Ardrossan Castle Ardrossan Castle is situated on the west coast of Scotland in the town of Ardrossan , Ayrshire . The castle , defended by a moat , stands on a ridge above the town . There is a keep dating from the fifteenth century , and a vaulted range containing a kitchen and cellars . In a deep passageway there is a well . Part of the keep remains up to the corbels of the parapet , but it is in ruins . The original castle , owned by Clan Barclay , was partly destroyed during the Wars of Scottish Independence . This event , in which the English garrison were slaughtered , became known as " Wallace ' s Larder , " a name which is still applied to the remaining vaults . Rebuilt by Clan Montgomery in the 15th century , Ardrossan later fell into disuse and was partially demolished by the soldiers of Oliver Cromwell in the 17th century who used the stones to help construct the Ayr Citadel . History . Ardrossan Castle is situated upon a rocky hill , which gives it its name , made up of " ard " , meaning height , and " rossan " , a rocky promontory . The present ruins are on the site of an earlier castle owned by the Barclay family . By the thirteenth century it had passed to the Ardrossan family . The castle has long been deemed a distinctive feature of the town of Ardrossan . It was included , for example , in the tour book from 1847 titled " Sylvan ' s Pictorial Handbook to the Clyde and its Watering - Places " by Thomas and Edward Gilks . There the castle is described as a marker of regional identity and subject antiquarian interest , from which beautiful views of the ocean can be seen : Ardrossan was originally called " Castle Crags " , from the nature of the rocks jutting out as they once did from the Cannon hill on which the ruins of the castle stand , behind the present good hotel , the Tontine , and the opposite corner of the main - street , the site of which was once upon the same level . It was subsequently named Ardrossan , after the ancient family who owned the place , and was formerly part of the neighboring parish of Saltcoats . It cams to the present family of Eglintoun , by intermarriage with the Ardrossan family ; and they became possessed of the property and inherited the title of Barons of Ardrossan — the tenure being contingent on keeping up the Cannon Hill before mentioned ; in default of which the latter titled becomes extinct . Upon the hill six guns are mounted , outside the wall which surrounds the castle grounds . There is a view of a curious ruin from the outside — the shell of a quadrangular tower of great strength , with remaining portions of the walls , which owes its demolition , like many others , to Cromwell ; the whole embedded in the surrounding trees . On the outside of the decayed walls are the remains of an old church - yard , containing numerous ruinous tombstones of an interesting character . The view from this eminence of the Isle of Arran to the west , of the beautiful bay to the east , which separates Ardrossan from Saltcoats — and immediately beneath , on the other side , the “ Horse Island , ” is peculiarly striking . ( pages 97 - 99 ) Later history . The castle was acquired by Sir John Montgomery ( who captured Harry Hotspur Percy at the Battle of Otterburn ) and he remodeled it . His son became Lord Montgomery in about 1445 , and his son in turn became the first Earl of Eglinton . The family sheltered in the castle after the Cunningham s sacked their castle at Eglinton , Ayrshire . Afterwards it fell into disuse . The castle remained until 1648 , when Oliver Cromwell ' s troops destroyed it , removing much of the stone and taking it to Ayr to build a fort , called the Ayr Citadel , there . The ruins of this castle still stand , but are in hazardous condition . Legends . The castle is said to be haunted by the ghost of William Wallace , who is said to wander the ruins on stormy nights . The castle is also associated with the Devil . Sir Fergus Barclay , also known as " the De ' il of Ardrossan " , was a horseman , famous around the lands for his tremendous skill . The secret to his skill , however , was a magical bridle , which was given to Barclay by the Devil , in exchange for his soul . However , the Devil was tricked by Barclay into giving his soul back . Infuriated by this trickery , the Devil attacked the castle in his rage , and is said to have left his hoof prints on one of the rocks . Sir Fergus Barclay is buried in the castle chapel , situated a few hundred yards inland from the castle , further down the hill . tourist info . The surviving parts of Ardrossan Castle stand on the south side of Castle Hill , above slopes that descend steeply to the railway line below . Its location means that the castle is prominent in views across South Bay from Saltcoats , and from much of the southern end of Ardrossan itself , though its existence is far from obvious from the northern half of the town . The castle carries signs warning not to approach it too closely , and though someone has at sometime consolidated the ruins , we ' d share the recommendation to take great care when viewing them . In the summer of 2012 , the castle has been condemned , and while there is a group of people actively trying to save the ruins , the castle has been fenced off and no one is allowed anywhere near it . The ruins today comprise two main sections . The remains of the keep , built in the 1400s , form the most striking standing element . These rise in part to the third storey , though on the south side are completely open , revealing interior fixtures like fireplaces and some very weathered carved stonework . The continuation of the range including the keep contains a cellar whose entrance is blocked by railings . The second main element of the castle is part of the south range , apparently a vaulted structure in which a section of the cellar now forms a short vaulted tunnel . A castle was first built on this site by Simon de Morville , probably in about 1140 . By 1226 the laird was Richard Barclay de Ardrossan . During the Wars of Independence Ardrossan Castle was held by English forces for Edward I until captured by Sir William Wallace . Sir , Wallace is said to have largely destroyed the castle and slaughtered the English garrison , dumping their bodies in a cellar , which later became known as " Wallace ' s Larder " . In 1357 the last of the direct Barclay line , Godfrey Barclay de Ardrossan , died without successors . The castle and estate subsequently passed by marriage to the Eglinton family . In the 1380s Sir John Montgomery , the 7th Baron of Eaglesham , married the heiress of Sir Hugh Eglinton and so became Baron of Eglinton and Ardrossan . Montgomery subsequently enlarged and remodelled Ardrossan Castle . Much of the structure whose remains can be seen today dates back to a further remodelling and rebuilding of the castle which took place after Sir John ' s grandson was made Lord Montgomery in 1449 . The castle briefly became the main home of the Montgomery family after Eglinton Castle was attacked and burned down by the Cunninghams in 1528 , but afterwards seems to have been allowed to decline . In 1654 , troops from Cromwell ' s army of occupation removed much of the stone from Ardrossan Castle for reuse in the building of their citadel at Ayr , leaving only partial remains which have since served as a point of interest for visitors to Ardrossan .