- Type
- Castle
- Built
- 1777 · 18th century
- Location
- Scotland, United Kingdom
- Architect
- Robert Adam
- Coordinates
- 55.3546°, -4.7893°
History
A tower house of the Kennedy family, Earls of Cassilis, had stood on the cliff above the sea since the Middle Ages. In 1777 David Kennedy, 10th Earl of Cassilis, commissioned Robert Adam to rebuild the old seat, and work continued into the early 1790s. Adam combined a romantic, castellated silhouette with classical interiors. In 1945 the Kennedy family gave the castle to the National Trust for Scotland. In gratitude for his role in the Second World War, the top floor was given to General Dwight Eisenhower for his lifetime use, and he stayed here several times.
What to see
Adam's most celebrated interiors are the oval staircase with its colonnades and the round drawing room whose windows look straight out to sea. The armoury holds thousands of weapons arranged in decorative patterns. Around the castle lies a country park with gardens, a pond, a camellia house and coastal paths, with views to Arran and Ailsa Craig. The Eisenhower apartment can be booked as guest accommodation.
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