NEWARK CASTLE Renfrewshire
His.Scot., OS63 NS331745
In Port Glasgow, on north side of A8, on south shore of Firth of Clyde, at Newark.
Newark consists of a collection of buildings of the 15th, early 16th and late 16th centuries, forming three sides of a courtyard, the enclosing wall of the remainder has now gone. It is a remarkably well preserved structure, and well worthy of the care of Historic Scotland.
The oldest section of the structure stands at the south east corner of the building and is a four storey keep dated about 1484. It measures 29ft by 23ft and reaches a height of 48ft to the present parapet, though this is now a storey higher, an extension having been built up from the original single corbels of the parapet. The entrance to the keep was at its north west corner. This original doorway remains and is accessed from a lobby within the 17th century range. The ground floor is vaulted and had two entresol floors built high within the vault, each illuminated by widely splayed arrow slot windows, though this feature may be a later adaptation. A turnpike stair within the wall of the north east corner leads to all of the floors above. There renaissance windows have replaced the originals in order that it reflected the style of it’s later extension. Each of the upper floors was a single room , sharing a collection of garderobes, mural chambers and fireplaces.
Midway down the west side of the square courtyard is a gatehouse of the early 16th century measuring 23.5ft by 20ft. This features an arched vaulted entrance tunnel at it’s southern end, within which is a stone seat and a door leading to a vaulted chamber which functioned as guard room. From this a pair of arrow slots provided defence of the approach on the west, and that from the north. A turnpike in the north eastern corner led to the two floors above. These have a single room to each, with stone seats within the window recesses. These rooms display similar features to those of the keep. Adjacent to the garderobe on the first floor is an Ogee arched aumbry. The garret is framed by corbie stepped gables topped by chimneys, and a dormer window has been added at a later date for its room. The entire south face of this structure adjoins the western end of the late 16th century block. The courtyard wall continued south from this structure, before turning to complete the square by meeting the keep on its west side. There remains a round doocote tower and fragments of the old barmkin wall at the north eastern corner of the site. The north and east sides of the yard were enclosed by a long L-plan block of three storeys with outward projecting central section. Each of the four northward facing corners has a round turret corbelled out from first floor level, and centrally placed in the projecting wing is a matching stair turret. All of the chambers of the ground floor are vaulted, a door from the courtyard in the east side of the re-entrant giving the only access. Above this an engraved stone gives the date 1597, and the hopeful inscription, ‘The blissings of God be herein’. A dormer of the garret carries a date of two years later.
A long corridor ran around the courtyard side of this block. Directly opposite the door, a wide scale and platt stair ascends to the first floor. Southward the corridor led to a vaulted bakehouse, whose oven stood outwith the exterior wall and is now ruined. Above this rises a tall chimney stack built against the gable. At this end of the corridor is the door to the old keep. Within the northern and longest side of this range, the corridor terminates at each end with small vaulted chambers. The western of these was adjacent to a small stair leading to a service room on the floor above. On the northern side of the corridor doors open to the kitchen, a store, and a buttery or wine cellar. The kitchen has a wide fireplace with recess in the northern end, and the wine cellar has a small service stair to the hall above.
On the first floor the central projecting wing is completely occupied by the hall. The room measures 37.25ft by 20.75ft. There are a number of Renaissance style windows on all sides, and a wide decorated fireplace in the north wall. This measures 8.6ft wide by 7.5ft high. Adjacent on the east of this is a door to the round stair turret. There is a small closet of about 2ft by 3 in the south east corner, from which a spy hole or gunloop guards the entrance to the block from the yard. The wings to the west of the hall contains the service room mentioned, and that to the east contains the stair from the ground floor and a pair of small rooms. Next to the smaller of these a turnpike rose to the floor above. The larger of these sat above the bakehouse, and has its own garderobe and fireplace. The storey above had the same floor plan at this section of the building.
The long northern section of the second floor contained a single massive room, possibly used as a function suite on grand occasions. The area could be divided by use of removable screens or doors, which separated the wings from the area above the hall. A further possibility is that screens were used to subdivide this area into bedrooms, since a fireplace is available for each. All of the walls of this block support a number of gunloops.
The estate was a property of the Danzielstouns, or Dennistouns. It passed to the Maxwells of Calderwood in 1402 at the same time as Kilmaronock passed to the Cunninghames. When the Dennistoun Laird died, his estate was shared between his two daughters who took them to their new families. The entire structure can be attributed to the Maxwells. They were distantly related to Royalty through the Dennistouns, and so James 4th visited on several occasions. In 1495 he lodged here on his way to quell disturbances in the Western Isles. In 1497 he paid four shillings and eight pence for ‘ane bote fetch wine fra the schip twys, quhen she lay at New Werk’. A year later he paid another boatman 6 shillings to take his gear to Newark from the Royal Castle at Dumbarton, across the river.
Patrick Maxwell was involved in feuds leading to the murders of Patrick Maxwell of Stanely in 1584, and the Montgomery Earl of Eglinton in 1596. In 1668 another Patrick Maxwell sold the surrounding land to the Magistrates of Glasgow, allowing the building of a new port for the city. At this point the name of the hamlet changed from Newark to Port Glasgow. The castle itself passed to the Schaw Stewarts, and in the 18th century fell into partial ruin. Part of the castle remained habitable and in the 19th century was the residence of several poorer families whilst the roofless portions were used as a midden. It came into State care in 1909, and has been restored, although the floors of the garret rooms have never been replaced.
Open April to Sept., phone 01745 741858.
Newark Castle
Some detailed architectural drawings.
