Stair House
In 1677 Sir John Dalrymple of Stair bought the Castle of St. John in Stranraer to serve as the town house of the Dalrymples. In the same year he also bought Castle Kennedy.
Sir John supported the Covenanters and in 1682 John Graham of Claverhouse, who had been appointed military commander of the area in 1678, quartered his troops at the Castle of St. John and lodged in the castle. At Claverhouse‘s instigation Sir John was arrested and imprisoned in 1684 and wasn’t released until November 1685. He was eventually rehabilitated however, despite his involvement in the Massacre of Glencoe, and in 1703 was created 1st Earl of Stair.
