| Trabboch Castle | |
|---|---|
| Stair, east Ayrshire, Scotland | |
  Trabboch Castle | |
| Coordinates | 55°28′06″N4°26′27″W / 55.4684°N 4.4408°W |
| Grid reference | grid reference NS 458 221 |
| Site information | |
| Owner | Trabboch Mains Farm |
| Controlled by | Boyd clan |
| Open to the public | No |
| Condition | Ruined |
| Site history | |
| Built | 14th century |
| Materials | Stone |
Trabboch Castle (NS 458 221) is a ruined L-plan tower house in the old Barony of Trabboch, Parish of Stair, East Ayrshire, Scotland.
The lands of Trabboch (pronounced 'Traaboch') are first recorded by name in a rental of 1303–4. King Robert the Bruce gave the 'L-plan' castle to the Boyds of Kilmarnock for services rendered at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314, as revealed in an undated charter in the Register of the Great Seal, stating that King Robert I granted the 'lands of Trebach' in Kyle-Regis to Robert Boyd. Following the fall from favour of the Boyds in 1469 Paterson records that the fortalice of Trabach was forfeited to the crown, reportedly for the use of the eldest sons of the Kings of Scotland. [1] The RCAHMS state By 1451 the lands had passed into the hands of William, Earl of Douglas [2] and later to the Boswells of Auchinleck. [3] In the 17th century Chalmers of Gadgirth and Reid of Barskimming held parts of the Barony of Trabboch. [4] Love states that the Arthurs, Lord Ochiltree, and the Campbells of Loudoun also held Trabboch Castle. [5]
As the caput of the Barony of Trabboch a moot hill would have existed and although no remains survive the nearby farm of Lawhill is suggestive of the location. [6] The associated Mill of Trabboch stood on the Water of Coyle and was not powered by the loch waters.
Campbell sees Trabboch Castle as the only survivor of a defensive chain of castles that once ran across Kyle Regis and included Stair, Auchencloigh, Drongan, and Drumsuie. [7]
The remains of Trabboch Castle in 1954 consisted of an L-shaped portion of walling, with no windows or doors apparent, possibly sitting on a motte. [7] The walls are 2.5m thick, with a height around 3.0m, constructed of massive rubble masonry, 9.0m long on the north-western section and 12.5m long on the south-western section. No window or door openings are visible. A broad natural ditch is visible on the western side and the shallow curvilinear ditch on the south side may have been part of the castle defences. [8] Some finds were held by the proprietor of Trabboch Farm. [6] Much of the castle stone was used to build the nearby Trabboch Mains Farm. The castle ruins are now protected as a scheduled monument. [9]
A grave was found nearby (NS 458 221), placed beneath a cairn and cut out of the solid red sandstone, covered by a flagstone and containing some beads and blackish dust. [6]
James Boswell of Auchinleck is recorded to have said that "I wish that my father would buy Trabboch mains, a beautiful farm now offered for sale by Sir John Whitefoord, as it was the very manor-place of the barony of Trabboch, and still has the vestigia of the old house still to be seen." [10]
Gordon's map of 1636–52 shows Trabboch castle. [11] Roy's map of 1747 marks both Trabog (Sic) and Lawhill [12] Molls map of 1745 marks the castle. [13] John Thomson's 1828 map marks Traboch Castle (Sic) clearly. [14]
The ancient Loch of Trabboch was a site where swans, moor hens, [15] and other waterfowl nested and as a site within the old Barony of Trabboch it was an area used for hunting and fishing by the laird. Trabboch Loch is a 19th-century site formed from the flooding of Drumdow pit.
Kerelaw Castle is a castle ruin. It is situated on the coast of North Ayrshire, Scotland in the town of Stevenston.
Trabboch is a hamlet in East Ayrshire, Scotland. Built as a miners village in the 1880s, it was owned and leased by Wm. Baird & Co., Ltd. and at one time had 94 dwellings. The miners rows stood, until demolition in 1969, on the Stair and Littlemill road, about two miles south of Stair, in that parish. The name is locally pronounced 'Traaboch'.
Riccarton is a village and parish in East Ayrshire, Scotland. It lies across the River Irvine from Kilmarnock, this river forming the boundary between Riccarton and Kilmarnock parishes, and also between the historical districts of Kyle and Cunningham. The name is a corruption of 'Richard's town', traditionally said to refer to Richard Wallace, the uncle of Sir William Wallace. The parish also contains the village of Hurlford.
Kilmaurs Place, The Place or Kilmaurs House, is an old mansion house and the ruins of Kilmaurs Tower grid reference NS41234112 are partly incorporated, Kilmaurs, East Ayrshire, Scotland. The house stands on a prominence above the Carmel Water and has a commanding view of the surrounding area. Once the seat of the Cunningham Earls of Glencairn it ceased to be the main residence after 1484 when Finlaystone became the family seat. Not to be confused with Kilmaurs Castle that stood on the lands of Jocksthorn Farm.
Craigie Castle, in the old Barony of Craigie, is a ruined fortification situated about 4 miles (6.4 km) southeast of Kilmarnock and 1 mile (1.6 km) southeast of Craigie village, in the Civil Parish of Craigie, South Ayrshire, Scotland. The castle is recognised as one of the earliest buildings in the county. It lies about 1.25 miles (2 km) west-south-west of Craigie church. Craigie Castle is protected as a scheduled monument.
Auchans Castle, House, House of Auchans or Old Auchans, is a mock military mansion, Category A listed, T-plan building of a late 16th-century date converted to the L-plan during the early-to-mid-17th century; its ruins stand about 1 km W of Dundonald, South Ayrshire, Scotland. Parish of Dundonald. It was held at various times by the Wallace, Cochrane and Montgomerie families.
Fail Monastery, occasionally known as Failford Abbey, had a dedication to 'Saint Mary', and was located at Fail on the bank of the Water of Fail, Parish of Tarbolton near the village of Tarbolton, South Ayrshire. Most of the remaining monastery ruins were removed in 1952. The official and rarely used title was House of the Holy Trinity of Failford or the Ministry of Failford.
Terringzean Castle, also Taringzean, pronounced 'Tringan', is a Category B listed castle ruin lying above the River Lugar and the Terringzean Holm in the policies of Dumfries House, Parish of Cumnock, Scotland. The name Craufordstone or Craufurdstoun, has also been used, echoing that it and these lands originally belonged to the Crawfords, as did Lefnoreis Castle or Lochnorris Castle which once stood near the site of the Dumfries House stables.
Barnweill Church or Barnweil Church is a ruined pre-reformation kirk situated on rising ground on the slopes of Barnweill Hill, Parish of Craigie, South Ayrshire, Scotland; about 3 km from Tarbolton. The church was known locally as the "Kirk in the Wood". It lies about 170m North North-East of Kirkhill Farm. Barnweill was central to the Protestant Reformation in Ayrshire through its association with John Knox. The spelling 'Barnweill' is used throughout for consistency.
The Lands of Lainshaw lie in Strathannick and were part of the Lordship of Stewarton, in East Ayrshire, Scotland. Lainshaw House is a category B listed mansion, lying in a prominent position above the Annick Water and its holm in the Parish of Stewarton, Scotland. Part of the much older Lainshaw Castle is contained within the several later building phases of the present day Lainshaw House. The names 'Langshaw' or 'Langschaw' were used in historic times. Law Mount near the High and Laigh Castleton farms has been suggested as the site of the original castle, granted in the 12th century to Godfrey de Ross by Hugo de Morville.
The old Barony and castle, fortalice, or tower house of Hill of Beith lay in the feudal Regality of Kilwinning, within the Baillerie of Cunninghame, and the Sherrifdom of Ayr, now the Parish of Beith, North Ayrshire, Scotland.
The Lands of Pitcon, previously Potconnel now form a small estate of around 100 acres in the Parish of Dalry, North Ayrshire in the old Barony of Dalry. The present category B listed Georgian mansion house dating from 1787, replaces an older castellated dwelling. Pitcon lies on the outskirts of Drakemyres, now a suburb of Dalry, close to the confluence of the Rye Water, River Garnock, and the Mains Burn, standing on a low knoll. Such a marshy area would have provided a degree of protection to the old castle.
The Loch of Trabboch or Dalrympleston Loch (NS440211) was situated in a low-lying area below the old Castle of Trabboch, once held by the Boyd family in the Parish of Stair, East Ayrshire, Scotland.
Loch Fergus is a freshwater post-glacial "Kettle Hole" sometimes recorded as Fergus Loch. It is quite visible and is situated in a low-lying area close to the B742 road between the farms and dwellings of Trees, Lochfergus and Bowmanston in the Parish of Ayr, South Ayrshire, Scotland. The loch lies to the north of Martnaham Loch, four miles east-southeast of Ayr. It drains to the southwest into the Snipe Loch.
Martnaham Loch is a freshwater loch lying across the border between East and South Ayrshire Council Areas, two kilometres from Coylton, in the parishes of Coylton and Dalrymple, three miles from Ayr. The loch lies along an axis from northeast to southwest. The remains of a castle lie on a possibly artificial islet within the loch. The Campbells of Loudoun once held the lands, followed by the Kennedys of Cassillis.
Auchencloigh Castle or Auchincloigh Castle is a ruined fortification near the Burnton Burn, lying within the feudal lands of the Craufurd Clan, situated in the Parish of Ochiltree, East Ayrshire, Scotland.
Haining Place or The Haining in the Parish of Kilmarnock lies near an old fording place across the Cessnock Water in East Ayrshire, Parish of Riccarton, Scotland. Hanyng (sic) was the caput or laird's dwelling of the Barony of Haining-Ross with a tower house or keep located in a defensive position on a high promontory of land, half encircled by the river. Later Haining Place may have been a dower house, then a tenanted farm, finally being used as farm workers accommodation. Haining Place is now a ruin following a fire. The old farm of Haining Mains is still located nearby.
Craigie is a small village and parish of 6,579 acres in the old district of Kyle, now South Ayrshire, four miles south of Kilmarnock, Scotland. This is mainly a farming district, lacking in woodland, with a low population density, and only one village. In the 19th century, high quality lime was quarried here with at least three sites in use in 1832.
The ruins of the large courtyard style Kyle Castle, once also known as Cavil Castle or occasionally Dalblair Castle lie close to the hamlet of Dalblair in Auchinleck parish near Muirkirk in the East Ayrshire council area, Scotland. The castle stands at the confluence of the Guelt Water and the Glenmuir Water on a peninsula carved out by these rivers. Its name suggests that it was once of some significance.
The Castle and Barony of Gadgirth was held by the Chalmer family, originally De Camera, with successive castles and a mansion house overlooking the River Ayr at the border of the Parish of Coylton, the old district of Kyle, now part of South Ayrshire, Scotland.
