Ardstinchar Castle
| Ardstinchar Castle | |
|---|---|
| United Kingdom | |
 Remains of Ardstinchar Castle | |
| Coordinates | 55°05′53″N 5°00′01″W / 55.098°N 5.00028°W |
| Height | 15 metres |
| Site history | |
| Built | mid-15th century |
| Built by | Hugh Kennedy of Ardstinchar |
| Materials | Stone |
| Fate | demolished |
Ardstinchar Castle is a late medieval castle in the west coast of Ayrshire at the mouth of the River Stinchar. It was built by Hugh Kennedy of Ardstinchar in the mid-15th century. In the 1770s, the castle was demolished and the stone was used to build a bridge over the River Stinchar. Only remnants of the castle keep remain to this day.[1][2] The site is a scheduled monument.[3]
History
Ardstinchar Castle was built by Hugh Kennedy of Ardstinchar, originally a Dominican friar who left his monastery to travel to France, where he took part in the
James V of Scotland visited on 25 November 1529.[5] Mary, Queen of Scots stayed at the castle on 8 August 1563.[6] She is likely to have strolled and admired the view on the half turret walkway which still remains today.[4]
A long-standing family feud between the Cassillis and Clan Kennedy, which started in Hugh Kennedy's era, ended in 1601 with the murder of the last baron of Bargany and Ardstinchar.[4] Jean Stewart, the widow of Bargany, who had been a lady in waiting to Anne of Denmark, stayed on at Ardstinchar and resisted an attempt to evict her in 1603. She died in 1605.[7] The family fortunes were lost, and the estate was bought by Sir John Hamilton of Letterick, son of the 1st Marquis of Hamilton.[4]
By 1770, the castle had fallen into disrepair and was quarried to provide stone for the construction of a three-arch bridge over the River Stinchar,[8] as well as several houses and an inn in Ballantrae, now the King's Arms Hotel.[1][4]
Architecture
Little remains of the castle today apart from the ruins of the keep on a rocky hill. The original castle was wedge-shaped and had three square towers connected by battlement walls. The gatehouse was on the north side, and the keep was in the southeast part of the courtyard with a long hall house alongside.[4]
The remains of the castle are situated on the rock outcrop summit near the river. The main tower is 8.7 by 6 metres (29 ft × 20 ft) and walls are 1.1 metres (3 ft 7 in) thick. From the ground, it has a height of 15 metres (49 ft). The remains of the other towers are too small to measure. The courtyard wall varies from 1 to 1.6 metres (3 ft 3 in to 5 ft 3 in) wide. A rock-cut trench, 8 metres (26 ft) wide and 1.5 metres (4 ft 11 in) deep, lies outside the north-east courtyard wall, and there is another shallow trench in the west.[2]
See also
References
- ^ ISBN 9781849658294.
- ^ a b c "Ardstinchar Castle". canmore.org.
- ^ Historic Environment Scotland. "Ardstinchar Castle (SM311)". Retrieved 19 February 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f "Ardstinchar Castle – The Marian Connection". mariestuartsociety.org. Archived from the original on 22 November 2015. Retrieved 12 October 2015.
- ^ Excerpta e libris domicilii Jacobi Quinti regis Scotorum (Bannatyne Club: Edinburgh, 1836), Appendix p. 26.
- ^ Edward Furgol, 'Scottish Itinerary of Mary Queen of Scots, 1542-8 and 1561-8', PSAS, 117 (1987), C8 (microfiche, scanned)
- ^ Register of the Privy Council, vol. 6 (Edinburgh, 1884), p. 579, 790.
- ^ Janet Brennan-Inglis, A Passion for Castles: MacGibbon and Ross (Edinburgh: John Donald, 2022), p. 114.
External links
