Site type CASTLE
Canmore ID 39807
Site Number NR95SW 1
NGR NR 93314 50675
Council NORTH AYRSHIRE
Parish KILMORY
Former Region STRATHCLYDE
Former District CUNNINGHAME
Former County BUTESHIRE

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Archaeological Notes

NR95SW 1 93314 50675

NR 9332 5066. Castle (NR) (In Ruins)
OS 6" map (1924)

Lochranza Castle is now ruinous; in the main it is three storeys and an attic in height, with the S wing two storeys higher. The original castle was a late 13th-early 14th c oblong hall-house of two main storeys having a small square tower projecting from its SW corner. Much of this early work remains, but its present appearance derives mainly from a thorough reconstruction carried out in the late 16th c when the upper works were renewed and heightened and the interior remodelled.
It was possibly erected by a member of the Stewart family of Menteith (J Dunbar 1973); it was occupied in 1614 by troops of James VI, and later that century by Cromwell's forces.
D MacGibbon and T Ross 1889; S Cruden 1960; N Tranter 1970.

Lochranza Castle (DoE nameplate) is as described in the previous information.
Visited by OS (BS) 6 December 1977

NR 9332 5066 In April 1997 a watching brief was maintained by Kirkdale Archaeology during the excavation of a trench on the strip of land connecting Lochranza Castle to the S shore of the loch, providing a new water main along the coast road. The castle lies some 200m offshore in the loch at the end of a sand and gravel spur.
The spit comprised tidal sands and gravels, and the trench, 23cm wide and 30cm deep, was excavated across c 190m of its length. The only structural elements comprised two discrete areas of flat schist slabs buried to a depth of 20?25cm. These slabs appeared to be loosely laid, and of a single layer, buried in the beach gravels; their function is not clear.
Sponsor: Historic Scotland
G Ewart and P Sharman 1997.

Ashmore, P J (2003b) 'Archaeology and the coastal erosion zone', in Dawson, T Coastal archaeology and erosion in Scotland, Edinburgh
Page(s): 1

Cruden, S (1960a) 'The Scottish Castle', Edinburgh
Page(s): 95, 140 Held at RCAHMS F.5.21.CRU

Ewart and Sharman, G and P (1997c) 'Lochranza Castle, Arran (Kilmory parish), watching brief', Discovery Excav Scot
Page(s): 56

Grose, F (1789-91) The antiquities of Scotland, 2v London
Page(s): 295 Held at RCAHMS D.20.GRO.R

MacGibbon and Ross, D and T (1887-92) The castellated and domestic architecture of Scotland from the twelfth to the eighteenth centuries, 5v Edinburgh
Page(s): Vol.3, 490-4 fig.422 Held at RCAHMS F.5.21.MAC

Ritchie, J N G (ed.) (1973d) Prehistoric Society field guide Glasgow 1973, [s.l.]
Page(s): 14 Held at RCAHMS D.20.PRE.P

Stevenson, J B (1985b) Exploring Scotland's heritage: the Clyde estuary and Central Region, Exploring Scotland's heritage series Edinburgh
Page(s): 77, no. 41 Held at RCAHMS A.1.4.HER

The Francis Frith Collection (2005) Scotland-Pictorial Britain, (images from the Frith Archive) in Sackett, T Salisbury, Wiltshire
Page(s): 60 Held at RCAHMS C.2.1.FRI

Tranter, N (1962-70) 'The fortified house in Scotland', Edinburgh
Page(s): Vol.5, 79-80 Held at RCAHMS F.5.21.TRA