Craigie Castle, in the old Barony of Craigie, is a ruined fortification situated about southeast of Kilmarnock and southeast of Craigie village, in the Civil Parish of Craigie, South Ayrshire, Scotland.The Imperial gazetteer of Scotland. 1854. Vol.I. (AAN-GORDON) by Rev. John Marius Wilson. pp.307–308. https://archive.org/stream/imperialgazettee01wils#page/307/mode/1up The castle is recognised as one of the earliest buildings in the county.Close (2012), page 232 It lies about west-south-west of Craigie church.Groome, page 295 Craigie Castle is protected as a scheduled monument.Historic Environment Scotland SM315
History of Craigie Castle Craigie Castle, Gaelic Caisteil Chreagaidh, was originally built for the Lyndesay or Lindsay clan. The castle passed to John Wallace of Riccarton through marriage about 1371 as the last heir was a daughter. This line of the Ayrshire Wallaces then lived at Craigie Castle until they moved to Newton Castle in Ayr in 1588. Craigie Castle was then left to fall into ruin.Clan Wallace websiteLove, Ayrshire, page 211 It was the belief of Mrs Frances Dunlop of Dunlop, a lineal descendant of William Wallace, that he was born at his grandfather's home of Craigie Castle. William only moved away after a number of years had passed due to the burgeoning size of the family and the lack of space at Craigie.Campbell (1817), Page 125
Descriptions of the castle
The present Gothic castellated ruins date mainly from the 15th century,Close, page 53 with some 12th or 13th century work. Another view is that the main part of the building was a hall house dating from the 12th or 13th century, incorporating an even earlier buildingCampbell, page 158 which may have been built by the predecessors of Walter Hose who held sway prior to Anglo-Norman control.
The buildings were surrounded by ditches and natural lochans; enclosing an area of about . It had a high quality rib-vaulted hall consisting of three bays over an unvaulted basement, but architectural historians have found traces of an earlier hall which had a crenellated parapet rising flush with the main wall-face. In the centre of one wall was a round-arched doorway, and opposite this a late medieval fireplace, added in the 15th century, was built over another round-arched opening.
The castle contains one of the finest examples of a vaulted hall in Scotland, easily equal to any Scottish abbey or church. The only rivals of the same period are Tulliallan, Bothwell, and Auchendoun.Macgibbon and Ross, page 296 It has been stated that in its time Craigie was the most impressive building of its kind in Ayrshire.Cuthbertson, Pages 146–147
Due to the condition of the structures it has proved difficult to determine the original plan, but the remains suggest that it was originally a simple rectangle of suitable size for a building such as an early hall-house. Craigie Castle may originally have been a hall-house of the late 12th or early 13th century with a wide crenellate parapet enclosing a saddleback roof. During the 15th century it seems that these crenellations were built over and a new hall fashioned on the walls of its predecessor.
The ruins stand upon a knoll rising out of a plateau, between what appears to have been two marshes or lochans, and the ditches were originally cut between them. One ditch cuts the ridge 117m NE of the castle to form an outer bailey. The castle would have been effectively isolated from the 'mainland', and a significant barrier raised by the water to any potential besiegers at the period when the use of gunpowder was unknown. Two crumbling gables, portions of walls, and shreds of battlements remain, and in the 19th century several underground vaulted chambers survived, although partly filled with rubbish, and home to foxes and bats.Adamson, page 63 The entrance to the castle was at the south-west side by a drawbridge,Mackintosh, page 77 of which the abutment still survives.Historic Environment Scotland: NS43SW 3 The entrance pend or arched passage had a circular watch-tower or bastion to defend it. Within the closing wall was a courtyard surrounded by buildings, and from this courtyard there was an entrance into the great hall, long blocked up.Mcgibbon and Ross, page 300
In 1895 Smith records that at a distance of 145 paces from to the north-east of the castle a deep trench has been cut in a north-west and south-east direction for a distance of 162 paces, to connect the two lochans. Near the south wall of the castle there is another trench, and a section of building is to be seen on the outside of it. On the west side there are the remains of a third trench.Smith, pages 129–130
In 1863 Paterson records that the tower was undergoing some repairs at the end of the 17th century when a part of the roof fell in, after which the castle was completely abandoned. He praises the high degree of military science employed in the construction of the castle where besiegers would be exposed to raking crossfire even after crossing the ditches / moats and would be outflanked on nearly all sides.Paterson, Kyle, V.1., Part 1, pages 263–264
A 'Kragy' castle is marked on Timothy Pont's map of c.1600. It is shown on an elevated area with a prominent entrance way, wooded policies and a surrounding pale.
Although now a minor road, the road running near the castle (B730) was the main route from Irvine to Dumfries via Sanquhar, with a nearby link to the Ayr–Kilmarnock road; Craigie was therefore on one of the few reasonable standard communication routes in the area in the 18th and earlier centuries. The numerous rigs on Roy's 1752 map show that the whole area was intensively cultivated at the time.
Crannog
As late as the 19th century a likely crannóg was visible in the boggy hollow 'just to the south-west' of Craigie Castle; it was described as a slight rise in the meadow...mostly composed of stones. When the hollow was drained an oar was found.Historic Environment Scotland: NS43SW 18.1Smith, page 129
Moot hills Smith records moot hills near Craigie village, Knockmarloch and Highlangside. The barony would originally have had a Moot or Justice Hill and a gallows hill.Smith, page 128
Borland Farms Three Borland Farms have been recorded near Craigie village and this may relate directly to Craigie Castle. The name 'Boarland' could refer to the presence of wild boar, however a more likely origin is that a 'Boor' also meant a serf and Norman lords often apportioned lands near their castles for their servants.Bayne, John F. (1935). Dunlop Parish – A History of Church, Parish, and Nobility. Pub. T.& A. Constable, pages 10–16. The Borland or Bordland also meant the land that was specifically used to furnish food for a castle.Mackenzie, W. Mackay (1927). The Mediaeval Castle in Scotland. Pub. Methuen & Co. Ltd. P. 29. A 'Boirland' is marked on the Timothy Pont map as far back as the late 16th / early 17th century.
Craigie Mains farm
An armorial plaque from the castle ruins is set in the wall of the steading (NS 4 062 3174). The naive peasantry at one time believed that the stone showed two wild men playing at draughts.Paterson, Kyle, V.1., Part 1, page 264 It bears the impaled arms of the Lindsays and Wallaces.
James Kilpatrick of Craigie Mains was a great horseman who considerably improved the breeding lines of the Clydesdale horseMacintosh, page 295 and was famous throughout Britain and the World. Some his champions were: 1918, Craigie Litigant; 1921, Craigie Excellence; 1924, Craigie McQuaid; 1925, Craigie Exquisite; 1929, Craigie Winalot; 1930, Craigie Beau Ideal; 1933, Craigie Realisation; 1935, Craigie Magnificent; 1939, Craigie Independent; 1941, Craigie Topsman; 1942, Craigie Chieftain; 1947, Craigie Supreme Commander; 1948, Craigie True Form. In 1951 Craigie Mains had about 80 head of horses.Strawhorn & Boyd, Page 599 James Kilpatrick regularly exhibited his Clydesdales, colts and fillies in all their finery at the annual Craigie Agricultural Show in the 1900s.Wall, Page 56
The famous 'Baron of Buchlyvie' was purchased for £700 by Mr Kilpatrick in 1902 and was the stud horse at the mains in 1903. Mr William Dunlop of Dunure Mains had a half share and after much disagreement the 'baron' ended up at Dunlop Mains, having been sold at auction or £9,500; an unheard of sum for a Clydesdale at the time. The mounted skeleton of this horse is now on display at the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in Glasgow.Shaw, Page 177
Matthew Anderson the 'Policeman Poet' wrote a poem in honour of Symington and Craigie.
This is an extract –
"The greatest place beneath the sky, For Clydesdale horse and Ayrshire Kye, In all the bliss of perfect joy, They roam the fields sae lovely. There's Craigie Mains and Laigh Langside, In them we feel a special pride, Their name and fame are World wide. Then hip, hurrah for Craigie!"Reid, Page 45
The Hoses and Lindsays of Craigie In the 12th century Walter fitz Alan, Steward of Scotland, held these lands and Walter Hose held his fief from the Steward.Campbell, Page 159 In 1177 Walter Hose of Cragyn had given the church of Cragyn to the monks of Paisley. John, probably Walter's son, inherited and his son Thomas had no heir, resulting in his sisters Christiana and Matilda inheriting. Walter de Lyndesay, Knight, was the son of Christiana, the father being William Lyndesey of Crawfurd. The male line ended with John de Lyndesey, whose daughter married John Wallace of Riccarton.Paterson, Kyle, V.1, pages 282–3
The Wallaces of Craigie
John Wallace of Riccarton in the reign of David II had a charter of lands of Moorlecere in Forfarshire and was styled 'Wallayis of Richardtoun'. John married the heiress of Lindsay of Craigie circa 1371 and from this date Craigie was the chief residence of the family.Paterson, Kyle, V.1, Part 2, page 655
John Wallace was Lieutenant-General to James II, and fought at the Battle of Sark on 23 October 1448, killing the English General Magnus with his own hands. John was injured on the battlefield and died of his wounds at Craigie Castle about three months later.
In the second half of the 15th century the Wallace family had Blind Harry write his poem The Wallace, which recorded the story of Sir William Wallace, albeit 150 years after his death.Coventry, Page 586
An Adam Wallace was Comptroller of the Household of James III in 1468.Paterson, Kyle, V.1, page 285 John Wallace was killed at the Battle of Flodden in 1513; his brother Adam inherited and became oversmen of Prestwick in addition to Bailie of Kyle Stewart. In 1515 he was made alderman of Ayr and controlled the Royal Burgh for a decade.Strawhorn, page 28
In 1559 Sir John Wallace accompanied the Earl of Glencairn, the Lords Boyd and Ochiltree, the Sheriff of Ayr, the Laird of Cessnock and others, with a body of 2500 men to Perth in support of the Covenanters or reformers.Paterson, Kyle, V.1. page 287
Sir William Wallace commanded a cavalry under James VII (James II of England) and went into exile in France with him. He was at the Battle of Killiecrankie and died circa 1700; his brother succeeded to the estates, much impoverished by Sir William's adherence to the Jacobite cause.Paterson, Kyle, V.1. page 294
The Wallaces of Craigie became hereditary Bailies of Kyle Stewart and as such were the chief local representatives of the Crown. In 1489 John Wallace obtained a lease to mine coal near Kingcase in Prestwick.
In 1527 Gilbert Kennedy, 2nd Earl of Cassillis was ambushed and murdered on the sand dunes at Prestwick. Adam Wallace was implicated in this essentially Campbell inspired feud, as his wife, Dame Isabelle, was said to have planned the assassination. The controversy resulted in a loss of prestige and influence.Strawhorn, page 29