Rowallan Castle (
Scottish Gaelic
Scottish Gaelic (, ; Endonym and exonym, endonym: ), also known as Scots Gaelic or simply Gaelic, is a Celtic language native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a member of the Goidelic language, Goidelic branch of Celtic, Scottish Gaelic, alongs ...
: ''Caisteal an Rubha Àlainn'') is an ancient castle located in Scotland.
The castle stands on the banks of the Carmel Water, which may at one time have run much closer to the low eminence upon which the original castle stood,
[Miller, A. H. (1885). ''The Castles and Mansions of Ayrshire''. Reprinted by The Grimsay Press, 2004. P. 128.] justifying the old name Craig of Rowallan.
Elizabeth Mure (died before May 1355) was mistress and then wife of Robert, High Steward of Scotland, and Guardian of Scotland (1338–1341 and from October 1346), who later became King
Robert II of Scotland. She may have been born at Rowallan.
The history of Rowallan Castle
Owners
The castle and barony has been owned or held by the
medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...
Muir family, the (Boyle)
Earls of Glasgow, the (Campbell)
Earls of Loudoun, and the (Corbett)
Barons Rowallan. In 1989, it returned to the Campbell family when it was purchased by Niall Campbell.
[http://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/heritage/tim-cornwell-who-s-guarding-the-heritage-guardians-1-2107842#axzz3oIpWh3Cx ]
It is said that the earliest piece of
Lute
A lute ( or ) is any plucked string instrument with a neck (music), neck and a deep round back enclosing a hollow cavity, usually with a sound hole or opening in the body. It may be either fretted or unfretted.
More specifically, the term "lu ...
music was written at Rowallan.
It is said to have been visited by the unfortunate
King James I of Scotland when on his way from Edinburgh to England.
The first Mure holder, Sir J. Gilchrist Mure, was buried in the Mure Aisle at Kilmarnock.
[McIntosh, John (1894) ''Ayrshire Nights' Entertainments.'' Pub. Dunlop & Drennan, Kilmarnock. P. 344.]
Origins
The original castle is thought to date back into the 13th century. Rowallan was said to be the birth place of
Elizabeth Mure (Muir), first wife of Robert, the High Steward, later
Robert II of Scotland
Robert II (2 March 1316 – 19 April 1390) was List of Scottish monarchs, King of Scots from 1371 to his death in 1390. The son of Walter Stewart, 6th High Steward of Scotland, and Marjorie Bruce, Marjorie, daughter of King Robert the Bruce, h ...
.
In 1513 John Mure of Rowallan 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 Rowallan Estate took its present day form.
In about 1690 the estate was home to the
Campbells of Loudoun, who held it into the 19th century.
The former tower of
Polkelly lay near Rowallan and was also held by the Mures, for a time passed to the second son until it passed by marriage to the Cunninghams of Cunninghamhead.
Construction and other details
The castle is built around a small knoll and once stood in a small loch or swampy area, fed by the Carmel Burn.
[McGibbon, Page 378]
The southern front of the castle was erected about the year 1562 by John Mure of Rowallan and his Lady, Marion Cuninghame, of the family of
Cuninghamhead. This information appears as an inscription on a
marriage stone
A marriage stone, nuptial stone or lintel stone is usually a stone, rarely wood, lintel (architecture), lintel carved with the initials, coat of arms, etc. of a newly married couple, usually displaying the date of the marriage. They were very popul ...
or tablet at the top of the wall: - ''Jon.Mvr. M.Cvgm. Spvsis 1562''. The family coat of arms lies to the right. The crest of the Mure's was a Moore's head, which is sculptured near the coat of arms. This is possibly a
rebus
A rebus ( ) is a puzzle device that combines the use of illustrated pictures with individual letters to depict words or phrases. For example: the word "been" might be depicted by a rebus showing an illustrated bumblebee next to a plus sign (+ ...
or ''jeu-de-mot'' on the Mure name, however it is suggested that it is a reference to some feat performed in the crusades against the
Saracen
upright 1.5, Late 15th-century German woodcut depicting Saracens
''Saracen'' ( ) was a term used both in Greek and Latin writings between the 5th and 15th centuries to refer to the people who lived in and near what was designated by the Rom ...
s.
[Dobie, James. (1876) ''Cuninghame Topographized by Timothy Pont.'' Pub. John Tweed, Glasgow. Facing P. 366.] The Royal Arms of Scotland, fully
blazon
In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct an accurate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The visual d ...
ed, are carved over the main entrance, together with the shields of the Cumin family, from whom the Mures claim descent.
Over the ornamented gateway is a stone with the date 1616 inscribed upon it.

Over the doorway of the porch is a rare inscription in
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...
using Hebrew characters which read ''The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup,'' Psalms. XVI, Verse 5. Doctor Bonar, moderator of the Free Church of Scotland deciphered and transled it.
[Landsborough, David Rev. (1879), ''Contributions to Local History.'' Pub. Dunlop & Drennan, Kilmarnock. P. 148.] At the front of the castle stood a perfect example of an old ''
loupin-on-stane.''
[Chalmers, Francis Edit. (1903), ''Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland.'' Pub. The Caxton Pub. Co., London. Vol.2. P. 931.] A fine well with abundant pure water was present at Rowallan.
[Landsborough, David Rev. (1879), ''Contributions to Local History.'' Pub. Dunlop & Drennan, Kilmarnock. P. 138 - 140.] King William's well is located in the policies of Rowallan.
One of the rooms was called ''Lord Loudoun's sleeping apartment'' and Adamson records that almost every room throughout the house has its walls covered with the names and addresses of visitors. Some have also left poems or have recorded the details of their visit in verse.
[Adamson, Archibald R. (1875), ''Rambles Round Kilmarnock.'' Pub. T. Stevenson, Kilmarnock. P. 139.]
Sir John and Sir William Muir took great pleasure in the erection of the various parts of Rowallan, and a record was kept of the portions completed by each. Much of their attention was also taken up with the planting of the castle policies.
[MacGibbon, T. and Ross, D. (1887-92). The castellated and domestic architecture of Scotland from the twelfth to the eighteenth centuries, 5v, Edinburgh. p 555.]
One room of the castle was known as the "Woman's House," which researchers have dubbed a “quite rare” phenomenon, “evoking a lost age of gender separation, defined by
omen’sspecialist work with clothes and linen” and having “the potential to inform an understanding of the role of women here and in wider society.”
In 1691 the Hearth Tax records show that the castle had twenty-two hearths and eighteen other dwellings were associated with the castle and its lands.
The 10th Countess of Loudoun was especially fond of Rowallan and spent considerable sums repairing the castle in the 19th century. Without her efforts the building would not have survived down to the present day.
Origin of the name Rowallan
There have been several suggestions as to the origin of the name Rowallan, ranging from folklore, to actual word derivation.
A
folk etymology
Folk etymology – also known as (generative) popular etymology, analogical reformation, (morphological) reanalysis and etymological reinterpretation – is a change in a word or phrase resulting from the replacement of an unfamiliar form by a mo ...
suggests, in connection with the rebus mentioned, there is a tale told of one Allan of Stewarton who was rowing a Scottish chief off the Ayrshire coast. The weather made a turn for the worse and the chief became anxious. The chief in his fear of the ocean said to Allan, ''Row, Allan row! Bear me to safety and you will have the rich lands of Carmelside, with silver to build yourself a castle. Hill and valley and rivers of fish will be yours .... but just row, Allan, row!'' Allan won his prize and named the estate 'Rowallan' after his adventure. The same story is told in the form of a poem written by the Rev. George Paxton from Kilmaurs, pastor of a Secession Church from 1789 - 1807.
[Blair, Anna (1983) ''Tales of Ayrshire.'' Pub. Shepheard-Walwyn, London. . P. 127 -128.][Adamson, Archibald R. (1875), ''Rambles Round Kilmarnock.'' Pub. T. Stevenson, Kilmarnock. P. 141.]
Others cite
Scottish Gaelic
Scottish Gaelic (, ; Endonym and exonym, endonym: ), also known as Scots Gaelic or simply Gaelic, is a Celtic language native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a member of the Goidelic language, Goidelic branch of Celtic, Scottish Gaelic, alongs ...
as the origin, stating 'Rubha Àlainn' means 'beautiful headland'. Yet, an effort to interpret 'Rubha Álainn' shows the phrase itself isn't even Gaelic.
Yet, a third suggestion is that 'Rowallan' is of
Brythonic or
Cumbric
Cumbric is an extinct Celtic language of the Brittonic subgroup spoken during the Early Middle Ages in the ''Hen Ogledd'' or "Old North", in Northern England and the southern Scottish Lowlands. It was closely related to Old Welsh and the ot ...
origin, especially in that this area of Scotland lived under these languages for over a thousand years before Gaelic began to take hold. Broken down, 'Ro' is the equivalent of the Welsh “Rhy” (even the Old Irish 'Ro') meaning 'too' or 'very', while 'wallan' closely mirrors the 'wallon' suffix so often seen in Welsh and Old Breton, which derives from guallaun, or ‘good/best'.
Covenanting times
Sir William Mure wrote a history of his family and though an ardent covenanter, opposed the execution of
Charles I, writing an elegy upon his death.
Conventicles
A conventicle originally meant "an assembly" and was frequently used by ancient writers to mean "a church." At a semantic level, ''conventicle'' is a Latinized synonym of the Greek word for ''church'', and references Jesus' promise in Matthew 18: ...
were not infrequently held within the mansion, which from its position was anciently called the Craig of Rowallan.
[ Paterson, James (1866), ''History of the Counties of Ayr and Wigton''. Pub. James Stillie, Edinburgh. Vol. III. p. 413.] For this, he fell under the suspicion of the Government, and on several occasions suffered imprisonment. Part of the old castle is called the 'Auld Kirk' in memory of covenanting days.
As stated, Sir William befriended the Covenanters, and as much as possible protected his tenantry from the tyranny of the troopers who scoured the countryside at the period. He was intimate with the Rev. William Guthrie of Fenwick, who preached upon several occasions in the "auld kirk" of the castle.
[Adamson, Archibald R. (1875), ''Rambles Round Kilmarnock.'' Pub. T. Stevenson, Kilmarnock. P. 150.]
In the 1640s
Alasdair Mac Colla
Alasdair Mac Colla Chiotaich MacDhòmhnaill ( – 13 November 1647), also known by the English variant of his name Sir Alexander MacDonald, was a military officer best known for his participation in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, notably the I ...
had been sent by
Montrose to suppress support for the Covenanting cause. Based in Kilmarnock, he plundered the Ayrshire countryside for some days and then demanded financial penalties. Sir William Mure's penalty for preventing further plundering at Rowallan was 1,000 merks; much damage already having been done.
Rowallan
The tree fox of Rowallan
Adamson records that a fox lived in a tree in the old garden at Rowallan. This fox would watch the world go by from its perch and was sufficiently savvy to leave the house keepers chickens alone. One day this fox encountered the local hunt and ran to cover in the tree, to the amazement and consternation of the hunters and hounds. The housekeeper dislodged the poor animal, however it escaped the hunt and was back in its tree the following day as if nothing untoward had happened.
The marriage tree
Near to the castle, overlooking a chasm through which the Carmel runs, stood a stately 'marriage tree' on the bank known as 'Janet's Kirn', Scots for 'churn.' Under this tree Dame Jean Mure of Rowallan was married to William Fairlie of Bruntsfield, an estate near Edinburgh. This wedding was part of a well planned elopement, the suitor having brought a minister with him.
[Adamson, Archibald R. (1875), ''Rambles Round Kilmarnock.'' Pub. T. Stevenson, Kilmarnock. P. 142 - 143.]
Rowallan and a visit from Auld Nick
The stair leading up to the principal door of the castle has a crack that is best seen in wet weather, and tradition has it that this was the rent caused by the Devil himself.
The box hedge

A great
box
A box (plural: boxes) is a container with rigid sides used for the storage or transportation of its contents. Most boxes have flat, parallel, rectangular sides (typically rectangular prisms). Boxes can be very small (like a matchbox) or v ...
hedge was planted at Rowallan castle garden, possibly around 1687, and it was still a magnificent sight circa 1817; by 1847 however it was much decayed.
[Landsborough, David Rev. (1879), ''Contributions to Local History.'' Pub. Dunlop & Drennan, Kilmarnock. P. 176.]
The Edwardian castle
A second castle on the Rowallan grounds was modernised and the grounds relandscaped from 1902-1906 by the well known architect
Sir Robert Lorimer after the estate had been purchased by
Archibald Corbett, the property developer and Liberal politician. The original Rowallan Castle of the 16th and 17th century was retained. This castle was placed in the care of
Historic Scotland
Historic Scotland () was an executive agency of the Scottish Government, executive agency of the Scottish Office and later the Scottish Government from 1991 to 2015, responsible for safeguarding Scotland's built heritage and promoting its und ...
by
The 3rd Baron Rowallan. Most recently, as Historic Scotland transitioned to Historic Environment Scotland, the protected status of the original Rowallan Castle changed. "In June 2015, Historic Scotland granted Scheduled Monument Consent (SMC) for the change in use of the castle to be used as guest accommodation." But some protective conditions remain; "These conditions were attached to ensure that the work was carried out to a standard appropriate for a scheduled monument, and to enable Historic Scotland or its successor body (HES) to visit the site and monitor works as they progress. When this change of use has been completed, the site’s designation as a Listed Building, rather than as a Scheduled Monument, will take precedence. Any issues relating to the castle’s conservation will then be a matter for the local authority." The tours provided in the past by historic Scotland are no longer available.
Charles Rennie Mackintosh
Mackintosh is said to have modelled
Scotland Street School in Glasgow upon Rowallan Castle and
Falkland Palace
Falkland Palace, in Falkland, Fife, Scotland, is a royal palace of the Scottish kings. It was one of the favourite places of Mary, Queen of Scots, who took refuge there from political and religious turmoil of her times.
Today it is under th ...
.
Dalmusternock
Dalmusternock House was built in 1615 by William Mure as a dower house following his marriage to Anna Dundas.
Micro-history
The owner, Niall Campbell and family, had intended that the castle would be used for residential accommodation, but it was retained for some years in the guardianship of
Historic Scotland
Historic Scotland () was an executive agency of the Scottish Government, executive agency of the Scottish Office and later the Scottish Government from 1991 to 2015, responsible for safeguarding Scotland's built heritage and promoting its und ...
.
Kilmarnock Standard
Retrieved : 2011-10-15. However, as a result of a controversial decision following protracted legal wrangles, it left Historic Scotland's care as of 2015.
The Hon.
''The Honourable'' (Commonwealth English) or ''The Honorable'' (American English; see spelling differences) (abbreviation: ''Hon.'', ''Hon'ble'', or variations) is an honorific style that is used as a prefix before the names or titles of cert ...
Arthur Corbett, as he then was, had his second marriage annulled in 1970 on the grounds that his wife, April Ashley, a transsexual woman, was a man under then-current UK law. The argument was accepted, and the case served as a precedent for all such cases until the Gender Recognition Act 2004 was passed, which provided the needed legal framework for changing a person's legal gender. Corbett later succeeded, in November 1977, as The 3rd Baron Rowallan.
Current owner Niall Campbell had his appeal against conviction in March 2017 in his trial at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court and his fine of £800, for threatening or abusive behaviour, refused by the Sheriff Appeal Court
The Sheriff Appeal Court () is a court in Scotland that hears appeals from summary criminal proceedings in the sheriff courts and justice of the peace courts, and hears appeals on bail decisions made in solemn proceedings in the sheriff co ...
in Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
in September 2017. '' The Herald'' newspaper reported (31 March 2017) from the trial that “Campbell gave himself away by leaving his DNA on sticky tape sealing an envelope”.
References
;Notes
;Sources
# MacGibbon, T. and Ross, D. (1887–92). ''The castellated and domestic architecture of Scotland from the twelfth to the eighteenth centuries'', V II, Edinburgh.
External links
*
Photographs of the castle
Corbett of Rowallan Monument, Kingswell
Rowallan Castle Golf Club
*Engraving o
Rowallen Castle
by James Fittler in the digitised copy o
Scotia Depicta, or the antiquities, castles, public buildings, noblemen and gentlemen's seats, cities, towns and picturesque scenery of Scotland
1804 at National Library of Scotland
The National Library of Scotland (NLS; ; ) is one of Scotland's National Collections. It is one of the largest libraries in the United Kingdom. As well as a public programme of exhibitions, events, workshops, and tours, the National Library of ...
{{Castles in East Ayrshire
Castles in North Ayrshire
Category A listed buildings in East Ayrshire
Listed castles in Scotland
Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes
Clan Campbell seats