Busbie Castle

Busbie Castle was a standalone tower house which sat on the west bank of the Carmel Water, a minor burn which flowed generally southwards into the River Irvine. It remained standing as an increasingly precarious ruin until the 1950s when it was demolished amid safety concerns. The site has been cleared now, and there is no sign of the building remaining to be seen.

The tower was of three storeys with an attic, the attic level being provided with three circular and one square turret, the latter being raised slightly to serve as a watch-room. The entrance was on the ground floor, which led into a mural corridor running half the length of the north wall of the tower. From this corridor the two vaulted cellars could be accessed, together with a winding stair in the north-west corner. The corridor was provided with two tiny shot-hole windows, the larger (east) vault had two splayed shot holes, one in the gable, and the smaller vault also had a splayed shot hole in the west gable. Further tiny windows lit the winding stairwell, and a second mural stair leading from the south side of the west room to the first floor. Broadly speaking the first floor followed a similar layout with two rooms, but may originally a single large hall with an ante chamber along the east side connecting the two stairwells. The second floor has two chambers accessed by a mural corridor in the north wall – each seems to have been provided with mural cupboards, and the winding stair led to the attic, and up to the  square watchroom. Given the number of mural corridors, it is no surprise that on the first Ordnance Survey map, it was the north wall that had fallen.

The lands of Busbie were held by David Mowat from the very early 15th century as part of the larger barony of Robertoun. A John Mowat had a charter of the lads of “le Moite, Knockintiber, Bogside” and others in the reign of King James III – which includes the site of the later castle. The “Moite” in question may have been the motte of Greenhill the other side of the burn. There was a Charles Mowat in 1541 who held the same lands, killed in 1577 by two sons of the Lord Ochiltree, and probably his son another Charles, active in the 1590s. His heir was James, possibly his brother, who had a charter in 1571, and a James Mowat “de Busbie” received a charter in 1607, and a charter of the lands of Busbie in 1614. His eldest son, also James, died before his father, so it was most likely his brother Robert who succeeded the elder James in 1626. In 1634, a record refers to James Mowat, “sumtyme of Busbie” which shows that the estate had been sold by that time. The new owners were the earls of Eglinton, and there is a record in 1638 of the rents of Busbie being received by Eglinton. The earls did not, of course, use the tower themselves, and instead used it to house other members of the Montgomerie family. This included Anna Montgomerie of Skelmorlie and her husband John Dickson, named as fiar of Busbie, and who died in 1653. In 1711 Sir Hugh Montgomerie of Skelmorlie purchased Busbie , and upon his death in 1735, his estates were divided among three daughters. In 1763, the lands of Busbie were granted to James Ritchie, but by this date the tower was probably in ruins – although there are no traditions or records to say why. In 1788 James Ritchie of Busbie was named as a freeholder of Ayrshire and is described as follows – “A very independent man. A Banker in Glasgow. Has a son a Major in the Army, who has been noticed by the Duke of York. Mr. Ritchie was once married to a sister of Colonel Montgomerie’s. Has a large family. Will probably support Sir Adam Fergusson.” Ritchie’s wife was Frances Montgomerie, and although one brother was Colonel James Montgomerie of Coilsfield, another was Hugh of Skelmorlie. So it seems most likely that Busbie passed to James Ritchie through his wife and father-in-law. Ritchie installed tenants who presumably farmed the land, but the tower was never restored.

HES Canmore database entry