A TALE OF TWO CASTLES
There’s fun to be had at old and new Knock Castle in Ayrshire
‘When the bell goes for breakfast,
the fireman’s
pole means I can get here as quick as possible’
When your interviewee arrives in front of you via a fireman’s pole you know that you’re in for an interesting encounter and my visit to Knock Castle more than lived up to my expectations.
Bruce and Nicky Walker bought Knock Castle near Largs in 2000, although they had looked at it previously. ‘It was riddled with dry rot so we reduced our offer and somebody else stepped in and bought it,’ recalls Bruce, who grew up in nearby Prestwick. ‘Six years later the new owner came back to us and we bought it. He’d done a lot but there was still a lot to do.’
The couple spent several years getting rid of the dry rot, repairing the stone work, rewiring, replacing the leadwork and generally bringing the house back to a state of good repair. Then they turned their attention to making it work better as a family home and, of course, adding the fireman’s pole. ‘ Every home should have one!’ says Bruce. ‘Where the pole is, in the large dining kitchen, was originally seven different rooms. When we were knocking them all into one the entrance comes off the back staircase so it was a natural thing to add the pole. When the bell goes for breakfast it means I can get here as quick as possible otherwise my sons (aged 20, 22 and 24) will scoff all the food.
‘The seven rooms included a butler’s sitting room, kitchen, corridor, butler’s pantry, silver room, and upstairs two bedrooms and a bathroom. The kitchen was too far away from the dining room to be practical and it was all just a hotch potch – it didn’t work. We got rid of the second storey, took the ceiling height up and somehow it’s anchored the whole centre of the building. The house is Grade A listed but Historic Scotland were marvellous, they didn’t turn anything down. The architect thought they might dispute the pocket doors between
‘The refurbishment of Old Knock Castle is reminiscent of a phoenix rising from the ashes’
the kitchen and sitting room but they didn’t. They were extraordinarily helpful both with this property and the old castle.’
Ah yes, the old castle. The Walker family home, impressive as it is, is just one part of the story. ‘When we’d finished this, the new Knock Castle, we turned our attention to the old castle which had its origins in the 14th century,’ explains Bruce. ‘It was a crumbling historical pile of rubble, but we were aware that if we didn’t do something soon, it really would be a lump of stone at the end of the garden. It had been a massive great thing but somehow between 1603 and 1851, when the new castle was built, it had become just a romantic ruin with a tower. The roof had fallen in and there were no floors. We started the project in 2012 and we finished a few months ago. It’s been a labour of love and cost me rather more than I anticipated but the whole idea was to save it and to have a place to lease out as a holiday let. Touch wood, so far it’s gone reasonably well.’
Reasonably well is perhaps a bit of an understatement – the refurbishment of Old Knock Castle under the watchful eye of Master of Works Andrew Rankin from ARC Management is more reminiscent of a phoenix rising from
‘The wood is from the estate and has been used to make
anything and everything’
the ashes and it’s a stunning and unique sight. Whilst much has been built onto the basic structure to create this luxurious four bedroom, three bathroom holiday let, it’s the attention to detail both inside and out that make it so special.
Asides from the timber frame, all the wood is from the estate and has been used to make anything and everything – beds, towel rails, shelving, tables, you name it. ‘The project definitely evolved as time went on,’ Bruce recalls, ‘particularly as I discovered what we could do with the timber and the capability of the stone masons and the carpenters.’
The project also evolved with Bruce and Nicky’s imagination and it’s the little details that are the most fun. The family pets, Waffle the dog and Ripper the cat, are immortalised in gargoyles. In the stained glass entrance to the sauna, Baloo from The Jungle Book invites you to ‘bear (bare) all’ and tucked away in the corners of the staircase are handcarved wooden mice. In the bathrooms, hand-painted tiles adorn the shower cabinets, beautiful fabrics warm up the exposed stone on the bedroom walls, and on the turf roof a sheep is grazing.
‘My day job is doing up old buildings in Hong Kong and Singapore in a more commercial sense but it’s something I enjoy doing,’ says Bruce. ‘Although when I’m doing it abroad, I stick to very strict financial guidelines, here I rather let my heart run away with my pocket a bit.’ I’m sure the guests staying at Old Knock Castle are very glad Bruce did.