The Baltersan Story
Baltersan is inextricably linked with the nearby Mediæval abbey of Crossraguel (illustrated above with Baltersan in the right middleground) and the Kennedies. In its ruined state it caught the attention of John Slezer, Francis Grose, Robert Burns, Robert Adam, John Clerk of Eldin (whose etching is shown above), John Keats, James Nasmyth, Robert Louis Stevenson, and Charles Rennie Mackintosh. They are all described in some detail on the Famous Visitors page.
In 1721 the estate passed into the hands of Captain Hugh Arbuthnot, cousin to John Kennedy of Baltersan. It seems that by the middle of the 18th c. the house was abandoned and has lain in ruins ever since. It was bought in the late 19th c. by Peter Sturrock, ex-Provost of Kilmarnock. He intended restoring the place but the plan did not come to fruition.
By the end of the 20th century with Baltersan back in Kennedy ownership as part of the Culzean & Cassillis estates, it came to the notice of James Brown. James's love affair with Scottish castles started at the age of five. The youngest of eight brothers raised in a three-room tenement flat in post-war, East-end Glasgow, James was taken on a seaside excursion to Ayrshire. From his first sighting there of Ardrossan Castle, he was captivated. It became a life-long ambition to have and nurture a castle of his own.
When he set eyes on Baltersan in 1989 James had visited more than 100 historic buildings described in The Castellated and Domestic Architecture of Scotland, the definitive five-volume inventory of Scotland's castles, chateaux and tower-houses by the Victorian architects, MacGibbon and Ross. It was not on the market but he offered to buy it only to be out-bid by a speculative castle-hunter.
A few years later, Baltersan suddenly appeared on the open market. Its new owner had gone bust. In the face of hundreds of hopefuls who applied for sales details, James held his nerve, sold the flat he had bought only weeks earlier, and bought the castle.
The aim was to restore it to its former glory. By running Baltersan as luxury holiday accommodation, it could be shared with others while earning its upkeep. A company was set up to hold the castle and safeguard the restoration process; Lichtsome Hoose Ltd.
But 1996 saw a major setback; planning officials recommended refusal of James's application to restore the castle. They had been told by archæologists the development would 'interfere with standing archæology'. The news brought a barrage of protest from supporters world-wide - among them the author Nigel Tranter and architectural historian, Professor Charles McKean.
The recommendation was overturned. But five years later renewal of Planning Consent was refused when the Scottish Executive Roads Department claimed that the development 'would bring too much traffic on to the A77 road'. Again a world-wide campaign was launched and this decision was overturned. Crucially, a positive and supportive relationship has been established with the planning authority and Historic Scotland, the nation's heritage watchdog.
The architect's plans drawn up in 1995 by ARP Lorimer of Ayr were developed further by Morris & Steedman Associates (then known as Ian Begg, Architects) and the long quest for investment began. Meantime, James rented a nearby farm cottage and started to clear the castle ruin of rubble and soil accumulated over 250 years. It was painstaking work
To preserve each artefact of potential archæological interest, James worked with just a spade, shovel, wheelbarrow and a claw hammer as a mattock. Single-handed, he removed 1,000 tonnes of reusable masonry by wheelbarrow and archived hundreds of artefacts. Meantime, he was elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland for his research on Baltersan's history.
A breakthrough came in 2006, when the owners of the neighbouring estate offered an option on additional land around the castle.
At the end of 2007, Historic Scotland made a conditional building repair grant offer of just under GBP 500,000 towards the reconstruction of Baltersan.
The offer endorses not only the vision and designs for the restoration but the cost plans and financial projections, all of which were scrutinised for Historic Scotland by analysts DTZ.
It seemed time to take stock. James and Lichtsome Hoose's three other shareholders agreed the time was right to find a new owner for Baltersan with the resources and vision to bring this beautiful, inspiring castle to life again. The property is being marketed through the Glasgow office of Strutt & Parker.
Download an account of James Brown's 1,000 hours of clearance work.
Clearance Summary JB Mar 08 (PDF 1 MB)
Download (text only) historical and architectural account published in the Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland in 2000, vol. 130.
Arch Hist PSAS (MS Word 74KB)