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Field Visit

Date May 1987

Event ID 1082689

Category Recording

Type Field Visit

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/1082689

The ruins of the principal stronghold of the Lamont family are situated on the S shore of the East Cowal peninsula, in the wooded grounds E of the baronial mansion of Castle Toward (No. 158), and 400m SE of the former Campbell residence of Old Auchavoulin House (No. 154). The castle stands on a rocky promontory associated with old sea-cliffs 150m N of the shore of the Firth of Clyde, commanding a wide view of the Ayrshire mainland and the islands of Bute and Cumbrae. The area around the base of the promontory retains evidence of an encampment of World War II, and N of the castle and the raised-beach levels the ground rises gently to the distant Toward Hill.

The nucleus of the castle was an oblong tower-house occupying the S edge of the steeply-scarped promontory; it stands fully three storeys in height at the SE angle but much of the remainder has collapsed, some fragments of masonry having fallen down the slope. The tower, which probably dates from the mid- or late 15th-century, is associated with a rectangular enclosure or courtyard whose N side incorporates a gatehouse range, while its E side is occupied by a single-storeyed hall-and-kitchen range. These N and E ranges evidently date from the late 16th or early 17th century, and there are indications of other minor 17th-centurymodifications throughout the castle, which was captured and burnt by a Campbell force in 1646 and, by tradition, has not been occupied since. Parts of the structure appear to have been consolidated and repaired in the 19th century and further excavation and consolidation took place in the1970s (en.1).

RCAHMS 1992, visited May 1987

[A full architectural description and historical note is provided in RCAHMS 1992, 297-302]

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