Strathaven was granted a Royal charter by King James the second on the 23rd of April in the year 1450.

The origins of the castle are believed to have been built around 1350.

It comprised of a three-story rectangular block with a four storey round tower which remains almost complete to-day.

The wife of a past lord so greatly displeased her husband that she was walled up alive in part of the Castle wall. Nothing is recorded of her crime, yet it is said that she was blessed by a priest, given food and water then walled up forever.

When a portion of the walls fell down in the middle of the 19th century, human bones were discovered giving credence to the story. A visit to the castle and Strathaven’s country tea rooms afterwards is a must!