Descriptive Gazetteer Entry for Kelburne Castle

Kelburne Castle, a seat of the Earl of Glasgow in Largs parish, Ayrshire, within ½ mile of the Firth of Clyde, 1J mile N by E of Fairlie, and 2 miles SSE of Largs town. Originally a square tower, it was described by Pont in the beginning of the 17th century as 'a goodly building, well planted, having very beautiful orchards and gardens;' and a hundred years later it was enlarged by David, first Earl of Glasgow. Special features of interest are a metal finial, with the crest of the Boyles surmounted by a thistle, and 'an ingeniously ornamented sun-dial, where every inch of surface is made to tell the story of time, and where its pinnacle, by a series of grooves, imitates the crocketing of Gothic architecture.' The estate came into possession of the Earl's ancestors so early as the time of Alexander III. (1249-86), and gives the title of Viscount to George Frederick Boyle, sixth Earl of Glasgow since 1703 (b. 1825; sue. 1869), who holds 36,879 acres, valued at £36,714 per annum, viz., 24,968 in Ayrshire (£18,359), 4453 in Renfrewshire (£7291), 5625 in Fife (£9085), and 1833 in Buteshire (£1979). The park contains many fine old trees; comprises much diversity of ground, with wooded braes and heights; and includes a dark, wooded glen, where Clea Burn, rising at an altitude of 1280 feet, and running 2 7/8 miles north-north-westward and westward to the Firth, forms two romantic waterfalls, the lower one 50 feet high.—Ord. Sur., sh. 21, 1870. See vol. iii. of Billings' Baronial Antiquities (1853).


(F.H. Groome, Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland (1882-4); © 2004 Gazetteer for Scotland)

Linked entities:
Feature Description: "a seat"   (ADL Feature Type: "residential sites")
Administrative units: Largs ScoP       Ayrshire ScoCnty

Pages for linked administrative units may contain historical statistics and information on boundaries.