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Easter Greenock Castle


Easter Greenock Castle was a 16th century castle which had been completely removed by the end of the 19th century.

The earliest history of the lands of Easter Greenock isn’t known, however a Hugh of Greenock swore to Edward I of England in 1296. His surname isn’t recorded but he is assumed to be an ancestor of the Galbraith family who held the lands of Greenock by the 14th century. When Malcolm Galbraith died without a male heir the lands were divided between his two daughters, with Easter and Wester Greenock being split by the Strone Burn. The castle of Easter Greenock seems to have existed by this time.

Malcolm’s elder daughter received the lands of Easter Greenock and when she married Malcolm Crawfurd of Loudon, during the reign of Robert III (1390 to 1406) the estate passed to that family, although they appear not to have lived there permanently until the mid-16th century. Their son, also Malcolm, was the progenitor of the Crawfurds of Kilbirnie. Malcolm’s younger daughter married a Schaw around 1420 and took with her Wester Greenock.

The castle of Easter Greenock was situated just to the north of the confluence of two burns, one of which was the Craigieknowe Burn, both of which are now covered over. It’s marked on Pont’s map as Easter Greenock and shown as a large castle, the biggest in the immediate area indicating its important status.

Baronee of Renfrew
Timothy Pont, ca. 1583 – 1596map image courtesy of NLS

In 1528 Malcolm’s great-great grandson Lawrence is recorded as excambing or exchanging his part of Crawfordjohn with Sir James Hamilton of Finnart for the lands of Drumry. When Lawrence died in 1547 Kilbirnie was inherited by his eldest son, Hugh, Easter Greenock passed to his second son, John, and his third son, Thomas, was the ancestor of the Crawfurds of Jordanhill and the Crawfurds of Cartsburn.

John is thought to be the first Crawfurd to reside permanently at Easter Greenock, but he died in 1603, seemingly without male issue, and the estate may have passed back into the main Kilbirnie line at this time. Certainly in1624 Sir John Crawfurd of Kilbirnie obtained a Royal grant of the lands of Easter Greenock, becoming known as Sir John Crawfurd of Kilbirnie and Easter Greenock. On Blaeu’s map of “The Baronie of Renfrow” (published in 1654) Easter Greenock is again shown as a large and prominent castle.

The Baronie of Renfrow
Joan Blaeu, Amsterdam, 1654map image courtesy of NLS

When Sir John died in 1661 his estates passed to his daughter Margaret on the condition that her heirs took the surname of Crawfurd. In 1664 she married Patrick Lindsay, the second son of John, 15th Earl of Crawfurd, and became known as Dame Margaret Crawfurd, Lady Kilbirnie.

The Easter Greenock estate was in debt when it came into her possession so she decided to sell it to Sir John Schaw of Wester Greenock in 1669, although she retained a portion of it around Crawfurdsdyke named Cartsburn. This she sold to her distant relative Thomas Crawfurd, the second son of Cornelius Crawford of Jordanhill, in 1668.

How the Schaw family used Easter Greenock Castle is unknown, however their main residence seems to have continued to be that of Wester Greenock. In 1670 Sir John Schaw was granted a Crown charter allowing him to unite Easter and Wester Greenock into a single barony, the Burgh Barony of Greenock.

The castle is marked on Herman Moll’s map, drawn some time before his death in 1732 and published in 1745, as Easter Greenock alongside a castle symbol, and is seemingly marked on Roy’s map of the Lowlands as Killbirny. By the middle of the 18th century Easter Greenock Castle was in ruins, and is marked as “Castle in ruins” on John Ainslie’s map of 1800. A drawing of the ruins appeared in The Scots Magazine in September 1809 (and was reprinted in a later book), at which time one corner section of wall still stood to second floor height.

Views and Reminiscences of Old Greenock
Greenock, 1891

The image was accompanied by the text “The view annexed represents the ruins of the Castle as they appeared about five years ago. The tower has since fallen, and in the course of a few years the plough will probably pass over the remains.”

When Captain John Campbell built Bridgend House to the south-west of the castle he is thought to have used stones from the ruins in its construction. The site of the castle is marked on the 1864 OS 25 inch map (surveyed in 1857) as a round mound within the landscaped grounds of Bridgend.

Renfrew Sheet II.10 (Greenock)
Ordnance Survey, 1864map image courtesy of NLS

The same style of round mound is marked on the 1864 OS Six inch map (surveyed in 1857) immediately to the south of the railway. Interestingly it is said to have been destroyed when the Wemyss Bay branch of the London Midland & Scottish Railway line was built in 1886. The round mound also appears on the 1898 OS Six inch map (revised in 1896), overlapping the railway embankment.

When the last of the castle’s ruins were finally removed is not clear, however the site is marked on the 1941 OS 25 inch map (revised in 1938) but without the mound symbol. Nothing of the castle remains today, and the only clue to its existence is in the name Castle Street which curves to the south of the castle’s original position.

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Alternative names for Easter Greenock Castle

Easter Kilbirny Castle; Greenock-Easter; Greenock Castle; Kibery-Grenock; Killbirny

Clans associated with Easter Greenock Castle

Crawford

Galbraith

Surnames associated with Easter Greenock Castle

Crauford

Craufurd

Crawford

Crawfurd

Galbraith

Schaw

Where is Easter Greenock Castle?

Easter Greenock Castle is in the parish of Greenock and the county of Renfrewshire.

Grid reference:NS 2929 7492

Lat / long:55.936932,-4.7345817

Bing Maps | Google Maps | Historic maps (NLS) | OpenStreetMap | Ordnance Survey | PastMap | Streetmap | Wikimapia

OS Map for Easter Greenock Castle

OS map 341
Greenock, Largs & Millport (Clyde Muirshiel Regional Park)
OS Explorer map 341


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Directions to Easter Greenock Castle

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Weather at Easter Greenock Castle

6°C
max 6°C / min 5°C
27km/h W
1017mb
72%
48%
07:58 17:08

Scattered clouds
Weather observed at Greenock at 08:56
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References (books)

History of the town of Greenock
Daniel Weir
Greenock, 1829
The Castles of Glasgow and the Clyde
Gordon Mason
Musselburgh, 2000
The Castles of Scotland
Martin Coventry
Prestongrange, 2015
The Early Annals of Greenock
Archibald Brown
Greenock, 1905
Views and Reminiscences of Old Greenock
Unknown
Greenock, 1891

References (websites)

Canmore
Wikipedia

Castles near Easter Greenock Castle

Cartsburn (site of)

0.9km away

Greenock Castle (site of)

1.5km away

Newark Castle

3.5km away

Gourock Castle (site of)

5.3km away

Pennytersal motte

5.8km away

Keppoch (site of)

6.1km away

Blairhenechan (site of)

6.2km away

Chrisswell Castle (site of)

6.6km away

Kilmahew Castle

7.0km away
more castles....
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Ancient sites near Easter Greenock Castle

Kempock Stone standing stone

6.0km away

Langbank West crannog

8.9km away

Carman fort

9.1km away

Dumbarton Rock fort

10.7km away

Langbank East crannog

11.3km away

Dumbuck crannog

12.3km away

Dumbuie fort

12.9km away

Longhaugh Point standing stone

13.7km away

Langbank crannog

14.4km away
more ancient sites....
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Pictish stones near Easter Greenock Castle

Dunadd Class I rock carving

49.2km away

Old Kilmadock 2 Class I symbol stone

49.7km away

Old Kilmadock 1 Class II symbol stone

49.7km away

Hawkhill Class III cross-slab

63.3km away

Blackford Class I symbol stone

72.2km away

Fowlis Wester Class II cross-slab

80.4km away

Fowlis Wester Church Class III cross-slab

80.4km away

Tullibole Class III cross slab

80.4km away

Dupplin Cross Class III cross

87.8km away
more Pictish stones....
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Pictish sites near Easter Greenock Castle

Whitecleugh silver chain

75.3km away

Todholes (possible) silver chain

79.7km away

Borland silver chain

81.6km away

Norrie's Law hoard

116.4km away

Haddington silver chain

121.9km away

Whitlaw silver chain

122.9km away

Traprain Law silver chain

128.7km away

Hoardweel silver chain

149.7km away

Torvean silver chain

172.3km away
more Pictish sites....
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Accommodation near Easter Greenock Castle

Holiday Inn Express Greenock
hotelGreenock
0.9km away
Premier Inn Greenock
hotel, restaurantGreenock
1.0km away
Castle Levan
bed and breakfastGourock
7.8km away
Ardencaple Hotel
hotel, restaurant, barRhu
8.7km away
Rosslea Hall Hotel
hotelRhu
9.4km away
Best Western Gleddoch House Hotel & Leisure Club
hotel, restaurant, barLangbank
9.5km away
Premier Inn Dumbarton / Loch Lomond
hotel, restaurant, barDumbarton
11.1km away
Knockderry House Hotel
hotelCove
11.4km away
Loch Lomond Hostel
hostelAlexandria
11.4km away
Royal Marine Hotel, Dunoon
hotelDunoon
11.5km away

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Cafés, restaurants & bars near Easter Greenock Castle

Premier Inn Greenock
hotel, restaurantGreenock
1.0km away
Ardardan Tearoom
caféCardross
5.1km away
Ardencaple Hotel
hotel, restaurant, barRhu
8.7km away
Best Western Gleddoch House Hotel & Leisure Club
hotel, restaurant, barLangbank
9.5km away
Premier Inn Dumbarton / Loch Lomond
hotel, restaurant, barDumbarton
11.1km away
Cameron House on Loch Lomond
hotel, restaurant, barArden
11.6km away
Best Western Argyll Hotel
hotel, restaurantDunoon
12.0km away
Mar Hall Golf & Spa Resort
hotel, restaurant, barErskine
16.0km away
Lynnhurst Hotel
hotel, restaurant, barJohnstone
18.2km away
Bowfield Hotel & Country Club
hotel, restaurant, barHowwood
18.6km away
more food.... / more drink....

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Published on the 9th of February 2012 at 12:39 am. Updated on the 10th of May 2018 at 3:26 pm.

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Andy Sweet above Fast Castle

Stravaiging around Scotland is written, photographed and researched by Andy Sweet.
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