Craufurdland Castle is a rebuilt

tower house A tower house is a particular type of stone structure, built for defensive purposes as well as habitation. Tower houses began to appear in the Middle Ages, especially in mountainous or limited access areas, to command and defend strategic points ...

, originating in the

16th century The 16th century began with the Julian calendar, Julian year 1501 (represented by the Roman numerals MDI) and ended with either the Julian or the Gregorian calendar, Gregorian year 1600 (MDC), depending on the reckoning used (the Gregorian calend ...

, about north east of

Kilmarnock Kilmarnock ( ; ; , ), meaning "the church of Mernóc", is a town and former burgh in East Ayrshire situated in southwest Scotland. The town has served as the administrative centre of East Ayrshire Council since 1996 and is the region's main ...

East Ayrshire East Ayrshire (; ) is one of 32 unitary council areas of Scotland. It shares borders with Dumfries and Galloway, East Renfrewshire, North Ayrshire, South Ayrshire and South Lanarkshire. The headquarters of the council are located on London Roa ...

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 ...

, north of the Craufurdland Water.Coventry, Martin (1997) ''The Castles of Scotland''. Goblinshead. p.134

History

The property belonged to the Crawfords from the 13th century. John Crawford of Craufurdland was killed at the

battle of Flodden The Battle of Flodden, Flodden Field, or occasionally Branxton or Brainston Moor was fought on 9 September 1513 during the War of the League of Cambrai between the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland and resulted in an English victory ...

in 1513. The castle was built in the 16th century, remodelled and extended in the 17th century, and further extended in the 18th and 19th centuries. Ownership passed to the Howiesons in 1793. The house was restored in the 1980s, and is still occupied. Simon Houison Craufurd, 29th Laird of Craufurdland Castle, holds the role of Washer of the Sovereign's Hands in Scotland.

Structure

A corbelled-out

battlement A battlement, in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at intervals ...

at one end of the original tower remains as part of the west wing. There is a

basement A basement is any Storey, floor of a building that is not above the grade plane. Especially in residential buildings, it often is used as a utility space for a building, where such items as the Furnace (house heating), furnace, water heating, ...

which is vaulted, but the interior of the tower has been greatly altered. There is a fine plaster ceiling in the King’s Room, dated 1668, incorporating the arms of the Stewarts. The 17th-century east wing is two storeys high. It is said that an underground passage connected the castle to Dean Castle, some miles away. The castle was remodelled as a

crenellated A battlement, in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at intervals ...

mansion A mansion is a large dwelling house. The word itself derives through Old French from the Latin word ''mansio'' "dwelling", an abstract noun derived from the verb ''manere'' "to dwell". The English word ''manse'' originally defined a property l ...

Gothic style Gothic architecture is an architectural style that was prevalent in Europe from the late 12th to the 16th century, during the High and Late Middle Ages, surviving into the 17th and 18th centuries in some areas. It evolved from Romanesque ar ...

Estate businesses

Some of the land on the estate is farmed. The family also run a children's nursery, holiday accommodation and other enterprises from the estate. Simon Crauford has talked about the financial struggles involved in keeping the property going and the community activities the estate carries out.

''Millionaire Hoarders''

In 2023, the estate and family appeared on the

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

television programme '' Millionaire Hoarders''.

References

{{Castles in East Ayrshire Castles in East Ayrshire Clan Crawford

History

Structure

Estate businesses

''Millionaire Hoarders''

See also

References