The Dark Age Hill Fort
The appearance of the hill-fort is shrouded in mystery because much of the archaeological evidence was destroyed during medieval times. This illustration conveys an impression, no more than that, of what we imagine might have been the scene about AD500. A mixture of large timber built round houses and straight-sided structures occupy the interior. A timber laced stone rampart defines and defends the hill fort.
The timber lacing caught fire and burnt with such intensity that the surrounding stonework melted, or vitrified. This firing happened about AD1000 and seems to mark the end of the hill-fort’s existence. It was about this date that the independence of the British Kingdom of Strathclyde ceased, being absorbed into the kingdom of Scotland.
The place name Dundonald means “Donald’s Fort”. We don’t know who Donald was but he may have been one of three kings of that name who ruled in Strathclyde in the 10th century.
The Medieval Castles
Of the three castles on the hill, nothing now survives above ground of the first one – an earthwork and timber stronghold erected by one of the stewards of the king of Scots (probably Walter, the first steward, who came to Scotland about 1136).
A little more survives above ground of the second castle – the well which you pass as you reach the summit of the hill and the rounded stump of tower at the north=-west corner of the tower. This once mighty stone castle was built in the later 13th Century by Alexander Stewart and must have been one of the grandest baronial residences of its day. It was largely destroyed during the wars with England in the early fourteenth century. This illustration hints at the castle’s appearance about 1300.
The third castle comprises almost everything you see above ground today, including the awesome tower which dominates the hill. The castle was built by Robert Stewart, very probably to mark his accession to the throne as Robert II in1371.
It was altered and extended during the 15th century. This tower house was extended on the south to provide additional private chambers and a prison. The outer courtyard (called more properly the barmkin) was completed and ancillary buildings (stables, bakehouses, brewhouses, smithy, etc) built against the barmkin wall.
The tower house built for King Robert II (1371-90) was three storeys high. This reconstruction drawing shows how these three storeys may have been used.
The top floor above the lofty stone vault was the upper hall – the great hall. It was for the more private use of the king and family.
The first floor was the lower of the two halls – the laigh hall. It would have been used for more public activities like feasting and the holding of the baron court.
The ground floor was a storage area. It was probably originally subdivided providing cellars for different commodities like wine, ale, foodstuffs and fuel.
The original design of the tower house poses a problem; where were the king and his family expected to sleep? On beds in the great hall? Surely not! In the wall closets at either end? Maybe, but the king? There is no indication that there has been another fourth storey over this. It is a puzzle. Evidently, the omission was made good early on as an extension was built on the south side of the tower house (not shown on this drawing) which provided additional smaller chambers above a grim prison and pit.
The Laigh Hall
The drawing shows how we think the laigh hall may have looked during a great banquet. The high table would have been at the far end of the room where the host and principal guests would be bathed in sunshine streaming through the large windows on either side.
The other guests would have sat at tables placed along the side walls. Only the host would have sat on a chair, which would probably have been covered with a canopy. All others would have been seated on stools or benches. Those assembled were warmed by fires burning in braziers and the chimney flues are still visible in the side walls.
A timber partition screened the hall from the service area which was linked to the storage cellars below by the mural stair. Guests would have entered the hall through a separate door. Above the passage was a minstrels’ gallery and when “caught short” they would have used a latrine closet high up in the right side of the window.
The Great Hall
This reconstruction drawing shows how we think the Great Hall may have looked about 1400; the present ruined shell belies its former grand appearance. It was covered by a high stone vault. Unlike the Laigh Hall below, this vault was given a more elaborate appearance by the addition of stone ribs.
These did not actually support the ceiling but were simply applied to the underside of a self-supporting stone vault. In the west wall was the canopied fireplace. The high table was probably in front of the fire and not as shown, at the north end. The doorway in the north wall led to wall closets, one housing a latrine.
A timber partition, like that in the hall below, screened the hall itself from the service area at this end.
The Cochranes of Cowden
The following text is taken by permission of the Clan Cochrane website. More information on the clan can be viewed at the website http://www.clancochrane.org
“The ruin of Auchens House is located about a mile from Dundonald Castle and was the home of the Cochrane’s in the late 1600′s.”
“The chieftanship was in jeopardy, when, during the early 1600′s, William Cochrane of that Ilk, had no male children. He ensured that whoever married his daughter Elizabeth be bound to assume as their own the Cochrane name and coat of arms. Elizabeth married Blair who took his wife’s name and estates. The Cochranes acquired their peerage in 1647 and their son Sir William Cochrane was created the first Earl of Dundonald in 1669. At that time, the family owned the house attached to Paisley Abbey known as the Place of Paisley. Today it ios used as offices and meeting rooms by the Abbey.
It was Elizabeth’s eldest son Sir John Cochrane who became a colonel for Charles I and began the recurring “fighting Cochranes”, a line of chiefs who consistently served the United Kingdom, both on land and at sea, with distinction. In October 1745, the seventh Earl, a supporter of the Hanoverian succession to the British throne, had his horse shot from under him at the West Port of Edinburgh while Jacobites were in possession of the capital. After the death of the seventh Earl the descendants of Sir William’s second son became the Earls. In the 17th century Dundonald in Kyle was purchased. This was a castle built by the Stewarts as a hunting lodge in the 12th century.”
The ruin of Auchans House is located about a mile from Dundonald Castle and was the home of the Cochranes in the late 1600′s. At that time it is believed to have been part of a large deer park and was an impressive building with turrets and crow-stepped gables. It is believed that the house was constructed from stone from Dundonald Castle. There is now a splendid walk from the Castle to Auchans through the woods.