Kelburn Castle

Kelburn Castle is a large house near Fairlie, North Ayrshire, Scotland. It is the seat of the Earl of Glasgow. Originally built in the thirteenth century (the original keep forms the core of the house) it was remodelled in the sixteenth century. In 1700, the first Earl made further extensions to the house in a manner not unlike a French château, which is virtually how it appears today. In 1977 the house and grounds opened to the public as a country park. It is one of the oldest castles in Scotland and has been continuously inhabited by the same family for longer than any other. The castle is protected as a category A listed building, while the grounds are included in the Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland.

When it was found in 2007 that the castle's concrete facing would soon need replacing, Lord Glasgow invited four Brazilian graffiti artists to decorate the walls. This was still in place in 2011, when the Earl sought permission from Historic Scotland to keep the graffiti permanently.

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

Kelburn Castle ranks #2,871 of 7,738 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #103 of the 167 mapped in Scotland. Founded c. 1250, it is older than 69% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 825 atlas entries founded in the 13th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 2,031 times in the last 60 days, more than 67% of the atlas. 2 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Glasgow, 38 km away. See how Scotland compares in the castle statistics.

View on the interactive castle map →

Read the full history on Wikipedia ↗