Knock Castle is a private residence on the outskirts of

Largs Largs () 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 markets itself on its histor ...

, on the west coast of

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 ...

. 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 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, in rea ...

style. It was built for Robert Steele, a

Greenock Greenock (; ; , ) is a town in Inverclyde, Scotland, located in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. The town is the administrative centre of Inverclyde Council. It is a former burgh within the historic county of Renfrewshire, and forms ...

merchant, and his initials and crest are carved on the parapets. Around 1870 it was sold to George Elder

FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and Literature, letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". ...

(1816-1897), a Scottish businessman with strong links to

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

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 Robert Hunter Craig (1839 – 12 August 1913) was a Liberal Party politician in Scotland. He was elected to the House of Commons as member of parliament (MP) for Glasgow Govan at the 1900 general election, but did not stand again at the 19 ...

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 is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

Knock Old Castle

Knock Old Castle was mentioned by the cartographer

Timothy Pont Reverend Timothy Pont () 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 actual surve ...

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 Bute or BUTE may refer to: People * Marquess of Bute, a title in the Peerage of Great Britain; includes lists of baronets, earls and marquesses of Bute * Lord of Bute, a title in medieval Scotland, including a list of lords * Lucian Bute (born ...

. 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 Catheri ...

. 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 history and architecture, both fiction and non-fiction. He was best-known for his popular and well-researched historical novels, covering centurie ...

gives a similar description in his ''

The Fortified House in Scotland ''The Fortified House in Scotland'' is a five-volume book by the Scottish author Nigel Tranter. Written between 1962 and 1970, it covers almost seven hundred buildings in Scotland which fall under the general description of "fortalices, lesse ...

'', 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 Largs 1852 establishments in Scotland Buildings and structures completed in 1852