Greenan Castle is a 16th-century tower house, possibly on the site of an ancient fort, around 2.5 miles south-west of Ayr in South Ayrshire, Scotland. The entrance lintel has the inscription, JK 1603 FMD, for John Kennedy of Baltersan and his third wife, Florence MacDowell, who held the lands, Greenan Mill, and salmon fishing rights on the River Doon at that time.

The lands of Greenan were forfeited by John, Earl of Ross and Lord of the Isles in 1476 for treason against James III. In 1493 James IV granted the Lands of Greenan to William Douglas, son of Archibald, Earl of Angus.

Beside the tower are traces of a walled courtyard and outbuildings -- probably stables and a kitchen block, as the small tower has no kitchen within its walls. In this courtyard on the morning of 12 May 1602, Sir Thomas Kennedy of Culzean and his servant, Lancelot Kennedy, mounted their horses to ride to Edinburgh, having spent the night before with Thomas's half-brother, John Kennedy of Baltersan. Just a few miles away in the woods of St Leonards (now a suburb of Ayr), they were ambushed by Thomas Kennedy (of Drummurchie), Thomas Kennedy (brother to the Laird of Bargany), Walter Muir of Cloncaird, Thomas M'Alexander, Thomas Wallace, a boy called Gilbert Ramsay and a borderer, Williame Irrwing. Sir Thomas was murdered in retaliation for the death of the young Laird of Bargany in December, 1601 at the Battle of Brockloch, near Maybole. Years later, the Muirs of Auchindrain (father and son) were executed for their "art and part" in this murder. The story inspired Sir Walter Scott to write a short play, "An Ayrshire Tragedy".



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Dunduff Castle is a restored stair-tower in South Ayrshire, Scotland, built on the hillside of Brown Carrick Hills above the Drumbane Burn, and overlooking the sea above the village of Dunure.

As a place name Dunduff may contain the Gaelic elements for "hill" or "fort" and "stag", as in Dundaff near Fintry. Other suggestions are that Duff is a personal name, therefore "Fort of Duff" or "Black Hill Fort" from the Gaelic 'Dun Dùbh.

Glennie identifies Dunduff Castle with Dindywydd, a site mentioned by Aneirin or Neirin, a Dark Age Brythonic poet, in one of his Arthurian poems as preserved in a late 13th-century manuscript known as the Book of Aneirin.

Castle ruins
Lying to the east of Dunduff Farm on a rocky knoll, this tower castle was built to an L-shaped plan, with a square three floored stair-tower in the re-entrant angle on the south. Three barrel-vaulted chambers are on the ground floor and these were accessed via the lobby of the tower. A private chamber on the first floor was accessed by a corridor that ran the length of the main block. A fireplace in the wing heated the hall, with its splayed window embrasure. An intermediate floor once existed, as indicated by joist sockets. Window and door features of the original ruin suggest construction in the late 16th and early 17th centuries.

The General Roy map of 1747–55 shows a Dunduff Mill associated with the castle; this mill is also recorded in a charter of 1581. William Aiton's map of 1808 shows Dunduff Castle, however it is not annotated as a ruin, although Dunure is.

Groome refers to the ruin in 1903 as a baronial fortalice.

Dunduff Castle

Sundrum Castle is located 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) north of Coylton, South Ayrshire, Scotland, by the Water of Coyle.

The original castle was built in the 14th century by Sir Robert Wallace, Sheriff of Ayr. This was incorporated into the present mansion, built by the Hamiltons of Sundrum in 1792. The castle is now a category B listed building.

Sundrum Castle

Culzean Castle is a castle overlooking the Firth of Clyde, near Maybole, Carrick, on the Ayrshire coast of Scotland. It is the former home of the Marquess of Ailsa, the chief of Clan Kennedy, but is now owned by the National Trust for Scotland. The clifftop castle lies within the Culzean Castle Country Park and is opened to the public. Since 1987, an illustration of the castle has featured on the reverse side of five pound notes issued by the Royal Bank of Scotland.

Culzean Castle was constructed as an L-plan castle by order of the 10th Earl of Cassilis. He instructed the architect Robert Adam to rebuild a previous, but more basic, structure into a fine country house to be the seat of his earldom. The castle was built in stages between 1777 and 1792. It incorporates a large drum tower with a circular saloon inside (which overlooks the sea), a grand oval staircase and a suite of well-appointed apartments.

In 1945, the Kennedy family gave the castle and its grounds to the National Trust for Scotland (thus avoiding inheritance tax). In doing so, they stipulated that the apartment at the top of the castle be given to General of the Army Dwight D. Eisenhower in recognition of his role as Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Europe during the Second World War. The General first visited Culzean Castle in 1946 and stayed there four times, including once while President of the United States.

The Ayrshire (Earl of Carrick's Own) Yeomanry, a British Yeomanry cavalry regiment, was formed by The Earl of Cassillis at Culzean Castle in about 1794. On 24 June 1961, the regiment returned to the castle to be presented with its first guidon by General Sir Horatius Murray, KBE, CB, DSO.

The castle re-opened in April 2011 after a refurbishment funded by a gift in the will of American millionaire William Lindsay to the National Trust for Scotland. Lindsay, who had never visited Scotland, requested that a significant portion of his $4 million go towards Culzean. Lindsay was reportedly interested in Eisenhower's holidays at the castle.

Culzean Castle received 244,930 visitors in 2017.

The armoury contains a propellor from a plane flown by Leefe Robinson when he shot down a German airship north of London in 1916.

To the north of the castle is a bay containing the Gas House, which provided town gas for the castle up until 1940. This group of buildings consists of the gas manager's house (now containing an exhibition on William Murdoch), the Retort House and the remains of the gasometer.

There are sea caves beneath the castle which are currently not open generally, but are open for tours throughout the summer.

The castle grounds include a walled garden, which is built on the site of the home of a former slave owned by the Kennedy family, Scipio Kennedy.

Culzean Castle

Blairquhan is a Regency era castle near Maybole in South Ayrshire, Scotland. It was the historic home of the Hunter-Blair Baronets and remained in the family's possession until 2012, when it was sold to a Chinese company.

Blairquhan is protected as a category A listed building, and the grounds are included in the Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland, the national listing of significant gardens.

Four different families have lived at Blairquhan or on its lands. The McWhirters built the first tower house about 1346. The Kennedys then inherited the estate through marriage and built the remainder of the old castle about 1573. In the early 17th century the Whitefords took over, but in 1798, suffering the effects of a bank crash, they sold Blairquhan to Sir David Hunter Blair, 3rd Baronet, the second son of Sir James Hunter Blair, 1st Baronet who had married Jean Blair, the daughter and heiress of John Blair of Dunskey in Wigtownshire in 1770. When Jean Blair inherited her father’s estate in 1777, the family took the additional surname of Blair.

In 1820, Sir David commissioned Scottish architect William Burn to design a new house on Blairquhan. The old castle, which had become ruinous due to previous fires and neglect, was torn down for a new the Tudor-style castle, which nevertheless incorporated some of the decorative mouldings and sculpted stones from the old castle into the kitchen courtyard of the new house. The new mansion was completed in 1824, and contains many antiques and an important collection of paintings by Scottish artists. In late 2012, Sir Patrick David Hunter-Blair, 9th Baronet, sold Blairquhan to Ganten Scotland, a subsidiary of a Chinese company which bottles mineral water for distribution around the world.

The estate and grounds
Blairquhan is approached from the north via a 3 miles (4.8 km) drive along the River Girvan. The late James Hunter Blair (1926–2004), younger brother and heir presumptive of Sir Edward Hunter-Blair, 8th Baronet (1920-2006), was a noted horticulturalist and forester who spent most of his life restoring the castle and preserving the estate grounds, which includes veteran trees and a walled garden. An ancient sycamore which stands in the shadow of the castle is thought to be a Dule Tree, planted early in the 16th century during the reign of King James V of Scotland. The once-spreading crown was heavily pruned in 1997, saving the much-weakened trunk from total collapse.

As a tourist attraction
To help offset operating costs, James Hunter Blair opened the 2,000-acre (8.1 km2) estate as a venue for private functions such as weddings, corporate outings and filming. The current owners continue this operation, offering the castle as an exclusive use venue. Blairquhan was seen in the UK television programme Beauty and the Geek. Its interiors and grounds were also used as a substitute location for Balmoral Castle in the Oscar-winning 2006 film The Queen, starring Helen Mirren.

Blairquhan Castle

Auchans Castle, House, House of Auchans or Old Auchans, is a mock military mansion, Category A listed, T-plan building of a late 16th-century date converted to the L-plan during the early-to-mid-17th century; its ruins stand about 1 km W of Dundonald, South Ayrshire, Scotland. Parish of Dundonald. It was held at various times by the Wallace, Cochrane and Montgomerie families.

McKean refers to Auchans as being amongst Scotland's principal châteaux which he defines as the dwelling of the owner of a great property, a large and beautiful pleasure house in the countryside, and records that James Wallace added the fashionable square stair-tower in the re-entrant angle, with its viewing platform and broken pediments in 1644. The spelling on Joan Blaeu's map of 1654 is 'Aghans'.

The castle stands on a slightly elevated knoll and is constructed mainly of whinstone. Cummell recorded in the 18th century that the building reminded him of the old Glasgow College buildings. The original house, with its high gables, had three principal storeys; the basement was vaulted and a stair-tower was situated externally, central to the South side. The balustraded terrace on the South side of castle was at one time enclosed within a courtyard. A new wing, three storeys and a garret in height, was at a later date added at the West end of the North wall, and a stair-tower, with a Renaissance-style doorway, was built, still visible in the present ruins. This new wing was extended still further on the North by the addition of a block with two towers. The basement of the block was vaulted; one of the towers was corbelled, square in section and its gables crow-stepped. Domestic buildings were added on the South and East sides of the courtyard.

The kitchen stood in the western wing; the first floor contained a suite of principal rooms, that in the western wing being known as the dining room in the 1860s, probably originally being the private room and bedroom of the proprietor. It was wood panelled and had an ornate marble fireplace. The second floor contained bedrooms and the third floor, partly in the roof, was chiefly occupied by a long gallery. This was lit by dormer windows and by a large traceried window in the east gable, long built up. The entrance was in the square balustraded tower and was of the Renaissance style. The main block of the castle was not vaulted and only the cellars in the North wing had vaults. Only a few gun-loops were provided as by 1644 such defensive structures were largely redundant.

One of the 'side angles' in 1876 carried a date stone engraved with the year '1644' and another carried the date '1667'. Likely marriage stones carried the initials that relate to Sir William Cochrane and his wife Eupheme Scott.

Auchans Castle

Dundonald Castle is situated on a hill overlooking the village of Dundonald, between Kilmarnock and Troon in South Ayrshire, Scotland. Dundonald Castle is a fortified tower house built for Robert II on his accession to the throne of Scotland in 1371 and it was used as a royal residence by Robert II and his son Robert III.

Dark age hill fort
The present castle stands on land where evidence suggest there used to be a hill fort. It is thought that a mixture of large timber built round houses and straight-sided structures occupy the interior. A timber laced stone rampart defines and defends the hill fort. The timber lacing caught fire and burnt with such intensity that the surrounding stonework melted, or vitrified. This firing happened about 1000 AD and seems to mark the end of the hill-fort’s existence.

It was about this date that the British Kingdom of Strathclyde ceased to exist, being absorbed into the Kingdom of Scotland.

The place name Dundonald means "fort of Donald". It appears to be derived from the British *Din Dyfnwal (the British personal name Dyfnwal is cognate to the Scottish Gaelic Dòmhnall and English Donald). The eponym of the fortress is unknown, although he may have been any of the numerous kings of Alt Clut/Strathclyde who bore the name Dyfnwal from the eighth century to the tenth century.

Early castles
There have been three medieval castles present on this site. The first was built by one of the stewards of the king of Scots, most probably Walter, the first steward, who came to Scotland in 1136. There is no surviving evidence of this castle above ground today.

The second castle was built in the late 13th Century by Alexander Stewart, 4th High Steward, this castle was predominantly built of stone. It would have been one of the grandest baronial residences of its time. It was largely destroyed by the Scottish during the Wars of Scottish Independence in the early 14th century. It was not untypical for castles that were not of strategic importance to be destroyed by those who controlled them to ensure that no one else could gain a foothold into the area. There is little remaining of this castle, however there is a well and a rounded stump of a tower near to the present castle.

The present castle
The third castle was built by Robert Stewart, probably to mark his accession to the throne as Robert II in 1371. It was three storeys high.

The top floor above the lofty stone vault was the upper hall – the great hall. It was for the more private use of the king and family.

The first floor was the lower of the two halls – the laigh hall. It would have been used for more public activities like feasting and the holding of the baron court.

The ground floor was a storage area. It was probably originally subdivided providing cellars for different commodities like wine, ale, foodstuffs and fuel.

The tower house was extended in the late 14th century to add additional private chambers and a prison. The outer courtyard (called more properly the barmkin) was completed and ancillary buildings (stables, bakehouses, brewhouses, smithy, etc.) built against the barmkin wall.

The third castle comprises almost everything you see above ground today, including the tower which dominates the hill.

Dundonald castle once had its own chapel dedicated to Saint Inan.

The castle today
There is a visitor centre at the foot of the hill, which includes a cafe, souvenir shop and an interpretive exhibition. The exhibition outlines the history of the Castle and its preceding buildings with detailed models of the earlier castles on the site.

The visitor centre is owned by South Ayrshire Council and the castle is owned by Historic Scotland. Both the castle and the visitor centre is operated by The Friends of Dundonald Castle. The castle is a scheduled monument.

Dundonald Castle

Caprington Castle is a 15th century keep, incorporated in a castellated mansion, about 2 miles (3.2 km) south west of Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire, Scotland, south of the River Irvine.

The castle is still occupied.

The Wallaces of Sundrum, descendants of Sir William Wallace owned the property from 1385, but it passed by marriage to the Cunninghams in 1400. The Cunninghams were members of the Baronetage of Nova Scotia between 1669 and 1829. The castle was included in the refurbished mansion in about 1829. 

The original castle had a massive keep with a small stair-wing and a larger wing built later.

The walls of the current dining-room correspond to the original keep.

The principal façade is now dominated by a four-storey centre tower, which has a parapet and machicolations. There are square-headed drip moulds. Corner turrets are square; there is a porte-cochere; the building stands on a terrace, with round corner bastions. The internal hall and staircase have plaster ceilings and other Gothic decoration. The owners possess drawings of the castle prior to the modernisation.
It is a category A listed building.[3]

Caprington Castle

Eglinton Castle was a large Gothic castellated mansion in Kilwinning, North Ayrshire, Scotland.

The ancient seat of the Earls of Eglinton, it is located just south of the town of Kilwinning. The original Eglinton Castle was burnt by the Earl of Glencairn in 1528. The current castle was built between 1797 and 1802 in Gothic castellated style dominated by a central 100-foot (30 m) large round keep and four 70-foot (21 m) outer towers, it was second only to Culzean Castle in appearance and grandeur. The foundation stone of the new Eglinton Castle in Kilwinning was laid in 1797, the 12th Earl of Eglinton, was proud to have the ceremony performed by Alexander Hamilton of Grange, grandfather of the American Hero Alexander Hamilton.

Eglinton was the most notable post-Adam Georgian castle in Ayrshire. Amongst many items of interest, the castle contained a chair built from the oak timbers of Alloway kirk and the back of the chair was inlaid with a brass plaque which bore the whole of Burns' poem Tam o' Shanter. This was sold at an auction in 1925. The previous Eglington castle (sic) was described circa 1563–1566 as a fare castell, but noo strength againsts any power. An escape tunnel is said to run from the old castle to the area of the rockery on the castle lawns. The appearance of the old waterfall may have inspired this story as it looks like a sealed doorway. The total acreage of the Earl of Eglinton's holdings was 34,716 Scots Acres (1 Scots acre = 1.5 English Acres) in 1788. This included Little Cumbrae, and lands at Southannan and Eaglesham (Polnoon).

The original castle of Eglinton may have been near Kidsneuk, Bogside (NS 309 409) where a substantial earth mound or motte stands and excavated pottery was found tentatively dating the site to the thirteenth century.

The Montgomerys' first holdings were the Barony of Eaglesham and its Castle of Polnoon.

In 1691 the 'Hearth Tax for Ayrshire' records show 25 hearths in use, the highest number for a single dwelling in Ayrshire. It is noted that the earl had not paid the tax. The earl's house in Kilwinning, Easter Chambers or the old abbot's dwelling, had 15 hearths. Thirty-seven other dwellings were listed within the barony of Eglinton.

The stables were built from stones taken from the Easter Chambers of Kilwinning Abbey; being the Abbots lodgings and later that of the Earls of Eglinton. In 1784, over a period of four months, the building was demolished and the stones were taken to Eglinton.

The construction of the new castle was not universally accepted as beneficial; Fullarton records that "The hoary grandeur of the old fortalice lay deeply buried amid the dense groves of immemorial growth which closely invested and obscured it; no innovating projects of improvement, nor change of any kind, had ever been permitted to disturb the sanctity of its seclusion, or to ruffle the feelings even of the most fastiduous worshipper of things as they are, or, more properly perhaps, chance to be". The castle is said to have had a moat.

Covenating times
In the 1640s Alasdair Mac Colla had been sent by Montrose to suppress support for the Covenanting cause. He plundered the Ayrshire countryside for some days and then demanded financial penalties. Neil Montgomery of Lainshaw negotiated a 4,000 merks penalty for the Eglinton Estates; three tenants having already been killed, with some deer and sheep also taken from the park.

Ley tunnels
Persistent rumours exist of a Ley tunnel which is said to run from Kilwinning Abbey, under the 'Bean Yaird', below the 'Easter Chaumers' and the 'Leddy firs', and then underneath the Garnock and on to Eglinton Castle. No evidence exists for it, although it may be related to the underground burial vault of the Montgomeries which does exist under the old abbey. A ley or an escape tunnel is also said to run from the castle to exit at the old waterfall near the rockery. It is reported that a tunnel ran from the castle to near the existing Castle Bridge. This tunnel was stone lined and tall enough for a man to walk through. This is likely to have been the main drain from the castle.

Eglinton Castle

Dean Castle is situated in the Dean Castle Country Park in Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire, Scotland. It was the stronghold for the Boyd Family, who were lords of Kilmarnock for over 400 years.

The Castle takes its name from ‘The Dean’ or wooded valley, a common place name in Scotland. However, until about 1700 it was called Kilmarnock Castle. Owned originally by the Boyd family, it has strong historical connections with many people and events famous in Scottish history. Robert the Bruce who gave the Boyds these lands; James III of Scotland whose sister married a Boyd; the Covenanters, some of whom were imprisoned here; Bonnie Prince Charlie, whose rebellion was joined by the 4th Earl of Kilmarnock and Robert Burns who was encouraged to publish his poetry by the Earl of Glencairn who owned the Castle at that time.

The Boyd Family came into possession of the grounds of Dean Castle in 1316, when Sir Robert Boyd was rewarded the lands of Kilmarnock and West Kilbride by King Robert I for his services at the Battle of Bannockburn.

Keep
The Keep was built around 1350 by Sir Robert Boyd's son Sir Thomas Boyd. It was built mainly for defence, the walls are 2–3 metres thick, it has few windows, and the original entrance is high above ground level. There are no arrowslits in the walls of Dean Castle something which is very rare for a Scottish castle of this time period, all of the shooting was done from the battlements at the top.

Palace
The palace was built in the 1460s by Robert Boyd, 1st Lord Boyd when he was appointed by James II c.1454. In 1735 an accidental fire started in the kitchen of the palace, this fire then spread onto the thatched roof where it then spread onto the roof of the keep. The Castle was a complete ruin after this and had almost two centuries of neglect, although some of the buildings always remained in use. The resident of the castle William Boyd, 4th Earl of Kilmarnock had financial problems and could not afford to repair the castle.

Rebuilding
The castle was sold by James Boyd in 1746 and the estate changed hands many times. When the 8th Lord Howard de Walden inherited the castle he began its restoration. He completed the keep in 1908 and completed the restoration of the palace in 1946.

The present Gatehouse was entirely built in 1935–36. It was never present in the original castle. However, it is carefully copied from real sixteenth-century buildings, including details like the windows with half-wooden shutters and half-leaded glass. The overall design and decorative but usable gun loops are copied from the gatehouse built at Tolquhon Castle, Aberdeenshire built in the 1580s. The wooden walkway around the wall guarding the palace was added in the restoration.

In 1975 the 9th Lord Howard de Walden gifted the castle, estate, his father's collections of arms and armour, and his grandfather's collection of musical instruments to the people of Kilmarnock.

The collections of arms and armour are on display in the Great Hall of the keep and the musical instruments are on display in the Solar of the keep. The banqueting hall displays many items owned by East Ayrshire council including Kilmarnock Edition of Robert Burns poetry and many works of art.

The private chamber of the Earls of Kilmarnock has a complete model of the castle. Legend has it that after the 4th Earl of Kilmarnock was beheaded for treason in London on 18 August 1746 his head was carried back to Dean castle and was stored in a large chest which is still present in the Laigh Tower.

The story of the 4th Earl's head being kept in the castle has attracted many ghost hunters who have studied the castle and believe there is a presence in the palace.

A large bust of William Wallace is on display on the ground floor of the palace.

Dean castle and Country Park is maintained by East Ayrshire Council and is free to access. There are daily tours of the castle which are also free.