In 1882-4, Frances Groome's Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland described Castlecary like this:
Castlecary, a spot near the western border of Falkirk parish, SE Stirlingshire, on the left bank of the Red Burn, and on the Forth and Clyde Canal, the Edinburgh and Glasgow section of the North British railway, and the Gartsherrie and Greenhead section of the Caledonian, 2½ miles NE of Cumbernauld, and 6½ W by S of Falkirk. ...
One of the principal stations on Antoninus' Wall was here, and was connected by an iter with the S. What with the ploughshare, and what with builders in quest of stones for their dykes, it now is wholly effaced; but many Roman antiquities have been found on and near its site-urns, coins, weapons, altars, etc. Castlecary Castle is an old square tower, 40 feet high, with walls of 5 feet thickness, a spiral staircase, secret passages, and an eastern addition bearing date 1679. Burned by a party of Highlanders in the '15, it is now the property of the Earl of Zetland, and is kept in tolerable repair. At the top of its garden is a noble yew, girthing 8¼ feet at 1 yard from the ground. The Red Burn's glen to the W, a rich field for the botanist, here forms the boundary between Dumbarton and Stirling shires, and is crossed hy a splendid eight-arched viaduct of the Edinburgh and Glasgow railway. Castlecary station on that railway is just beyond; in the winter of 1872-73 it was very severely damaged by a singular subsidence, due to great mining excavations for limestone. See pp. 72-76 of Proceedings of the Alloa Society (1875).
Castlecary through time
Castlecary is now part of Falkirk district. Click here for graphs and data of how Falkirk has changed over two centuries. For statistics about Castlecary itself, go to Units and Statistics.
GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Castlecary, in Falkirk and Stirlingshire | Map and description, A Vision of Britain through Time.
URL: https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/21765
Date accessed: 23rd April 2024
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