expanded the buildings of Strathaven Castle and may have been responsible for the addition of the north-west and south-east corner towers. It has been speculated that the round tower at the north-west corner may date from the 16th century as the walls are much thinner than the rest of the castle. It rose to a height of 4 storeys, featuring gun loops and several rectangular openings (some blocked off). There is some debate as to whether there was a second round tower at the south-east corner or whether this one was square. The latest thinking is that it was square, although a drawing from 1788 seems to suggest that it was a round tower.

The same drawing shows a parapet supported by corbelling running around the top of the castle. The parapet was defended by 8 round turrets. At the time of the drawing a barmkin still existed. It projected to the north of the castle and its walls were around 1.5m thick. It probably dated from the 15th century. It was lost to the construction of Stonehouse Road in 1826.

The castle was further protected by a large outer wall which surrounded the majority of the village of Strathaven. The main gate was within a large gatehouse at Sandknowe (to the north of the castle).

Like Douglas before him Sir James Hamilton of Finnart was alleged to have plotted against the King and was executed in 1540. Despite this, Strathaven Castle remained in Hamilton hands for 300 years, passing initially to his half-brother James Hamilton (2nd Earl of Arran and later Duke of Chatelherault) and thereafter to James’ grandson, James Hamilton 2nd Marquess of Hamilton who purchased the barony in 1611.

The Hamiltons featured prominently in the Wars Of The Three Kingdoms, an intertwined series of conflicts between 1639 and 1653 in the Kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland, separate kingdoms which all had Charles I as king. The wars arose from civil and religious disputes, mainly whether ultimate political power should be held by the King or by parliament, as well as issues of religious freedom and religious discrimination. Royalists supported Charles I in his claim to be above parliament. Parliamentarians believed the King was behaving as a tyrant, particularly by levying taxes without parliamentary consent.

General Sir James Hamilton (3rd Marquess of Hamilton) led the royalist army in 1639. The Covenanters later seized Strathaven Castle and occupied it, but it was back in the hands of Quentin Hamilton of Barncluith for the royalists by 1650.

During Cromwell’s protectorate Anne, Duchess of Hamilton, had to forfeit her estates so was forced to leave Hamilton Palace and she took up occasional residence at Strathaven Castle. The Restoration of the Monarchy saw the castle garrisoned by government troops and used as a prison for Covenanters. One unlucky local covenanter, William Paterson, was shot and killed within the castle walls in 1685.
Duchess Anne was the last Hamilton to live at Strathaven Castle, though she split her time between there, Hamilton Palace, and Brodick Castle. She passed away in 1716.

After the death of Anne, Duchess of Hamilton, the castle was occupied briefly by the chamberlain and gardener to the Duke of Hamilton. However, by 1725 the castle had been abandoned and the villagers of Strathaven had taken over the site as a place for the community to play games, hold markets and court proceedings, and hold religious services. It gradually began to fall into ruin. Several of the turrets were struck by lightning in 1736, and in 1737 a storm blew off a large part of the roof.

The gates were removed by the Hamiltons to their family burial vaults at Hamilton Palace in 1740 and over the years locals started repurposing the stonework for local building projects.

In 1912 the castle was in a very poor condition and was in danger of disappearing completely but was saved for future generations by a group of Stravonians who were known as The Town Improvement Committee. They negotiated with the then owner Alfred Douglas, 13th Duke of Hamilton to take over what was left of the castle. The committee raised enough money to halt the decay, carry out excavations and do a survey around the castle.

They laid out paths, gardens, flower beds, summer seats and iron railings and gate. They also added steps on Stonehouse Road.

The castle was then handed over to the local authorities to whom ownership still remains. It was open for the public all day and looked after by a caretaker.

In 1922 a captured German field gun made by Krupp of Essen from the First World War was brought to Strathaven Castle and placed on a site facing the War Memorial. During World War Two it was taken away for scrap along with the gate and railings to help the war effort.

In 1968-69 the local authority had the castle repointed and parts strengthened. They also blocked off the windows and the tower entrance and replaced the temporary wooden gate with an iron gate.

The castle although closed to public for a number of years, was subject to a structural survey in 1991 and with the results of this survey in place, basically stating that the castle was not in danger of further deterioration in the short term, and with East Kilbride Council’s economic restraint, an improvement programme was put on a back burner.

It was by chance that in 1992 the newly formed Avondale Civic Society brought together representatives of Strathaven Community Council. Strathaven Merchants’ Association, Strathaven and District Sports Association and Arts Guild to campaign for an increased local government input into Strathaven. Their enthusiasm was recognised by the District Council who took on board the group’s ambitions and enlarged it to encompass the Lanarkshire Development Agency and Clyde Valley Tourist Board, under the title of The Strathaven Project.

Cameron UK plc were appointed contractors and work commenced in January 1993, finishing some five months later. The tender cost was £60,247.35 and with the engineers’ fees of £9,300 the financial contributions were £61,201.71 from the LDA and £8,345,67 from the District Council.