Greenan Castle

Greenan Castle stands at the top of a cliff that was once the site of a promontory fort. It is ruined tower house located around 2.5 miles (4.0 km) south-west of Ayr, South Ayrshire, Scotland (Scottish Gaelic: Inbhir Àir, Siorrachd Inbhir Àir a Deas, Alba). A motte-and-bailey castle was constructed here in the 12th century. Then in the 15th century a tower house was built by the Lords of the Isles. The title Lord of the Isles (Scottish Gaelic: Triath nan Eilean or Rìgh Innse Gall) is a title of Scottish nobility with historical roots that go back beyond the Kingdom of Scotland. They were island chiefs whose history goes back to the Norse-Gaels who once ruled the islands of Scotland, Isle of Man and Argyll. Greenan Castle later passed into the hands of the Kennedy family.

The site has a long history as a fortification of various types. The location was originally an Iron Age promontory fort. The Iron Age in Scotland dating to around 700 BC–500AD.  This is type of defensive structure is located above a steep cliff, as with this site, with a connection to the mainland by a small neck of land. The first recorded owners of Greenan were the Earls of Ross and Lords of the Isles. After a conflict with King James IV of Scotland they lost the land in 1476 which was awarded to William Douglas, son of the Earl of Angus. By 1603 John Kennedy of Baltersan gained control of Greenan. The majority, if not all of the remains of the structure now seen being built under his ownership. Thomas Kennedy of Cassillis gained control of Greenan Castle in 1766 and it fell into ruin from this period.

Image: Greenan Castle and Ayr Bay William Muir (1828–1910) image courtesy of South Ayrshire Council.