Kerelaw Castle, 15th century on; Cunningham stronghold

The estate of Kerelaw was originally the seat of Stephen Lockhart who was known to possess the property as long ago as 1191. Indeed, it is Stephen that the town of Stevenston is named after.

Kerelaw passed from the Lockharts to the Campbells of Loudon with Bruce granting them a charter of the land in 1318 and about this time the first castle was built. Again Kerelaw passed onto another powerful family; the Cunninghames of Kilmaurs and Glencairn.

The old castle was razed by the Eglintons in 1488 during their feud with the now Earls of Glencairn. A new castle was raised and occupied by several owners until 1787.

Kerelaw today is a fine looking ruin, as ruins go, with many architectural features; doors, windows, fireplaces and the like, still to be seen.

Read more about the Earl of Glencairn on his Wikipedia page. The photo below and more information on Kerelaw Castle can be found on this Wikipedia page.