Turnberry Castle
| Turnberry Castle | ||
|---|---|---|
 Ailsa Craig with Turnberry Castle in the foreground (from: Swan's Views of Clyde, 1830) |
||
| Creation time : | before the 13th century | |
| Castle type : | Höhenburg, spur location | |
| Conservation status: | ruin | |
| Standing position : | Scottish nobility | |
| Construction: | Quarry stone | |
| Place: | Kirkoswald | |
| Geographical location | 55 ° 19 '33.7 " N , 4 ° 50' 38.6" W | |
| Height: | 8 m ASLTemplate: height / unknown reference | |
|
||
Turnberry Castle is the ruin of a spur castle on the coast in the area of the parish of Kirkoswald near Maybole in the Scottish administrative division of South Ayrshire . The castle at the far end of the lower peninsula was the seat of the Earls of Carrick . The Turnberry Golf Club is located next to the castle ruins .
history
Turnberry Castle's origins were lost in the depths of history. There does not appear to be any authentic record of when or by whom the castle was built, but it was originally a fortress of the Lords of Galloway and then passed to the Earls of Carrick in the early 13th century. At the end of the 13th century, the castle belonged to Marjorie , the widowed Countess of Carrick. According to a medieval legend, Marjorie held a visitor, the knight Robert de Bruce , captive until he agreed to marry her. His marriage to Marjorie gave him both the castle and the earldom. Their first son, also named Robert, later became Robert the Bruce , King of Scots. While it is not known whether he was actually born at Turnberry Castle, there is no doubt that he grew up there.
Turnberry Castle is involved in two important historical events, both of which are directly linked to Robert the Bruce. On September 20, 1286, several Scottish barons who supported Robert's claim to the throne met secretly at Turnberry Castle. Robert was only twelve years old at the time. The second event was Robert's attempt in the spring of 1307 to retake the castle from the English who were then occupying it. This attempt was only partially successful, even if it eventually led to the withdrawal of the English soldiers. His attempt to retake the castle was the beginning of a long road that ended with Robert's eventual victory at the Battle of Bannockburn . It was Robert the Bruce who ordered the castle to be demolished in 1310 so that it would not fall back into the hands of the English. The castle was almost completely destroyed; the ruins still preserved today are parts of the old castle, which it seems has not been rebuilt.
description
Little remains of the old building today. Turnberry Castle is surrounded on three sides by the sea and Turnberry Golf Club is on the land side. Over the centuries, the ruin has suffered from the effects of weather and erosion by the sea, so that little more than the lower vaults and cellars remained undamaged. There are some traces of a drawbridge and an old portcullis , which may have served as the entrance. From the amount of rock found on the site, Turnberry Castle appears to have been a large and strong fortress. There are also caves that lead out to the sea. There was probably the port of the castle.
In 1873 a lighthouse was built on part of the castle grounds , which is still standing today.
Turnberry Castle is a Scheduled Monument , with the exception of the lighthouse area.
Individual evidence
- ^ A b Francis H. Groome (editor): Ordnance of Scotland . 1892-1896. Volume 6. p. 454
- ^ The land of the Bruce in All the Year Round . 6: 133. July 1891. p. 59.
- ^ Parentage of Robert Bruce in Chamber's Edinburgh Journal . No. 14 May 1832. p. 112.
- ↑ Turnberry Castle, Ayrshire, North Britain in Saturday Magazine . 3:72. August 1833. p. 60.
- ↑ Turnberry Castle, Ayrshire, North Britain in Saturday Magazine . 3:72. May 1833. p. 112.
- ↑ James Halliday: Scotland: a Concise History . Steve Savage Publishers, London 1990.
- ↑ a b c d Scheduled Monument - entry . In: Historic Scotland .
