Dundonald Castle, Kilmarnock, United Kingdom

Dundonald Castle is situated on a hill overlooking the village of Dundonald, between Kilmarnock and Troon. Dundonald Castle is a fortified tower house built for Robert II on his accession to the throne of Scotland in 1371 and it was used as a royal residence by Robert II and his son Robert III.

The present castle stands on land where evidence suggests there was a hill fort. It is thought that a mixture of large timber-built roundhouse and straight-sided structures occupied the interior. There have been three medieval castles present on this site. The first was built by one of the stewards of the king of Scots, most probably Walter, the first steward, who came to Scotland in 1136. There is no surviving evidence of this castle above ground today.

The second castle was built in the late 13th Century by Alexander Stewart, 4th High Steward, this castle was predominantly built of stone. It would have been one of the grandest baronial residences of its time. It was largely destroyed by the Scottish during the Wars of Scottish Independence in the early 14th century. King Robert the Bruce's policy was to slight (demolish) most castles so they could not be used by enemies including much greater castles than Dundonald, such as Edinburgh Castle and Roxburgh Castle. There is little remaining of this castle, however there is a well and a rounded stump of a tower near to the present.

The third castle was built by Robert Stewart, probably to mark his accession to the throne as Robert II in 1371. It was three storeys high.

The top floor above the lofty stone vault was the upper hall – the great hall. It was for the more private use of the king and family. The first floor was the lower of the two halls – the laigh hall. It would have been used for more public activities like feasting and the holding of the baron court. The ground floor was a storage area. It was probably originally subdivided providing cellars for different commodities like wine, ale, foodstuffs and fuel.

The tower house was extended in the late 14th century to add additional private chambers and a prison. The outer courtyard (called more properly the barmkin) was completed and ancillary buildings (stables, bakehouses, brewhouses, smithy, etc.) built against the barmkin wall.

The third castle comprised almost everything you see above ground today, including the tower which dominates the hill.

The castle today

There is a visitor centre at the foot of the hill, which includes a cafe, souvenir shop and an interpretive exhibition. The exhibition outlines the history of the castle and its preceding buildings with detailed models of the earlier castles on the site.

The visitor centre is owned by South Ayrshire Council and the castle is owned by Historic Scotland. Both the castle and the visitor centre are operated by the Friends of Dundonald Castle. The castle was made a scheduled monument in 1920 and the schedule was updated in 2017.

References:

Wikipedia

User Reviews

Sameenah Ahmed (3 months ago)
Beautiful castle and lovely tour guide! Really interesting history about the castle and different versions of it in its lifetime. Quite steep and uphill going up so just be mindful of that. Staff in the museum/cafe were also really nice and friendly! Would highly recommend visiting!

Jackie Purnell (5 months ago)
Lovely day out, good walk to the reservoir, then a nice lunch at the cafe back at the start.

Scott McGregor (6 months ago)
Excellent historical site and the visitor centre has a lovely cafe to have a quick bit to eat and a drink. Guided tour around the castle by passionate local volunteers is highly recommended!

Dee Name (7 months ago)
What a lovely atmosphere! There were families around the castle grounds. A very busy park and cafe. All charity run. It was modest but very rich in history. We enjoyed a few hours here, overlooking the whole town. Beautiful castle. If you’re in the area, and it’s nice weather, I would highly recommend it.

Alan McVittie (13 months ago)
Received a very friendly welcome from the two ladies in the visitor centre/ cafe. I'm a support worker and had taken one of the people I support to view the castle. We purchased our tickets for the guided tour of the castle. This is the only way to see inside of the building. We had 25 minutes to wait for the tour, so we had warm drinks before it started. As you can imagine, it's a steep incline to the castle, so keep this in mind. We were greeted by our guide and taken around the inside of the castle. Some parts that are usually open to the public were not due to ongoing safety work. Our guide gave us a complete history of the castle, its origins, and owners / occupiers. The tour lasts about 1 hour.

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Photo from Flickr, copyright stahli36

Historic Site of the week

Celje Castle

Celje Castle was once the largest fortification on Slovenian territory. The first fortified building on the site (a Romanesque palace) was built in the first half of the 13th century by the Counts of Heunburg from Carinthia on the stony outcrop on the western side of the ridge where the castle stands. It had five sides, or four plus the southern side, which was a natural defence. The first written records of the castle date back to between 1125 and 1137; it was probably built by Count Gunter. In the western section of the castle, there was a building with several floors. Remains of the walls of this palatium have survived. In the eastern section, there was an enclosed courtyard with large water reservoirs. The eastern wall, which protects the castle from its most exposed side, was around three metres thicker than the rest of the curtain wall. The wall was topped with a parapet and protected walkway.

Dundonald Castle

The castle today

Address

Details

More Information

Rating

Interesting Sites Nearby

User Reviews

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Finest Norman castles in Italy

Exploring the History of Northern Poland

Discovering Slovenia's Historic Wonders

Historic Site of the week

Celje Castle