Ogilface Castle Mystery
As can be seen from the extract above, since the publication of the 2nd Edition in 1897, Ordnance Survey maps have depicted the site of Ogilface Castle as being located on a promontory in Barbauchlaw Glen to the south-east of Woodend Farm. However, research and fieldwork currently being undertaken for the Armadale Community Website has raised another possibility.
Ogilface Castle is on record from the mid 12th century, when it was granted to Holyrood Abbey by William de Veteri Ponte. According to the New Statistical Account of Scotland (1845), Ogilface was 'the seat of the ancient family of De Bosco, Barons of Ogilface. It fell at length into the hands of the Earls of Linlithgow, and upon the fall of that family, ceased to exist as a barony, and was sold in portions to different proprietors, the chief of whom is now (i.e. in 1845) R. C. Buchanan, Esq'. Following its identification on the 2nd Edition map of 1897, the site was visited by staff from the Ordnance Survey in 1952, who recorded that 'a small natural ridge juts into Barbauchlaw Glen, and it was upon this that the castle possibly stood. There is a low stony bank which may be the remains of the wall''
However, the Armadale Community Website, in conjection with the History of Armadale Association has identified information to suggest that the identification of this site with the structure at Woodend may be erroneous, and that the structures present at Woodend may be associated with a second castle or fortified site. Following detailed map regression work and the study of early charters, it appears possible that the location of Ogilface castle may have been mistakenly associated with the ridge at Woodend, and that this castle may in fact have been sited on Eastcraigs Hill near Blackridge, some 2km to the south-west. This raises the possibility that the features identified at Woodend may relate to another previously unrecorded defensive structure. The Edinburgh Archaeological Field Society(EAFS) was approached to undertake a geophysical and topographic survey of the two sites, to attempt to resolve the issue. The survey of the Woodend site was completed in April 2007, and its results are eagerly awaited, while the survey of the Blackridge site will be undertaken in the near future. In the interim, experiments have been conducted into various methods of taking aerial photographs of these and other sites, including the use of kites, balloons and even rockets! More details of their research into the site of Ogilface Castle can be found on the Armadale Community Website.
