This abandoned castle, later a mansion, stands largely forgotten, but is forever tied to a famously bloody feud between rival Kennedy clan camps and immortalized by Sir Walter Scott. The first camp was led by the greedy and cruel 4th and 5th Earls of Cassilis and Sir Thomas of Culzean and the second camp by Lord of Bargany and his allies. The conflict between them would rock Renaissance Scotland at the start of the 1600s and devolve into one of the most bloody family feuds of Scottish history, eventually coming to a head with what would become the first famous Kennedy assassination.
It would eventually plunge the area into constant turmoil and occupy much of James I’s time in dealing with its related court cases and combats. Upon the murder of Lord Bargany by the much hated and cruel Earl of Cassilis who was famous for roasting or hanging people to illegally take their lands, this tale of intrigue, betrayal, murder and mayhem would spin out of control. In the end it would span decades, and engulf and destroy many noble houses, and tear apart the Kennedy Clan of Galloway.
While the mansion was first built in the 1400s as a castle and lived in by a key ally of Bargany, it was eventually expanded and altered by later Kennedy family generations in the 1600s to become a more modern family dwelling. Long after the key players in the lengthy and deadly feud had mostly come to violent ends, it was abandoned and left to rot in the 1700s. Today it stands surrounded by woods and its connection to its famous assassination is now little known today.
For more shots and a blog on the mansion and its bloody story of revenge:
Desertify_Urbex says
This abandoned castle, later a mansion, stands largely forgotten, but is forever tied to a famously bloody feud between rival Kennedy clan camps and immortalized by Sir Walter Scott. The first camp was led by the greedy and cruel 4th and 5th Earls of Cassilis and Sir Thomas of Culzean and the second camp by Lord of Bargany and his allies. The conflict between them would rock Renaissance Scotland at the start of the 1600s and devolve into one of the most bloody family feuds of Scottish history, eventually coming to a head with what would become the first famous Kennedy assassination.
It would eventually plunge the area into constant turmoil and occupy much of James I’s time in dealing with its related court cases and combats. Upon the murder of Lord Bargany by the much hated and cruel Earl of Cassilis who was famous for roasting or hanging people to illegally take their lands, this tale of intrigue, betrayal, murder and mayhem would spin out of control. In the end it would span decades, and engulf and destroy many noble houses, and tear apart the Kennedy Clan of Galloway.
While the mansion was first built in the 1400s as a castle and lived in by a key ally of Bargany, it was eventually expanded and altered by later Kennedy family generations in the 1600s to become a more modern family dwelling. Long after the key players in the lengthy and deadly feud had mostly come to violent ends, it was abandoned and left to rot in the 1700s. Today it stands surrounded by woods and its connection to its famous assassination is now little known today.
For more shots and a blog on the mansion and its bloody story of revenge:
https://www.desertifyurbex.com/Blog/4-28-20-Abandoned-Mansion-of-the-1st-Kennedy-Assassination
A video exploring the brutal conflict and the site:
https://youtu.be/KHeFUtOXcXU