Portencross Castle, also known historically as Portincross Castle, is situated in Portencross, 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 ...

, about 3 km from

West Kilbride West Kilbride () is a village and historic parish in North Ayrshire, Scotland, on the west coast by the Firth of Clyde, looking across the Firth of Clyde to Goat Fell and the Isle of Arran. West Kilbride and adjoining districts of Seamill and P ...

. The site has been fortified since the 11th Century. The present

tower castle A tower castle is a small castle that mainly consists of a fortified tower or a tower-like structure that is built on natural ground. It is thus different from the motte-and-bailey castle, which it may resemble, but whose main defensive structur ...

is thought to date from the mid-14th Century and later. It remained in use until it was unroofed by a great storm in 1739 and gradually became ruinous. The castle was designated as 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 ...

in 1955. The castle was one of the buildings featured in the 2004 series of the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

television programme '' Restoration'' and was the subject of efforts by a local community group to secure its future.

History

In the castle's earliest days, it was known as "Arneil" (alternatively spelled "Arnele" or "Ardneil") and was held by the de Ross family. After the victory over the English at the

Battle of Bannockburn The Battle of Bannockburn ( or ) was fought on 23–24 June 1314, between the army of Robert the Bruce, King of Scots, and the army of King Edward II of England, during the First War of Scottish Independence. It was a decisive victory for Ro ...

in 1314, King

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 ...

gave the estate to Sir Robert Boyd 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 ...

a year later. Replacing a small castle on Auld Hill, Portencross castle was rebuilt in the mid- to late-14th century on a rock

promontory A promontory is a raised mass of land that projects into a lowland or a body of water (in which case it is a peninsula). Most promontories either are formed from a hard ridge of rock that has resisted the erosive forces that have removed the s ...

at the bottom of Auld Hill, overlooking the

Firth of Clyde The Firth of Clyde, is the estuary of the River Clyde, on the west coast of Scotland. The Firth has some of the deepest coastal waters of the British Isles. The Firth is sheltered from the Atlantic Ocean by the Kintyre, Kintyre Peninsula. The ...

by Boyd's grandson, also named Robert Boyd. It served as the

caput A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, and mouth, each of which aid in various sensory functions such as sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Some very simple animals may not ...

of the Barony of Ardneil. From this location, King Robert II probably signed 15

charter A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the ...

s dated at Arnele between 1371 and 1390.

Description

Portencross Castle was probably first constructed as a stone-built

hall house The hall house is a type of vernacular house traditional in many parts of England, Wales, Ireland and lowland Scotland, as well as northern Europe, during the Middle Ages, centring on a hall. Usually timber-framed, some high status examples wer ...

and there may have been a

barmkin Barmkin, also spelled barmekin or barnekin, is a Scots word which refers to a form of medieval and later defensive enclosure, typically found around smaller castles, tower houses, pele towers, and bastle houses in Scotland and the north of Engla ...

protecting the structure. The next phase of building was to add upper

storey A storey (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English) or story (American English), is any level part of a building with a floor that could be used by people (for living, work, storage, recreation, etc.). Plurals for the wor ...

s and an

attic An attic (sometimes referred to as a '' loft'') is a space found directly below the pitched roof of a house or other building. It is also known as a ''sky parlor'' or a garret. Because they fill the space between the ceiling of a building's t ...

in the late 1400s. Around this time a ground-floor entrance was also added. The Boyds retained ownership of the castle until 1737 and made further alterations, including adding upper attic rooms and extending the

spiral staircase Stairs are a structure designed to bridge a large vertical direction, vertical distance between lower and higher levels by dividing it into smaller vertical distances. This is achieved as a diagonal series of horizontal platforms called steps wh ...

to reach them. The local fisherman continued to use the castle after it was unroofed in 1739 and they may have made a number of small alterations. The castle has an oblong keep that is three storeys high with a garret. The wing, located at one end of the keep is one storey higher. The entire ground floor is vaulted and there are entrances on the ground floor and in the first storey. It has been restored by the Friends of Portencross Castle during the 2010s and is maintained by them as a museum.

Notes

External links

Portencross Castle website
{{Castles in North Ayrshire Castles in North Ayrshire Scheduled monuments in North Ayrshire Listed castles in Scotland Tower houses in Scotland

History

Description

See also

Notes

External links