Culzean Castle

Culzean Castle house and gardens (April 2011)

Culzean Castle(/kʌˈleɪn/kul-AYN,seeyogh;Scots:Culzean, Culȝean, Colean) is acastleoverlooking theFirth of Clyde,nearMaybole,Carrick,inSouth Ayrshire,on the west coast of Scotland. It is the former home of theMarquess of Ailsa,the chief ofClan Kennedy,but is now owned by theNational Trust for Scotland.The clifftop castle lies within the Culzean Castle Country Park and is opened to the public. From 1972 until 2015, an illustration of the castle was featured on the reverse side offive pound notesissued by theRoyal Bank of Scotland.

As of 2021, the castle was available for rent.

History

Culzean Castle was constructed as anL-plan castleby order of the10th Earl of Cassilis.He instructed the architectRobert Adamto rebuild a previous, but more basic, structure into a finecountry houseto be the seat of hisearldom.The castle was built in stages between 1777 and 1792. It incorporates a large drum tower with a circular saloon inside (which overlooks the sea), a grand oval staircase and a suite of well-appointed apartments.

The castle was the venue, on 14 November 1817, when the1st Marquess of Ailsa's daughter,Margaret Radclyffe Livingstone Eyre,married Thomas, Viscount Kynnaird. Margaret would become a noted philanthropist.

In 1945, the Kennedy family gave the castle and its grounds to the National Trust for Scotland (thus avoidinginheritance tax). In doing so, they stipulated that the apartment at the top of the castle be given toGeneral of the ArmyDwight D. Eisenhowerin recognition of his role as Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Europe during the Second World War. The General first visited Culzean Castle in 1946 and stayed there four times, including once while President of the United States.

TheAyrshire (Earl of Carrick's Own) Yeomanry,a BritishYeomanrycavalry regiment,was formed by theEarl of Cassillisat Culzean Castle in about 1794. On 24 June 1961, the regiment returned to the castle to be presented with its firstguidonbyGeneralSir Horatius Murray,KBE,CB,DSO.

The castle re-opened in April 2011 after a refurbishment funded by a gift in the will of American millionaire William Lindsay to theNational Trust for Scotland.Lindsay, who had never visited Scotland, requested that a significant portion of his $4 million go towards Culzean.Lindsay was reportedly interested in Eisenhower's holidays at the castle.

Culzean Castle received 333,965 visitors in 2019.

Features

Clock tower's courtyard and shore

Panoramic view of Culzean Castle main building

The armoury contains a propeller from a plane flown byLeefe Robinsonwhen he shot down a German airship north of London in 1916.

To the north of the castle is a bay containing theGas House,which providedtown gasfor the castle up until 1940. This group of buildings consists of the gas manager's house (now containing an exhibition onWilliam Murdoch), the Retort House and the remains of thegasometer.

There aresea cavesbeneath the castle which are currently not open generally, but are open for tours throughout the summer.

The castle grounds include a walled garden, which is built on the site of the home of a former slave owned by the Kennedy family,Scipio Kennedy.

Ghosts

The castle is reputed to be home to at least seven ghosts, including a piper and a servant girl.

Film and television appearances

• Culzean Castle is used as the castle of Lord Summerisle (played byChristopher Lee) in the 1973cult filmThe Wicker Man.The scenes here were filmed between October and November 1972.
• Culzean Castle featured in the 1997PBSdocumentary seriesCastles of Scotland.
• Culzean Castle and Country Park featured in the 2001BollywoodfilmPyaar Ishq Aur Mohabbat.
• TheMost Hauntedteam led byYvette Fielding,Karl Beattieand mediumDerek Acorahexplored Culzean Castle's paranormal stories and reported sightings of ghosts for an episode of the first series, broadcast onLiving TVin 2002.
• TheBBCTVCoastprogramme visited in series 2 episode 3 first shown in November 2009.
• Culzean Castle appeared on the programmeThe Little CouplefromTLC,where the family visited the castle on the Series 9 pilot episode in 2016.
• It was the location for two episodes ofBBC One’sAntiques Roadshowfilmed in 2020 and transmitted in February and April 2021.

Gallery

Culzean castle & gardens

• 
  Culzean Castle, 1890s photograph
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  Etching of Culzean Castle byJames Fittlerfrom Scotia Depicta, published 1804
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  Culzean Castle from the shore
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  Clock tower's courtyard
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  Close panoramic view of Culzean Castle main building, towards Clock tower
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  Grand oval staircase by Robert Adam, at Culzean Castle
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  Interior by Robert Adam at Culzean Castle
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  Interior decoration at Culzean Castle
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  Entrance hall decoration of Culzean Castle, full of pistols
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  Kitchen decoration at Culzean Castle

See also

• Banknotes of Scotland(featured on design)

External links

• Culzean Castle – visitor informationat the NTS website.
• Papers of the National Trust of Scotland (Dwight D. Eisenhower's Culzean Castle apartment), Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library
• Engraving of Cullean castlebyJames Fittlerin the digitised copy ofScotia Depicta, or the antiquities, castles, public buildings, noblemen and gentlemen's seats, cities, towns and picturesque scenery of Scotland,1804 atNational Library of Scotland
• Video footage of the Culzean Coal Gas Works
• Video footage of the Culzean caves