Hunterston Castle History

The construction on Hunterston Castle began about 800 years ago, in about the year 1200, by the Hunter family and it has been in the family ever since. It is one of the only castles in Scotland that still belongs to the original family. The Hunter family came to Britain with William the Conqueror, and then came to West Kilbride soon afterward. The castle has been restored and is in very good condition. 

The original castle was the smallest of the West Kilbride castles; it is only about 24 feet long by 21 feet wide and only 34 feet to the parapet. But it has been greatly extended over the years. Like the other castles, the entrance and Great Hall were on the first floor with a removable wooden stair for defense, although the castle was in a very good position for defense anyway. The area all round the castle was a dangerous swamp and only the local people knew the safe way through it. At one time, the castle did also had a moat. The swamps were drained about 150 to 200 years ago and are now farmland. The original way into the ground floor was down through a trap door from the first floor above and you can still see the trap door. But about 200 years after the castle was built a stairway tower was built onto the castle to give a ground floor entrance to the building and comfortable stairs to the main hall on the first floor. 

The Pele Tower was probably built in the mid-thirteenth century, constructed in local sandstone. It replaced a timber fortress. A fine barrel-vaulted roof supports the foundation of the huge weight of stone above. In times of danger the ground floor room was used for storage for food and the animals, it also had a well.

The Old Hall served as the main living room until the Great Hall was added in the 16th. century by John Hunter, 14th Laird. It is complemented by a very fine set of staghorn furniture from Bavaria.

The Old Hall now opens into the Great Hall. The most notable feature of this room is the handsome fireplace with a fine carving of the Hunter Coat of Arms.

A spiral staircase leads from the Old Hall to the bedroom above, in which all the immediate Hunter family would have slept. In was in this room that Robert Caldwell Hunter was born in 1799. In that year his parents commenced the building of Hunterston House.

Hunterston Castle is unique in that it has its original roof beams with the carpenters marks clearly visible. The roof beams are a excellent example of medieval carpentry, constructed with mortice and tenon joints secured with pegs.

The parapet is narrow to assist with defense, as the early Hunters used crossbows for defending the Castle. The south wall has a machicolation to make defending the front door easier. The front door was on the first floor at this time in common with other Castles of this period.