Kerelaw Castle is a
castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...
ruin
Ruins () are the remains of a civilization's architecture. The term refers to formerly intact structures that have fallen into a state of partial or total disrepair over time due to a variety of factors, such as lack of maintenance, deliberate ...
. It is situated on the coast of
North Ayrshire
North Ayrshire ( gd, Siorrachd Àir a Tuath, ) is one of 32 council areas in Scotland. The council area borders Inverclyde to the north, Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire to the northeast, and East Ayrshire and South Ayrshire to the east and so ...
,
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
in the town of
Stevenston
Stevenston ( sco, Steenstoun, gd, Baile Steaphain) is a town and parish in North Ayrshire, Scotland. Along with Ardrossan and Saltcoats it is one of the "Three Towns", all of similar size, on the Firth of Clyde coast; the easternmost parts of ...
.
History
This castle, variously named Kerelaw, Kerila or even Turnlaw,
[Robertson (1908), p. 133][Clements, James. A] is said by
Timothy Pont
Rev Timothy Pont (c. 1560–c.1627) was a Scottish minister, cartographer and topographer. He was the first to produce a detailed map of Scotland. Pont's maps are among the earliest surviving to show a European country in minute detail, from an a ...
to have been held by the
Lockharts from
Richard de Morville
Richard de Morville (died 1189), Lord of Cunninghame succeeded his father Hugh de Morville (died 1162) as Constable of Scotland and in his Scottish estates and English lands at Bozeat in Northamptonshire, and Rutland, as well as a number of fe ...
, Constable of Scotland, as far back as 1191,
[Dobie, p. 252-3] after Stephen Lockhart or Loccard
[Macintosh, p. 329] obtained a grant of land in Ayrshire. This land would be named Stevenstoune (later
Stevenston
Stevenston ( sco, Steenstoun, gd, Baile Steaphain) is a town and parish in North Ayrshire, Scotland. Along with Ardrossan and Saltcoats it is one of the "Three Towns", all of similar size, on the Firth of Clyde coast; the easternmost parts of ...
) after himself, and their manor-place of the barony of Stevenston, named Kerelaw.
[Dobie, p. 370] The castle and barony were eventually passed on to the Campbells of Loudoun and later to the
Cunninghames (or Cunninghams/Cuninghames) of
Kilmaurs
Kilmaurs () is a village in East Ayrshire, Scotland which lies just outside of the largest settlement in East Ayrshire, Kilmarnock. It lies on the Carmel Water, southwest of Glasgow. Population recorded for the village in the 2001 Census recorde ...
. It was in the Cunninghame's possession in 1488 that the castle was sacked and burned by the
2nd Lord Montgomerie, during the well documented and long-term feud between these two prominent Ayrshire families.
[Robertson (1889)] The Cunninghames, led by the Earl of Glencairn burned
Eglinton Castle
Eglinton Castle was a large Gothic castellated mansion in Kilwinning, North Ayrshire, Scotland.
History
The castle
The ancient seat of the Earls of Eglinton, it is located just south of the town of Kilwinning. The original Eglinton Castle w ...
to the ground in revenge in 1528.
[Robertson (1889), p. 13-29]
![Kerelaw castle stevenston ayrshire](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Kerelaw_castle_stevenston_ayrshire.jpg)
Kerelaw was rebuilt sometime after 1488 and is reported to have contained a number of carved coats of arms of the Scottish nobility, taken from
Kilwinning Abbey
Kilwinning Abbey is a ruined abbey located in the centre of the town of Kilwinning, North Ayrshire.
History
Establishment of the Abbey
Kilwinning was a Tironensians, Tironensian Benedictine monastic community, named after Tiron in the di ...
,
[Billings, p. 41] Nine fishermen from
Saltcoats
Saltcoats ( gd, Baile an t-Salainn) is a town on the west coast of North Ayrshire, Scotland. The name is derived from the town's earliest industry when salt was harvested from the sea water of the Firth of Clyde, carried out in small cottages al ...
were granted leases in 1545 in return for carrying the Earl's furniture to Finlayston on the Clyde every spring from the Creek of Saltcoats and bringing it back again in the autumn when the family returned to Kerelaw for the winter months. A half barrel of herrings was also to be furnished yearly to the Earl.
[Paterson, Vol. 5, p. 558]
Abode of the Abbots
Local tradition is that the castle had been the residence of the
Abbot
Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. The fem ...
of
Kilwinning
Kilwinning (, sco, Kilwinnin; gd, Cill D’Fhinnein) is a town in North Ayrshire, Scotland. It is on the River Garnock, north of Irvine, about southwest of Glasgow. It is known as "The Crossroads of Ayrshire". Kilwinning was also a Civil Pa ...
, which may have arisen from the fact that the third son of
Alexander Cunningham, 1st Earl of Glencairn
Alexander Cuninghame, 1st Earl of Glencairn, 1st Lord Kilmaurs (1426 – 11 June 1488) was a Scottish nobleman.
He became Lord of Kilmaurs on 8 February 1464 and Earl of Glencairn on 28 May 1488
Alexander of Kilmaurs succeeded his father befor ...
, became the
Commendator
In canon law, commendam (or ''in commendam'') was a form of transferring an ecclesiastical benefice ''in trust'' to the ''custody'' of a patron. The phrase ''in commendam'' was originally applied to the provisional occupation of an ecclesiastical ...
of the abbey after the reformation and may have lived at Kerelaw.
Later history
![Armorial of Hamilton of Grange (1823)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c1/Armorial_of_Hamilton_of_Grange_%281823%29.jpg)
In 1609 it was bought by Sir Thomas Boyd and soon after sold again to Sir William Cunninghame of
Cunninghamhead
Cunninghamhead is a hamlet on the Annick Water in the Parish of Dreghorn, North Ayrshire, Scotland. The area was part of the old Cunninghamhead estate, and once contained several watermills.
Cunninghamhead and the mills on the Annick Water
The ...
. Thirty years later the castle and the nearby lands were bought by Sir Robert Cunninghame of Auchenharvie. In 1655 Kerelaw Castle was purchased by Alexander Hamilton (the grandfather of
Alexander Hamilton
Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757July 12, 1804) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first United States secretary of the treasury from 1789 to 1795.
Born out of wedlock in Charlest ...
, a founding father of the United States of America), formerly of Cambuskeith (now known as 'The Mount'), and afterwards of Grange, who changed the name of the castle and its grounds to Grange, after the family home in
Kilmarnock
Kilmarnock (, sco, Kilmaurnock; gd, Cill Mheàrnaig (IPA: ʰʲɪʎˈveaːɾnəkʲ, "Marnock's church") is a large town and former burgh in East Ayrshire, Scotland and is the administrative centre of East Ayrshire, East Ayrshire Council. ...
. Clements, Graham and McLatchie give the date of 1685 for the sale of Kerila (Kerelaw) to John Hamilton by Robert Reid Cunninghame of Seabank House (Auchenharvie) whose mining activities were causing him financial difficulties.
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.
[Macintosh, p. 330]
The foundation stone of the new
Eglinton Castle
Eglinton Castle was a large Gothic castellated mansion in Kilwinning, North Ayrshire, Scotland.
History
The castle
The ancient seat of the Earls of Eglinton, it is located just south of the town of Kilwinning. The original Eglinton Castle w ...
in Kilwinning was laid in 1797 by Alexander Hamilton of Grange on behalf of the 12th Earl of Eglinton.
Ancillary buildings
![Kerelaw castle Livingston's Laburnum](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/38/Kerelaw_castle_Livingston%27s_Laburnum.jpg)
A
dovecote
A dovecote or dovecot , doocot ( Scots) or columbarium is a structure intended to house pigeons or doves. Dovecotes may be free-standing structures in a variety of shapes, or built into the end of a house or barn. They generally contain pige ...
or doocot dated 1775 existed here
[MacGibbon & Ross, Vol. 5, p. 569] (see illustration) until the 1960s when it was demolished together with other outbuildings. Cottages for the workpeople had been built in the court of the castle, and their high corbie-stepped gable-ends added to the picturesque effect of the castle ruins.
[Ayrshire Roots article](_blank)
/ref> The gothic windows may be one of the 19th century additions to the buildings.[Davis, p. 292.] A limekiln was also situated nearby at NS 2706 4309. Dudups (Diddup) nearby was part of the Kerelaw/Grange Estate.[Dobie, p. 124]
Roy's Survey map of 1747 records the name as Kerry-law,[Roy's Survey of 1747](_blank)
/ref> and Smith refers to it as Kerila Castle;[Smith, p. 54] as does Paterson.[Paterson, Vol. 5, p. 561] Kyryaw castle, mains and mill are marked on Ponts map of 1604–1608. A lodge house, situated to the east of the castle is marked on the older OS maps and is still in existence today (2008) as a private home.
Later history
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.
The castle today
Kerelaw Castle is now a ruin, with three walls surviving in various states of decay. Gothic windows still adorn the southern wall, believed to have been inspired by those at Kilwinning Abbey
Kilwinning Abbey is a ruined abbey located in the centre of the town of Kilwinning, North Ayrshire.
History
Establishment of the Abbey
Kilwinning was a Tironensians, Tironensian Benedictine monastic community, named after Tiron in the di ...
(and are proof that much of the castle was built at various points in history).
In 1852 Paterson noted arrow-slits and cable mouldings of pre-14th century date.[Paterson, Vol. 2, p. 445] An old bridge, now used for pedestrians only, is situated next to the ruin (NS 2688 4288), but the castle itself is fenced off to protect both the public from falling stone and the castle from unwanted attention. The castle and surrounding ground is owned by North Ayrshire Council
North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography.
Etymology
The word ''north'' is ...
. In 2014 some repairs were carried out on the building and the immediate surroundings were cleared of excess trees and shrubs that were harming and hiding the structure. A QR Code and heritage trail plaque are attached to the fence and an interpretation board is present.
The bridge has a large cavity or 'cave' within it and this once gave access to pedestrians using the path that ran parallel to the Stevenston Burn. The arch of the bridge and the 'cave' show that the bridge was built in two stages and was widened with the upstream side being more recent. A large ornately carved cruciform embellishment has fallen from the bridge arch and lies downstream from the bridge.
The castle's former walled garden with its sundials and complex flowerbed layout is now occupied by a housing estate built in the late 1960s, but a single wall of the structure still remains. In the 1850s an orchard is shown on OS maps, located next to the walled garden.
A cobbled ford once crossed the Stevenston Burn in the Kerelaw Glen beneath the castle and ran up the bank passed the Kerelaw Mains home farm. The later limestone quarry workings destroyed the lane leading up from the ford. Two footbridges crossed the burn, one at the surviving weir and the other beyond the quarry house where mortared ashlar dressed stone walls still survive.6 Inch OS Map
Retrieved : 2013-05-10
Views of the castle and surroundings
File:Kerelaw castle window.jpg, One of the surviving gothic-style windows in 2008
File:Kerelaw walled garden.jpg, The last remnants of the castle's walled garden in 2008
File:Kerelaw gardens entrance.jpg, A bricked up entrance to the former walled garden in 2008
File:Kerelaw castle1.jpg, The remains of the eastern castle wall in 2006
File:Kerelaw Ford.JPG, Remains of the old ford.
File:Kerelaw Castle - Weir.JPG, The weir on the Stevenston Burn in the Kerelaw Glen
References
Notes
Sources
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
External links
RCAHMS Canmore Database: Kerelaw Castle
Old Maps of Kerelaw
The Clan Cunningham Society website
Kerelaw Glen YouTube Video
Kerelaw Glen Dam, lade and Stevenston Corn Mill
{{Castles in North Ayrshire
Castles in North Ayrshire
Category B listed buildings in North Ayrshire
Ruined castles in Scotland
Scheduled Ancient Monuments in North Ayrshire
Ardrossan−Saltcoats−Stevenston