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Ruin

Ardrossan Castle

Scotland · 12th century

Founded
c. 1150
Heritage status
scheduled monument
Location
North Ayrshire
Coordinates
55.6419°, -4.8101°
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Ardrossan Castle in Scotland
Photo: TravisNygard · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Description

Ardrossan Castle is a 12th–century castle situated in the town of Ardrossan, North Ayrshire on the west coast of Scotland. The castle, defended by a moat, stands on a ridge above the town. There is a keep dating from the fifteenth century, and a vaulted range containing a kitchen and cellars. In a deep passageway there is a well, and part of the keep remains up to the corbels of the parapet, but it is in ruins.

The original castle, owned by Clan Barclay, was partly destroyed during the Wars of Scottish Independence. This event, in which the English garrison was slaughtered, became known as "Wallace's Larder," a name which is still applied to the remaining vaults. Rebuilt by Clan Montgomery in the 15th century, Ardrossan later fell into disuse and was partially demolished by the soldiers of Oliver Cromwell in the 17th century who used the stones to help construct the Ayr Citadel. This castle is the subject for a ghostlore story featuring the ghost of William Wallace.

Text adapted from “Ardrossan Castle” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

In the rankings

Ardrossan Castle ranks #5,521 of 9,040 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #186 of the 225 mapped in Scotland. Founded c. 1150, it is older than 80% of the atlas's dated landmarks, one of 763 atlas entries founded in the 12th century. 10 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Glasgow, 43 km away. See how Scotland compares in the castle statistics.

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