Thomaston Castle: A Medieval Tower House near Maybole
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.1
- Popularity
- Very Low
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Primary era
- Early Modern
- Eras represented
- Medieval, Early Modern
- Civilizations
- Kingdom of Scotland
- Site type
- Military
- Remains
- Castle
On this page7 sections
History
Thomaston Castle is a medieval castle in the United Kingdom, west of Maybole in South Ayrshire, Scotland. It was probably built in the thirteenth century by Thomas Bruce, a nephew of Robert the Bruce, the Scottish king Robert I, who ruled from 1306 to 1329. The present structure is largely sixteenth-century in date, reflecting a major enlargement of the earlier castle.
Early origins and sixteenth-century expansion
The earliest castle was established around an inner courtyard on a natural hill. By 1507, Thomaston was held by the Corries of Kelwood, who built a residential tower. This tower formed the main surviving structure and substantially reshaped the site during the sixteenth century.
Changing ownership
Around 1632, Thomaston passed by marriage to the MacIlvaines of Grimmet. Another ownership tradition connects the castle with Alan McIlvaine, whose family supplied wine to the Kennedy earls who held nearby Culzean Castle. After Alan’s death, ownership passed to Patrick McIlvaine when he married Isobel Kennedy, a relative of Gilbert Kennedy, 3rd Earl of Cassilis.
Abandonment and protection
Thomaston Castle remained inhabited until approximately 1800. It is now a Scheduled Monument, a legally protected archaeological or historic site of national importance, designated on 7 December 1998 under reference SM7865.
Remains
Thomaston Castle is a ruined lowland castle or tower house, a fortified residence built as a compact masonry tower for domestic life and defence. Constructed of dressed stone, it stands about 5.6 kilometres west of Maybole and approximately 1.6 kilometres southeast of Culzean Castle. A ditch surrounds the site and is considered probably natural. The early arrangement centred on an inner courtyard positioned on the hill.
The residential tower
The sixteenth-century residential tower has an L-shaped plan, formed by a long main block and a shorter wing. The main block runs southwest to northeast, while the wing extends northwest to southeast. A stair tower occupies the south side at the meeting point of the two wings, and the entrance lies at its foot. The tower rises through three storeys, with a parapet supported by corbels. A former passage led from the ground floor of the wing’s south side to the walled courtyard.
Later alterations and condition
The castle has changed little over the last several centuries apart from the addition of a house on the property. Its masonry is now severely deteriorated, and debris is falling into the courtyard. A hay barn was built on the north side during the second half of the twentieth century.
