by executing Campbell did not prevent a subsequent uprising by them. For three days from 4 August 1563, Mary, Queen of Scots, stayed at Dunure Castle on her Royal tour down the west coast to Glenluce Abbey then on to Whithorn Priory. She was the guest of Gilbert Kennedy, the 4th Earl of Cassilis. Doocot The late medieval "beehive"-shaped dovecot of Dunure Castle dates probably from the 15th century. It would have held some 200 nesting boxes and would have supplied the castle with fresh eggs and meat. Demise The castle's demise began in the mid-17th century. By 1694, the castle was described as "wholly ruined". It is not clear whether this can be linked to the Civil War period, although local tradition suggests that Dunure had been burnt and/or blown up. A major collapse of the southeastern part of the keep could perhaps be linked to such activity. Recovery of building materials for the construction of the Cromwellian citadel in Ayr may also account for its ruination, as occurred at Ardrossan Castle. Much evidence exists for the systematic dismantling of the structure for recoverable building materials including the orderly removal of slates, stone, and glass. The windows were dismantled and comprehensively stripped of their lead. Remains of a localised fire and associated deposits of coal suggested that smelting of the lead took place within the room. Those dismantling the castle seem to have occupied part of the structure during their work. The ruin subsequently saw periodic robbing of its sandstone dressings. A range of castle buildings to the south of Area 4 remained in occupation until c. 1860. Census records and reuse of some rooms demonstrate that some of the occupants were fishermen. A large midden of mussel shell gave evidence for the baiting of cod lines. Domestic refuse of the later 18th and early to mid-19th century was also recovered. The only relatively late recorded military action at Dunure consists of a short siege in 1570. A Civil War action or slighting is a further possibility, although the castle may have been abandoned by that time. The route of a stone-lined water course was located at the south end of the trench as it ran into the entrance of the Area 4 kitchen range. Groundworks to the south of the ruins located a further, well preserved section of the same water course. Present day The castle has been