Scotland · Partial ruin
Castle Semple
Castle Semple is a former mansion house and estate on the northern shore of Castle Semple Loch in Renfrewshire, Scotland. Rebuilt as an elaborate Gothick mansion in the 18th century, the central house burned in 1924 and was demolished in 1960; several flanking service buildings, gate-arches, a walled garden and a small temple folly survive on the estate and have been converted to private use.
Its prime
1800
Today
Partial ruin
As it stood in 1800
What Castle Semple looked like in its prime.
A large 18th-century Gothick mansion sited beside the northern shore of Castle Semple Loch, consisting of a central principal house formerly surrounded by a court and flanked by lower service ranges and outbuildings. The estate included formal walled gardens, orchards and a small classical folly on a nearby knoll; prominent stone gate-arches mark the approach. Surviving buildings are constructed in local stone with pitched roofs; the main mansion stood as the visual centre of a 900-acre parkland.
Its story
The story of Castle Semple.
Castle Semple began as Castletoun, erected, or more probably rebuilt, by John Sempill, 1st Lord Sempill, who renamed it after his family. Before 1550 the Semples had lived at the old tower of Elliston Castle, whose remains stand south of the loch, and Lord Semple founded a collegiate church near the lake.
Hugh Sempill, 12th Lord Sempill, sold the estate in 1727 to Colonel William M'Dowall, and in 1818 the M'Dowalls sold Castle-Semple on to John Harvey of Jamaica. In the 18th century the house was rebuilt as an elaborate Gothick mansion, and the Glasgow and Ayr Railway later ran through the estate close by the loch.
The central house burned in 1924 and was demolished in 1960. Flanking service buildings, gate-arches, a walled garden and a small temple folly survive on the estate, now within Clyde Muirshiel Regional Park, converted to private use.
Step inside
8 places to explore in 1800.
The record describes 8 distinct spots at Castle Semple, including 1 interior: kitchens and servants' service area (interior). 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 Castle Semple.
The families that held Castle Semple for a decade or more across its history, follow a name to its clan.
Sempill
Seat of the Lords Sempill from John, 1st Lord Sempill, until Hugh, 12th Lord Sempill, sold the estate in 1727.
M'Dowall
Held by the M'Dowalls from Colonel William M'Dowall's purchase in 1727 until the sale of 1818.
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