Castle Hill Church and Graveyard 62                                                                                                            26 June 2017

In 1864, John Fullarton wrote a book titled Historical Memoir of the Family of Eglinton and Winton. Referring to the monumental stone inside the church and shown above, the book states that '
it has most generally been viewed as commemorative of the last Baron of the original race, the renowned equestrian hero of the 'enchanted bridle'. The last Baron of Ardrossan was Sir Fergus Barclay, also called Sir Fergus of Ardrossan, and known as the De’il o’ Ardrossan. Fergus lived probably sometime between 1250 and 1330. He may also have been the Sir Fergus of Ardrossan who was a signatory to the Declaration of Arbroath in 1320.

The church on Castle Hill was originally a Catholic Church, built no later than 1226.  It measured 64 feet by 26 feet. It had two altars - one dedicated to Saint Peter and the other to the Blessed Virgin Mary.  It became a Church of Scotland after the Reformation of 1560 and was destroyed in a storm in 1695. In late January 1911, a stone coffin or sarcophagus was unearthed in 1911 by Robert Cook, an Ardrossan Town Council workman.inside the chuch. The sarcophagus in on display in the North Ayrshire Heritage Centre in Saltcoats.