Newton Castle and Craigie House

Ayrshire: To north of Ayr, in Newton on Ayr, on minor roads south or west of A719, east of Garden Street, north of River Ayr.

Ruin or site   NS 339223   OS: 70   KA8 8LL

OPEN: Craigie House: grounds are open to the public.

Site of 15th-century tower and strong castle, which was later altered and extended, and stood within gardens and groves of trees. A panel above the fireplace in Loudoun Hall in Ayr came from this building and is dated 1665.
  ‘Newtoun’ is prominently marked on Blaeu’s map of Kyle.
  There was a castle here from about 1200, which was captured by Norsemen in 1263 before the Battle of Largs. It was a property of the Wallaces in 1468, but in the 16th century passed to the Hamiltons, then to the Wallaces of Craigie in 1588, who also held Craigie Castle. The castle was demolished or blown down in 1701, and by 1837 only one wall survived. The site is now occupied by a car park.
  Craigie House [NS 352215] was built further south and east in Ayr and was held by the Wallaces of Craigie. The building dates from around 1730, was probably designed by the architect John Smith, and is a fine three-storey mansion with a bow-windowed front. This property went to the Campbells in 1782 and was sold to the local council in 1940. It was used by the army during World War II, then as a luxury restaurant and then part of a teaching college, but is now a business centre.