Coulter Motte Hill

Beside Cormiston Road at Wolfclyde, just west of Biggar, a grassy mound overlooking a crossing of the River Clyde is all that remains of a medieval motte castle. It has never been excavated, so its date, what stood on top and how far the castle extended are unknown. It may have been built by one of the Flemish settlers, probably sheep farmers, whom Malcolm IV invited to Upper Clydesdale around 1160, or, like a motte excavated eight miles away, about 1300 during the Wars of Independence. Its modest size suggests the home of a minor landowner or a fort guarding the crossing, with a courtyard attached. The mound was damaged in 1860 when a railway and Coulter Station were built beside it. In 1931 road contractors began digging away its west side until the Ministry of Works stopped them, and it came into state care in 1932. Stone steps lead up from the roadside to a small information board.