Regency Estates: Blairquhan Castle

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Blairquhan Castle Ayrshire THE SEAT OF SIR DAVID HUNTER BLAIR BART THIS Residence is beautifully situated on the banks of the river Girvan in the south ern district of Ayrshire Carrick thirteen miles south of Ayre It was purchased by the present family towards the end of the last century from the family of Whiteford who had acquired it in Charles the Second's time from the old possessors the Kennedys of Blairquhan a principal branch of the family of Kennedy Earls of Cassilis from which the present proprietor is also maternally descended his grandmother Anne Kennedy being sister and coheiress with her only sister Elizabeth Lady Cathcart of Carlton to David tenth Earl of Cassilis The former Mansion the remains of which were taken down to make room for the present edifice was an irregular building of large size and at the period when it was erected a great part about the year 1570 in the reign of Queen Mary of con siderable magnificence The most ancient part was said by tradition to have been built by the M Quirters and supposed to be of remote antiquity All that remained of it was a square Tower of great strength and thickness which bore the name of M Quirter Tower The building had become a total ruin when removed by the present pro prietor Near the site are many fine old trees particularly two sycamores of great age and size called the Dool Trees of Blairquhan being it is supposed the place of execution in the times of feudal power The present elegant Mansion has been lately built from the design and under the inspection of William Burn Esq of Edinburgh it is a correct specimen of the archi tecture of Henry VII s time and its general effect is very striking and splendid At the entrance carriages drive under a very beautiful Porch of the Tudor style Through the entrance Hall we are conducted into a lofty Saloon about sixty feet in height which communicates with the principal Staircase all of which are richly deco rated in the style of the building with ornamental oak tracery and plaster work Some curious sculptured stone work as windows mouldings & c of the ancient Mansion was carefully preserved on pulling it down and has been disposed around the inside of the Kitchen court with very happy effect so as to give the whole the character of an ancient building without exhibiting any incongruity with the exterior The Grounds lying beautifully on both sides of the river Girvan which winds for nearly four miles through Blairquhan have been embellished with great taste by the present proprietor and the river flows amongst extensive plantations and old trees through a fine length of Park under the windows of the principal apartments The approach which is entered by a handsome Bridge and Lodge also from the designs of William Burn Esq has been conducted up the river for about two miles and a half and winds through rocky and well wooded banks of the most romantic description till it comes in sight of the House at the distance of about half a mile and presents a sudden prospect of the Mansion and the adjacent grounds peculiarly fine and striking and in approaching the Castle the road passes through an avenue of lofty lime trees Sir James Hunter Blair Baronet of Dunskey and Robertland the father of the present proprietor descended from the very ancient family of Hunter of Hunterstone in Ayrshire was twice elected Member of Parliament for the City of Edinburgh in 1781 and 1784 He married in 1770 Jane daughter and heiress of John Blair Esq of Dunskey in Wigtonshire by Anne Kennedy of Culzean formerly mentioned He was created a Baronet in 1786 The present Baronet is Vice Lieutenant and Convener of the County of Ayr and married in 1813 Dorothea second daughter of Edward Hay Mac Kenzie Esq brother of George seventh Marquis of Tweedale by the Honourable Maria Murray daughter of George sixth Lord Elibank She died in 1820 leaving one daughter and two sons Sir David Hunter Blair married secondly in 1825 Elizabeth second daughter of Sir John Hay Baronet of Smithfield and Hayston by the Honourable Mary Elizabeth daughter of James sixteenth Lord Forbes

Modern Athens! Displayed in a Series of Views: Or Edinburgh in the Nineteenth Century: Exhibiting the Whole of the New Buildings, Modern Improvements, Antiquities, and Picturesque Scenery, of the Scottish Metropolis and Its Environs, (1829)

The Regency era Blairquhan Castle was built for the Hunter-Blair family, near Maybole, Scotland. Sir David Hunter Blair, who made some of his wealth from exploits in Jamaica, commissioned Scottish architect William Burn to design a new home on the former site of the old castle in 1824. This Tudor-Style building used some of the decorative features and scultped stones from the old castle in its kitchen courtyard, but by in large the home as completed in 1824 was new. The estate sits along the River Girvan.

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