Wallace Tower

172-176 High Street, Ayr KA7 1PZ

The Wallace Tower was built in 1882 replacing the first Wallace tower (Auld tour) which was owned by the Wallace family of Craigie and is located in Ayr’s High Street and is a Neo Gothic monument standing 113 ft in height. 

The tower was designed with an empty niche and the people of the town voted for a statue to be placed in the niche which ironically turned out to be William Wallace the Scottish freedom fighter. It is said to stand on the site of a barn where Wallace held 500 captured English soldiers – who had invaded the town – before setting it ablaze. However the name Wallace given to the tower is in connection to the family and not William Wallace.

Map

You might also like...

Ayr
Red and black cannon

Ayr Citadel

Ayr Citadel was built in 1657 on the command of Oliver Cromwell, after the English Civil War and the abolition...
Turnberry
Turnberry castle ruin

Turnberry Castle

It’s unknown exactly when Turnberry Castle was built, but it passed to the Earls of Carrick at the beginning of...
Ayr
St John's Tower

St John's Tower

St John’s Tower is the tower that remains from Ayr’s original parish church, which was built around 1300. On 26th April...
Dunure
Castle ruins on a hill looking out to sea.

Dunure Castle

Dunure Castle sits perched on a cliff above the pretty fishing village of Dunure. In 1357, it was claimed by the Kennedys...
Ayr
Greenan castle ruin

Greenan Castle

Greenan Castle is perched on a clifftop at Greenan Shore and is a 16th-century, ruined tower house looking over to the Heads of Ayr,...
Girvan
Stumpy tower

Stumpy Tower

Girvan’s Stumpy Tower, known as ‘Auld Stumpy’, is what remains of Girvan’s courthouse and jail. It was built in 1825-27, and is...
Copyright © 2024 Destination South Ayrshire. Provided by South Ayrshire Council.