Ruined Arch And Viaduct, Culzean Castle Estate

The Ruined Arch and Viaduct at Culzean Castle Estate, designed by Robert Adam around 1785 to 1800 and incorporating earlier structures, features a six-arch, serpentine-plan, castellated viaduct with a mock ruin archway at the southern end. It is constructed from squared rubble with ashlar voussoirs and vaults, and has a gravelled carriageway. Late 20th century metal railings have been added to the apertures and the lowered parapet of the viaduct.

The ruined arch on the southeast elevation includes a round-headed arch with an irregular broken parapet. To the right is a roofless square tower with a round-headed doorway and a gun loop at a lower level, along with two narrow window apertures above. A screen wall with round-headed apertures extends to the east. To the left is a roofless round tower featuring a gun loop at a lower level and a round-headed window aperture midway up. The round tower has a round-headed doorway on the east side, while the square tower has a square window aperture on the east and a low rectangular doorway on the north. The interior of the square tower, as seen in 2010, contains a salvaged ancient fire surround made of roll-moulded ashlar and salvaged carved stones in the window aperture.

On the west elevation of the viaduct, five arches are visible, along with a rectangular doorway on the left side. The parapet features saddleback coping above a machicolated cornice, and there are four dummy square towers acting as buttresses against the spandrels, which also accommodate refuges in the parapet wall. The east elevation shows six visible arches, with a rectangular doorway and a round-headed window aperture, both fitted with yetts, on the right side. The parapet here also has saddleback coping above a machicolated cornice, with four dummy square towers serving a similar purpose as on the west. A raised parapet on the left has three round-headed apertures. The interior, as seen in 2010, includes a concealed arch at the northern end, floored with flagstones, and a rectangular aperture on the southern side providing access to an icehouse, secured by an iron yett within the entrance passage leading to a concave ice chamber.