Dean Castle

Location: Dean Park, Dean Road, Kilmarnock, KA3 1XB
Opening times: Monday to Friday 11.00am – 3.00pm; Saturday & Sunday 10.00am – 4.00pm
Entry: Free
Access: Free parking on site.

Early Sunday morning, and Annie gets a post on her FB feed about Dean Castle in Kilmarnock. Why she gets such a post is unknown as neither of us have ever heard of Dean Castle before (we’ll put it down those mysterious ‘algorithms’), but it is a beautiful day and I haven’t visited Ayrshire since writing about Irvine’s Scottish Maritime Centre nearly two years ago, so Dean Castle it is.

Dean Castle. From left to right: the Dower House, the Keep and the Palace. A dower house is a house occupied by the widow of the previous owner of an estate in the United Kingdom, the heir to the estate having moved into the larger family home.

Like my last entry Callendar House, Dean Castle has some serious connections to important people and events in Scottish history. I’ll bullet point the main bits:

The Boyds were prominent in Ayrshire long before Dean Castle’s construction, with Robert Boyd fighting alongside Alexander III against the Vikings at the Battle of Largs (1263). The Scots won the day.
Another Robert Boyd, possibly the grandson of the one mentioned above, was a key commander at the Battle of Bannockburn (1314). Bruce granted Boyd land in thanks for his support, including Kilmarnock.
Following the death of James II in 1460, yet another Robert Boyd was appointed as one of the regents of Scotland as the new king, James III, was only six years old. Boyd abused his power, however, and fled to England when the king reached his majority.
Yet another Robert Boyd had his family’s forfeited estates returned by Mary Queen of Scots. He fought for her at the Battle of Langside (1568) and visited her during her captivity in England.
William Boyd, 3^rd Earl of Kilmarnock, opposed the Jacobite Rising of 1715.
His son, also William and 4^th Earl of Kilmarnock, fought for the Jacobite cause at Culloden in 1746. He was beheaded for treason at the Tower of London.
His son James fought on the government side at Culloden, and inherited the Kilmarnock estates, including Dean Castle, which had been gutted by accidental fire in 1735. James adopted the surname Hay.
Thomas Scott Ellis, the 8^th Lord Howard de Walden, inherited the castle in 1899 and began its restoration. The keep was restored about 1908 and the palace 1930.
His son John Scott Ellis, the 9^th Lord Howard de Walden (1912 – 1999), inherited the castle in 1946 and gifted it, his father’s collection of arms and armour, and his grandfather’s collection of musical instruments, to the people of Kilmarnock. His biggest claim to fame – and it is a claim that goes unverified – is that he knocked down Adolf Hitler while driving in Munich in 1931. Alas, Hitler’s injuries were negligible and he and Ellis parted on a handshake.

Now, let’s have a look at the castle itself.

The keep (right) was built around 1350 and is the oldest part of the castle. The palace (left) was added just over a century later by Robert Boyd, when he was elevated from being a Regent of Scotland to sole Governor of the Realm.

*The defensive walls surrounding the courtyard were largely rebuilt by the 8^th Lord Howard de Walden, and it was he who added the walkway or ‘fighting gallery’ seen at the top of the walls.*

The Great Hall was used for feasting, but it also served as Lord Boyd’s place of business and as sleeping quarters for the servants. It was designed to impress and still does today. It houses the 8^th Lord Howard de Walden’s collections of weapons and armour from 15^th and 16^th century Europe, and some of his tapestries.

*This suit of armour hails from Germany, circa 1515, while the tapestry in the background was made in Brussels in the 16^th century.*

In mediaeval times the private chambers of the Lord and Lady were located on the top floor of the Keep. The main room was called the Solar, possibly because the windows here let in more light than those in the castle’s other rooms.

*The Lord and Lady’s private chapel didn’t exist as a separate building or room but as a side section of the Solar. The stained glass window depicts the patron saint of Scotland, Saint Andrew.*

The Banqueting Hall is the largest room in the palace and was created during a 20th century restoration by combining what had originally been two rooms. The room now holds the van Raalte collection of musical instruments, a Recognised Collection of National Significance. The collection was created by Charles van Raalte, whose daughter Margherita married the 8^th Lord Howard De Walden. She inherited the collection following her father’s death, which is how they came to be at Dean Castle.

I am a non-musician who couldn’t even hold a note on the old comb and toilet paper, but I still found the collection fascinating. How cool looking are the the harp lute (left) and the Serpent (right) above? They may look mediaeval but amazingly were both products of the early nineteenth century.

*Here’s an utterly superfluous photograph of a hurdy gurdy*, shown here purely on the grounds I have never seen a hurdy gurdy before. That said, its sound is seared into my memory courtesy of ‘Lost Hearts’, the BBC’s adaptation of the M. R. James story shown as part of their A Ghost Story for Christmas *strand on Christmas Day 1973.*

Bust of William Wallace, whom the Boyds supported and fought alongside. This is the earliest known sculpture of the great Scottish hero, sculpted by William Reid in 1802. The Latin inscription after Wallace’s initials translates as “Liberty is the best of things”.

*The castle stands in the 200-acre Dean Castle Country Park. Just a short walk from the castle Fenwick Water and Craufurdland Water merge to become Kilmarnock Water.*

*The duck pond with the castle in the background.*

*The earliest known depiction of Dean Castle c/ 1735, the year fire left the building in partial ruin. (Image copyright EAC)*

Destination or Diversion?

An elegant castle with a fascinating history and interesting exhibitions PLUS a lovely country park with a variety of pathways and trails? It’s a full afternoon out, and a destination to boot.

Destination or Diversion?

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