Castle Semple

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Memorial to the MacDowall von Garthland family and at the Castle Semple estate in Lochwinnoch in Renfrewshire, Scotland
Temple on Kenmuir Hill near Castle Semple at Howwood

Castle Semple (formerly Castletoun ) was a country house at the east end of Castle Semple Loch in the Clyde Muirshiel Regional Park in the Scottish county of Renfrewshire . John Sempill, 1st Lord Sempill , had the house built, or probably rebuilt, and changed his name from Castletoun to Castle Semple . In the Atlas Major by Willem Blaeu , which was published in 1654, the country house is represented with a symbol that denotes the largest castles. In George Crawford's book History of Renfrewshire (1710) he wrote: “Over the bank of the lake stands Sempill Castle, the main estate of a kind lordship of the same name, which consists of a large courtyard of what appears to be very old buildings, adorned with pleasant orchards and gardens. ”According to Gardener , Castletoun was built in 1492–1493, but Millar claims that it was built around 1550, so the mansion was a successor to Elliston Castle .

The property was sold by Hugh Sempill, 12th Lord Sempill , in 1727 to Colonel William MacDowall († 1748), a younger son of the MacDowall clan . In 1735 M'Dowall had the house demolished and a new one built in the same place. The new Castle Semple was a fine, neo-Gothic country house known for its extensive gardens that formed the center of the 360 ​​hectare estate. In 1818 MacDowall sold Castle Semple to John Harvey, Esq. , from Jamaica . Some workers who repaired sewer pipes in 1830 found parts of the foundations of the old country house that still existed below the surface.

The country house burned down in 1924 and the ruin was finally demolished in 1960. The billiards room and the stables were given a new roof and used as agricultural buildings. Impressive archways and a folly in the form of a small temple on a hill at the northern end of the lake are all that has been preserved from the property.

estate

A copper cannon with the coat of arms of Scotland and the initials "JRS" engraved on it was found in the lake near the Peel Tower . This relic was kept in Castle Semple.

For a time, the Glasgow and Ayr Railway ran through the Castle Semple estate and right past the lake. Castle Semple had its own train station, but it was never open to the public. There was a simple platform there that was mostly used by the workers on the property. If the station had ever been open to public use, it would have been called Howwood or St Bryde's (after the nearby St Bryde's House or St Bryde's Burn ). The track bed of the dismantled railway line is now part of National Cycle Route No. 7 .

Lord Semple had a collegiate monastery built near the lake; a stone in the outer wall of Castle Semple Collegiate Church bears the initials “R. L. S. ”and the coat of arms of the Sempills and Montgomery. To the east of the lake and on its south side there are remains of the old tower of Elliston Castle, the castle of the Semple family before 1550.

Historic Scotland has listed the "temple" on Kenmuir Hill near Castle Semple as a Category B historic building.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ John Fleming, John Wilson: The lakes of Scotland: a series of views from paintings . A. Fullarton. S. 213 ff. 1839. Retrieved April 28, 2017.
  2. ↑ a b c d A. Fullarton: The Topographical, statistical, and historical gazetteer of Scotland: with a complete county-atlas from recent surveys, exhibiting all the lines of road, rail, and canal communication; and an appendix, containing the results of the census of 1851 . A. Fullarton. Pp. 217 ff. 1853. Retrieved April 28, 2017.
  3. ↑ Alexander Hastie Millar: The castles and mansions of Renfrewshire and Buteshire: illustrated in sixty-five views, with historical and descriptive accounts . T. & R. Annan & Sons. 1889. Retrieved December 7, 2011.
  4. ^ The New Statistical Account of Scotland under the Superintendance of a Committee of the Society for the Benefit of the Sons and Daughters of the Clergy . Volume 7: '' Renfrew-Argyle ''. William Blackwood, 1845. p. 96.
  5. ^ Alasdair Wham: Lost Railway Lines South of Glasgow . GC Book Publishers Ltd. S. 23 June 1, 2000. Retrieved April 28, 2017.
  6. ^ A b Alasdair Wham: Lost Railway Lines South of Glasgow . GC Book Publishers Ltd. June 1, 2000. Retrieved April 28, 2017.
  7. ↑ Listed Building - Entry . In: Historic Scotland .

Web links

Commons : Castle Semple  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 55 ° 48 '24.1 "  N , 4 ° 35' 26.2"  W.