Kerelaw Castle

Kerelaw Castle
Stevenston, North Ayrshire, Scotland
Kerelaw Castle in 2006
Kerelaw Castle
Coordinates	55°38′54″N 4°45′08″W / 55.6484°N 4.7523°W / 55.6484; -4.7523Coordinates: 55°38′54″N 4°45′08″W / 55.6484°N 4.7523°W / 55.6484; -4.7523
Type	Stone
Site information
Owner	North Ayrshire Council
Open to the public	Yes, with limited access
Condition	Ruined
Site history
Built	c. 1191, rebuilt after 1488
Built by	Stephen Lockhart
In use	c. 1191 to 1787

Kerelaw Castle is a castle ruin situated on the coast of North Ayrshire, Scotland in the town of Stevenston.

This castle, variously named Kerelaw, Kerila or even Turnlaw, is said by Timothy Pont to have been held by the Lockharts from Richard de Morville, Constable of Scotland, as far back as 1191, after Stephen Lockhart or Loccard obtained a grant of land in Ayrshire. This land would be named Stevenstoune (later Stevenston) after himself, and their manor-place of the barony of Stevenston, named Kerelaw. The castle and barony were eventually passed on to the Campbells of Loudoun and later to the Cunninghames (or Cunninghams/Cuninghames) of Kilmaurs. It was in the Cunninghame's possession in 1488 that the castle was sacked and burned by the 2nd Lord Montgomerie, during the well documented and long-term feud between these two prominent Ayrshire families. The Cunninghames, led by the Earl of Glencairn burned Eglinton Castle to the ground in revenge in 1528.

Kerelaw was rebuilt sometime after 1488 and is reported to have contained a number of carved coats of arms of the Scottish nobility, taken from Kilwinning Abbey, Nine fishermen from Saltcoats were granted leases in 1545 in return for carrying the Earl's furniture to Finlayston on the Clyde every spring from the Creek of Saltcoats and bringing it back again in the autumn when the family returned to Kerelaw for the winter months. A half barrel of herrings was also to be furnished yearly to the Earl.

Local tradition is that the castle had been the residence of the Abbot of Kilwinning, which may have arisen from the fact that the third son of Alexander Cunningham, 1st Earl of Glencairn, became the Commendator of the abbey after the reformation and may have lived at Kerelaw.