Castle Kennedy (castle) facts for kids

Castle Kennedy is an old, ruined castle from the 1600s. It's located in Scotland, about 3 miles (4.8 km) east of a town called Stranraer. You can find it near a village also named Castle Kennedy. Even though it's a ruin, it's still a cool place to visit and imagine what life was like long ago!

A Look Back in Time

The land where Castle Kennedy stands has a long history. An important family called the Kennedys owned this area starting in 1482. They decided to build a new castle here in 1607. It was built by John Kennedy, 5th Earl of Cassilis, on the spot where an even older fort used to be.

For a short time, another family, the Hamiltons of Bargany, took over the property. But around 1677, it passed to the Dalrymple family from Stair.

Sadly, in 1716, a big fire badly damaged the castle. It was never rebuilt after that. Today, you can see another castle called Lochinch Castle about half a mile (0.8 km) north of Castle Kennedy.

What the Castle Looked Like

Castle Kennedy was built in a special shape, like the letter "E" when you look down from above. It was originally built on an island in a loch (which is a Scottish word for a lake).

The main part of the castle had four floors, plus an attic at the very top. There were also two square parts sticking out, which were five floors tall. In the corners where these parts joined the main building, there were two tall, square towers, each seven floors high! One of these tall towers held the main spiral staircase, which people used to go up and down. Later, two more wings, only three floors tall, were added to the castle.

The castle had many large windows that were spaced out evenly. It also had small openings called "shot-holes," which were used for defense. When you entered the castle, a passage with a curved ceiling (called a vaulted passage) led through the lowest floor, called the basement. This passage connected to another spiral staircase in one of the towers. All the rooms in the basement, including a large kitchen, also had these cool vaulted ceilings.

People believe that the main rooms for guests and gatherings were in the central part of the castle. Each floor in this section likely had one large room. The wings of the castle probably held many bedrooms and smaller rooms (called closets) connected to them. There isn't any sign that the castle had a surrounding wall or fence. However, there is a beautiful walled garden to the south of the castle that was built in the 1700s.

Images for kids

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  Castle Kennedy's ruins seen from the Walled Garden

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  The Castle Kennedy

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  Flower bed in the Walled Garden

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  Box hedge and sundial in the Walled Garden

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  Footbridge

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  Castle Kennedy Gardens

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  Canal