Kenmure Castle

[1] The present castle stands on a partly natural mound, which may have been modified for defence in the early Middle Ages.

Kenmure has been suggested as a possible birthplace in 1249 of John Balliol, later King of Scotland, whose mother Dervorguilla was daughter of Alan, the last independent Lord of Galloway.

The king played "tables", a form of backgammon, when he stayed and gave money to the laird's servants.

[6] Kenmure was destroyed or damaged by the opponents of Mary, Queen of Scots, who marched through the south-west in June 1568 after they defeated her supporters at the Battle of Langside.

John Gordon of Lochinvar wrote to Mary, Queen of Scots that he would not accept Regent Moray's terms and join his side.

[3] The viscountcy was restored to Captain John Gordon in 1824 and who died in 1840, though it has been dormant since the death of his nephew, Adam the 8th/11th Viscount, in 1847.

The castle was extensively remodelled and modernised during the 19th century, when the courtyard wall and the north-east tower were removed with the use of gunpowder.

[11] In 1923, the estate was sold but the castle itself was let to and later bought by Brigadier-General Maurice Lilburn MacEwen CB, late 16th The Queen's Lancers.