The ruins of Crookston Castle, a stone tower house dating from the early 15th century.
This tower house was constructed by Sir Alexander Steward c 1400 on the site of an earlier wooden castle built by Sir Robert Croc of Neilston in the 12th century. It had an unusual layout which consisted of a central rectangular three-storey block with four square towers, one at each corner. There was one large room on each floor of the main block, and smaller rooms in the towers.
In 1488 the castle was besieged by King James IV and three of the four towers were destroyed. The ruined building was purchased in 1757 by the Maxwells of Pollok and in 1931 Sir John Stirling Maxwell (1866-1956) presented it to the National Trust for Scotland.
Reference: 5181
Reproduced with the permission of the West of Scotland Archaeology Service
Keywords:
castles, Crookston Castle, National Trust for Scotland, ruins, tower houses, towers