Bothwell Castle is a mid 13th century stone keep and courtyard fortress, founded by Walter of Moray. Standing above a gorge on a bend in the River Clyde, the open sides are defended by a deep ditch. The Morays had started to build a vast castle of enclosure, with a mighty four storey round donjon, a huge twin-towered gatehouse and circular angle towers flanking a formidable curtain wall. But by the time of the Wars of Independence, only the great keep and the prison tower were fully built, with the other towers and walls being just foundations. From 1296 both the English and the Scottish captured or laid siege to the castle and finality in 1337 the western side of the keep was dismantled. In 1362, Archibald The Grim or Black Archibald completely rebuilt Bothwell to a different design, repairing the keep and adding a huge gatehouse, a high rectangular north-east tower and a first floor great hall, with a chapel beside it. After the Black Douglases were overthrown in 1455, the castle reverted to the Crown and its later history was relatively uneventful. Until in 1669, Archibald Douglas, earl of Forfar, had the castle partially dismantled to provide stone for the construction of his new mansion. 10 miles west at Rutherglen is Cathcart Castle and 14 miles south-east at Crossford is Craignethan Castle.