Ayr Castle was a

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

situated at

Ayr Ayr ( ; ; , meaning "confluence of the River Àir"), is a town situated on the southwest coast of Scotland. A former royal burgh, today it is the administrative centre of South Ayrshire Council, and the historic county town of Ayrshire. With ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. Once considered a royal castle, nothing remains of it above ground.

History

In 1197, the castle was built by King

William the Lion William the Lion (), sometimes styled William I (; ) and also known by the nickname ; e.g. Annals of Ulster, s.a. 1214.6; Annals of Loch Cé, s.a. 1213.10. ( 1142 – 4 December 1214), reigned as King of Alba from 1165 to 1214. His almost 49 ...

of Scotland, who later in 1205 created a

burgh A burgh ( ) is an Autonomy, autonomous municipal corporation in Scotland, usually a city, town, or toun in Scots language, Scots. This type of administrative division existed from the 12th century, when David I of Scotland, King David I created ...

at Ayr. The castle was captured by the Norwegian King

Håkon Håkonsson Haakon IV Haakonsson ( – 16 December 1263; ; ), sometimes called Haakon the Old in contrast to his namesake son, was King of Norway from 1217 to 1263. His reign lasted for 46 years, longer than any Norwegian king since Harald Fairhair. Haako ...

and a substantial Norwegian army in 1263 which led to the

Battle of Largs The Battle of Largs (2 October 1263) was a battle between the kingdoms of Kingdom of Norway (872–1397), Norway and Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, on the Firth of Clyde near Largs, Scotland. The conflict formed part of the Scottish–Norwegian ...

after which it returned to Scottish control.

Robert the Bruce Robert I (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329), popularly known as Robert the Bruce (), was King of Scots from 1306 until his death in 1329. Robert led Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland during the First War of Scottish Independence against Kingdom of Eng ...

burned the castle in August 1298 in order to keep it out of the hands of the English. The castle in 1542 was garrisoned by French troops and appears to have been demolished before the Cromwellian occupation between 1650–1651.

References

External links

* https://thecastleguy.co.uk/castle/ayr-castle/ {{Castles in South Ayrshire Castles in South Ayrshire Former castles in Scotland Buildings and structures completed in 1197 Houses completed in the 12th century History of South Ayrshire 1197 establishments in Scotland 17th-century disestablishments in Scotland Buildings and structures in Ayr