Confused? No, it really is a £4m bargain home
Entrepreneur owner facing loss of £2.6m
WITH i ts own ballroom, 300 sprawling acres of land and even four other properties thrown in, it is hardly the typical bargain buy.
But Cassillis House, a stunning 15th century Ayrshire castle, is on the market for a knockdown £3.9million – a hefty £2.6million less than it cost the current owner to buy and refurbish.
Multi-millionaire Kate Armstrong, founder of price comparison website Confused.com, paid £3million for the country estate in 2009.
At the time it was in a poor state of repair, but she spent a further £3.5mill i on on a painstaking renovation project which turned the property, near Maybole, into a stunning home.
Mrs Armstrong originally put the castle on the market in 2014 with an asking price of £5million, making it one of the most expensive properties in Scotland.
But it seems that its numerous bedrooms, a ballroom and private cinema were not enough to attract the right buyer. Now a f urther £ 1.1million has been knocked off the offers-over price to make it more attractive.
Mrs Armstrong’s four-year project to give the estate a facelift featured on the BBC2 programme Restoration Home in 2013. As a result of sitting uninhabited for many years, the castle had a number of costly problems when she acquired it, including a rotting roof.
The Australian entrepreneur got permission from Historic Scotland to paint the castle yellow – the colour it would have originally been.
The fully renovated house now features 13 pristine bedrooms – seven of them en suite.
In addition it boasts a ballroom, library, wine cellar, cinema room and space for a gym.
The castle features portcullis doors, circular turrets and even an original spiral staircase, built clockwise to help right-handed swordsmen to defend the upper floors from attackers.
Four other properties on the
‘It has such an amazing history’
estate are included in the sale, one of them a five-bedroom coach house.
Describing Cassillis House when it originally went on the market, Savills property agent Evelyn Channing said: ‘Someone has gone through the pain of a complete restoration and it’s now ready for 21st century living. Normally there is some sort of project but this is ready to go and it has such amazing history.
‘Many ancient interesting features have been retained such as the tower and a bedroom that was discovered when they pulled away some of the plaster.
‘It is on the market for less than what [Mrs Armstrong] has spent on it. She is not asking for all her money back. She is more concerned about making sure the castle is being looked after.
Cassillis House was built between 1404 and 1454. It was owned by the Kennedy family from the 15th century until 2009, when the last descendant Mary, Marchioness of Ailsa, died. But the estate has a past peppered with tragedy. David Kennedy, the 1st Earl of Cassillis, was killed at the Battle of Flodden in 1513.
The second Earl was murdered during an unsuccessful attempt to rescue James V, while the third Earl was poisoned in France while he was there for the wedding of Mary, Queen of Scots.