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.