castellated structure recorded as Kilburny. Roy's map of 1747 shows the castle and the landscaped avenue feature. A Mains Farm is shown located near to Kilbirnie Kirk. The 1832 Thomson map records 'Killbirny House' and shows a lane running directly from the house to the kirk. The 1856 OS map of refers to 'Kilbirnie House'. The Honourable Patrick Lindsay purchased the castle and estate of Glengarnock in 1677 from Richard Cuninghame, the last of the Cuninghames of the Barony of Glengarnock. In 1707 both baronies were united in the Barony of Kilburnie, with the Manor House of Kilbirnie as the principal messuage. Keep This very impressive 15th-century structure measures 42 feet by 33 feet, with walls between 7 feet and 8 feet in thickness. A cellar was present and a sleeping loft under a vault. Another vault had a hall, lit by three windows in the south wall and a window high up in the north wall, a private room lay beneath. The tower was four storeys high and in the north-west corner a "starving pit" prison was entered by a hatch from a passage from the stair at loft level. Gun ports are not present. In 1602 the Place of Kilbirnie was broken into whilst the laird "was furth of this realme" and his wife Margaret was at Greenock. A John Crawfurd of "Auchinbothe" was arrested and tried, however he was found innocent despite having returned some of the stolen items to Lady Kilbirnie. The charter chest was one of the items broken into and items removed from. At the north-eastern side of the keep are ruins that represent the site of an oven and other building remnants that probably represent the site of the kitchens. Divine protection Set within the main fireplace of the keep are two red sandstone carved pieces with Gothic script. One reads 'Maria' and the other with smaller script has not been deciphered. Sandstone pillars on either side of this fireplace carry carvings of climbing plants that may be ivy. One suggestion regarding the Gothic script carvings in the fireplace is that they could be the names of saints and that this was a religious 'Apotropaic' protective device to prevent the ingress of evil spirits into the house through an otherwise 'unprotected' entry point. The Puritans acted against images of the Virgin Mary however a widespread use of her name or more usually initials