Thomas Kennedy of Dunure (1752-1819) was the son of Francis Kennedy and Isabella Edmondstone. He married Jean Adam, daughter of John Adam and niece to Robert, James and William Adam, in 1779. In 1781, he was admitted a burgess of Ayr. He was described as a ‘gentle man of much public spirit’ and focussed a lot of his attention on improving his estate at Dalquharran. He also invested a large amount of money into building a small harbour at Dunure for the purpose of shipping coal and importing lime, but this endeavour was not as successful as he planned and was largely used by the local fishermen. He was succeeded by his son, Thomas Kennedy, M.P. for Ayr and Lord of the Treasury. Kennedy died in 1819.

The Kennedy family seat had been the old Dalquharran Castle, first built in the fifteenth century, and added to in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. In c.1781, Kennedy approached Robert Adam to make designs to rehabilitate the existing castle. There is a sketch of a ruined tower, and a design for an elevation in the Soane Collection dating from 1782. This was soon set aside in favour of an entirely new castle, with a large rear rotunda, similar to that at Culzean Castle. These designs were developed further in 1785, reducing the scale of the castle, and included an adjoining stables and office range. By 1789, building work had begun and the stables were reduced to a more simplified design. Adam was paid £100 by Kennedy for his designs.

The Adam office made a series of designs for the chimneypieces for the principal rooms and, in 1790, a design for a library in the rear rotunda. There is a letter from Robert Adam to Hugh Cairncross dated 23 April 1790 which discusses the decoration of the proposed library for Dalquharran, and the status of some chimneypieces carved by the Dutch stonemason Pieter Mathias van Gelder, including one for the principal bedroom. Adam also made some unexecuted designs for a small hut and garden seat for Mrs Kennedy in c.1790, which are in the collection at Blair Adam.

In execution, the stables and offices were reduced to boundary walls with gated piers, and a single stable range. The house was executed to the 1785 variant designs and the work was overseen by Hugh Cairncross, and the plasterwork was carried out by James Nisbet. There is one drawing (SM Adam volume 31/45) which is inscribed on the verso ‘for London’ and ‘Mrs Kennedy & Nisbet’ which might relate to the drawing being sent to London to show to the plasterer James Nisbet.

In 1880-81, matching flanking wings were added to the castle. These have been attributed to both Wardrop & Reid, who also worked on Culzean Castle, and the architects Walker & Son of Belgravia. The castle changed hands a number of times subsequently, being used variously by timber merchants, the Scottish Youth Hostel Association and Langside School for the deaf which had been evacuated from Glasgow during the Second World War. The castle was unroofed in 1970 and has been left to ruin like its older counterpart.

Literature:
A.T. Bolton, The Architecture of Robert and James Adam, Volume II, Index, 1922, pp. 9, 77; A. Rowan, ‘Adam’s Last Castles’, Country Life, 22 August 1974, pp. 494-7; A. Rowan, ‘After the Adelphi: Forgotten Years in the Adam Brothers Practice’, The Royal Society of Arts Journal, vol. 122, 1974, pp. 683, 684, 686, 687, 690, 691, 701; Robert Adam at home: 1728-1978, 1978, pp. 18, 21, 23; A. Rowan, Designs for Castles and Country Villas, 1985, pp. 124-7; G. Worsley, ‘Stables with steeples’, Country Life, Sept. 10th, 1987, p. 134; M. Sanderson, Robert Adam in Ayrshire, 1993, pp. 25-27; Sotheby’s Sales Catalogue, 13 November 1998, p. 71; D. King, The Complete Works of Robert & James Adam and Unbuilt Adam, Volume 1, 2001, pp. 168-9, 334-5; Volume 2, 2001, pp. 5, 162, 244, 257; E. Harris, The Genius of Robert Adam: his interiors, 2001, pp. 321, 332; R. Close (et. al.), Buildings of Scotland: Ayrshire and Arran, 2012, pp. 273-6; Historic Environment Scotland, ‘Dalquharran Castle’, Canmore, online [accessed 20 February 2024]

With thanks to Tom True for his help cataloguing this scheme.

Louisa Catt, 2024