Clan Rising
Kames Castle today

Scotland · Still standing

Kames Castle

Kames Castle is a historic Scottish tower house on the shore of Kames Bay on the Isle of Bute. The site includes an attached late-18th/early-19th mansion (since demolished and later replaced by cottages), an 18th‑century walled garden and planted estate grounds. The tower house and associated estate buildings are Category B listed.

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Photograph via Wikimedia Commons

Its prime

1800

Today

Still standing

As it stood in 1800

What Kames Castle looked like in its prime.

A compact multi-storey stone tower house rising above a lower attached mansion block, all sited directly beside Kames Bay. The tower presents a vertical silhouette set against lower eaves and rooflines of the adjoining domestic range. Nearby is an enclosed 2-acre stone-walled garden opening onto planted lawns and specimen plantings across the 20-acre estate. At prime the main buildings stand complete and occupied, forming a courtyard between tower and mansion and facing the shore.

Its story

The story of Kames Castle.

The lands of Kames were granted to the Bannatyne family by Robert the Bruce in the 14th century, and the tower house on the shore of Kames Bay remained theirs for centuries. The last Bannatyne owner was Sir William Macleod Bannatyne, a distinguished Edinburgh lawyer and judge who took the title Lord Bannatyne on promotion to the College of Justice in 1799, and, preferring his social life in Edinburgh, sold the estate around 1810 to James Hamilton WS.

Kames was the birthplace and early home of the critic and essayist John Sterling; Thomas Carlyle, in his biography of Sterling, called it "a kind of dilapidated baronial residence to which a small farm was then attached". Set in twenty acres of planted grounds with a two-acre 18th-century walled garden, the castle, its range of stone cottages and other estate buildings are Category B listed; it is now privately owned, with cottages available as holiday lets.

Step inside

6 places to explore in 1800.

The record describes 6 distinct spots at Kames Castle, including the full exterior approach. Create your own photoreal reconstruction and explore every one, more scenes means more rooms, more angles, and more of the place to stand in.

Approach from Kames BayTower house exteriorAdjoining mansion front18th-century walled gardenCourtyard between tower and mansionPlanted grounds overview

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Whose castle

Clans who held Kames Castle.

The families that held Kames Castle for a decade or more across its history, follow a name to its clan.

  • Bannatyne

    Granted the lands of Kames by Robert the Bruce in the 14th century; held until Lord Bannatyne sold the estate around 1810.

  • Hamilton

    Bought around 1810 by James Hamilton WS (1775–1849).

Nearby

Landmarks within reach of Kames Castle.

Overtoun Bridge, ScotlandBridgeOvertoun Bridge37 km away

Questions about Kames Castle

What is the history of Kames Castle?

Kames Castle’s history begins with the Bannatyne family, who received the lands from Robert the Bruce in the 14th century. The present tower house has a 14th-century appearance but is thought to date from the 16th century. Lord Bannatyne sold the estate to James Hamilton WS around 1810; the mansion was demolished around 1900 and replaced by cottages around a courtyard.

Why was Kames Castle built, and what was it used for?

Kames Castle was a tower house and estate residence belonging to the Bannatyne family and later the Hamiltons. Its wider estate included a mansion, cottages, a walled garden and planted grounds. After the mansion was demolished around 1900, cottages were built around a courtyard with the intention of creating a hunting lodge.

Where is Kames Castle?

Kames Castle is on the shore of Kames Bay near Port Bannatyne, on the Isle of Bute. It is in Argyll and Bute, and the site includes planted grounds extending over 20 acres. The castle is accompanied by an 18th-century walled garden covering 2 acres.

When was Kames Castle built?

Kames Castle belongs to the 14th-century tradition of tower houses, although the present tower house is thought to date from the 16th century. Its first-raised year is not recorded, and the adjoining mansion was constructed in the later 18th and early 19th century.

Which family or clan held Kames Castle?

The lands of Kames were held by the Bannatyne family from the 14th century until Lord Bannatyne sold the estate around 1810. James Hamilton WS bought it around 1810 and held the estate thereafter. The estate became part of the Marquess of Bute’s estate in 1863.

What did Kames Castle look like in its prime?

In its prime, Kames Castle was a compact, multi-storey stone tower house rising above a lower attached mansion block beside Kames Bay. The tower formed a vertical silhouette against the adjoining domestic range, with a courtyard between the buildings. The estate also contained a 2-acre stone-walled garden and planted grounds across 20 acres.

Is Kames Castle still standing, or is it a ruin?

Kames Castle is still standing and is described as intact. The original tower house survives beside associated estate buildings, while the late-18th- or early-19th-century mansion was demolished around 1900 and replaced by a series of cottages around a courtyard.

Who owns Kames Castle now?

Kames Castle is now privately owned. Its tower house, cottages, walled garden and other estate buildings are Category B listed buildings, with the heritage designation recorded since 1998.

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