Knock Castle is a private residence on the outskirts of

Largs Largs ( gd, An Leargaidh Ghallda) is a town on the Firth of Clyde in North Ayrshire, Scotland, about from Glasgow. The original name means "the slopes" (''An Leargaidh'') in Scottish Gaelic. A popular seaside resort with a pier, the town mark ...

, on the west coast of

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

. It was built by the boat-building Steele family in 1851, with a further wing added in the early twentieth century. The restored seventeenth century Knock Old Castle is within the grounds.

Knock Castle

The new castle was designed by J. T. Rochead and built in 1851-1852 in a castellated

Tudor revival Tudor Revival architecture (also known as mock Tudor in the UK) first manifested itself in domestic architecture in the United Kingdom in the latter half of the 19th century. Based on revival of aspects that were perceived as Tudor architecture ...

style. It was built for Robert Steele, a Greenock merchant, and his initials and crest are carved on the parapets. Around 1870 it was sold to George Elder FRSE (1816-1897), a Scottish businessman with strong links to

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

in Australia, who certainly owned the castle in the later 19th century, and died here in 1897. The house was then sold to Robert Hunter Craig who died there in 1913. The castle was extended in 1908. It is a category A

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

Knock Old Castle

Knock Old Castle was mentioned by the cartographer

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 ...

in about 1608. The remains of this small mansion or castle stand on the edge of a stream with an extensive view to the west over Arran and Bute. It consisted of a rectangular block, with a round tower at the south-west angle, and the remains of another at the north-east angle. The latter is about high. A courtyard wall has a door in it, and it is possible that buildings abutted this. A modern parapet with angle turret surmounts this wall, which bears a stone inscribed "Repaired in 1853." This restoration is recorded as being by

John Thomas Rochead John Thomas Rochead (28 March 1814 – 7 April 1878) was a Scottish architect. He is most noteworthy on a national scale for having been the designer of the Wallace Monument. Life He was born in Edinburgh, the son of John Rochead and Cather ...

. This wall also contains stones (not in situ) dated '1603' and '1604', the initials 'I B' being on the latter. The whole building has been restored and, in parts, modernised. The walls are only thick. No other traces of courtyard wall are visible.

Nigel Tranter Nigel Tranter OBE (23 November 1909 – 9 January 2000) was a writer of a wide range of books on castles, particularly on themes of architecture and history. He also specialised in deeply researched historical novels that cover centuries of Sco ...

gives a similar description in his '' The Fortified House in Scotland'', and adds that Knock Castle was probably built in the late 16th or early 17th century. The old castle is a category B

References

{{Reflist Castles in North Ayrshire Category A listed buildings in North Ayrshire Category B listed buildings in North Ayrshire Listed castles in Scotland