Busbie Castle

Busbie Castle
Knockentiber, East Ayrshire, Scotland UK grid reference [1]
A photograph of Busbie Castle in 1912
Busbie Castle
Coordinates	55°37′12″N 4°32′44″W / 55.620028°N 4.545639°W / 55.620028; -4.545639
Site information
Controlled by	Mowat
Open to the public	Private
Condition	Fragmentary remains
Site history
Built	16th century
In use	Until 18th century
Materials	stone

Busbie Castle was situated in what is now known as Knockentiber (Scottish Gaelic: Cnoc an Tobair, hill of the well), a village in East Ayrshire, Parish of Kilmaurs, Scotland. Knockentiber is 2 miles (3.2 km) WNW of Kilmarnock and 1/2 mile NE of Crosshouse. The castle overlooked the Carmel Glen and its Burn, which runs into the River Irvine, a mile or so to the south, after passing through the old Busbie Mill.

Ainslie's map of 1822 marks the site of the settlement as Bushby and Armstrong's map of 1775, illustrates Busbie Castle in a ruinous condition, but still with its old woodland policies. The 1860s first edition of the OS shows that a pre-reformation chapel dedicated to the Virgin Mary was situated close to the site of Busbie Castle.

Busbie Castle had a small hamlet of thatched cottages clustered nearby. In 1860 the OS shows 'Old Busbie' on the opposite side of the road from the site of the castle. Busbie and Knockentiber progressively grew together over the years.

The castle was a simple keep, about 50 feet (15 m) high and roughly 40 feet (12 m) long by 25 feet (7.6 m) wide. The entrance was on the ground floor, giving access to the wheel-stair to the first floor hall in the north-west angle and to two cellars or stores on the ground floor. The hall on the first floor had a large fireplace and two window seats.

In 1465 the Registrum Magni Sigilli records - "Terras de le Moite," &c. 1539, "9 marcat. de Busby, viz., lie Mote, Knokintibber, et Hallethornis," &c. 1541, " Terras de Moite, Knokintebir," &c. 1571, "Terras de Moit," &c. 1583, "20 solidatas terrarum antiqui extentus de Moit-Mowat cum earum mansione," &c. 1599," 9 marcat. terrarum de Busbeyis (viz., lie Mote, Knockiutibber et Halythornis".

In 1691 the Laird of Busbie's dwelling had six hearths and seven other dwellings were associated with the castle and its lands.

The castle was a ruin since at least the 1770s. and was demolished in 1949 or 1952 as it had been unsafe for many years and the funds were not found to consolidate the structure. H. Ritchie had Busbie House erected as a replacement for the old castle. Busbie Estates and Collective Securities Limited owned a fair amount of land in the 1950s.

MacIntosh in 1894 refers to the castle as being "a prominent object in an otherwise monotonous landscape" and describes the gun ports and arrow slits, also a sculptured cable which wound itself fantastically round the walls. He also states that the castle probably had three floors, was roofless and fast falling into decay and regards it as being from the 14th century and probably built by the Mowat family who came from Flintshire in the 12th century.