Dominating the village of Dundonald, in South Ayrshire, this castle raises its tower house atop a hill. Its importance is crucial for Scottish history: it is the cradle of the Stewart dynasty, the very one that, in the Renaissance, would reign over Scotland and then over all Britain.
The cradle of the Stewarts
Dundonald is a major place of dynastic memory. In 1371, Robert II — the first king of the house of Stewart — established his royal residence here at his accession, building the present tower house. His son Robert III also resided here. It was thus here, in this slightly out-of-the-way Ayrshire, that the dynasty took root which would give Scotland all its kings up to James VI — and, from 1603, England too. The Stewarts, starting from Dundonald, would reign until the eighteenth century: few castles carry so heavy a dynastic charge.
A relic in the Renaissance
But by the time of the Renaissance, Dundonald had lost its royal rank. The castle passed in 1520 to the Wallaces of Craigie, then James V tried to grant it to Robert Boyd in 1536 (without the taking of possession really succeeding). Gradually neglected, it was abandoned by the Wallaces in the 1580s, when the family moved to Auchans House, reusing materials from the old fortress. Dundonald thus illustrates the fate of so many prestigious places become, in the Renaissance, mere relics of a glorious past — the cradle of a royal dynasty reduced to a quarry of stones. To see: the three-level stone tower (great hall, laigh hall, cellars), the barmkin (court) with its archaeological remains, the visitor-centre models.
Did you know?
The site of Dundonald superimposes millennia of occupation: beneath and around the present castle, archaeologists have uncovered a Bronze Age fort, an Iron Age fort, and no fewer than three successive medieval castles. The present one, willed by Robert II in 1371 to mark the accession of the Stewarts, is only the last of a long line of fortresses raised on this strategic Ayrshire hill — a stone palimpsest of the whole of Scottish history.
Notes
Dundonald Castle lies at the village of Dundonald, South Ayrshire; a castle run by a local foundation, with a visitor centre. Hours to check.
Quiz
- Which dynasty did Dundonald see born?
- The Stewarts (Robert II, 1371)
- The Tudors
- The Campbells
- What was Dundonald in the Renaissance?
- A neglected relic of the Stewart past
- A great royal palace
- A war harbour
- What do the site excavations reveal?
- Bronze Age and Iron Age forts, and 3 successive castles
- An intact Roman villa
- A Viking hoard