|
Ardrossan Castle
A ruined 15th century keep defended by a ditch
and situated on a ridge, the Castle Craigs, as can be see on the old
(1903) picture card above.
The original castle belonged to the Barclay
family which passed to the Ardrossan family in the 13th century.
Ardrossan Castle is the site of "Wallace's Larder" when William
Wallace captured the castle. He set fire to one of the local hamlets
to lure out the English garrison to quench the flames. Wallace slew
the garrison on their return and had the bodies thrown into the
dungeon. Wallace then dismantled the castle. It then became the
property of Sir John Montgomery in 1376 through marriage with the soul
heiress of Sir Hugh de Eglinton and remodelled the castle. Sir John
Montgomery fought at the battles of Otterburn in 1388 and Homildon
Hill in 1402.
Sir John's son became Lord Montgomery in the mid
15 century, and his grandson became the 1st Earl of Eglinton in 1508.
In 1528, the Earl's family took refuge at Ardrossan after their castle
at Eglinton was sacked and burned by the Cunninghams.
In 1654 Cromwell had stone removed from the
castle to build his Citadel at Ayr.
The following three map sections are
reproduced by permission of the
Trustees of the
National Library of
Scotland
The map above is from Joan Blaeu's Atlas of
Scotland (Kyle) drawn in 1654.
Joan Blaeu seems to show Ardrossan Castle in
full order at the time he draw his map so this must have been shortly
before the castle was ruined by Cromwell's men. By the time Herman
Moll prepared his map of Scotland, around 1745, the castle was a ruin.
The section above is from Herman Moll's map
of the Shire of Renfrew with Cunningham
1745.
The map above is from Ainslie's Map of
the Southern Part of Scotland 1821.
The map above, by John Ainslie in 1821,
accurately shows the position of the old castle ruin.
|
