Claypotts Castle, Dundee - Ref: WC1142
This Alexander Wilson photograph shows Claypotts Castle, ancient home of the Strachan family, looking from the south east from the Claypotts skating pond. The castle was part of a farmyard at the time and has been left in a state of some disrepair.
It was built in the second half of the 16th century on land belonging to St Mary's and Lindores Abbey as a defence against the marauding Henry Lovell of nearby Ballumbie.
Later associations with the Graham family (later of Claverhouse, the infamous 'Bonnie Dundee') are not directly related to the supporter of James VII and II who perished at the battle of Killiecrankie. By the 19th century, the house belonged to the Home family.
Alexander Wilson who took this photograph, was a supervisor in a Dundee jute mill for over 20 years. He bequeathed much of his collection and £50, to cover the costs involved, to the Free Library Committee of Dundee in 1923.