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Castle Kennedy is a ruined 17th-century tower house, about 4.8 km east of Stranraer. The property belonged to the Kennedys from 1482; the castle was started in 1607, on the site of an earlier stronghold, by John Kennedy, 5th Earl of Cassilis. After a brief period in the hands of the Hamiltons of Bargany the property passed to the Dalrymples of Stair around 1677. The castle was gutted by fire in 1716, and it was never restored.
This E-plan castle was originally on an island in a loch. The main block has four storeys and an attic; there are two five-storey projecting square wings; and two seven-storey square towers in the re-entrant angles. One of the seven-storey towers contains the main turnpike stair. Three-storey wings are a later addition.
There are large windows, evenly spaced, and shot-holes. From the main entrance a vaulted passage runs through the basement; it communicated with a newel-stair in the south west re-entrant turret. All of the basement rooms, including the large kitchen, are vaulted.
It is thought that the public rooms were situated within the main block, which had a single large chamber at each level. There were a series of bedchambers and associated closets in the wings. There is no evidence of any enclosure; there is a walled garden to the south which dates from the 18th century.
References: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.