Mottes kept an eye on Clydesdale folk

How does one define a motte? It is a pudding shaped mound erected in 12th century Scotland by foreign settlers who came either from England or Flanders.
An aerial view of the site of the former motte, overlooking a crossing point of the Clyde at Roberton, which was also in sight of the motte and bailey castle at Abington (inset) where a monument now sits.An aerial view of the site of the former motte, overlooking a crossing point of the Clyde at Roberton, which was also in sight of the motte and bailey castle at Abington (inset) where a monument now sits.
An aerial view of the site of the former motte, overlooking a crossing point of the Clyde at Roberton, which was also in sight of the motte and bailey castle at Abington (inset) where a monument now sits.

On top of the mound was a small palisaded enclosure with a timber tower inside. Attached to the motte was an enclosure called a bailey.

In this area, which was also surrounded by a wooden palisade, was the accommodation for the soldiers and servants as well as buildings, both for animals and the storage of supplies.

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The best surviving example of such a fortification is the one near the service station at Abington, One might not instantly recognise the Abington motte as a 12th century castle as it has a monument on top of it. This was erected to Mr McKendrick, a local postmaster from Abington, who was better known as a prominent angler, so it is known as the fisherman’s monument.

The motte and bailey castle was put up by Albin who was one of the prominent Flemish settlers who arrived in the Upper Clyde valley during the reign of Malcolm IV (1153-1165). Many of the villages in the area take their names from these people; all the villages whose name end in ‘ton’ such as Thankerton , Symington and Roberton are called after these settlers.

The local leaders of this group were the Flemings who lived in Biggar and became the King’s sheriffs in Lanarkshire. In the monarch’s absence they dispensed justice from the royal castle at Lanark.

These small castles were occupied for about 200 years and were repurposed during the period of the Wars of Independence by Edward I. From 1297 Edward I had a problem controlling Clydesdale after the rebellion of William Wallace.

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He reacted by reusing the old motte and bailey castles as well as constructing new ones. These new mottes were basically watch towers to keep an eye on the movement of Scottish partisans.

There are a number of examples of these such as Coulter. Here the motte was used to guard an important crossing point of the Clyde, then there was another one overlooking a crossing point of the Clyde at Roberton. The Scots eventually prevailed and the one at Abington was burned to the ground.