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Bothwell Castle
The name Bothwell is of Gaelic or Celtic origin and probably was used to describe people from the lordship of Bothwell, located near Glasgow some 9 miles (14 km) E of Uddingston in the South Lanarkshire region of Scotland. There are several theories to explain the origin of the name, including one rather fanciful one about how Archibald "The Grim," third Earl of Douglas, was prompted by remorse to found the Collegiate Church of St. Bride in 1398. According to the legend, he summoned two of his best archers and ordered them to aim at the rising sun and shoot their arrows as far as possible. Wherever the furthest arrow landed was where the altar of the church would be placed. When the arrows were found, they were side-by-side, whereupon the Earl is said to have exclaimed "Both well shot." However, since Bothwell Castle, where the Earl resided at that time, long predated the founding of the church, the story is clearly apocryphal. (Bothwell Castle was built by the Moray family in the 13th century. The castle later passed into the hands of the "Black" Douglas family, then became the property of the Crown in 1445 and was subsequently acquired by the Douglas Earl of Forfar and the Earls of Home, who finally passed its ruined remains into state care.)
Douglas arms in Bothwell Castle (click to enlarge) See also:
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