Dunure Castle and the Roasting of the Commendator

Once the most important stronghold of the powerful Kennedy family, the abandoned Dunure Castle still dominates this Ayrshire clifftop. While the old walls, combined with their spectacular view across to the Isle of Arran, make a popular visitor attraction today, this picturesque ruin hides a much darker story. 

It was from this foreboding fortress that the Kennedys spread their control over much of southwest Scotland. Each generation was smart, ambitious and eager for advancement, but none were as power hungry as Gilbert Kennedy, the 4th Earl of Cassilis. 

Gilbert inherited his father’s titles at the tender age of 17, often described as a greedy man who cared little about how he obtained more land, as long as he got his way in the end. His morally dubious actions paid off and the young Earl would eventually become so powerful that he was known as the King of Carrick. 

Early on, he set his sights on the rich lands controlled by Glenluce Abbey, bribing a monk to forge the documents needed to sign everything over to the Kennedys. To cover up his deception, Gilbert paid a peasant to murder the monk and then just to be safe, had the assassin hanged for false charges of theft. 

The Earl decided Crossraguel Abbey would be his next target but soon discovered that things wouldn’t be so straightforward this time. Allan Stewart was the Commendator in charge and he refused to bow down in the face of Gilbert’s insatiable appetite for land. In response, a force of Kennedy’s captured Allan and brought him to Dunure Castle, under strict orders to avoid any violence. 

Gilbert treated him like an esteemed guest to begin with, but the Commendator was clearly little more than a prisoner. After days of polite flattery, there was still no change in Allan’s steely resolve and no signature on the necessary papers. The prisoner was going to need a more forceful method of persuasion, so they dragged him down to the Black Vault of Dunure. 

While a great fire was being stoked, Allan was stripped and bound, covered with oil and then tied to the chimney. The poor Commendator was slowly roasted over the flames, an excruciating form of torture that few men could have resisted. Before long, Allan understandably caved to the Earl’s demands. 

With the documents in his possession, Gilbert left both Dunure Castle and the badly burned Commendator in his servant’s hands. The prisoner would most likely have been disposed of at some point if it wasn’t for a timely intervention from an unlikely source. Another rival Kennedy, the Laird of Bargany had heard about Allan Stewart’s fate and stormed the castle to rescue him.

 Still suffering from his torture, the Commendator made it safely to the Privy Council to report the Earl’s evil deeds. Gilbert was summoned to explain his actions, forced to apologise and pay Allan an annual pension. However, he still managed to secure the abbey lands in the end, getting his way just like always.