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Dunure

This pretty little fishing village would not look out of place in Cornwall. Arriving by car, you drop down towards it, giving excellent views of the cottages and pub, all grouped round a small harbour.

To the south of the village are the ruins of Dunure Castle, perched on the coastline. This is the original castle of the Kennedys, and dates mostly from the 14th century. It was here that the famous Roasting of the Abbot took place in 1570. The Kennedys were at the height of their powers, and Gilbert Kennedy, 4th Earl of Cassillis, owned most of the land in Carrick. He was, as his contemporaries observed, “ane very greedy man”, and coveted the lands of Crossraguel Abbey, which, at the Reformation, had been placed in the hands of Allan Stewart, commendator, or lay abbot, of the abbey. Gilbert invited Allan to Dunure Castle for a huge feast, and when Allan accepted, had him incarcerated  in the Black Vault. He then stripped him and placed him on a spit over a great open fire, turning him occasionally like a side of beef. Eventually Allan signed away the lands, and was released. He immediately protested to the Privy Council and the Regent (James VI was still a child at the time), ordered Kennedy to pay for the lands. Such was Kennedy’s power that he ignored the order.