Castle Hill Church and Graveyard 64                                                                                                       16 October 2017

When Archaeology Scotland contacted Ardrossan Castle Heritage Society for cooperation in holding its annual general meeting in Ardrossan, the Society was delighted to be of assistance. The Civic Centre was the venue for the initial gathering. After lunch, participants were given a guided tour of the Castle and Church on the Castle Hill.

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.