Old Photograph Barr Castle Scotland

Old photograph of Barr Castle, a late medieval tower house on a low ridge to the south of the village of Lochwinnoch, Renfrewshire near Glasgow, Scotland. Barr Castle was constructed in the 15th or early 16th century. It passed into the hands of the Hamiltons of Ferguslie at the end of the 16th century. They retained the castle until the late 18th century, when they sold and abandoned it for a new mansion. Various inscriptions are carved into the fabric of Barr Castle. These include IW and MH on the pediment above the main entrance, IH and IC 1680 above the lintel at the head of the stair, and WO 1699 on the battlements. The carvings are the initials of various Hamilton Lairds of Barr, John Wallace and his wife Margaret Hamilton, John Hamilton and Jean Cochrane. Margaret Hamilton, eldest daughter of Allan Hamilton of Ferguslie, married John Wallace, second son of William Wallace of Elderslie. It was a term of the contract that the husband was to assume the name and arms of Hamilton. Accordingly on 9 July 1647 a grant under the Great Seal was made to John Wallace of the right to do so, hence the Hamiltons of Barr. Alexander Hamilton of Barr, great grandson of Margaret and John, was born in 1670. Listed as " of Barr, " his name appeared on the 1695 Poll Tax roll for Lochwinnoch. He was appointed a Commissioner of Supply for Renfrewshire the following year. Alexander died in 1747 and was buried in the graveyard of St John’s Kirk in Lochwinnoch. Alexander's grandson John Hamilton sold the estate to the MacDowall family. He died in 1825 and was buried in the family tomb at Lochwinnoch.



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