Easter Greenock Castle

Easter Greenock Castle once stood near the burgh of Greenock in Inverclyde. Built in the mid-16th century, it formed the centre of the lands and estates of Cartsburn and Easter Greenock. These belonged to the Crawfords of Kilbirnie in Ayrshire, who acquired them during the reign of Mary, Queen of Scots. The castle’s lands stretched from the Carts Burn on the west along the River Clyde to the boundary at Old Clyde Forge. Originally part of the barony of Kilbirnie, the lands became the patrimony of a younger son of that family.

The castle gained historical importance in the 17th century. By the mid-1600s, the lands were owned by John Crawford of Kilbirnie, who was made a baronet by Charles I in 1641 for services during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. After his death in 1662, his daughters inherited the lands, with Margaret Crawford and her male successors adopting the Crawfurd surname and coat of arms. A charter of 1663 confirmed Margaret’s ownership, including buildings, fishings, and the mill lands of Greenock. In 1669, she sold Easter Greenock to Sir John Schaw of Wester Greenock, leading to the union of Easter and Wester Greenock into a single barony.

Today, little remains of the castle above ground. The ruins, once adjacent to Bridgend farm, were demolished by 1865 to make way for the Greenock and Wemyss Bay Railway. The site is now marked only by Castle Road, a quiet reminder of its former presence. The writs of the Forty-shilling lands of Cartsburn, sold in 1678, are still held in the National Archives of Scotland in Edinburgh. The name Cartsdyke may derive from John Crawford’s 16th-century quay wall or dyke at Greenock. Though the castle itself is gone, its history lingers in the landscape and records of Inverclyde.