Ardstinchar Castle is a late medieval castle at

Ballantrae Ballantrae is a community in Carrick, South Ayrshire, Scotland. Topography The name probably comes from the Scottish Gaelic , meaning the 'town by the beach'.. The beach consists of shingle and sand and offers views of Ailsa Craig, the Isl ...

, in the west coast of

Ayrshire Ayrshire (, ) is a Counties of Scotland, historic county and registration county, in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. The lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area of Ayrshire and Arran covers the entirety ...

at the mouth of the

River Stinchar The River Stinchar ( ) is a river in South Ayrshire, Scotland. It flows south west from the Galloway Forest Park to enter the Firth of Clyde at Ballantrae, about south-southeast of Ailsa Craig. It is reputed poet Robert Burns fished the river, ...

. It was built by Hugh Kennedy of Ardstinchar in the mid-15th century. In the 1770s, the castle was demolished and the stone was used to build a bridge over the River Stinchar. Only remnants of the castle

keep A keep is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in castles that were fortified residen ...

remain to this day. The site is a

scheduled monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage, visu ...

History

Ardstinchar Castle was built by Hugh Kennedy of Ardstinchar, originally a Dominican friar who left his monastery to travel to France, where he took part in the

Hundred Years' War The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a conflict between the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England and Kingdom of France, France and a civil war in France during the Late Middle Ages. It emerged from feudal disputes over the Duchy ...

as a mercenary and led troops for

Joan of Arc Joan of Arc ( ; ; – 30 May 1431) is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the Coronation of the French monarch, coronation of Charles VII o ...

at the

Siege of Orléans The siege of Orléans (12 October 1428 – 8 May 1429) marked a turning point of the Hundred Years' War between France and England. The siege took place at the pinnacle of English power during the later stages of the war, but was repulsed by F ...

(1428–1429). He probably inherited the land from his brother, Alexander, who died without issue, and held it by 1429. With another brother, Thomas, he combined estates to form the Barony of Ardstinchar, but retained a liferent on his own land until his death in 1454. His descendants lived in Ardstinchar Castle for more than a century.

James V of Scotland James V (10 April 1512 – 14 December 1542) was List of Scottish monarchs, King of Scotland from 9 September 1513 until his death in 1542. He was crowned on 21 September 1513 at the age of seventeen months. James was the son of King James IV a ...

visited on 25 November 1529.

Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was List of Scottish monarchs, Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legit ...

stayed at the castle on 8 August 1563. She is likely to have strolled and admired the view on the half turret walkway which still remains today. A long-standing family feud between the Cassillis and

Clan Kennedy Clan Kennedy is a Scottish clan of the Scottish Lowlands.Way, George and Squire, Romily. ''Collins Scottish Clan & Family Encyclopedia''. (Foreword by The Rt Hon. The Earl of Elgin KT, Convenor, The Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs). Publishe ...

, which started in Hugh Kennedy's era, ended in 1601 with the murder of the last baron of Bargany and Ardstinchar. Jean Stewart, the widow of Bargany, who had been a lady in waiting to

Anne of Denmark Anne of Denmark (; 12 December 1574 – 2 March 1619) was the wife of King James VI and I. She was List of Scottish royal consorts, Queen of Scotland from their marriage on 20 August 1589 and List of English royal consorts, Queen of Engl ...

, stayed on at Ardstinchar and resisted an attempt to evict her in 1603. She died in 1605. The family fortunes were lost, and the estate was bought by Sir John Hamilton of Letterick, son of the 1st Marquis of Hamilton. By 1770, the castle had fallen into disrepair and was quarried to provide stone for the construction of a three-arch bridge over the

,Janet Brennan-Inglis, ''A Passion for Castles: MacGibbon and Ross'' (Edinburgh: John Donald, 2022), p. 114. as well as several houses and an inn in

, now the King's Arms Hotel.

Architecture

Little remains of the castle today apart from the ruins of the keep on a rocky hill. The original castle was wedge-shaped and had three square towers connected by battlement walls. The gatehouse was on the north side, and the keep was in the southeast part of the courtyard with a long hall house alongside. The remains of the castle are situated on the

rock outcrop An outcrop or rocky outcrop is a visible exposure of bedrock or ancient superficial deposits on the surface of the Earth and other terrestrial planets. Features Outcrops do not cover the majority of the Earth's land surface because in most p ...

summit near the river. The main tower is and walls are thick. From the ground, it has a height of . The remains of the other towers are too small to measure. The courtyard wall varies from wide. A rock-cut trench, wide and deep, lies outside the north-east courtyard wall, and there is another shallow trench in the west.

References

External links

Video footage of Ardstinchar Castle
{{Authority control Listed castles in Scotland Renaissance architecture in Scotland Castles in South Ayrshire Scheduled monuments in South Ayrshire

History

Architecture

See also

References

External links