Craigie Castle , Ayrshire Craigie Castle ( NGR NS 40848 31699 ) in the old Barony of Craigie , is a ruined fortification situated about southeast of Kilmarnock and southeast of Craigie village , in the Civil Parish of Craigie , South Ayrshire , Scotland . The parish , including part of the ancient Barnweill or Barnwell parish , was united to Riccarton until 1647 . The castle is recognised as one of the earliest buildings in the county . It lies about west - south - west of Craigie church . Craigie Castle is protected as a category B listed building , and a scheduled monument . History of Craigie Castle . Craigie Castle was originally built for the Lyndesay or Lindsay clan . The castle passed to John Wallace of Riccarton through marriage about 1371 as the last heir was a daughter . This line of the Ayrshire Wallaces then lived at Craigie Castle until they moved to Newton Castle in Ayr in 1588 . Craigie Castle was then left to fall into ruin . Descriptions of the castle . The present Gothic castellated ruins date mainly from the 15th century , with some 12th or 13th century work . Another view is that the main part of the building was a hall house dating from the 12th or 13th century , incorporating an even earlier building which may have been built by the predecessors of Walter Hose who held sway prior to Anglo - Norman control . The buildings were surrounded by ditches and natural lochans ; enclosing an area of about . It had a high quality rib - vaulted hall consisting of three bays over an unvaulted basement , but architectural historians have found traces of an earlier hall which had a crenellated parapet rising flush with the main wall - face . In the centre of one wall was a round - arched doorway , and opposite this a late medieval fireplace , added in the 15th century , was built over another round - arched opening . The castle contains one of the finest examples of a vaulted hall in Scotland , easily equal to any Scottish abbey or church . The only rivals of the same period are Tulliallan , Bothwell , and Auchendoun . It has been stated that in its time Craigie was the most impressive building of its kind in Ayrshire . Due to the condition of the structures it has proved difficult to determine the original plan , but the remains suggest that it was originally a simple rectangle of suitable size for a building such as an early hall - house . Craigie Castle may originally have been a hall - house of the late 12th or early 13th century with a wide crenellate parapet enclosing a saddleback roof . During the 15th century it seems that these crenellations were built over and a new hall fashioned on the walls of its predecessor . The ruins stand upon a knoll rising out of a plateau , between what appears to have been two marshes or lochans , and the ditches were originally cut between them . One ditch cuts the ridge 117m NE of the castle to form an outer bailey . The castle would have been effectively isolated from the ' mainland ' , and a significant barrier raised by the water to any potential besiegers at the period when the use of gunpowder was unknown . Two crumbling gables , portions of walls , and shreds of battlements remain , and in the 19th century several underground vaulted chambers survived , although partly filled with rubbish , and home to foxes and bats . The entrance to the castle was at the south - west side by a drawbridge , of which the abutment still survives . The entrance pend or arched passage had a circular watch - tower or bastion to defend it . Within the closing wall was a courtyard surrounded by buildings , and from this courtyard there was an entrance into the great hall , long blocked up . In 1895 Smith records that " at a distance of 145 paces from to the north - east of the castle a deep trench has been cut in a north - west and south - east direction for a distance of 162 paces , to connect the two lochans . Near the south wall of the castle there is another trench , and a section of building is to be seen on the outside of it . On the west side there are the remains of a third trench . " In 1863 Paterson records that the tower was undergoing some repairs at the end of the 17th century when a part of the roof fell in , after which the castle was completely abandoned . He praises the high degree of military science employed in the construction of the castle where besiegers would be exposed to raking crossfire even after crossing the ditches / moats and would be outflanked on nearly all sides . A ' Kragy ' castle is marked on Timothy Pont ' s map of c . 1600 . It is shown on an elevated area with a prominent entrance way , wooded policies and a surrounding pale . Although now a minor road , the road running near the castle ( B730 ) was the main route from Irvine to Dumfries via Sanquhar , with a nearby link to the Ayr – Kilmarnock road ; Craigie was therefore on one of the few reasonable standard communication routes in the area in the 18th and earlier centuries . The numerous rigs on Roy ' s 1747 map show that the whole area was intensively cultivated at the time . Crannog . As late as the 19th century a likely crannóg was visible in the boggy hollow ' just to the south - west ' of Craigie Castle ; it was described as " a slight rise in the meadow . . . mostly composed of stones " . When the hollow was drained an oar was found . Moot hills . Smith records moot hill s near Craigie village , Knockmarloch and Highlangside . The barony would originally have had a Moot or Justice Hill and a gallows hill . Borland Farms . Two Borland Farms are now located near Craigie village and this may relate directly to Craigie Castle . The name ' Boarland ' could possibly refer to the presence of wild boar , however a more likely origin is that a ' Boor ' also meant a serf and Norman lords often apportioned lands near their castles for their servants . The Borland or Bordland also meant the land that was specifically used to furnish food for a castle . A ' Boirland ' is marked on the Timothy Pont map as far back as the late 16th / early 17th century . Listed status . Craigie Castle was listed at Category B by Historic Scotland , an executive agency of the Scottish Government , on 14 April 1971 . Such buildings are considered to be " of regional or more than local importance " , and gain legal protection against unauthorised demolition , extension or significant alteration . Craigie Mains farm . An armorial plaque from the castle ruins is set in the wall of the steading ( NS 4 062 3174 ) . The naive peasantry at one time believed that the stone showed two wild men playing at draughts . It bears the impaled arms of the Lindsays and Wallaces . James Kilpatrick of Craigie Mains was a great horseman who considerably improved the breeding lines of the Clydesdale horse and was famous throughout Britain and the World . Some his champions were 1918 , Craigie Litigant ; 1921 , Craigie Excellence ; 1924 , Craigie McQuaid ; 1925 , Craigie Exquisite ; 1929 , Craigie Winalot ; 1930 , Craigie Beau Ideal ; 1933 , Craigie Realisation ; 1935 , Craigie Magnificent ; 1939 , Craigie Independent ; 1941 , Craigie Topsman ; 1942 , Craigie Chieftain ; 1947 , Craigie Supreme Commander ; 1948 , Craigie True Form . In 1951 Craigie Mains had about 80 head of horses . James Kilpatrick regularly exhibited his Clydesdales , colts and fillies in all their finery at the annual Craigie Agricultural Show in the 1900s . The famous ' Baron of Buchlyvie ' was purchased for £700 by Mr Kilpatrick in 1902 and was the stud horse at the mains in 1903 . Mr William Dunlop of Dunure Mains had a half share and after much disagreement the ' baron ' ended up at Dunlop Mains , having been sold at auction or £9 , 500 ; an unheard of sum for a Clydsedale at the time . The mounted skelton of this horse is now on display at the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in Glasgow . Matthew Anderson the ' Policeman Poet ' wrote a poem in honour of Symington and Craigie . This is an extract - The Hoses and Lindsays of Craigie . In the 12th century Walter fitz Alan , Steward of Scotland , held these lands and Walter Hose held his fief from the Steward . In 1177 Walter Hose of Cragyn had given the church of Cragyn to the monks of Paisley . John , probably Walter ' s son , inherited and his son Thomas had no heir , resulting in his sisters Christiana and Matilda inheriting . Walter de Lyndesay , Knight , was the son of Christiana , the father being William Lyndesey of Crawfurd . The male line ended with John de Lyndesey , whose daughter married John Wallace of Riccarton . The Wallaces of Craigie . John Wallace of Riccarton in the reign of David II had a charter of lands of Moorlecere in Forfarshire and was styled ' Wallayis of Richardtoun ' . John married the heiress of Lindsay of Craigie circa 1371 and from this date Craigie was the chief residence of the family . John Wallace was Lieutenant - General to James II , and fought at the Battle of Sark in 1447 , killing the English General Magnus with his own hands . John was injured on the battlefield and died of his wounds at Craigie Castle about three months later . In the second half of the 15th century the Wallace family had Blind Harry write his poem " The Wallace " , which recorded the story of Sir William Wallace , albeit 150 years after his death . An Adam Wallace was Comptroller of the Household of James III in 1468 . John Wallace was killed at the Battle of Flodden in 1513 ; his brother Adam inherited and became oversmen of Prestwick in addition to Bailie of Kyle Stewart . In 1515 he was made alderman of Ayr and controlled the Royal Burgh for a decade . In 1559 Sir John Wallace accompanied the Earl of Glencairn , the Lords Boyd and Ochiltree , the Sheriff of Ayr , the Laird of Cessnock and others , with a body of 2500 men to Perth in support of the Covenanters or reformers . Sir William Wallace commanded a cavalry under James VII ( James II of England ) and went into exile in France with him . He was at the Battle of Killiecrankie and died circa 1700 ; his brother succeeded to the estates , much impoverished by Sir William ' s adherence to the Jacobite cause . The Wallaces of Craigie became hereditary Bailies of Kyle Stewart and as such were the chief local representatives of the Crown . In 1489 John Wallace obtained a lease to mine coal near Kingcase in Prestwick . In 1527 Gilbert Kennedy , 2nd Earl of Cassillis was ambushed and murdered on the sand dunes at Prestwick . Adam Wallace was implicated in this essentially Campbell inspired feud , as his wife , Dame Isabelle , was said to have planned the assassination . The controversy resulted in a loss of prestige and influence . Sir Hugh Wallace was a supporter of the Royalist cause of Charles I and II , for which his estate was sequestered and only returned when Charles II came to the throne . Sir Hugh had raised a regiment of foot at his own expense , resulting in great debts , sale of lands and in 1626 the disposal of the heritable Kyle bailieship to the Crown for £10 , 000 Scots . Sir Hugh Wallace , the laird referred to below , was knighted by Charles I and in 1669 Charles II conferred a Baronetcy upon him . All his sons predeceased him and Thomas , a grandnephew inherited . He was most liberal in his ideas , fought with Montrose at the Battle of Philiphaugh and died about 1650 . In 1770 Sir Thomas Wallace died and the baronetcy was inherited by his grandson Thomas Dunlop , who sold off the estate of Craigie in 1783 , moved to England and died within three years . He adopted the name Wallace , his mother being Frances Anne Wallace of Dunlop , Sir Thomas ' s daughter and sole heir ; his father was John Dunlop of that Ilk . His son was Major - General Sir John Alexander Wallace who fought in India , Egypt , Spain and France and died in 1857 . The Wallaces married into a number of local aristocratic families , notably the Campbells of Loudoun and the Blairs of Blair . At Blair Castle above a door are the armorial bearings of the Blairs Of Blair and the Wallaces of Craigie , dated 1617 . Bryce Blair married Annabel Wallace . In the 1560s the Wallace family acquired Fail Monastery , however it was later granted to Walter Whytford and passed out of their hands . Coat of arms . Those of Sir John Alexander Wallace were quarterly : first and fourth , Gules , a Lion rampant , Or , within an Orle ; second and third , Gules , a fesse Cheque of three , Argent and Azure . The Supporters were two savages , proper , with Clubs erect . The family crest was an Ostrich neck and head erect , issuing out of an open crown , with a horseshoe in the mouth . The motto was Esperanza , Spanish for ' Hope ' . The legend of the fall of the Wallaces of Craigie . The Lairds of Craigie are said to have cared little for the religious discipline of the presbyterians , and the Laird of Craigie , Sir Hugh Wallace , allowed his tenants or servants to work on Sundays , and he himself traveled openly upon the Sabbath day . The other local ministers of the places involved wrote to the Laird ' s local minister , Mr . Inglish , about " such open and scandalous breaches of the Sabbath " . The Laird ignored the ministers ' advice and when in church he actually threw his sword at the minister , the sword sticking in the wood at the back of the pulpit . The minister recovered and told the Laird that God will reduce your " great stone house " to a pile of stones and " no one will be able to repair it ; and your son , of whom you have great hopes , will die a fool " . Before long the castle was in need of repair , and when the stonemasons started work a great part of it fell down and had almost buried them all . The story may have a grain of truth as Sir Hugh , as stated , was an ardent supporter of the episcopalian sentiments of Charles I and II and was no friend of the Presbyterians . Craigie House . In the 1730s , Craigie House ( NGR NS 34970 21386 ) in Ayr was built as a replacement residence for Sir Thomas Wallace of Newton - on - Ayr Castle , the fifth baronet ; nothing of Newton Castle , previously known as Sanquhar , now remains . In 1783 William Campbell , who made his fortune in India , purchased the principal portion of the Craigie estate . His brother , Richard Campbell of Craigie inherited the estate in 1823 and the property remained in the Campbell family for a number of generations . The family included lawyers and politicians , one being the Member for the Ayr Burghs . Craigie House and estate was purchased from the Campbell family by Ayr Town Council in 1940 . The gardens that run from the centre of Ayr northeast alongside the River Ayr are open to the public free of charge , however the house is used as offices for the University of the West of Scotland and various building works are proposed for the gardens area . Newton - on - Ayr Castle . The Wallaces constructed this castle ( previously known as Sanquhar ) circa the 15th century , however it became the property of Sir William Hamilton , Provost of Ayr ; having been granted it in 1539 by the King . John Wallace of Craigie with forty others forcefully regained it in 1559 ; they were forced eventually to return it to the Hamiltons , however in 1558 the Wallaces confirmed their ownership and moved in shortly after . The castle was severely damaged in a storm in 1701 and was finally demolished in the second half of the 18th century . Nothing of the tower now remains . Micro - history . The Eglinton Hunt regularly visited Craigie ' s hill , cover , knowes and glens in the 1900s . A kill resulted in a meal for the dogs and the bushy tail presented to the first lady . The small loch below the manse was used as the curling pond in the 1900s ; the Curling House ruins are still standing ( 2009 ) . in 1584 William Wallace of Ellerslie held the lands of Mains of Helentoun and Bogend , together with the tower , fortalice , and manor place of Helenton , together with half of the mill .