Colzium House was built by the Edmonstone family of Duntreath. The work was started in 1783 and considerable additions were made in 1861. Some of the masonry from the castle was used in its construction. the architectural style is a mixture of the Scottish vernacular and the more modern renaissance mode. after the First world War, the family started to sell parts of the estate. W Mackay Lennox bought the house in 1930 and in 1937, on his retiral as Town Clerk, he presented the House and its policies to Kilsyth Burgh, in memory of his mother.
Colzium House is now used as a venue for conferences and weddings, and may be hired at a reasonable charge: Tel: 01698 403 120 (direct line to North Lanarkshire Council)
Features
The site of the ruins of a castle built by the Earl of Lennox. Extensive walks through delightful ancient woodlands, romantic glen with many waterfalls, arboretum of rare trees, ice house, old clock theatre, curling pond, access to Banton Loch. State of the art children’s play area, football pitch, grassy open glades for picnics, kite flying , sledging. Museum and tearoom open to the public in Colzium House for special events such as Doors Open Day, Snowdrop Festival (see Events list below).
The Walled Garden
The walled garden has an excellent display of conifers, heathers and rare plants of all kinds. The wrought iron gates to the garden were presented to the estate by a local youth club and many memorial seats have been gifted over the years.
The attractiveness of this unique garden has been highlighted by its being featured in a number of publications and on BBC Scotland broadcasts. The garden has a Scottish Tourist Board double-starred Visitor Attraction rating and forms part of VisitScotland’s annual Snowdrop Festival.
This garden is open daily in Summer from 12noon until 7pm (Easter to the end of September). The garden closes from the end of September until Easter. Access to other parts of the estate is freely available all the year round.
The Lade
The Lade was built in the mid- C18th to supply water to the Forth and Clyde canal via the Banton loch. It comes down from the Garrel Mill skirting the grounds of Criagengoyne Nursing Home, then flowing through the estate to Banton Loch. It flows gently alongside a mature beech avenue approach from the Tak Ma Doon Rd., to join Banton Loch at the site of the Battle of Kilsyth.
Colzium Castle
What little remains of the 16th century Colzium Castle is now part of a cottage wall. 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 near-derelict house was bought by the Lennox family who handed it over to the burgh of Kilsyth in 1937.
In 1977, the tower's foundations were removed to make way for a car park.
Location
The estate can be reached either by walking from the town centre and turning right on the Tak Ma Doon Rd, or from the Stirling Road. Car parking is available in the layby off the Stirling Rd., by the curling pond, or at the House. Buses no.24, Glasgow to Stirling and no.27, Glasgow to Falkirk stop at main avenue on Stirling Road, on request.