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What little remains of the 16th century Colzium Castle is now part of a cottage wall in Colzium Lennox Country Park, near Kilsyth.
The estate was originally owned by the Earls of Lennox who built a motte at nearby Castlehill during the 12th century.
The estate passed to the Callenders and, through marriage, became the estate of the Livingstons of Callender, who constructed an L-plan tower.
Towards the end of the 16th century the family added a large hall to the tower, the few remains of which have survived to this day.
In 1645, James Graham, Marquis of Montrose, camped his army on the estate before going out to defeat General Baillie's covenanter army at the Battle of Kilsyth.
The battleground, now the Townhead Reservoir, was flooded in the 18th century as part of the construction of the Forth and Clyde Canal.
In 1703, the third Viscount Kilsyth had Colzium Castle razed, shortly before he inherited the estate.
Then, 80 years later, the Edmonstones took possession of the land, and during the 19th century they completed the construction of Colzium House, less than 400 yards from the ruins of the old castle.
The Edmonstones returned to their ancestral seat at Duntreath in the early 1930's and the house was bought by the Lennox family who handed it over to the burgh of Kilsyth in 1937.
Colzium House now includes a small public museum of local history.
In 1977, the tower's foundations were removed to make way for a car park.

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