Girvan, Ballochtoul Castle
Tower House (Medieval)
Site Name Girvan, Ballochtoul Castle
Classification Tower House (Medieval)
Alternative Name(s) Balachtowyrl
Canmore ID 62073
Site Number NX19NE 5
NGR NX 19246 97555
Datum OSGB36 - NGR
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/62073
- Council South Ayrshire
- Parish Girvan
- Former Region Strathclyde
- Former District Kyle And Carrick
- Former County Ayrshire
NX19NE 5 1924 9756.
(NX 1924 9756) Ballochtoul Castle (NR) (site of)
OS 6" map (1968)
By 1856 no trace remained of this castle which Abererummie describes as being "a monument to the builders folly being raised five story high without a staire case and no more but one roome in each story. It has nether garden or orchard nor planting but stands in the midst of rich cornfields". He states that it was built by Boyd of Penbrill and implies that the date was about the end of the 17th century. This does not agree with Paterson's statement that it was possessed by the Grahams of Knockdoliane in the 16th century.
W Macfarlane 1907 (Abercrummie); Name Book 1856; J Paterson 1852
No remains of the tower exist and there is no local knowledge of its history.
Visited by OS (JLD) 1 October 1955
In a level field under fallow grass there is no surface indication of a structure, RAF AP (CPE/Scot/UK307: 4003, flown 1947) shows no significant markings here.
Visited by OS (JRL) 12 April 1977
Field Visit (April 1982)
Ballochtoul Castle NX 192 975 NX19NE 5
There are no visible remains of this building, and a school and its grounds now occupy the site. It is said to have been erected in the 17th century, 'five story high without a stair-case and no more but one roome in each story'.
RCAHMS 1983, visited April 1982
(Name Book, Ayr, No. 29, p.17; Paterson 1863-6, ii, 252; Macfarlane 1906-8, ii, 13).
Archaeological Evaluation (25 May 2016)
An archaeological evaluation was undertaken by AOC Archaeology in relation to the proposed new Invergarven Primary School development within the grounds of Girvan Academy, Girvan, South Ayrshire. The evaluation required a 5-10% trenching sample of the development area. A total of 6 trenches of varying lengths and alignments were excavated throughout the available parts of the site. The trenches revealed between 0.7 m to over 2.5 m of landscaped made ground in places overlying the pale brown and grey clay subsoil. The majority of the area appears to have been previously stripped with gravel deposits dumped onto the subsoil and then overlain by soils generated from the Girvan Academy construction. No significant archaeological features or artefacts were revealed.
Information from OASIS ID: aocarcha1-253337 (K Paton) 20116
