Castle Semple

About

Castle Semple (previously Castletoun) is a former mansion house located in Renfrewshire, Scotland. It is situated near the eastern end of Castle Semple Loch, within Clyde Muirshiel Regional Park.

History: Erected, or more probably rebuilt, by John Sempill, 1st Lord Sempill, he changed its name from Castletoun to Castle-Semple. In Willem Blaeu's Atlas Maior, published in 1654, the castle is represented by a mark denoting the largest size of castles. In George Crawford's History of Renfrewshire (1710), he noted, "Upon the brink of the loch stands the castle of Sempill, the principal messuage of a fair lordship of the same denomination, which consists of a large court, part of which seems to be a very ancient building, adorned with pleasant orchards and gardens." According to Gardner, Castleton was built in 1492–3, but Millar states that it was built closer to 1550, as a successor to Elliston Castle. The estate was sold by Hugh Sempill, 12th Lord Sempill, in 1727, to Colonel William M'Dowall (d. 1748), a younger son of M'Dowall of Garthland. In 1735, M'Dowall demolished the house and erected a new one on its site. The new Castle Semple was an elaborate gothick mansion which became...