The Entrance Hall

Visitors enter the castle by the porch which was added to Robert Adam's castle during the 1870's. This addition built for the 3rd Marquess of Ailsa by Wardrop & Reid of Edinburgh provided a service room to the right and a drawing office to the left where Lord Ailsa designed his own yachts which were built locally. The Ailsa Shipbuilding Company was established in 1885 and registered in 1901 with the Marquess as chairman. It was only in comparatively recent years that the wall dividing the office from a central vestibule was taken down and replaced by a screen of columns to provide more space for visitors.

The painting over the chimney piece depicting the fable of the Lion and the Mouse is byJan Snyders. The mahogany wall-clock dates from the reign of George III. There are two trophies of weapons together with a display of arms which complement the collection in the armoury. The two lamps supported by blackamoors' arms are 18th-century Venetian.

Leaving the hall one passes through Robert Adam's original entrance to the castle which still retains its delicate fanlight.