Skelmorlie Castle

Skelmorlie Castle is a tower house dating to circa 1502, originally built for the 2nd Montgomery of Skelmorlie. Subsequent additions and alterations were made in the 17th and 19th centuries, with significant changes occurring in 1856 and 1864 when large baronial wings were added to the south and west of the tower. The west wing was later removed after a 1959 fire, and the west wall of the tower house was remodeled. Restoration work was completed in 1962 by Noad and Wallace of Glasgow, and further alterations were made in 1876 by John Honeyman, costing $800 as recorded in Honeyman and Keppie accounts.

The tower house is harled, while the remainder of the complex is constructed from red rubble, with red ashlar dressings and mostly crow-stepped gables. The tower's north-facing doorway was inserted below an 1856 crest, and a rebuilt wallhead stack is present. A porch faces south. The fenestration is altered and asymmetrical, with mostly small-paned sash windows. Conical-roofed bartizans are located over two diagonally opposite angles, and there is a lean-to at the east, along with a massive apex stack. The interior of the tower is largely from the 1962 restoration.

A three-storey and attic south wing features single and mullioned windows with plate glass sashes. The east and west long elevations each have pedimented dormer heads over two southernmost bays and a full-height, twin-gabled shallow projection; one gable on the west extends upward as an octagonal turret. Bartizans with conical roofs are positioned over two diagonally opposite angles, and a modern fire escape is on the south gable.

Three two-storey ranges form a joggled T-plan layout, enclosing courtyards to the east and west of the inner range. Both inner (likely a former chapel) and southwest ranges are essentially 17th century, possibly dating to around 1672, when the tower’s interior was remodeled, and feature segmental-arched dormer heads above the wallhead and a massive wallhead stack facing the west court (which is itself now walled). The inner range includes a semi-circular south gable and a drum tower with gun ports at the southwest angle. The southeast range is much altered and plainer, likely dating to circa 1856 or 1864, and features a corresponding tower to the east. The principal east court is entered from the east.