Aiket Castle

Overview and Early History

Aiket Castle (sometimes spelled Aiket House) stands in a wooded glen overlooking Aiket Mill and the Glazert Burn, about two miles south‑west of Dunlop in East Ayrshire. The estate, whose name derives from the Scots word aik (oak), formed the nucleus of the barony of Aiket. In 1479 Alexander Cuninghame received a crown charter for the land and soon afterwards built a tower house on the site. The early structure was a square, four‑storey tower surrounded by a water‑filled ditch, typical of the residences of lesser barons. Its walls were about two metres thick at the base and the ground floor was vaulted. The Cuninghames were cadets of the powerful Cuninghames of Glencairn, and their tower guarded a strategic ford across the Glazert Water.

Feuds and Rebuilding

The Cuninghames of Aiket were notoriously quarrelsome. Members of the family were involved in several blood feuds in the sixteenth century and at least one laird’s wife is said to have attempted to poison her husband. In April 1586 Alexander Cuninghame of Aiket was implicated in the ambush and shooting of Hugh Montgomerie, 4th Earl of Eglinton, at Stewarton. The outrage triggered a ferocious Montgomery–Cuninghame feud. Alexander was outlawed and fled abroad; the Montgomeries retaliated by burning Aiket Castle. When the family regained possession in 1592 they rebuilt the damaged tower, adding a two‑storey kitchen wing and refashioning the laird’s house in late sixteenth‑century style. The new range doubled the accommodation and created an L‑shaped plan. A separate single‑storey wing, forming one side of a courtyard, was added in the eighteenth century.

Later Ownership and Georgian Remodeling

The Cuninghames remained at Aiket for more than two centuries. James Cuninghame sold the estate in 1734 after losing money in the ill‑fated Darien Scheme. The new proprietors, the Dunlop family, attempted to modernise the old tower by removing its top storey and inserting symmetrical sash windows to give the building a Georgian appearance. By the early nineteenth century the house had been let to tenants and later served as accommodation for farm labourers. A long tradition associated with the property recalls a Justice Hill near the castle where the barony court met in the open air; another local feature, Barr Hill, once bore two twelve‑foot monuments built of mortared stone.

Fire and Restoration

Disaster struck in 1957 when a serious fire gutted Aiket Castle, leaving only the vaulted basements and sections of three walls standing. The building remained a ruin until the mid‑1970s, when new owners undertook an ambitious restoration. They removed the Georgian alterations and reconstructed the tower to match its early seventeenth‑century silhouette. Original stonework was repaired and encased within a new inner brick skin; a seventeenth‑century fireplace was uncovered and restored; and two former garderobe chutes were adapted to house modern services. The roof was reslated with stone slabs, and the surrounding grounds were landscaped with gardens, a watercourse and an orchard. This painstaking work earned a Europa Nostra Diploma in 1987.

Architecture

Aiket Castle today consists of an extended tower house with a later wing. The rectangular main block retains its thick walls and vaulted ground floor, with a wide turnpike stair linking the upper storeys. The two‑storey wing projecting from the west end housed the kitchen and additional chambers. A lintel dated 1734 survives on the adjoining cottage, a reminder of eighteenth‑century modifications. The restored building is harled and painted cream, with crow‑stepped gables and small dormer windows. Although the interior layout is largely modern, care was taken to preserve the proportions of the old rooms. Nearby stand the remains of a barmkin wall, a restored corn mill on the Glazert Water and a small coursed‑stone bridge.

Current Status

Aiket Castle remains a private home forming part of a larger modern mansion complex. It is not open to the public, and no regular tours are available. Visitors can glimpse the house from public roads or footpaths but should respect the owners’ privacy. The surrounding lands still contain traces of the former barony, including the Justice Hill, Barr Hill and the restored Aiket Mill. As one of the few tower houses in Ayrshire to be returned to habitable use after centuries of ruin, Aiket offers a remarkable example of how a late‑medieval laird’s residence can be adapted for modern living while retaining its historic character.