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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:The Clementinum is a historic complex of buildings in Prague. Until recently the complex hosted the National, University and Technical libraries, the City Library also being located nearby on Mariánské Náměstí. The Technical library and the Municipal library have moved to the Prague National Technical Library at Technická 6 since 2009. It is currently in use as the National Library of the Czech Republic.
Its history dates from the existence of a chapel dedicated to Saint Clement in the 11th century. A Dominican monastery was founded in the medieval period, which was transformed in 1556 to a Jesuit college. In 1622 the Jesuits transferred the library of Charles University to the Klementinum, and the college was merged with the University in 1654. The Jesuits remained until 1773, when the Klementinum was established as an observatory, library, and university by the Empress Maria Theresa of Austria.