With the oldest part of castle dating back to 1478, it has seen a number of people and events in its long years.

There is mention of an older building on the site but that will take more research to find out what and exactly where this was. Since it is said that that Castle Cary was built with reparations paid by the Flemings for attacking the properties of the Livingstone family, it is quite possible that this older wooden hall might have been one of their targets.

Fortified tower houses like Castle Cary were built for a reason, other than simply as a status symbol for the laird. Those were troubled times and feuding between neighbouring families, and wider disputes and conflicts meant that a strong defensive building was more than just a luxury. An Act of Parliament passed in 1535 stated that land owners who posessed land worth over £100 were required to build a towerhouse or castle. Castle Cary was attacked on a number of occasions, which seem to inevitably end in it being burnt to a greater or lesser extent.

In 1561 Mary Queen of Scots visited Castle Cary, where Mary Livingston, one of the Queen's "Maries" (her ladies in waiting were both called Mary), lived at the time. During this brief visit, the Queen and Mary planted two yew trees which still grow in the castle garden. [This tradition of putting guests to work in the garden, no matter how distinguished, continues to this day! ]. The Queen also visited neighbouring Cumbernauld Castle, and during her visit, the great hall collapsed killing several individuals.

It was thought in the 19th century that Castle Cary was the oldest inhabited building in Scotland (The History Of Stirlingshire, William Nimmo, 1880), but this mistake was probably due to its being built mainly from "borrowed" stone from the nearby Roman fort on the Antonine wall. This led to some classic tell-tale Roman features, quarrying and masonry techniques being evident in the building. Since I believe the older parts of the castle were in a rather poor condition at that time, any visiting experts probably did not want to take too close a look! Intersetingly, though, at the time Mr Nimmo visited (cencus of 1881) there was one resident, the housekeeper Catherine Murray.

The building was originally an L-shaped tower house built on the edge of a cliff overlooking the Red Burn. This striking position probably contributed greatly to the collapse of the original north wing, the foundations of which can be seen at the edge of the gorge, combined with the frequent attacks the building has suffered over the years. I have not ventured down into the valley to look for evidence of this, and the stones that did not tumble down the cliff will have probably been re-used to build the 17th centuary wing, so the only visible evidence of the missing wing are part of its foundations, now supporting a garden wall, and a few stones protruding from the wall of the tower where the two parts of the building met.

Today, the only real threats to the building are time, the elements, and our rare Burmese Fighting cats.

Is it called Castle Cary or Castlecary Castle?
There has been some debate more recently about whether the castle is called Castle Cary, or Castlecary Castle.

This probably arose from the fact that the village nearby is called Castlecary. So there was the potential for confusion a little like the famoue "who's on first base" scetch. I think this settles it! When Timothy Pont produced the maps around 1600, which were later compiled into the first atlas of Scotland, "Castle Cary" is shown.

Also, in a map from 1865, it is also shown as "Castle Cary".