|
|
LAW
CASTLE
|
|
| Photo (c) Eleanor and Clyde
Moore clyde2@ix.netcom.com
http:www.PHOTOSbyELEANOR.com
Law Castle is located about .5 miles northeast of west Kilbride in Ayrshire. Commanding a wide view over the
Clyde, Law Castle is a 15th century keep, rectangular in plan, of four stories and a garret. A corbelled-out
parapet has open rounds and the walls are pierced by gun loops. The basement is vaulted and contains two
cellars, one with a stair to the hall above. The hall, on the first floor has a screened-off kitchen with a wide
fireplace. There is a turnpike stair in one corner. The castle was a property of Boyds, one of whom married
Mary, daughter of James II and became Earl of Arran, but later had to flee the country. It was sold to the Bontine
family in 1670 and has been restored and occupied as flats.
Permission to Use Castle Information from The Castles of Scotland was granted by
Martin Coventry and Goblinshead, Edinburgh, Scotland
http://www.lawcastle.com/ |
The estate of "Orchard", in Kilbryde, part of the original
grant, was sold in 1670, probably by William, 9th Lord Boyd, to Major Buntein, who sold
it in 1710 to William
Baillie, and the Misses Baillie sold it, in 1759, to Robert Boyd, of
Dykehead, who had a son, Thomas Boyd of Orchard, whose daughters, the Misses Boyd, owned it in 1820. Another daughter, Jean, married Robert Hyndman of Lunderston, in Renfrewshire.
The estate of "Orchard" contains about 50 acres, and is situated between the lands of Springside and the village of
Kilbride. On the corner of it stands the ancient "Law Tower"
from which the estate probably takes its name, as having actually been the garden or orchard of that great mansion,
when inhabited by the Boyds. Law Tower seems to be more modern than Portincross, and most of these high square-formed
edifices to be found throughout Scotland, neither is it so dismally deficient in light (in one of the sides there are
eight windows), and, considering the size of the apartments,
many modern dwellings are not so well accommodated. It is furnished with 4 or 5 gun ports in the lower story, which
decidedly shows that it was built after the introduction of cannon. In point of situation, too, nothing could have been
better chosen, as it enjoys a fine view, on three sides at least, of the highly picturesque scenery of that part of
Scotland.
It is 40 feet long, 30 feet broad, 40 feet high at the cornice, exclusive of the bastions, which are 6 feet more.
The walls are 6 feet thick, it has 28 windows, the inside area being 28 feet by 18, and is divided into four stories.
Tradition says that it was built by the Boyds of Kilmarnock, and was probably erected about the year 1468, at the time of
the height of their power, when Thomas, Master of Boyd, later Earl of Arran, and son of Lord Robert Boyd, married the
Princess Mary, sister of King James III. There is a charter on record, dated October 14, 1482, granting the lands of
Kilbryde, Dalry, Nodesdale, Kilmarnock, etc......, to that Princess in liferent, and to her son, James, Lord Boyd, in
fee; on none of which estates was there a house equal in
magnificence to this, or in which a lady of her rank could have
resided. [The Boyd Clan,
Arthur S. Boyd, 1924] |
Brodick
Castle
Bedlay
Castle
Pitcon
Castle
Trabboch
Castle
Old
Slains
NOTE:
Use this data as a finding tool, just as you would any other secondary
source. When you find the name of an ancestor listed, confirm the facts
in original sources.
Back
to Main Page
|
More
Information
Kilmarnock
Castle
|
NOTES
TO RESEARCHERS
When
you use this site, please keep in mind the difference between
primary and secondary sources and the importance of checking those
sources. Accept nothing without further checking. It is our hope
that through this collection of data from many sources, you will
find a piece of the puzzle that you are working on and that may
lead you to other discoveries.
|
|
