Kames Castle And Lodges, Bute

Kames Castle is a 16th-century tower house, with later alterations in the 19th century. It is a five-stage, rectangular building topped by a crowstep-gabled caphouse set behind a battlemented parapet. The exterior is whitewashed harl with polished stone surrounds to the first-floor openings and a corbelled parapet with coping.

The northwest elevation, which is the main entrance front, features an iron-studded, boarded timber door within a round-arched, rubble-dressed surround, set to the left of centre. Small, irregularly-disposed openings are visible on the upper floors. The southwest elevation has single windows at the first floor in the outer left and right bays, a small single window above, and more small windows in both the bays at the fourth stage. The southeast (rear) elevation has a single gunloop at ground-floor, off-centre to the right, and a single window centred at the third stage. The northeast elevation presents a single window at first-floor in the outer left bay, a small single window off-centre above, and small single windows in both bays at the fourth stage.

The windows are largely timber sash and case glazing with 15 panes on the first-floor hall, and smaller-paned timber casements elsewhere. Waterspouts are present on the battlemented parapet. The caphouse has a graded grey slate roof with crowstepped skews, an apex stack, and circular cans.

Inside, the ground floor contains a well and has a low, timber-beamed ceiling, with a random rubble staircase leading to the upper floors. A pointed-arched vaulted stone hall occupies the first floor, featuring a fireplace on the east side, segmental-arched window openings with deep reveals, and a boarded timber floor. An upper reception room has a flat, timber-beamed ceiling, a concrete floor, and deep reveals to the openings, with a blocked fireplace.

Circa 1900, Baronial-style lodges enclose a courtyard to the west. They are single-story, with L- and rectangular-plan layouts, built of random rubble sandstone with polished dressings. Details include rubble quoins, long-and-short rubble surrounds to openings (some with slightly droved yellow sandstone ashlar), moulded eaves, and crowstepped gables. Boarded timber doors and regularly-disposed single windows (some with boarded timber shutters) are characteristic. A full-width, glazed lean-to addition to the north range has been adapted for private use. The lodges have predominantly 12-pane timber sash and case glazing, graded grey slate roofs with crowstepped skews, replacement rainwater goods, coped ridges, apex stacks, and single circular cans. Interiors of the lodges were not inspected in 1996.