| Ayr Castle | |
|---|---|
| Ayr, Scotland | |
  Ayr Castle | |
| Coordinates | 55°27′54″N4°38′08″W / 55.4650°N 4.6355°W Coordinates: 55°27′54″N4°38′08″W / 55.4650°N 4.6355°W |
| Grid reference | grid reference NS33482218 |
| Type | Tower |
| Site information | |
| Open to the public | Private |
| Condition | Demolished |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1197 |
| In use | Until 16th or 17th century |
| Materials | Stone |
Ayr Castle was a castle situated at Ayr in Scotland. Once considered a royal castle, nothing remains of it above ground. [1]
In 1197, the castle was built by King William the Lion of Scotland, who later in 1205 created a burgh at Ayr. [1] The castle was captured by the Norwegian King Håkon Håkonsson and a substantial Norwegian army in 1263 which led to the Battle of Largs after which it returned to Scottish control. [2] Robert the Bruce burned the castle in August 1298 in order to keep it out of the hands of the English. [3] The castle in 1542 was garrisoned by French troops and appears to have been demolished before the Cromwellian occupation between 1650–1651. [1]
Robert I, popularly known as Robert the Bruce, was King of Scots from 1306 to his death in 1329. One of the most renowned warriors of his generation, Robert eventually led Scotland during the First War of Scottish Independence against England. He fought successfully during his reign to regain Scotland's place as an independent kingdom and is now revered in Scotland as a national hero.
The Wars of Scottish Independence were a series of military campaigns fought between the Kingdom of Scotland and the Kingdom of England in the late 13th and early 14th centuries.
Ayrshire is a historic county and registration county in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine and it borders the counties of Renfrewshire and Lanarkshire to the north-east, Dumfriesshire to the south-east, and Kirkcudbrightshire and Wigtownshire to the south. Like many other counties of Scotland it currently has no administrative function, instead being sub-divided into the council areas of North Ayrshire, South Ayrshire and East Ayrshire. It has a population of approximately 366,800.
Ayr is a town situated on the southwest coast of Scotland. It is the administrative centre of the South Ayrshire council area and the historic county town of Ayrshire. With a population of 46,982 Ayr is the 16th largest settlement in Scotland and second largest town in Ayrshire by population. The town is contiguous with the smaller town of Prestwick to the north.
Edward Bruce, Earl of Carrick, was a younger brother of Robert the Bruce, King of Scots. He supported his brother in the 1306–1314 struggle for the Scottish crown, then pursued his own claims in Ireland. Proclaimed High King of Ireland in 1315 and crowned in 1316, he was eventually defeated and killed by Anglo-Irish forces of the Lordship of Ireland at the Battle of Faughart in County Louth.
John Comyn III of Badenoch, nicknamed the Red, was a leading Scottish baron and magnate who played an important role in the First War of Scottish Independence. He served as Guardian of Scotland after the forced abdication of his uncle, King John Balliol, in 1296, and for a time commanded the defence of Scotland against English attacks. Comyn was stabbed to death by Robert the Bruce before the altar at the church of the Greyfriars at Dumfries.
The First War of Scottish Independence was the first of a series of wars between English and Scottish forces. It lasted from the English invasion of Scotland in 1296 until the de jure restoration of Scottish independence with the Treaty of Edinburgh–Northampton in 1328. De facto independence was established in 1314 at the Battle of Bannockburn. The wars were caused by English kings attempting to establish their authority over Scotland while Scots fought to keep English rule and authority out of Scotland.
Clan MacDougall is a Highland Scottish clan, historically based in and around Argyll. The Lord Lyon King of Arms, the Scottish official with responsibility for regulating heraldry in Scotland, issuing new grants of coats of arms, and serving as the judge of the Court of the Lord Lyon, recognizes under Scottish law the Chief of Clan MacDougall. The MacDougall chiefs share a common ancestry with the chiefs of Clan Donald in descent from Somerled of the 12th century. In the 13th century the Clan MacDougall whose chiefs were the original Lords of Argyll and later Lords of Lorne was the most powerful clan in the Western Highlands. During the Wars of Scottish Independence the MacDougalls sided with the Clan Comyn whose chiefs rivaled Robert the Bruce for the Scottish Crown and this resulted in clan battles between the MacDougalls and Bruce. This marked the MacDougall's fall from power and led to the rise of their relatives, the Clan Donald, who had supported Bruce and also the rise to power of the Clan Campbell who were the habitual enemies of the MacDougalls and Clan Donald.
Stewarton is a town in East Ayrshire, Scotland. In comparison to the neighbouring towns of Kilmaurs, Fenwick, Dunlop and Lugton, it is a relatively large town, with a population estimated at over 7,400. It is 300 feet above sea level. The town is served by Stewarton railway station.
Robert de Brus, 6th Lord of Annandale, jure uxoris Earl of Carrick (1252–1292), Lord of Hartness, Writtle and Hatfield Broad Oak, was a cross-border lord, and participant of the Second Barons' War, Ninth Crusade, Welsh Wars, and First War of Scottish Independence, as well as father to the future king of Scotland Robert the Bruce.
The Battle of Loudoun Hill was fought on May 10, 1307, between a Scots force led by King Robert the Bruce and the English commanded by Aymer de Valence, Earl of Pembroke. It took place beneath Loudoun Hill, in Ayrshire, and ended in a victory for King Robert. It was the king's first major military victory. The battlefield is currently under research to be included in the Inventory of Historic Battlefields in Scotland and protected by Historic Scotland under the Scottish Historical Environment Policy of 2009.
The Bruce campaign was a three-year military campaign in Ireland by Edward Bruce, brother of the Scottish king Robert the Bruce. It lasted from his landing at Larne in 1315 to his defeat and death in 1318 at the Battle of Faughart in County Louth. It was part of the First War of Scottish Independence and the conflict between the Irish, Scoto-Normans, and the Hiberno-Normans.
Sir Niall mac Cailein, also known as Neil Campbell or Nigel Campbell, was a nobleman and warrior who spent his life in the service of King Robert I of Scotland, His Gaelic name means "Niall, Colin's son" since he was the son of Cailean Mór. His services to the King elevated the Campbells into the higher ranks of the Scottish nobility.
Walter Bailloch, also known as Walter Bailloch Stewart, was distinguished by the sobriquet Bailloch or Balloch, a Gaelic nickname roughly translated as "the freckled". He was the Earl of Menteith jure uxoris.
Robert Bryden (1865–1939) was a Scots artist and sculptor.
Sundrum Castle is a Scottish medieval castle located 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) north of Coylton, South Ayrshire, by the Water of Coyle river. It was built in the 14th century for Sir Duncan Wallace, Sheriff of Ayr. The castle was inherited by Sir Alan de Cathcart, who was the son of Duncan's sister. The Cathcarts sold Sundrum in the 18th century, where it eventually fell into the possession of the Hamilton family. The Hamiltons expanded the castle in the 1790s, incorporating the original keep into a mansion.
Sir Christopher Seton (1278–1306), also known as Christopher de Seton, was a 13th-century noble, who held lands in England and Scotland. He was a supporter of Robert the Bruce and obtained Robert's sister's hand in marriage. Present during the killing of John Comyn, Lord of Badenoch at Greyfriars Church, Dumfries, he also killed Sir Robert Comyn, who had rushed to Badenoch's aid. Seton was captured at Loch Doon Castle and executed at Dumfries in 1306.
Events from the year 1315 in the Kingdom of Scotland.
Events from the year 1291 in the Kingdom of Scotland.
Robert Jameson was a Scottish shipowner from Ayr.