Kerelaw Castle

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Kerelaw Castle in 2006.

Kerelaw Castle is situated on the west coast of Ayrshire, Scotland in the town of Stevenston.

[edit] History

The castle is said to have been owned by the Lockharts as far back as 1191, after Stephen Lockhart obtained a grant of land in Ayrshire. This land would be named Stevenstoune (later Stevenston) after himself, and their manor-place named Kerelaw. The castle was eventually passed on to the Campbells of Loudoun and later to the Cunninghames of Glencairn. It was in the Cunninghames possession in 1488 that the castle was sacked and burned by the Clan Montgomery during a long-term feud between the two families. The Clan Cunningham burned the original Eglinton Castle to the ground in revenge in 1528.

Kerelaw was rebuilt sometime after 1488, in 1609 was bought by Sir Thomas Boyd and soon after sold again to Sir William Cunninghame of Cunninghamhead. Thirty years later the castle and the nearby lands were bought by Sir Robert Cunninghame of Auchenharvie. In 1655 Kerelaw Castle was purchased by John Hamilton (grandfather of Alexander Hamilton), who changed the name of the castle and its grounds to Grange, after the family home in Kilmarnock. The castle became the residence of the Hamilton family until 1787 when another Alexander Hamilton (second cousin of the American politician), built Kerelaw (or Grange) House nearby, with the castle quickly becoming disused.

The house, the castle and the grounds were all sold in 1838 to Gavin Fullerton after Alexander's death. Fullerton soon restored the original name of Kerelaw. Today the castle ruin is owned by North Ayrshire Council, and the grounds are home to various houses, farms and Kerelaw Residential School (now partially closed). Kerelaw House was demolished in the early 1970s.

[edit] Description

Kerelaw Castle is today a ruin, with three walls surviving in a state of decay. Beautiful gothic windows still adorn one wall, believed to have been inspired by those at Kilwinning Abbey (and are proof that much of the castle was built at various different points in history). An ancient footbridge is situated next to the ruin and is still intact and walkable, but the castle itself is fenced off to protect both the public from falling stone and the castle from vandalism.

The castle's former walled garden is now occupied by houses, but a single wall still remains.