Rowallan Castle (Scottish Gaelic: Caisteal an Rubha Àlainn) is an ancient castle located in Scotland. The castle stands on the banks of the Carmel Water, which may at one time have run much closer to the low eminence upon which the original castle stood,Miller, A. H. (1885). The Castles and Mansions of Ayrshire. Reprinted by The Grimsay Press, 2004. P. 128. justifying the old name Craig of Rowallan. Elizabeth Mure (died before May 1355) was mistress and then wife of Robert, High Steward of Scotland, and Guardian of Scotland (1338–1341 and from October 1346), who later became King Robert II of Scotland. She may have been born at Rowallan.
The history of Rowallan Castle
Owners The castle and barony has been owned or held by the medieval Muir family, the (Boyle) Earls of Glasgow, the (Campbell) Earls of Loudoun, and the (Corbett) Barons Rowallan. In 1989, it returned to the Campbell family when it was purchased by Niall Campbell.http://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/heritage/tim-cornwell-who-s-guarding-the-heritage-guardians-1-2107842#axzz3oIpWh3Cx
It is said that the earliest piece of Lute music was written at Rowallan.Retrieved on June 11, 2007
It is said to have been visited by the unfortunate King James I of Scotland when on his way from Edinburgh to England.
The first Mure holder, Sir J. Gilchrist Mure, was buried in the Mure Aisle at Kilmarnock.McIntosh, John (1894) Ayrshire Nights' Entertainments. Pub. Dunlop & Drennan, Kilmarnock. P. 344.
Origins The original castle is thought to date back into the 13th century. Rowallan was said to be the birth place of Elizabeth Mure (Muir), first wife of Robert, the High Steward, later Robert II of Scotland.
In 1513 John Mure of Rowallan was killed at the Battle of Flodden. In 1513 the Rowallan Estate took its present day form.
In about 1690 the estate was home to the Campbells of Loudoun, who held it into the 19th century. The former tower of Polkelly lay near Rowallan and was also held by the Mures, for a time passed to the second son until it passed by marriage to the Cunninghams of Cunninghamhead.
Construction and other details
The castle is built around a small knoll and once stood in a small loch or swampy area, fed by the Carmel Burn.McGibbon, Page 378 The southern front of the castle was erected about the year 1562 by John Mure of Rowallan and his Lady, Marion Cuninghame, of the family of Cuninghamhead. This information appears as an inscription on a marriage stone or tablet at the top of the wall: - Jon.Mvr. M.Cvgm. Spvsis 1562. The family coat of arms lies to the right. The crest of the Mure's was a Moore's head, which is sculptured near the coat of arms. This is possibly a rebus or jeu-de-mot on the Mure name, however it is suggested that it is a reference to some feat performed in the crusades against the Saracens.Dobie, James. (1876) Cuninghame Topographized by Timothy Pont. Pub. John Tweed, Glasgow. Facing P. 366. The Royal Arms of Scotland, fully blazoned, are carved over the main entrance, together with the shields of the Cumin family, from whom the Mures claim descent. Over the ornamented gateway is a stone with the date 1616 inscribed upon it.Adamson, Archibald R. (1875), Rambles Round Kilmarnock. Pub. T. Stevenson, Kilmarnock. P. 138.
Over the doorway of the porch is a rare inscription in Hebrew using Hebrew characters which read The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup, Psalms. XVI, Verse 5. Doctor Bonar, moderator of the Free Church of Scotland deciphered and transled it.Landsborough, David Rev. (1879), Contributions to Local History. Pub. Dunlop & Drennan, Kilmarnock. P. 148. At the front of the castle stood a perfect example of an old loupin-on-stane.Chalmers, Francis Edit. (1903), Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland. Pub. The Caxton Pub. Co., London. Vol.2. P. 931. A fine well with abundant pure water was present at Rowallan.Landsborough, David Rev. (1879), Contributions to Local History. Pub. Dunlop & Drennan, Kilmarnock. P. 138 - 140. King William's well is located in the policies of Rowallan.Love, Dane (2009). Legendary Ayrshire. Custom : Folklore : Tradition. Auchinleck : Carn Publishing. ; p. 67
One of the rooms was called Lord Loudoun's sleeping apartment and Adamson records that almost every room throughout the house has its walls covered with the names and addresses of visitors. Some have also left poems or have recorded the details of their visit in verse.Adamson, Archibald R. (1875), Rambles Round Kilmarnock. Pub. T. Stevenson, Kilmarnock. P. 139.
Sir John and Sir William Muir took great pleasure in the erection of the various parts of Rowallan, and a record was kept of the portions completed by each. Much of their attention was also taken up with the planting of the castle policies.MacGibbon, T. and Ross, D. (1887-92). The castellated and domestic architecture of Scotland from the twelfth to the eighteenth centuries, 5v, Edinburgh. p 555.
One room of the castle was known as the "Woman's House," which researchers have dubbed a “quite rare” phenomenon, “evoking a lost age of gender separation, defined by [women’s] specialist work with clothes and linen” and having “the potential to inform an understanding of the role of women here and in wider society.”
In 1691 the Hearth Tax records show that the castle had twenty-two hearths and eighteen other dwellings were associated with the castle and its lands.Urquhart, Robert H. et al. (1998). The Hearth Tax for Ayrshire 1691. Ayrshire Records Series V.1. Ayr : Ayr Fed Hist Soc . p. 86
The 10th Countess of Loudoun was especially fond of Rowallan and spent considerable sums repairing the castle in the 19th century. Without her efforts the building would not have survived down to the present day.
Origin of the name Rowallan
There have been several suggestions as to the origin of the name Rowallan, ranging from folklore, to actual word derivation.
A folk etymology suggests, in connection with the rebus mentioned, there is a tale told of one Allan of Stewarton who was rowing a Scottish chief off the Ayrshire coast. The weather made a turn for the worse and the chief became anxious. The chief in his fear of the ocean said to Allan, Row, Allan row! Bear me to safety and you will have the rich lands of Carmelside, with silver to build yourself a castle. Hill and valley and rivers of fish will be yours .... but just row, Allan, row! Allan won his prize and named the estate 'Rowallan' after his adventure. The same story is told in the form of a poem written by the Rev. George Paxton from Kilmaurs, pastor of a Secession Church from 1789 - 1807.Blair, Anna (1983) Tales of Ayrshire. Pub. Shepheard-Walwyn, London. . P. 127 -128.Adamson, Archibald R. (1875), Rambles Round Kilmarnock. Pub. T. Stevenson, Kilmarnock. P. 141.
Others cite Scottish Gaelic as the origin, stating 'Rubha Àlainn' means 'beautiful headland'. Yet, an effort to interpret 'Rubha Álainn' shows the phrase itself isn't even Gaelic.
Yet, a third suggestion is that 'Rowallan' is of Brythonic or Cumbric origin, especially in that this area of Scotland lived under these languages for over a thousand years before Gaelic began to take hold. Broken down, 'Ro' is the equivalent of the Welsh “Rhy” (even the Old Irish 'Ro') meaning 'too' or 'very', while 'wallan' closely mirrors the 'wallon' suffix so often seen in Welsh and Old Breton, which derives from guallaun, or ‘good/best'.
Covenanting times Sir William Mure wrote a history of his family and though an ardent covenanter, opposed the execution of Charles I, writing an elegy upon his death. Conventicles were not infrequently held within the mansion, which from its position was anciently called the Craig of Rowallan.Paterson, James (1866), History of the Counties of Ayr and Wigton. Pub. James Stillie, Edinburgh. Vol. III. p. 413. For this, he fell under the suspicion of the Government, and on several occasions suffered imprisonment. Part of the old castle is called the 'Auld Kirk' in memory of covenanting days. As stated, Sir William befriended the Covenanters, and as much as possible protected his tenantry from the tyranny of the troopers who scoured the countryside at the period. He was intimate with the Rev. William Guthrie of Fenwick, who preached upon several occasions in the "auld kirk" of the castle.Adamson, Archibald R. (1875), Rambles Round Kilmarnock. Pub. T. Stevenson, Kilmarnock. P. 150.
In the 1640s Alasdair Mac Colla had been sent by Montrose to suppress support for the Covenanting cause. Based in Kilmarnock, he plundered the Ayrshire countryside for some days and then demanded financial penalties. Sir William Mure's penalty for preventing further plundering at Rowallan was 1,000 merks; much damage already having been done.Stevenson, David (1994). Highland Warrior. Alasdair MacColla and the Civil Wars. Edinburgh : The Saltire Society. . p. 205.
Rowallan
Rowallan.Adamson, Archibald R. (1875), Rambles Round Kilmarnock. Pub. T. Stevenson, Kilmarnock. P. 151.
Farewell unto thy rocky steep, Thy crumbling walls and ruined keep; In thy decay I read a page That tells me of a bygone age. No more does mirth or laughter sound, Or footsteps through thy halls resound: Now all is still, all’s bleak decay, And Ruin wrecks thy fabric grey.
Thy knights and vassals sleep in dust, Their blades are now consumed by rust; Vacant thy rooms, upon their walls The spider weaves its web; for all’s Now wreck within, without, around. And solemn silence reigns profound. Time moulders wall and winding stair Once trod by knight and lady fair.
Farewell, Rowallan! fare thee well! Adieu unto thy bosky dell, Thy ruined keep and shattered tower, Thy winding stream and leafy bower, For each memento seems to say That all on earth must pass away-- That all must change and parted be, And crumble and decay like thee.
The tree fox of Rowallan Adamson records that a fox lived in a tree in the old garden at Rowallan. This fox would watch the world go by from its perch and was sufficiently savvy to leave the house keepers chickens alone. One day this fox encountered the local hunt and ran to cover in the tree, to the amazement and consternation of the hunters and hounds. The housekeeper dislodged the poor animal, however it escaped the hunt and was back in its tree the following day as if nothing untoward had happened.Adamson, Archibald R. (1875), Rambles Round Kilmarnock. Pub. T. Stevenson, Kilmarnock. P. 140.
The marriage tree Near to the castle, overlooking a chasm through which the Carmel runs, stood a stately 'marriage tree' on the bank known as 'Janet's Kirn', Scots for 'churn.' Under this tree Dame Jean Mure of Rowallan was married to William Fairlie of Bruntsfield, an estate near Edinburgh. This wedding was part of a well planned elopement, the suitor having brought a minister with him.Adamson, Archibald R. (1875), Rambles Round Kilmarnock. Pub. T. Stevenson, Kilmarnock. P. 142 - 143.Love, Dane (2009). Legendary Ayrshire. Custom : Folklore : Tradition. Auchinleck : Carn Publishing. . pp. 85 - 86
Rowallan and a visit from Auld Nick The Devil visits Rowallan.Adamson, Archibald R. (1875), Rambles Round Kilmarnock. Pub. T. Stevenson, Kilmarnock. P. 142.
Tis said, one wintry night of yore were met a happy throng Within Rowallan's festive hall, Where all was mirth and song; When, crashing through the nestling trees, Auld Nick came in a blue-shot bleeze, By witch-wife conjured, to affright For grave abuse or cutting spite.
But little ken'd that sinner warm That in the castle lay a charm Which Auld Nick's magic could dispel And send him baffled hame. Ah! well, Will he go in? He takes the road.
Avaunt thou, in the name of God! The parson cried, and then brought down His Bible whack on Auld Nick's crown. As when the hunter's well-aimed dart Strikes through the savage tiger's heart, Sudden he leaped, and gave a roar That rent the stair and burst the door, Then, like a rocket through the night, In flame of fire passed out of site.