Scotland · Partial ruin
Eglinton Castle
Eglinton Castle was a large Gothic castellated mansion near Kilwinning in North Ayrshire, Scotland. Built 1797–1802, it was dominated by a central 100-foot round keep and multiple round outer towers; after abandonment in 1925 it was de-roofed and largely reduced, with only one main tower and fragments of walls retained.
Its prime
1839
Today
Partial ruin
As it stood in 1839
The shape it held in its prime.
A broad, rectangular ashlar sandstone mansion in late-Georgian Gothic castellated form, dominated by a tall central cylindrical keep rising above a crenellated roofline and four substantial round outer towers; the main block presents regular tall window openings set in thick stone walls and a continuous embattled parapet. At prime the roofs and crenellations were complete, the stables and detached quadrangular service ranges stood nearby, and extensive lawns, avenues and formal walled gardens surrounded the house.
Its story
The story of Eglinton Castle.
The ancient seat of the Montgomerie Earls of Eglinton stood just south of Kilwinning; the original castle was burnt by the Earl of Glencairn in 1528. Its Gothic castellated replacement went up between 1797 and 1802, dominated by a central 100-foot round keep and four 70-foot outer towers — in Ayrshire second only to Culzean in appearance and grandeur. The 12th Earl had the foundation stone laid in 1797 by Alexander Hamilton of Grange, grandfather of the American Alexander Hamilton.
The castle is best remembered for the lavish, ill-fated Eglinton Tournament of 1839, a medieval-style tournament staged by the 13th Earl. Each June the Earl held three days of races at Bogside, followed by a grand ball and supper at the castle, whose curiosities included a chair built from the oak timbers of Alloway kirk with a brass plaque bearing the whole of a Burns poem.
The immense cost of upkeep, the castle's poor condition and death duties told on the family finances, and Eglinton was abandoned in 1925. The auction that followed dispersed much of the Montgomerie history — the 13th Earl's tournament armour, the door panel from the murdered 10th Earl's coach, family portraits. The castle was later de-roofed and reduced, leaving one main tower and fragments of wall.
Step inside
11 places to explore in 1839.
The record describes 11 distinct spots at Eglinton Castle — including 1 interior: stables quadrangle (interior view). Create your own photoreal reconstruction and walk through every one — more scenes means more photos, more angles and more rooms of the immersive experience.
Create History
Recreate Eglinton Castle with AI to explore it.
The artist rebuilds it as it stood in 1839 — a photoreal walk that belongs to you alone. Pay with coins, no subscription needed.
Recreate Castle to Explore →Whose castle
Clans who held Eglinton Castle.
The families that held Eglinton Castle for a decade or more across its history — follow a name to its clan.
Montgomerie
Ancestral seat of the Montgomerie Earls of Eglinton across both castles, from before the burning of 1528 until the family abandoned the Georgian castle in 1925.
