Castles and the Covenanters

C -  Castles

Corsehill Castle

Sadly, Corsehill Castle no longer exists. The ruin between the road and the railway on the way to Dunlop is known to-day as Ravenscraig Castle, and is not only another castle but also another story. (A Lainshaw estate map of around 1790 clearly shows TWO castles, one on either side of the burn.)

The site of Corsehill Castle would have been at the top of Bowes Rigg, as there was a tree-lined avenue leading to it from the Avenue Square. This avenue would have been in line with the right-hand side of the Square, going through where the Institute Hall was and crossing the burn to reach the Castle. There is only one engraving of Corsehill Castle as a ruin, and this was drawn by Grosse in the late 18th century (see below). It should be noted that only the part on the right was what remained of Corsehill Castle at that time.

Before the castle was demolished, an inventory was taken of the contents, and the Society have a copy of what appear to be the 'remnants' that were left behind. This is dated 1730, following the death of Sir Alexander Cuninghame

The Cuninghame family had held great power in the town.The Laird chaired meetings of the Baron Court, which was the only form of law and order in the 17th and 18th centuries, and he dealt with offences such as sheep stealing, land boundary disputes, assaults, etc., dealing out his own justice. The Society have a collection of some of these 'trials' in their records.

When a new Parish Church was built in 1696, an upper area known as the Corsehill Gallery was incorporated into the main building.The Cuninghames of Corsehill had, until then, used a stair of their own to reach their seats in the upper part of the Church so that they did not need to mix with the 'common crowd' .

The only evidence remaining of Corsehill seems to be in the form of a sundial which is described as follows:

'The plinth has the Cuninghame arms and the initials SAC DMS, for Sir Alexander Cuninghame (d. 1685) and his wife, Dame Margaret Stewart (m. 1665). They lived at Corsehill, near Stewarton, so the dial was probably made there and taken to Lainshaw when the family moved in 1779. It came to Hensol (in Galloway) in 1920. In style, both the dial and plinth closely resemble one at Ladyland, at Kilbirnie, dated 1673; both have extra points between the horns of the hemicylinders, making their stars 12-point instead of 8, so the Hensol dial may have been made in 1672, when Sir Alexander was created Baronet or in 1673, when he became a freemason.'

The origins of the Cuninghame of Corsehill family

The Museum holds a copy of the Family time line dating from 1488 up to 1969

Ravenscraig Castle

The best known castle in Stewarton is Ravenscraig Castle, which stands overlooking the Clerkland Burn on the Dunlop Road. This castle has sometimes been mistakenly referred to as Stewarton's Castle or Corsehill Castle.

While the exact date of the building of the castle is not known, it can have been built no later than the 13th century.

The Castle was built by the De Rosses, a Norman family with considerable lands in the West of Scotland. In 1170 Godfrey De Ross was granted the lands of Stewarton. This family had a castle on Dunlop Hill, but at sometime after 1260 they abandoned Dunlop castle and moved to their lands and presumably Ravenscraig Castle in Stewarton.

The De Rosses eventually lost their lands to the Crown upon the ascension of Robert the Bruce, as the De Rosses had been supporters of Balliol, an English puppet contender for the throne of Scotland. The lands of the De Rosses were then given to Robert Boyd, founder of Kilmarnock family.

The lands of Stewarton in their entirety belonged to the High Steward of the Scottish King WalterFitzalan.

Ravenscraig Castle would have been roughly rectangular in shape, similar to the old Keep at Dean Castle and three stories high. The kitchens would have been on the ground floor.The dining area, which also served as sleeping quarters for the servants and guests, would have been on the second floor. Also on this floor would have been the entrance, Access to it would have been gained by means of a removable stairway.The third floor of the castle would have contained the private quarters of the De Rosses family. All floors would have been served by a common circular stairway running the entire height of the castle. Towards the end of the 19th century the remains of the castle was repaired with dressed sandstone.It is still a mystery as to who actually authorised these repairs. Whether it was carried out by craftsman working on the viaduct but without these repairs, Ravenscraig would have been a completely crumbled ruin by now. The ruins that now have the appearance of a tower but what remains is in fact the west wall and the fireplace can be clearly seen.

Robertland Castle

Robertland Castle formally the stronghold of the Cunninghame Baronets of Robertland lies in runes behind the modern mansion. The castle was supposedly destroyed by fire in a feud between the Montgomeries of Eglinton and the Cunninghames.  As revenge for that act, one of the Cunninghames shot the chief of the Montgomeries while he was riding home at a place called Bridgend on the east side of town, this unfortunate soul road along the path beside the river until he dropped dead off his horse at Annick ford. The path along which the fatal wounded man rode has been known as the weeping or morning path ever since, it is now built over with housing, the incident taking place on the 12th of April 1586.

Aiket Castle

Aiket Castle is situated in Dunlop and dates. Aiket Castle itself was a four storeyed square tower typical of the residences of the lesser Barons, originally surrounded by a moat and built by the Cunninghames soon after they acquired the land in 1479. Following the murder of the 4th Earl of Eglinton the castle was destroyed and then rebuilt, with an extension in 1592. In 1734 the castle was sold and the new owners attempted to remodel the castle as a Georgian semi-classical mansion, removing the top storey in the process. The Dunlop family owned the building in the start of the 17th century and latterly it was used to house farm labourers. In 1957 the building was gutted by fire and was then restored to its pre-1734 condition. The restoration was awarded a Diploma of Merit by Europa Nostra in 1987. 

The placename 'Aiket' is derived from 'Oak Wood'

RowallanCastle

Rowallan original Castle is situated on the outskirts of Kilmaurs, it dates from 13th century.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. In 1513 John Mure of Rowallan was killed at the Battle of Flodden. 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.[9] 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.

A second Castle, also called Rowallan Castle, was built on the estate in the 16th century and is now a luxury hotel and wedding venue.

Crawford Castle

The property belonged to the Crawfords from the 13th century. John Crawford of Crawfordland was killed at the battle of Flodden 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 privately occupied.

C -  Covenanters

Covenanters where Scottish Presbyterians who during the 17th century signed covenants (bonds) to hold their religious beliefs and oppose interference from the Stuart  monarchs in the affairs of the church of Scotland, these covenants particularly the national covenant of 1638 and the solemn league and covenant of 1643 were Central to a period of religious and political upheaval in Scotland

Covenanting in Ayrshire was very strong but in this district. Fenwick was its centre.

Covenantors strongly believed in Presbyterianism which emphasized the authority of church elders and the leaders of the church of Scotland and opposed the Stuart monarchs attempts to impose a episcopacy rule by Bishops and control of the church.

The Covenantors  faced persecution and violence including torture in prisonment and execution for their beliefs and refusal to conform to the established church. A particular harsh period of persecution known as “The Killing Times” occurred from 1684 to 1685 where thousands of covenanters were killed.