Dalquharran castle is built round the corner from another castle bearing the same name, it was built in 1790 and was inhabited until the roof was ripped off in 1967. Not sure it can be called a castle as it really is more of a stately home.
We drove down and parked up in Dailly then walked up the Water of Girvan and a field to get to the old castle first, there really isn’t much standing but it was good to look around and check out. We then walked trough the main entranceway through the woods to get to the new “castle” There is a fence around it but it’s blown down, there were multiple ways in and the door to the painting room was only partially boarded up. It doesn't look like it’s been secured in some years and there was no-one else about apart from dog walkers.
This was a good day out and I can recommend it to anyone in the area or going past, between the castle and the house you can easily spend a few hours here. It’s a shame that its been left to rot as if the roof was still on it would be a much longer explore with multiple levels but there is literally just the ground floor and basement of the main building left. All the floors apart from the ground floor have been destroyed by the elements, you can look up and see remnants of its former glory with fireplaces floating on the walls along with scraps of wallpaper still on the walls.
History -
Dalquharran Castle is a category A listed building in South Ayrshire, Scotland, designed by Robert Adam and completed around 1790. The first recorded lord of the property which already included a castle, was Gilbert Kennedy, as stated in a 1474 Charter for the nearby Crossraguel Abbey; the estate was later owned by the Kennedy family for centuries.
The estate including the old castle were bought in the late 17th century by Sir Thomas Kennedy of Kirkhill, Lord Provost of Edinburgh, and occupied by his son Thomas Kennedy of Dunure. When the new castle was completed in 1790, Thomas Kennedy moved out of the old castle which was abandoned and stands in ruins nearby, about 300 metres southeast, closer to the river. Dalquharran Castle (Old Castle) became a listed monument in 1935.
The castle was extended from 1880–1881 by Francis Thomas Romilly Kennedy, grandson of Thomas Kennedy who died in 1819; he needed space to accommodate his wife and their nine children.
The property was sold by the Kennedy family in the 1930s to a timber merchant who leased the castle to the Scottish Youth Hostel Association from 1936 to 1939. It was occupied by the evacuated Glasgow Deaf and Dumb Institution during the Second World War. During the war, the estate was sold to John Stewart, a produce merchant, who occupied the new castle with his family and farmed the estate. The castle was eventually abandoned, as it was too large and expensive to maintain. The lead roof was removed in 1967 so the owners could declare it as uninhabitable and avoid paying rates.
The new castle was designated a category A listed building in 1971.
Outline planning permission was granted in 1990 for an ambitious redevelopment, with two golf courses, a hotel, conference centre, country club, and hundreds of holiday homes. No progress was made. The property was sold to developers in 2001; further permissions were granted in 2004 and then again in 2009 for less ambitious schemes to convert the castle into a hotel. Consent was sought to build 60 dwellings and 5 fractional houses on the estate in June 2014. This request was conditionally approved; by that time, there was no mention of the old plan to convert the castle to a hotel. None of the buildings planned since 1990 were ever constructed.
In June 2019, the entire 261-acre estate was put up for sale at a guide price of £800,000. The owner of the property was Kezia DCM Ltd, a property development company.
We drove down and parked up in Dailly then walked up the Water of Girvan and a field to get to the old castle first, there really isn’t much standing but it was good to look around and check out. We then walked trough the main entranceway through the woods to get to the new “castle” There is a fence around it but it’s blown down, there were multiple ways in and the door to the painting room was only partially boarded up. It doesn't look like it’s been secured in some years and there was no-one else about apart from dog walkers.
This was a good day out and I can recommend it to anyone in the area or going past, between the castle and the house you can easily spend a few hours here. It’s a shame that its been left to rot as if the roof was still on it would be a much longer explore with multiple levels but there is literally just the ground floor and basement of the main building left. All the floors apart from the ground floor have been destroyed by the elements, you can look up and see remnants of its former glory with fireplaces floating on the walls along with scraps of wallpaper still on the walls.
History -
Dalquharran Castle is a category A listed building in South Ayrshire, Scotland, designed by Robert Adam and completed around 1790. The first recorded lord of the property which already included a castle, was Gilbert Kennedy, as stated in a 1474 Charter for the nearby Crossraguel Abbey; the estate was later owned by the Kennedy family for centuries.
The estate including the old castle were bought in the late 17th century by Sir Thomas Kennedy of Kirkhill, Lord Provost of Edinburgh, and occupied by his son Thomas Kennedy of Dunure. When the new castle was completed in 1790, Thomas Kennedy moved out of the old castle which was abandoned and stands in ruins nearby, about 300 metres southeast, closer to the river. Dalquharran Castle (Old Castle) became a listed monument in 1935.
The castle was extended from 1880–1881 by Francis Thomas Romilly Kennedy, grandson of Thomas Kennedy who died in 1819; he needed space to accommodate his wife and their nine children.
The property was sold by the Kennedy family in the 1930s to a timber merchant who leased the castle to the Scottish Youth Hostel Association from 1936 to 1939. It was occupied by the evacuated Glasgow Deaf and Dumb Institution during the Second World War. During the war, the estate was sold to John Stewart, a produce merchant, who occupied the new castle with his family and farmed the estate. The castle was eventually abandoned, as it was too large and expensive to maintain. The lead roof was removed in 1967 so the owners could declare it as uninhabitable and avoid paying rates.
The new castle was designated a category A listed building in 1971.
Outline planning permission was granted in 1990 for an ambitious redevelopment, with two golf courses, a hotel, conference centre, country club, and hundreds of holiday homes. No progress was made. The property was sold to developers in 2001; further permissions were granted in 2004 and then again in 2009 for less ambitious schemes to convert the castle into a hotel. Consent was sought to build 60 dwellings and 5 fractional houses on the estate in June 2014. This request was conditionally approved; by that time, there was no mention of the old plan to convert the castle to a hotel. None of the buildings planned since 1990 were ever constructed.
In June 2019, the entire 261-acre estate was put up for sale at a guide price of £800,000. The owner of the property was Kezia DCM Ltd, a property development company.
