Page:The castellated and domestic architecture of Scotland from the twelfth to the eighteenth century (1887) - Volume 2.djvu/162

FOURTH PERIOD 146 - KILLOCHAN CASTLE the entrance door is situated. This floor is vaulted, and contains the usual kitchen and cellars, with a passage and back door, the latter being an uncommon feature at that date. The tower in the re-entering angle of the wing forms an entrance porch leading to a handsome staircase in the north wing, with square steps and landings 5 feet wide. This is an early instance of this form of staircase. The hall, 37 feet long by 20 feet wide, occupies the whole of the first floor, and no doubt the room in the south-east tower was the private room connected with the hall, although now cut off. There was a small service stair from the kitchen to the hall at the north-west angle. The stair to the upper floors is contained in the central angle turret over the entrance porch, and there are rooms in the north wing over the main staircase. The arrangement of these staircases and entrance porch is one of the peculiarities so frequently introduced at this period. The small newel staircase corbelled out in the angle of the south-east tower is also continued to the upper floors and the roof. The upper floors are divided into numerous bedrooms. The parapet on the south side is unusually high, and the eaves of the roof are unbroken by dormers (Fig. 603). But this has been an alteration of a later date, when the eaves were adorned with the existing classic cornice. The window at the roof on the east front shows the original style of dormer, such as the other windows of the upper floor no doubt all had before the alteration of the eaves above referred to. The continuous corbelling under the parapet of the south front and angle tower is a feature peculiar to the south of Scotland. It occurs at Crichton, Stanley, etc., but is never seen in the North, where the well-known key pattern corbelling was so universal about this time. KIRKHILL CASTLE, COLMONELL, AYRSHIRE. This house, near the village of Colmonell, in South Ayrshire, is in the same district as Killochan, and is in some respects similar in plan. The ground floor (Fig. 604) contains the kitchen and two cellars. The staircase occupies the wing as far as the first floor, and the steps and platts are square and easy. The | first floor landing leads to the hall, and FIG. 604.-Kirkhiii Castle. Plans. also to a sma11 newel staircase corbelled out in the angle which conducts to the upper floors. The hall is 26 feet 6 inches by 17 feet. It has the usual small closets on each side of the kitchen vent, and an arched recess in the wall next the fireplace. Fig. 605 gives a view of the castle from