result of the torture sessions of the first and seventh days of September 1570, the lands were signed over to Gilbert. The Commendator was rescued from his confinement by the Laird of Bargany, Allan's brother in law, who arrived with a body of men; first hiding in the chapel and then storming the castle. The rights to the abbey lands were settled, partly by the Earl providing Allen Stewart with sufficient funds to allow him to live 'comfortably' for the rest of his life. In the meantime, he had been taken to the Cross of Ayr where he had denounced the Earl of Cassillis. The Earl was never fully brought to book for his actions by the Privy Council. Allen Stewart never walked again. The castle and estate of Dunure, together with Dalquharran, were purchased by Sir Thomas Kennedy of Kirkhill in the late 17th century. Usage and demise The castle consisted of two distinct parts; a keep of an irregular shape on the top of a precipitous rock and other buildings at a lower level. The keep walls are about five feet thick and the vaults on the basement are well preserved, however most of the superstructure is entirely demolished. The keep represents the original castle, much altered. The central portion of the castle may be 15th century and was intended to form a defence to the access into the keep. The additional buildings are of a later date and contain two kitchens on the ground level, one for the castle and the other for the retainers. To the north-east stands a detached wall which may have led to a gateway. A drawbridge may have stood nearby and the chapel may have been located against the thick wall of the central part of the castle. A moat or fosse protected the approach and a wall may have also existed. In the 1990s, excavations showed that a hall house was built across the 13th century court in the 14th century. Beneath the castle is a cavern called the Browney's Cave which may have been a sally-port: a secret tunnel leading to the castle. In 1429 a meeting took place at Dunure between James Campbell, representing King James I of Scotland and John Mor MacDonald, representing the Lord of the Isles. Violence broke out and MacDonald was killed. James I's efforts to contain the outrage of the Lords of the Isles