Dean Castle

Over het museum

Dean Castle began as Kilmarnock Castle, the stronghold of the Boyd family, who held the site for more than four hundred years. The stone keep was completed around 1350, with a larger and more comfortable residence, known as the Palace, added around 1460. The Boyds rose from local knights to lords and, for a time, held power at the royal court before becoming Earls of Kilmarnock. The name Dean refers to the wooded valley in which the castle stands.

A fire in 1735 left the keep and Palace in ruins, and they stood empty for well over a century and a half. In 1899 the 8th Lord Howard de Walden inherited the site and began a long restoration. The keep was finished around 1908 and the Palace in 1930. He filled the castle with a collection of medieval and Renaissance arms and armour, hung 16th-century Brussels tapestries in the halls, and added a large musical instrument collection assembled by his wife's family.

In 1974 his son gave the castle, its contents and about 40 acres of grounds to the people of Kilmarnock. The building closed in 2018 for a major renovation and conservation project of around £5.2 million, supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and Historic Environment Scotland. Today the keep and Palace show the Boyd family story, medieval life and the collections, while the surrounding country park of more than 200 acres offers woodland trails, a rural life centre and a play park.

Hoogtepunten

• Medieval keep with great hall, minstrels' gallery and bottleneck dungeon
• Arms and armour collection, mostly 15th and 16th century
• Brussels tapestries of the 16th century
• Early musical instruments, including lutes dating from about 1570
• Film location for the television series Outlander

Vaste collectie

• Arms and armour – Mostly 15th- and 16th-century European weapons and armour collected by the 8th Lord Howard de Walden, displayed in the keep.
• Historic musical instruments – Early viols, recorders, flutes, harps, drums and lutes in the Palace, recognised as a nationally significant collection.
• The Boyd family story – The rise, fall and return of the Boyd family and everyday medieval castle life, told through displays and film in the keep.

Opgericht

1974

Beheerder

East Ayrshire Council, managed by Ayrshire360 (East Ayrshire Leisure)

Toegangsprijzen & kortingen

De toegang is gratis.

The castle and the country park are free to enter. The cafe and the shops accept card payments only.

Toegankelijkheid

• Deels rolstoeltoegankelijk
• Lift: geen informatie
• Aangepast toilet
• Gehandicaptenparkeerplaats
• Hulphonden welkom: geen informatie
• Tastmodellen / voelbare objecten: geen informatie
• Rondleidingen in gebarentaal: geen informatie
• Informatie in eenvoudige taal: geen informatie
• Audiodescriptie: geen informatie

The castle courtyard is level, with flagstone and tarmac surfaces, and is about 400 m from the main car park. Ramps lead to the ground floor of the keep and of the Palace. The upper floors are reached only by stone staircases, some of them narrow, spiral and worn, with just under 70 steps in the keep. Visitors who cannot climb can watch a film and a 360-degree tour in the keep cellar and the Palace kitchen. Some rooms are dimly lit to protect the collections. The visitor centre has accessible toilets and changing facilities. Blue Badge parking is behind the castle, about 50 m from the entrance.

Kinderen & gezin

Erg geschikt voor kinderen & gezinnen

• Verschoonruimte
• Speeltuin / speelhoek

Free day out with a play park next to the Rural Life Centre, farm animals including a fallow deer herd and rare-breed sheep, goats and pigs, and woodland trails. An orienteering course of 1.4 km starts at the main car park. Baby changing facilities are in the visitor centre and the Rural Life Centre.

Bereikbaarheid & parkeren

From the A77, take the B7038 towards the town centre, then turn left onto Dean Road. Satnav postcode KA3 1XB. The park is on National Cycle Network Route 73.

Service & horeca

• Café
• Restaurant: niet aanwezig
• Museumwinkel

Treehouse Cafe in the visitor centre (soup, sandwiches, wraps, cakes; vegan and gluten-free options). Gift shops in the visitor centre and in the castle. A kiosk at the Rural Life Centre is open at weekends and daily in school holidays.

Evenementen & zaalverhuur

• Ruimtes te huur

Dean Castle Country Park is listed as available for hire through Ayrshire360. The Treehouse Residential Centre, which sleeps up to 36 people, is for school and community groups.

Je bezoek plannen