![Turnberry Castle](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Turnberry_Castle.jpg)
Turnberry Castle is a fragmentary ruin on the coast of
Kirkoswald parish, near
Maybole
Maybole is a town and former burgh of barony and police burgh in South Ayrshire, Scotland. It had an estimated population of in . It is situated south of Ayr and southwest of Glasgow by the Glasgow and South Western Railway. The town is bypass ...
in
Ayrshire
Ayrshire ( gd, Siorrachd Inbhir Àir, ) is a historic county and registration county in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine and it borders the counties of Re ...
,
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 ...
.
[''Ordnance of Scotland'', ed. Francis H. Groome, 1892-6. Vol.6, p.454] Situated at the extremity of the lower peninsula within the parish, it was the seat of the
Earls of Carrick. Turnberry Castle is adjacent to
Turnberry Golf Course.
History
The origins of Turnberry Castle are lost in antiquity. As to when or by whom Turnberry was built there seems to be no authentic record; but it was originally a stronghold of the
Lords of Galloway
The lords of Galloway consisted of a dynasty of heirs who were lords (or kings) and ladies who ruled over Galloway in southwest Scotland, mainly during the High Middle Ages. Many regions of Scotland, including Galloway and Mormaer of Moray, Mor ...
, and thence passed into the possession of the Earls of Carrick around the beginning of the 13th century. In the late 13th century the castle belonged to
Marjorie
Marjorie is a female given name derived from Margaret, which means pearl. It can also be spelled as Margery or Marjory. Marjorie is a medieval variant of Margery, influenced by the name of the herb marjoram. It came into English from the Old Fre ...
, the widowed Countess of Carrick. According to medieval legend, Marjorie held the visiting knight
Robert de Brus
Robert I (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329), popularly known as Robert the Bruce (Scottish Gaelic: ''Raibeart an Bruis''), was King of Scots from 1306 to his death in 1329. One of the most renowned warriors of his generation, Robert eventuall ...
captive until he agreed to marry her. The marriage between Marjorie and Robert in 1271 conveyed to him both the castle and the earldom. Their first son, also named Robert, went on to become "
Robert the Bruce
Robert I (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329), popularly known as Robert the Bruce (Scottish Gaelic: ''Raibeart an Bruis''), was King of Scots from 1306 to his death in 1329. One of the most renowned warriors of his generation, Robert eventual ...
", the King of Scots. Although it is unknown whether Turnberry was his actual birthplace, the fact that he spent his boyhood residing in the castle is not in doubt.
Turnberry Castle is associated with two significant historical events, both of which are directly connected to Robert the Bruce. On 20 September 1286, several Scottish barons who supported the title of the Bruce as successor of the crown met secretly at Turnberry Castle. Robert was only 12 years old at the time. The second event was the attempt made by Robert in the spring of 1307, to recover the castle from the English, who occupied it at the time. This attempt was only partially successful, although ultimately it led to the withdrawal of the English soldiers. His attempt to reclaim the castle marked the beginning of a long road, ending with Robert's eventual success at
Bannockburn
Bannockburn (Scottish Gaelic ''Allt a' Bhonnaich'') is an area immediately south of the centre of Stirling in Scotland. It is part of the City of Stirling. It is named after the Bannock Burn, a stream running through the town before flowing int ...
. It was Robert the Bruce who ordered the destruction of the castle in 1310, to prevent it from falling once again into the hands of the English. The castle was nearly destroyed; the ruins that remain are part of the original castle as it does not appear to have been rebuilt.
[Halliday, James, ''Scotland: a Concise History'', Steve Savage Publishers Ltd, London 1990]
Description
There is little left of the old buildings today. Turnberry Castle is surrounded on three sides by the sea, and the landward side is occupied by a
golf resort
A resort hotel is a hotel which often contains full-sized luxury facilities with full-service accommodations and amenities. These hotels may attract both business conferences and vacationing tourists and offer more than a convenient place to stay ...
. The ruin has been affected by the actions of centuries of severe weather and erosion by the sea, leaving little more than its lower vaults and cellars intact. There are some vestiges of a drawbridge as well as an old portcullis which may have done duty as a gate. By the extent of the rock which seems to be included at the site, the castle appears to have been a fortress of great size and strength. There are also caves that lead out into the sea, that may have served the castle as a harbour.
Turnberry lighthouse was built on part of the castle's site in 1873, and still stands today.
See also
*
Turnberry Band
The Turnberry Band, also known as the Turnberry Bond, was a pact between Scottish and Anglo-Irish nobles signed on 20 September 1286 at Turnberry Castle, Ayrshire, Scotland. The agreement may have concerned a campaign in Ireland, and may have lat ...
*
Message from Turnberry
References
External links
Artist's conjectural reconstruction of Turnberry CastleThe Sirens Song – a legend about a fisherman sitting by Turnberry Castle watching the sunset
{{Authority control
Castles in South Ayrshire
Ruined castles in Scotland