Ranfurly Castle facts for kids

Ranfurly Castle is an old castle from the 1400s that is now in ruins. It's located in Scotland, near a place called Bridge of Weir in Renfrewshire. You can find its remains right on the Ranfurly golf course! Some people also call it Ranfurlie Castle.

Who Owned Ranfurly Castle?

This castle was first built around the year 1440. It was constructed by a family known as the Knoxes. They owned it for a long time.

Later, in the year 1665, the castle changed hands. It was taken over by the Earl of Dundonald, who was part of the Cochrane family. After that, the castle eventually passed to another family called the Aitkenheads.

What Did Ranfurly Castle Look Like?

Ranfurly Castle was a small keep, which is like a main tower or strong central part of a castle. It also had a courtyard around it.

Today, only two floors of the keep are still standing. However, the castle originally had at least three floors. There were also three cellars from other buildings that used to be in the courtyard.

The walls on the ground floor of the keep had special narrow openings called arrowslits. These were used for archers to shoot arrows out while staying safe inside. The main door to the castle was actually on the first floor, not the ground floor.

About 200 years after the castle was first built, an east wing was added. This part is the newest section of the building. A south wing was also added, but we don't know exactly when. This south wing had three storage rooms on the ground floor, possibly for cattle or supplies. Above these rooms, there were likely three more rooms for the family living in the castle.

The main tower, or keep, was about 6 meters (20 feet) wide. It still stands about 7 meters (23 feet) tall today. The walls are made from rough, uneven stones. However, the corners of the building use carefully shaped stones called quoins. On the east wall, you can still see a doorway and a narrow window. This window was wider on the inside to let in more light. It's thought that some changes were made to the original castle when these new parts were added.

Images for kids

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  The ruins of the keep.