IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Castleton Drive, GLASGOW, G77 5LE

The brackets are either Coriolus versicolor or Bjerkandera adusta - difficult to tell without a closer look at the specimen. The toadstools are probably a species of inkcap - Coprinus - C. micaceus is common on stumps and buried wood. Thanks to M J Richardson for fungi info.

The Maxwells of Caerlaverock tower rises to four storeys and it was partially once enclosed by a wall, with a moat. These details were spelt out in a document by King James II in 1449, when the monarch granted a licence to erect a castle with these specific requirements: “to build a castle or fortalice in the barony of Mearns in Renfrewshire, to surround and fortify it with walls and ditches to strengthen it by iron gates and to erect on top of it all warlike apparatus necessary for its defense.” The castle has a vaulted basement and a vaulted first floor hall.

A church built on a circular floor plan adjacent to and attached to Mearns Castle, by Walter Ramsay Architects, built in 1971. 'In 1970 the congregation of Maxwell Church Pollok Street, Glasgow were forced to find a new site for their church due to the construction of the Kingston Bridge. It was decided that a new church should be built adjacent to Mearns Castle. The congregation held services in the Mearns Castle hall until the church, Maxwell Mearns Castle Parish Church of Scotland, was completed. The church is attached to the castle but the castle itself is no longer used by the church.' (Information from Mearns History Group https://mearnshistory.org.uk/index.php/history/castles/mearns-castle ).

A foundation stone for the Maxwell Mearns Castle Parish Church, dated 1971.

The 15th century Category A listed http://portal.historicenvironment.scot/designation/LB18536 tower house (Mearns Castle), with the 1971 Maxwell Mearns Castle Parish Church on the right. See Mearns History Group https://mearnshistory.org.uk/index.php/history/castles/mearns-castle for more information.

A steel door with grills top and bottom into the Category A listed http://portal.historicenvironment.scot/designation/LB18536 Mearns Castle. The castle is not open to the public. The small, faded plaque to the left of the door reads: COUNTY COUNCIL OF THE COUNTY OF RENFREWSHIRE This historic building has been restored with the aid of the Renfrewshire Heritage Committee BUILDINGS OF ARCHITECTURAL & HISTORIC INTEREST The County Council has not existed since local government reorganisation in 1975. Sadly the castle looks to be in need of attention again, with much pointing required and it is home to numbers of jackdaws which appear to be gaining access through the arrow slits. In fact the castle has been on the Buildings at Risk Register since 2008 https://www.buildingsatrisk.org.uk/search/town/newton%20mearns/order/1//event_id/908609/building_name/mearns-castle-broom-road-newton-mearns.

The ancient (15th century) Category A listed http://portal.historicenvironment.scot/designation/LB18536 tower house (Mearns Castle), with the 1971 Maxwell Mearns Castle Parish Church behind and similarly modern accommodation on the right. See Mearns History Group https://mearnshistory.org.uk/index.php/history/castles/mearns-castle for more information.

A Category A listed http://portal.historicenvironment.scot/designation/LB18536 15th century tower house. It was converted into a church in the late 1960s before a new modern church (on the right) was built attached to the tower in 1971. See Mearns History Group https://mearnshistory.org.uk/index.php/history/castles/mearns-castle for more information.