Archaeology Notes

Event ID 700186

Category Descriptive Accounts

Type Archaeology Notes

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/700186

NS34NW 10 3423 4523.

(NS 3423 4523) Montgreenan Castle (NR) (remains of)

OS 6" map (1970)

"Montgrynen Castle is an old strong dungeon".

J Dobie 1876

In the Montgreenan Woods are the remains of a Bishop's Palace, sometimes called a castle, of which little appears to be known. Not far away is part of an ancient gateway, and just S of the house there are the remains of a mound which once contained an ice-house.

J Smith 1895

All that remains at this site is a small piece of wall at the side of the stream, and a slight hollow, partly surrounded by a bank formed by the rubbish of the old walls. Mr R Glasgow, the proprietor, states that it probably became disused in 1680, when the last Cunninghame of Montgreenan was forfeited. Its remains were removed about 1765 by the previous proprietor, Mr Stevenson, to build a house at Kilwinning.

Name Book 1856

In thick vegetation are traces of buildings, enclosed by a wall on W and S. The details are very vague, but the plan seems to be that of a courtyard with internal buildings on all sides except perhaps the E, where there is a wall running along the edge of the Lugton Water. All the walls are merely heaps of rubble, and the drystone "courtyard" wall seems to be of later construction than the internal remains, and acts as a revetment to the mass of rubble inside. This wall is 1.4m high. No evidence was encountered for this being a "Bishop's Palace," or about its historical associations.

About 65.0m to the S is a mound, 1.5m high, which has been cut through by a track, and may be the ice-house referred to by Smith, although no stone-work exists. No trace of a gateway was found, although the possible entrance shown on OS plan may be the gateway referred to.

Visited by OS(JLD) 3 September 1956

These remains are generally as described in the previous field report. The "courtyard" wall may be contemporary as there appears to be the base of a small turret at its NE end.

Revised at 25".

Visited by OS (WDJ) 22 November 1965

No change.

Visited by OS (JRL) 14 October 1982