View source for Colzium

{{Short description|House and Estate in North Lanarkshire, Scotland}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2022}}
[[File:Colzium House - geograph.org.uk - 1584187.jpg|thumb|left|Colzium House]]
[[File:The Clock Theatre (geograph 2002370).jpg|thumb|right|The Clock Theatre]]
[[File:Colzium Estate Walled Garden. - geograph.org.uk - 40297.jpg|thumb|right|Colzium Estate Walled Garden]]
[[Image:Colziumcurling.jpg|thumb|right|Purpose-built curling pond at Colzium, Kilsyth]] 
[[File:The Ice House at Colzium - geograph.org.uk - 1583066.jpg|thumb|right|The Ice House at Colzium]]
[[File:Detail of the Battle of Kilsyth monument at Colzium House Estate (geograph 2177772).jpg|thumb|right|Detail of the Battle of Kilsyth monument at Colzium House Estate]]

'''Colzium''' House and Estate (pronounced Coal-Zee-Um) is about 500 metres to the north-east of [[Kilsyth]], [[North Lanarkshire]], Scotland.<ref>{{cite web|title=OS 25 inch Map 1892-1949|url=http://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=17&lat=55.9853&lon=-4.0392&layers=168&b=1|website=zoomable map with Bing transparency overlay|publisher=National Library of Scotland|access-date=10 October 2017}}</ref> The present house dates from 1783 and was extended and modernised in 1861.<ref>{{cite web|title=Colzium House|url=https://canmore.org.uk/site/45905/kilsyth-colzium-house|website=Canmore|publisher=Historic Environment Scotland|access-date=31 December 2017}}</ref> The name may mean "defile leap".<ref>{{cite book|last1=Drummond|first1=Peter, John|title=An analysis of toponyms and toponymic patterns in eight parishes of the upper Kelvin basin|date=2014|publisher=Glasgow University|location=Glasgow|pages=263–264|url=http://theses.gla.ac.uk/5270/1/2014DrummondPhD.pdf#page=264|access-date=3 July 2017}}</ref>

W Mackay Lennox bought Colzium House and its policies in 1930 and in 1937, on his retiral as Town Clerk, he presented them to Kilsyth Burgh, in memory of his mother. The house and estate are principally used for public recreation, as the venue for the annual Kilsyth International Carnival in mid August, an "Italian Picnic" – a gathering of Italian/Scottish families, and functions such as weddings and parties. There is also a fine [[walled garden]] and a small theatre, the "clock theatre". A children's adventure playground has been opened.

The estate still contains the ruins of Colzium Castle just 100 metres north of Colzium House at the point where the driveway turns sharp left to Tak-Ma-Doon Road.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Watson|first1=John|title=The new statistical account of Scotland|date=1845|publisher=W. Blackwood and Sons|location=Edinburgh and London|page=152|edition=Vol 8|url=https://archive.org/stream/newstatisticalac08edin#page/152/mode/2up/search/colzium|access-date=14 February 2018}}</ref> The first building here was a large [[L-plan castle]] built by the Livingstons of Callendar in the mid-15th century to replace the ancient [[motte and bailey|motte]]. A substantial hall block was added in 1575. 
[[File:Livingstonsofliv00newy orig 0125.png|thumb|[[John Livingstone (minister)|John Livingstone's]] sale of land. The last four lines are handwritten in his own hand.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Livingston |first1=Edwin Brockholst |title=The Livingstons of Livingston manor |date=1910 |publisher=The Knickerbocker press |location=New York |pages=[https://archive.org/details/livingstonsofliv00newy/page/20 20]-21 |url=https://archive.org/details/livingstonsofliv00newy |access-date=2 August 2019}}</ref>]]
The castle was demolished by the [[James Livingstone, 1st Viscount Kilsyth#Family|3rd Viscount of Kilsyth]] in 1703, immediately prior to his accession to the title. The family lost the estate due to their [[Jacobitism|Jacobite]] sympathies, and it then became the property of the Edmonstone family from [[Strathblane#Edmonstones of Duntreath|Duntreath]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Groome|first1=Francis Hindes|title=Ordnance gazetteer of Scotland : a survey of Scottish topography, statistical, biographical and historical|date=1895|publisher=W. Mackenzie|location=London|page=282|edition=Vol 1|url=https://archive.org/stream/ordnancegazett01ingroo#page/282/mode/1up/search/colzium|access-date=17 February 2018}}</ref>

There is an [[Ice house (building)|ice house]] c. 1680 in the glen of the Colzium Burn which was excavated in 1977 and may still be viewed.<ref>{{cite web|title=Colzium House, Icehouse|url=https://canmore.org.uk/site/45906/colzium-house-icehouse|website=Canmore|publisher=Historic Environment Scotland|access-date=31 December 2017}}</ref> The estate also contains the oldest [[curling]] ponds in the world. [[Kilsyth Curling Club]], the world's first recorded curling club, was founded in Kilsyth in 1716.

The [[Battle of Kilsyth]] (1645) in the [[Scotland in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms|Wars of the Three Kingdoms]] was fought just a kilometre to the east. A ring, supposed to be the one lost by Lady Kilsyth,<ref>{{cite book|last1=Doran|first1=John|title=Memories of Our Great Towns: With Anecdotic Gleanings Concerning Their Worthies and Their Oddities|date=1878|publisher=Chatto and Windus|location=Piccadilly|page=147|url=https://archive.org/stream/memoriesourgrea01johgoog#page/n155/mode/2up/search/colzium|access-date=16 February 2018}}</ref> was reported to be kept at the house.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Walford|first1=Edward|title=Tales of our great families|date=1880|publisher=Hurst and Blackett|location=London|page=67|edition=Vol 1|url=https://archive.org/stream/talesourgreatfa01walfgoog#page/n82/mode/2up/search/kilsyth|access-date=31 December 2017}}</ref>

==References==
<references />

==External links==
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDJcu2MgPnE Video footage of the Colzium Miniature Railway]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6i3sf5Ha1E Video footage of the ice house]

{{coord|55.98398|N|4.03895|W|type:landmark_region:GB|display=title}}
{{North Lanarkshire places of interest}}

[[Category:Country houses in North Lanarkshire]]
[[Category:Gardens in North Lanarkshire]]
[[Category:Kilsyth]]