Rowallan Castle
Rowallan Castle can be found in East Ayrshire between the villages
of Fenwick and Kilmaurs. The castle presently known as Rowallan
Castle was built for the Corbett family around the beginning of the
20th century but the picturesque ruins which lie next to it are of
an early 16th century castle built around a 13th century keep which
was the home of the Muirs. It was built on a slight mound next to
the Carmel Water with the buildings forming three sides of a
courtyard which was completed on the forth side by a wall. It has
two round towers at either side of the main door which were added
around 1567, and are quite unusual for a
Scottish
castle. The main building itself is three storeys
high.
Recent archaeological excavations were undertaken at Rowallan
Castle as part of a programme of repair and consolidation of the
site by Historic Scotland, their findings show evidence of much
earlier occupation. Work within the late medieval tower revealed
a
Bronze
Age burial pit, a series of timber structures and a stone
platform. The burial pit contained a layer of cremated human bone
and a food vessel, lying on its side, which also contained bone.
The food vessel was dated by comparing it to similar local types to
circa 2100-1700 BC. Traces of at least three episodes of timber
building predating the stone tower were revealed, with radiocarbon
dating techniques have suggested construction dates for these of
around circa 100 BC and 300 BC respectively. Analysis of plant
remains from the fill of a post, dated to the first millennium,
identified wheat, barley and rye.
The Muirs
The earliest records of the Barony, in the 13th century show that
at that time in the reign of Alexander III, the estate was owned by
Sir Walter
Comyn. Sir Walters' daughter Isobel's hand in marriage was
given to Sir Gilchrist Mure by the King as a result of his valour
during the
Battle of
Largs in 1263. As Isobel was the sole heir of Rowallan,
the estate then became the property of Sir Gilchrist. The Mure line
ended at Rowallan with Sir William, the 16th Lord of Rowallan in
1700 who had represented Ayrshire in Parliament. During that time
there were many notable family members including the noted
Covenanter, writer and poet
Sir William
Mure. The line continued though through the daughter of the
16th Lord, whose own daughter married Sir James Campbell, third son
of the Earl of Loudoun who then became the Lord of Rowallan. He too
represented Ayrshire in Parliament from 1727 to 1741 and he died
from wounds on the field of Fontenoy in 1745 fighting the French.
His son, Major-General James Mure Campbell of Rowallan became the
fifth Earl of Loudoun in 1782 uniting two great Ayrshire houses;
that of Rowallan and that of the Campbells of Loudoun near
Galston.
His daughter,
Flora,
Countess of Loudoun, is famous in her own right as a close
friend and Lady in Waiting to Queen Victoria who eventually was
shunned by the Royal family due to an alleged pregnancy out of
wedlock, a scandal only proved false by a medical examination that
proved that the swelling in her belly was actually caused by a
cancerous growth which led to her tragic death. Her treatment at
the hands of the Royals led to a drop in popularity for Victoria,
who was heckled during public engagements and had eggs thrown at
her carriage.
The Origins of the Earldom of
Loudoun.
The roots of the Earldom of Loudoun go way back to the days
of
David
I (1084-1153), when Richard de Morville was Constable of
Scotland. De Morville held many lands and Baronies in the country
including that of Cunningham. Well known for being generous towards
the church, friends and vassals, he gifted a James de Loudoun a
charter for the extensive lands which still bear the name of
Loudoun. His daughter, Margaret married Sir Reginald de
Crawfurd who
was the High Sheriff of Ayrshire and the couple's eldest son, Hugh
de Crawfurd of Loudoun succeeded them. Hugh's daughter Margaret, it
has been alleged was the mother of the Scottish hero,
Sir William
Wallace. The estate later passed to the Campbells with the
marriage of Susannah Crawfurd to Sir Duncan Campbell a friend
of
Robert the
Bruce.
The First Earl of Loudoun
The Campbells of Loudoun really came to eminence in 1601 however
when Sir Hugh Campbell, Sheriff of Ayr, was created a Lord by James
VI. His granddaughter, Margaret, who became the sole heir, married
Sir John Campbell of Lawers, who was created the First Earl of
Loudoun in 1633 by Charles I. John Campbell also became known as a
leading
Covenanterand
was an active commander in the field and eventually was chosen to
preside over the opening of the Scottish Parliament in 1641 and
became High Chancellor and First Commissioner of the Treasury. A
supporter of
Cromwell during
the Civil War, he was expelled from his post as Chancellor and
fined a hefty 12,000 pounds on the Restoration of Charles
II.
John Campbell, the 4th Earl of
Loudoun
Another member of the Campbell family worthy of note was John, 4th
Earl of Loudoun, who was a distinguished soldier who held many
illustrious offices both at home and overseas. During the
Jacobite uprising
of 1745 he raised a massive regiment of Highlanders for the
Government and was instrumental in the Government victory. In 1756
he became Governor in Chief of the
British
province of Virginia and very soon after was appointed
Commander in Chief to all the British forces in America. He was
also second in command of British forces sent to Portugal to fight
the Spanish in 1762. Even age 70 he was tireless, now back home in
Ayrshire, he set about one of the most extensive and ambitious tree
planting projects anywhere in the country eventually being credited
with the planting of over a million trees. All the time that he had
been serving abroad his interest in
horticulture had
led him to collect specimens of valuable trees of every kind which
were sent home forming one of the most comprehensive collections of
trees in Europe. These exotic trees, especially many willows, were
interspersed throughout plantations of thousands of indigenous
species creating a landscape that
Tannahill referred
to as 'Loudoun's bonnie woods and braes'.
Loudoun Castle
Loudoun Castle, near Galston was the home of the Campbells of
Loudoun. This 19th century building now stands on the spot of an
older castle. Unfortunately a fire in 1941 tragically destroyed
most of the Castle, but the walls which remain today once formed
the building created by Fiona Mure-Campbell, Countess of Loudoun
and Marchioness of Hastings in the early 1800s. When it was built,
the Castle was known as the 'Windsor of Scotland'. It can be
visited today as part of Loudoun Castle Theme Park. The castle was
once the home, allegedly, of the sword of
Sir William
Wallace, which had been passed to the Crawfurd family, once
Lords of Loudoun, and cousins of the patriot. Many castles have
ancient yew trees nearby, the traditional wood for making longbows
and it was under the 'Auld Yew Tree' at Loudoun Castle that Peers
discussed draughts of what was to become the
Treaty of Union
in 1707.