| Ardrossan Castle | |
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| Ardrossan, Ayrshire on the west coast of Scotland NS233424 | |
Ardrossan Castle |
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Shown within Scotland
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| Type | Castle of enceinte |
| Coordinates | |
| Built | around 1140 |
| Built by | Simon de Morville |
| Construction materials |
stone wood and metal |
| Current condition |
Ruined |
| Open to the public |
yes (caution advised due to loose rocks) |
Ardrossan Castle is situated on the west coast of Scotland in the town of Ardrossan, Ayrshire. The castle, defended by a moat, stands on a ridge above the town. There is a keep dating from the fifteenth century, and a vaulted range containing a kitchen and cellars. In a deep passageway there is a well. Part of the keep remains up to the corbels of the parapet, but it is in ruins. The original castle, owned by Clan Barclay, was partly destroyed during the Wars of Scottish Independence. This event, in which the English garrison were slaughtered, became known as "Wallace's Larder," a name which is still applied to the remaining vaults. Rebuilt by Clan Montgomery in the 15th century, Ardrossan later fell into disuse and was demolished by the soldiers of Oliver Cromwell in the 17th century.
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Ardrossan Castle is situated upon a rocky hill, which gives it its name, made up of ard, meaning height, and rossan, a rocky promontory. The present ruins are on the site of an earlier castle owned by the Barclay family. By the thirteenth century it had passed to the Ardrossan family.
The castle has long been deemed a distinctive feature of the city of Ardrossan. It was included, for example, in the tour book from 1847 titled Sylvan's Pictorial Handbook to the Clyde and its Watering-Places by Thomas and Edward Gilks. There the castle is described as a marker of regional identity and subject antiquarian interest, from which beautiful views of the ocean can be seen:
Ardrossan was originally called "Castle Crags", from the nature of the rocks jutting out as they once did from the Cannon hill on which the ruins of the castle stand, behind the present good hotel, the Tontine, and the opposite corner of the main-street, the site of which was once upon the same level. It was subsequently named Ardrossan, after the ancient family who owned the place, and was formerly part of the neighboring parish of Saltcoats. It cams to the present family of Eglintoun, by intermarriage with the Ardrossan family; and they became possessed of the property and inherited the title of Barons of Ardrossan—the tenure being contingent on keeping up the Cannon Hill before mentioned; in default of which the latter titled becomes extinct. Upon the hill six guns are mounted, outside the wall which surrounds the castle grounds. There is a view of a curious ruin from the outside—the shell of a quadrangular tower of great strength, with remaining portions of the walls, which owes its demolition, like many others, to Cromwell; the whole embedded in the surrounding trees. On the outside of the decayed walls are the remains of an old church-yard, containing numerous ruinous tombstones of an interesting character. The view from this eminence of the Isle of Arran to the west, of the beautiful bay to the east, which separates Ardrossan from Saltcoats—and immediately beneath, on the other side, the “Horse Island,” is peculiarly striking. (pages 97-99)
The castle was acquired by Sir John Montgomery (who captured Harry Hotspur Percy at the Battle of Otterburn) and he remodeled it. His son became Lord Montgomery in about 1445, and his son in turn became the first Earl of Eglinton. The family sheltered in the castle after the Cunninghams sacked their castle at Eglinton, Ayrshire. Afterwards it fell into disuse.
The castle remained until 1648, when Oliver Cromwell's troops destroyed it, removing much of the stone and taking it to Ayr to build a fort there. The ruins of the castle still stand, but are in hazardous condition.
The castle is said to be haunted by the ghost of William Wallace, who is said to wander the ruins on stormy nights.[1]
The castle is also associated with the Devil. Sir Fergus Barclay, also known as "the De'il of Ardrossan", was a horseman, famous around the lands for his tremendous skill. The secret to his skill, however, was a magical bridle, which was given to Barclay by the Devil, in exchange for his soul. However, the Devil was tricked by Barclay into giving his soul back. Infuriated by this trickery, the Devil attacked the castle in his rage, and is said to have left his hoof prints on one of the rocks. Sir Fergus Barclay is buried in the castle chapel, situated a few hundred yards inland from the castle, further down the hill.
The surviving parts of Ardrossan Castle stand on the south side of Castle Hill, above slopes that descend steeply to the railway line below. Its location means that the castle is prominent in views across South Bay from Saltcoats, and from much of the southern end of Ardrossan itself, though its existence is far from obvious from the northern half of the town.
The castle carries signs warning not to approach it too closely, and though someone has at sometime consolidated the ruins, we'd share the recommendation to take great care when viewing them.
The ruins today comprise two main sections. The remains of the keep, built in the 1400s, form the most striking standing element. These rise in part to the third storey, though on the south side are completely open, revealing interior fixtures like fireplaces and some very weathered carved stonework. The continuation of the range including the keep contains a cellar whose entrance is blocked by railings. The second main element of the castle is part of the south range, apparently a vaulted structure in which a section of the cellar now forms a short vaulted tunnel.
A castle was first built on this site by Simon de Morville, probably in about 1140. By 1226 the laird was Richard Barclay de Ardrossan. During the Wars of Independence Ardrossan Castle was held by English forces for Edward I until captured by William Wallace. Wallace is said to have largely destroyed the castle and slaughtered the English garrison, dumping their bodies in a cellar, which later became known as "Wallace's Larder".
In 1357 the last of the direct Barclay line, Godfrey Barclay de Ardrossan, died without successors. The castle and estate subsequently passed by marriage to the Eglinton family. In the 1380s Sir John Montgomery, the 7th Baron of Eaglesham, married the heiress of Sir Hugh Eglinton and so became Baron of Eglinton and Ardrossan. Montgomery subsequently enlarged and remodelled Ardrossan Castle.
Much of the structure whose remains can be seen today dates back to a further remodelling and rebuilding of the castle which took place after Sir John's grandson was made Lord Montgomery in 1449. The castle briefly became the main home of the Montgomery family after Eglinton Castle was attacked and burned down by the Cunninghams in 1528, but afterwards seems to have been allowed to decline. In 1654, troops from Cromwell's army of occupation removed much of the stone from Ardrossan Castle for reuse in the building of their citadel at Ayr, leaving only partial remains which have since served as a point of interest for visitors to Ardrossan.