| 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.
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Helenton Loch was situated in a low lying area between the farms and dwellings of Helentongate, Mains, and Burnbank in the Parish of Symington, South Ayrshire, Scotland. The loch was natural, sitting in a hollow, a kettle hole, created by glaciation. The loch waters ultimately drained via the Pow Burn. Helenton Hill is a prominent landmark to the west of the old loch site. The nearby lands of Rosemount were in 1549 known as 'Goldring' and were the property of the Schaws of Sornbeg.
The Shaw Monument is an 18th-century structure that has been interpreted as a folly and stands about 1 mile East of Prestwick, overlooking Prestwick Airport in South 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.
Auchenbathie, Auchinbathie Tower or rarely Barcraigs Tower is a ruined fortification, a tower house, once held by the Wallace Clan of Elderslie, situated in Renfrewshire, Parish of Lochwinnoch, Scotland. The spelling used varies greatly and "Auchenbathie" will be used here as the standard spelling. The pronunciation locally is "Auchenbothy", the same as a Victorian mansion in Kilmacolm; no connection is known.
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.
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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.
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