Aiket Castle
Lairds House (17th Century), Tower House (Medieval)
Site Name Aiket Castle
Classification Lairds House (17th Century), Tower House (Medieval)
Canmore ID 42014
Site Number NS34NE 1
NGR NS 3878 4875
Datum OSGB36 - NGR
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/42014
- Council East Ayrshire
- Parish Dunlop
- Former Region Strathclyde
- Former District Kilmarnock And Loudoun
- Former County Ayrshire
Tower house rebuilt from below first floor level upwards in the 1970's.
RCAHMS (CAJS) 2012.
NS34NE 1 3878 4875.
NS34NE 1.01 NS 3874 4875 Grain Mill
NS34NE 1.02 NS 3904 4891 Sawmill
(NS 3878 4875) Aiket Castle (NR)
OS 6" map (1970)
Aiket Castle (Tranter; Bayne) or Aiket House (MacGibbon and Ross; SDD) is of two periods. Its W half was a free-standing tower of probable 16th century date, added to in the late 17th century to form an oblong laird's house. The bonding between the two works is plain on the S front. It occupies a defensive position and Paterson states that it was formerly surrounded by a moat. No trace of this was seen in 1956 when visited by the OS (DS) on 2 August 1956.
The original tower has walls 7ft thick at base, and a vaulted basement. The later part is also vaulted, the walls are less thick. Formerly four storeys high, it ws reduced to three storeys in the mid-19th century. Though inhabited in 1935 (J F Bayne 1935), and roofed in 1956 it is noted in 1962 as roofless and in ruins.
J Paterson 1847; D MacGibbon and T Ross 1892; SDD List 1962; N Tranter 1965
Aiket Castle has been completely restored as a private dwelling and is in excellent repair. A pediment has been recently inscribed AC KC 149 and RC KC 1976 (presumably the date of restoration). A single storey building which abuts the E side of the house has a linter dated 1734. There is no indication of a former moat, although there is natural low-lying ground on the NW.
Visited by OS (JRL) 18 October 1982.
This L-plan castle comprises an extended tower-house block, with a linear block attached to the W (RCAHMSAP 2003), the layout of which is shown on the OS 1:10,000 map (1970). A conservatory is attached to the W.
Photographic Survey (13 August 2009)
Photographed on behalf of the Buildings of Scotland Ayrshire publication.
RCAHMS (CAJS) 2012.
