Background of Portencross Castle

Prior to the succession of Robert the Bruce, this castle belonged to the Ross family (Sheriffs of Ayr), but after the fall of that family, and of the Balliol cause, ownership was conferred on an ancestor of the Boyds of Kilmarnock. About the time of Robert II, the castle became part of the inheritance of the third son of Sir Thomas Boyd of Kilmarnock, Robert Boyd of Portincross, with whose decendants it remained until 1737. Robert II and Robert III must have been frequent visitors to Portencross as they travelled between the castles of Dundonald and Rothesay, both Stewart strongholds.

The castle is described in Timothy Pont's 1604 -1608 "Survey of Cunninghame" (i.e., Northern Ayrshire). Details are picked up in "The Castles and Manors of Ayrshire" by Michael C. Davis and in Reverend John Lamb's 1896 "Annals of an Ayrshire Parish", which is a complete contemporary guide to West Kilbride.

Portencross Castle has to be one of the earliest of tower houses. this stone tower replaced an earlier wooden tower built on a mound (Auld Hill). In the 14th century, contrary to common practice, Portencross (Arneil) Castle was moved from the height of Auld Hill and constructed on a promontory of rock which extends into the Firth of Clyde.

The castle is four storeys high and the interior features a cleverly constructed barrel-vaulted ceiling. The castle boasted two kitchens on the first two floors and a circular staircase led from the first floor to the top. Early stone towers developed some individuality in construction. The "L"-shape plan of Portencross Castle is the first of these early buildings to move from a rectangle, adding a wing which created an "L" shape. This may have simply responded to the shape of the rock platform upon which it was built.

Until the late 16th Century, times were turbulent in Ayrshire, and they saw the demolition of many Ayrshire fortified houses. Portencross Castle, however (despite the loss of its roof in 1739), came through this period unscathed and remains remarkably intact despite the absence of maintenance. All the more reason today to try and ensure its continued presence and domination of this scenic landpoint.

In 1740, one of the cannons salvaged from a wrecked galleon of the Spanish Armada, a few hundred yards off of Farland Head, was gifted to the hamlet of Portencross, and this cannon remained by the castle until it was removed in the late 1980's.