The name "Kilbirnie" is derived from the
Gaelic language, and means "Church of
St Brendan". The parish was divided into three baronies: Kilbirnie,
Ladyland, and
Glengarnock. The feudal Barony of Kilbirnie was the largest in the parish at around 5500 acres and had the most fertile quarter with 3000 acres of arable, pasture and woodland. Kilbirnie Castle is said to be the site where in 1263 the Scots mustered under
Alexander III before fighting Norwegian forces in the
Battle of Largs. The castle's location is on high ground above the bend of a deep ravine, giving the site some protection along its west and north sides although it is set back from the edge of this ravine. The word
place in
Scots refers to a landed proprietor's mansion house, and is equivalent in meaning to the English word "palace", although the term "palace" acquired its present connotations at a much later date. The dwelling is clearly seen as being in two quite distinct parts: one a substantial defensive tower built in about 1470 for Malcolm Crawfurd and his wife, Marjory Barclay, an heiress and the last of her line; the other part is dated to 1627 and is a more comfortable dwelling with no significant defensive features. The entrance to the new 'wing' has a very unusual and prominent projecting porch on the south front.
Timothy Pont's map, c. 1604, as published by
Joan Blaeu in Amsterdam (1654), shows Kilbirnan Castle (sic), as this date precedes the building of the mansion house wing. John Adair's map of c. 1685 shows a castellated structure recorded as Kilburny. Roy's map of 1747 shows the castle and the landscaped avenue feature. A Mains Farm is shown located near to Kilbirnie Kirk. The 1832 Thomson map records 'Killbirny House' and shows a lane running directly from the house to the kirk. The 1856 OS map of refers to 'Kilbirnie House'. The Honourable
Patrick Lindsay purchased the castle and estate of Glengarnock in 1677 from Richard Cuninghame, the last of the Cuninghames of the Barony of Glengarnock. In 1707 both baronies were united in the Barony of Kilburnie, with the Manor House of Kilbirnie as the principal messuage.
Keep This very impressive 15th-century structure measures 42 feet by 33 feet, with walls between 7 feet and 8 feet in thickness. Gun ports are not present. At the north-eastern side of the keep are ruins that represent the site of an oven and other building remnants that probably represent the site of the kitchens. ;Divine protection Set within the main fireplace of the keep are two red sandstone carved pieces with Gothic script. One reads 'Maria' and the other with smaller script has not been deciphered. Sandstone pillars on either side of this fireplace carry carvings of climbing plants that may be ivy. One suggestion regarding the Gothic script carvings in the fireplace is that they could be the names of saints and that this was a religious
'Apotropaic' protective device to prevent the ingress of evil spirits into the house through an otherwise 'unprotected' entry point. The
Puritans acted against images of the
Virgin Mary however a widespread use of her name or more usually initials continued. The Gothic script and positioning on the stone suggests that a secondary use from a tomb and this would be seen as doubly potent if it was once housed within the nearby Kilwinning Abbey as it would be seen to have been infused with holy energies. The old main entrance to the keep was at the east angle of the north side and later entered into a courtyard. The ground level is now considerably raised up and only the arch of the door can be seen.
Mansion This wing was constructed in 1627 at right angles to the old keep using rubble faced with dressed with sandstone
ashlar. A door was broken through from the hall of the old keep to a staircase in the mansion house. The mansion was a fine specimen of 17th-century architecture. It had turrets corbelled out at hall level and these contained closets. The front door was set in an unusual shallow projection and a narrow back door at the north facing aspect led into a courtyard. Two cellars existed with a passage between them that connected with the main staircase.
Fire The buildings were destroyed by fire early in the morning of 1 May 1757 during construction works, and never rebuilt. A servant who was going to the stables saw that smoke was rising from the roof and gave the alarm. The 21st Earl of Crawfurd, his infant daughter Jean (later a
Countess of Eglinton) and domestics had little time to escape the ferocity of the flames. The family moved to the Kilbirnie Barony
manse at first and later settled at
Bourtreehill House near
Irvine. Regarding the cause of the fire, the story goes that before going to bed, a lady of the house threw melted grease from the socket of a large candlestick into a fire grate in a lower storey of the house and the ensuing flames set alight the unswept chimney flue, the fire rapidly entering the new mansion wing through windows in the garret that had been left open by workmen. The keys had been taken offsite by carpenters and access to control the fire was impossible. Large numbers of people turned out to help, but their assistance was to no avail. Until the death of the earl in 1781 the cause had been carefully concealed and supernatural forces held to blame. Some of the buildings were retained for a time as a hunting lodge.
Pleasure gardens The approach to the building from the south was a long straight avenue twenty yards wide, bordered by high walls and once enclosing large gardens. The section down to Causewayfoot was bordered by walls and the section down to the termination at Fudstone (now demolished) was tree-lined only. The remnants of the 'Grand Avenue' are still discernable. A substantial walled garden in two portions ran down from the castle to the ravine or glen, long abandoned, and shown on the OS maps with a set of steps between the tow portions and a small building attached to the wall on the northern side. Paterson records that the extensive pleasure-grounds were "torn up by the plough". The gardens once contained flowers and shrubs, potatoes, turnips, and orchards.
Ordnance Survey (OS) maps show that a sandstone quarry was located at Causewayfoot, overlooked by the old but now demolished dwelling at Selsy, with cottages and the farm of Causewayfoot standing nearby. A small ironstone pit was also present. The OS 6 in. of 1897, 1911, 1938 show a trapezoidal
curling pond south-west of Kilbirnie Castle and records show that a match was played between Kilbirnie v. Dalry 3 rinks each, on 20 February 1895. The curling pond built below the Causewayfoot is now drained and overgrown, shown as already abandoned in 1938. A lozenge-shaped curling pond at Fudstone south-west of the dwelling is shown on OS 6 in. 1st ed. ca. 1860, 1897 and 1911. The Crawfurds added the Crawfurd Aisle to the Auld Kirk with its fine Renaissance-style carvings of 1642. A private apartment is located behind with the family burial vaults lying beneath. The numerous heraldic shields were carved for John, first Viscount Garnock, and represent the armorial bearings of his ancestors. ==Associated families==