Sinniness Castle, Wigtonshire
Photo © Jeff Wells, 10 March 2007
Sinniness Castle, Wigtonshire
Photo © Jeff Wells, 10
March 2007
Sweeping round Auchenmalg Bay at a distance of 9 miles from Port William, we
come upon the headland of Sinniness (Sweyn's Ness), not far from where are the
ruins of Sinniness Castle.
Only a fragment of Sinniness Castle now survives, in a very ruinous
state, forming part of the farm steading. It has apparently been oblong on plan,
46' 6" N-S by 27' 6" over 3' thick walls. The ground floor has contained
two vaulted cellars, filled with rubbish, above which were probably two storeys
and an attic. Of the upper floors only the North East angle remains, 40' high.
Much of the North gable still stands with window space.
The castle is said to have been built by Archibald Kennedy about the end of
the 16th century, and its features are consistent with the style of that period.
Sinniness is first mentioned in a charter of 1562. It was still occupied in
1684, Symson describing it as "a good stone house".