The Building Of Culzean

In 1762, Sir Thomas Kennedy (who had inherited his boyhood home of Culzean in 1744) inherited the title and seat of the Earl of Cassillis. Rather than move to Cassilis house, he chose to remain at Culzean where he had been busy enclosing and improving the estate. During the 1760's, he added the new wing to the Castle, and made repairs to the rest of the building.

In 1775, Thomas died and his brother David succeeded him as 10th Earl of Cassillis. He also preferred to live at Culzean. He retained Thomas's new farm manager, John Bulley, who was to make huge improvements to the estate and bring in greater profits, and he commissioned Robert Adam to rebuild his home.

Robert Adam rebuilt Culzean Castle in four stages over a period of fifteen years (1777-1792). Adam's first set of plans, dated 1777, show the four storeys of the L-shaped tower house, Adams 'squared up' the tower house and added a three-story wing on either side. He also built a new kitchen block at the east end of the 9th Earl's 1760s wing. In 1779, Adam added a round brewhouse, a milkhouse, bath-house and bedrooms to the west end of the 9th Earl's wing, and the wing itself was modified.

However, in 1785, the 9th, Earl's wing was demolished. In its place, between the kitchen block and the brewhouse block, Adam built a big drum tower with rooms on either side of it. The Principal room in the drum tower was the impressive round saloon which is now of the tour of the castle. The castle was now a more unified building but it was left with a space in its center.

In 1787, Adam drew his final plans for the castle. They included the grand oval staircase. In order to create enough room for the staircase, Adam then pulled down the back half of the tower house. The oval staircase was a triumph of design. Adam managed to turn an unsatisfactory damp and dark place outside the castle in to its central interior. He made it appear that the staircase, rather than being the last part to be built, was the first part and the rest of the castle had been designed around it.

The building of Culzean must have put strain on Adam, as it did on the Earl. In a letter sent to his banker in 1790, lord Cassillis wrote:'..I hope my operations will [soon] be at an end for I am really wearied of building and wish to be at rest.' Meanwhile, Adam the workaholic continued working at a great pace on several commissions at the same time, dashing between London and Scotland and ignoring the pains from his ulcer.

Culzean Castle was completed in 1792 but the decoration continued until 1795. In March of that year, Robert Adam died of a stomach haemorrhage; Lord Cassillis died later the same year, in December.