Kelburn Castle In Ayrshire, Scotland

A large house (and home) near Fairlie, North Ayrshire, Scotland, is known as Kelburn Castle, and is the seat of the Earl of Glasgow.  The Boyle family have owned the lands of Kelburn since the 12th century.  The original keep was built in the 13th century, and forms the core of the house, and a 16th century tower house was added. In the 17th century, orchards and gardens are recorded at Kelburn.  In 1703, the Parliament of Scotland created the title of "Earl of Glasgow" for the then-owner, David Boyle, who was one of the commissioners who negotiated the Treaty of Union, making Scotland and England Great Britain.  The first Earl made further extensions to the house like a French chateau, which is virtually how it looks today. It is one of the oldest castles in Scotland, and has been continuously inhabited by the same family than any other castle.  In 1977, the house and grounds opened to the public as a country park.  The castle is a protected A listed building of Scots history, and the grounds are included in the Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland.

In 2007, the 10th Earl of Glasgow, Patrick Robin Archibald Boyle, was informed that he needed to remove a cement render that had been added to the building in the 1950s, to avoid further damage to the stonework.  At the suggestion of his children, Lord Glasgow invited four Brazilian graffiti artists to paint the large section of the castle that needed to be replaced, while raising funds to fix and replace the stonework and cement.

  "The Graffiti Project," is a large collaborative painting created by four Braziliannatives from the Sao Paulo Crew: Nina and Nunca, and twin brothers Gustavo and Octavio Pandolfo.  The work of the four artists received huge media attention, and began drawing tourists from around the world.

  In September 2010 it was reported that Historic Scotland was putting pressure on Lord Glasgow to remove the graffiti, although this was later denied by both named parties.  In August 2011 it was reported that the Earl had formally written to Historic Scotland asking permission to keep the graffiti as a permanent feature of the residence. In August 2012, the agency made an inspection of the original castle walls, and urged the Earl to remove the graffiti.

  Currently, the graffiti is still up and Kelburn has become one of the places to visit in Ayrshire.  For more information, you can visit   https://www.kelburnestate.com/

View of the graffiti from the Children's Garden

Other views of the graffiti