Barr Castle Ayrshire

Barr Castle Ayrshire is one of two Barr Castles in this Guide, the other being in Renfrewshire. The tower is intact to the rooftop and can be seen from public roads in Galston, where it once overlooked the confluence of the burn running through the town with the River Irvine. The tower is open to the public, but opening times should be checked. At the time of writing (May 2024), it can be visited between 10 and 12 on Saturdays.

The tower is a “great tower” of the 15th century, consisting of five storeys and an attic level, although the latter is restricted by the shallow slopes of the modern roof. The first floor and third floor have stone barrel vaults, the lower of which probably had a mezzanine level. The entrance on the ground floor opens into a square lobby, with a winding stair immediately to the left, mostly contained in the thickness of the south-west corner, and another door accessing the sunken basement in front. The basement is lit with slit windows in the gables only. There is also a first floor entrance, which is via a modern extension, leading directly into the tall great hall, although this may have started out life as a window as it has a window seat, and is mirrored on the northern side. Both entrances face south. There is also a large window in the west gable, which may have been a fireplace originally.  There are two mural chambers off the hall, a central one in the west gable and an L-shaped chamber in the north-west corner, which may have been a garderobe. The top floor is accessed only via the winding stair and has a fireplace in the west gable, and two windows facing north.

The tower is about as utilitarian as it gets, really, but it is certain that much of the character has been lost over the years. It was built for the Lockhart family. Andrew Lockhart had a charter of the lands of Bar in the barony of “Walter’s Kyle” (ie Kyle-Stewart) in the reign of Robert II, and it was presumably his brother or son John who was lord of Barr in 1417 and 1438, and who chartered his son Robert in the lands in 1441. Robert died in 1485, and the lands reverted to the Crown as the heir Andrew was underage and unable to pay the entry fee. Andrew died in 1498, and in 1502, the ward of his son John was granted to Sir Stephen Lockhart of Cleghorn, along with the right to arrange John’s marriage. In 1505 these rights were granted to the chancellor, Robert Colville. It was not until 1507 that Andrew’s son John paid the £2000 Scots owing, and gained his estates. The tower was therefore most likely built for Robert, although we don’t know exactly when. John was the first of three John Lockharts of Barr who held the lands and castle. They died in 1531, 1575 and 1614 respectively. The second John was outlawed for destroying images (presumably Catholic) in the church of Ayr in 1568, and is named as a supporter of John Knox; he also married Janet Campbell of Cessnock. The connection of subsequent Lockharts of Barr is not clear, but the second John had no male heirs who could inherit, his son Andrew having entered the church. It has been suggested that the third John was his great-nephew, being the son of Alexander Lockhart of Boghall, son of George, younger brother of the second John. Great-nephew John died in 1624, and was followed by his son John, who was alive in 1651. In 1670, John Lockhart of Bar sold the castle and estate to the Campbells of Cessnock, at which point the castle ceased to be used as a residence. In 1686, Hugh and George Campbell of Cessnock were forfeited for treason and their estate including Barr was granted to John Drummond, viscount Melfort. Hugh died in Edinburgh in 1686, but his son George was restored after the coronation of William and Mary in 1688. After his death in 1704 Barr passed to his daughter Margaret and son-in-law Alexander Hume-Campbell. The castle was noted as being in ruins on Armstrong’s map of 1775, so it was presumably abandoned for some time before being reroofed.

HES Canmore database entry