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History (2)
 The
land around about had been Kennedy territory for centuries, and the
castle dated back to 1346 with a big addition in 1575. It was described
as "a great castle of huge bulk". David Hunter Blair eschewed the old
castle, preferring to house his estate workers there, and moved into
Milton a little way up the Water of Girvan which runs through the
estates. When his elder brother died he succeeded, at the age of 22, to
the baronetcy and became Sir David, and while in Edinburgh met and
married Dorothea Hay McKenzie, niece of the Marquess of Tweedale, in
1813. Gradually he turned towards the old castle as a place to live with
his new family which now included their children James, Edward, and
Maria.
He consulted Thomas White the landscape
architect, James Gillespie Graham, and Robert Wallace, but all their
plans which involved modifying the old castle or making a new Classical
mansion in the valley of the Water of Girvan came to nothing. Sadly
Dorothea died in 1820. David threw all his energies into working with
Edinburgh architect William Burn. In 1821 the foundation stone was laid
by Sir Alexander Boswell of Auchinleck, son of Dr Johnson's companion
James Boswell.
The old castle was dismantled, with some
of its stone and carvings incorporated into the kitchen wing, details of
which can be seen above. A new castle was built, and Burn achieved a
version of Tudor Gothic brilliantly enhanced by a clarity of design and
detail which could only come from an underlying classical aesthetic.
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