Scotland · Partial ruin
Barony and Castle of Corsehill
Corsehill (Old Corsehill) is the site of a medieval tower castle and the nearby later laird's house on the Corsehill/Clerkland Burn near Stewarton in East Ayrshire. Only a single thick section of the original tower wall survives today; the laird's house later called Corsehill House was a separate building on the opposite bank and was removed by c.1800.
Its prime
1532
Today
Partial ruin
As it stood in 1532
What Barony and Castle of Corsehill looked like in its prime.
A single square/oblong stone tower once stood on a low grassy knoll beside the Clerkland (Corsehill) Burn; in prime condition it was a complete multi-storey tower castle of very thick masonry (nearly 3 m walls) with small slit and rectangular openings and at least one larger arched window opening. The surviving masonry is mixed dressed ashlar and rubble, and later patched consolidation is visible as raised rectangular repairs; the site is parkland with an avenue historically running toward the nearby town.
Its story
The story of Barony and Castle of Corsehill.
Corsehill lay within the feudal Baillerie of Cunninghame, near Stewarton. Godfrey de Ross was an early holder of the castle and lands, moving his seat here from the castle at Boarland or Dunlop hill; the de Ross family are now represented by the Earls of Glasgow.
In 1532 Andrew Cunningham, second son of William Cunningham, 4th Earl of Glencairn, became the first of the House of Corsehill, granted the lands of Doura, Potterton, Little Robertland and the two Corsehills, with Cuttiswray, Clarklands and Hillhouse following in 1538. His son Patrick was involved in the murder of Hugh, Earl of Eglinton; the line gained a baronetcy in 1672, and in 1685 the second baronet married Margaret Boyle, sister of the Earl of Glasgow.
The Hearth Tax records of 1691 show the House of Corsehill with ten hearths and suggest 83 other dwellings in the barony. Only a single thick section of the original tower wall survives; the later laird's house on the opposite bank of the burn, called Corsehill House, was removed by about 1800.
Step inside
5 places to explore in 1532.
The record describes 5 distinct spots at Barony and Castle of Corsehill, including 1 interior: interior eastern wall with fireplace and aumbry. Create your own photoreal reconstruction and explore every one, more scenes means more rooms, more angles, and more of the place to stand in.
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Clans who held Barony and Castle of Corsehill.
The families that held Barony and Castle of Corsehill for a decade or more across its history, follow a name to its clan.
Godfrey de Ross and the de Ross family were early holders of the castle and lands of Corsehill.
Held by the Cunninghams of Corsehill from 1532, when Andrew, second son of the 4th Earl of Glencairn, became first of the house; baronets from 1672.
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