WHO OWNS AYRSHIRE'S STATELY HOMES? (4) CESSNOCK CASTLE

 

Cessnock Castle, which lies about one mile south-east of Galston, is a pretty typical Scottish castle home. It goes back to the middle ages and has been added to and altered ever since. The structure is made up of a massive 15th-century rectangular tower of three storeys and an attic, adjacent to a 16th-century mansion, all modernised.

It was formerly associated with the Campbells from the 15th to the 18th centuries. George Campbell of Cessnock is on record in 1479. Mary, Queen of Scots, came to Cessnock after her defeat at Langside, when one of her ladies died here, and is said to haunt the castle. The reformers George Wishart and John Knox also visited.

The property then passed through the families of Dick in the 1720s, the Wallaces of Cairnhall, and the Scotts of Balcomie in 1786, then by marriage to the Dukes of Portland in 1795, then to the De Fresnes in 1946, who held it until 1995. The building was restored in 1890 and again in recent years. In 1995 the castle with 20 acres of grounds was on sale for £95,000, according to The Independent.

It appears to have been bought by the Cogley family, which at least includes Sally Cogley, a councillor on East Ayrshire Council and the leader of the Rubbish Party, a local anti-litter and dog-poo prevention group.

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Sally Cogley campaigning for election to East Ayrshire Council.