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Mearns Castle, a 15th century rectangular keep, is now part of a church.
Lying to the east of Newton Mearns, in Glasgow's south side, this three-storey castle was built in 1449 by Lord Herbert Maxwell of Caerlaverock.
Measuring 44ft by 29.5ft, and 45ft in height, it stands on the site of a timber and rubble fortification constructed by a knight, Roland de Mearns.
The land was originally owned by the Pollok family but, through marriage, it belonged to the Maxwell family by 1300.
It passed into the hands of Lord William Herries, a Catholic, but he was forced to give it up by James VI in 1589. Later it was occupied by the Earl of Nithsdale, who in 1648 sold it to Sir George Maxwell of Pollok.
In 1676, he bacame ill with a fever while visiting Glasgow. His condition was put down to witch-craft. Six people were subsequently accused in relation to this. Five of them were strangled and burned.
Several other families owned the castle over the years but it was eventually allowed to fall into a ruinous condition.
It changed hands yet again in the 1970's, when it was bought by the Church of Scotland. The Kirk repaired it and used it for the congregation of Maxwell Church while a new building was built next to the castle.

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