Castle Levan

#73 Castle Levan
Gourock, Inverclyde, Scotland
1457 and early 16th century
This is NOT an official Lego site

Castle Levan sits near the banks of the river Clyde. It appears to be built as a typical 16th century Scottish L-plan. However, the present structure of the castle started as a massive 15th century tower, built by the Morton family. The original entrance was left of center on the first floor in the south face, reached by a ladder, and later perhaps, an external stair. Mural staircases in the south and north walls descended to the cellars. At the beginning of the 16th century it was enlarged by abutting an additional tower to the southeast corner of the earlier keep. The spiral stair was extended to the ground level, and the new, more convenient entrance.

Adam Morton apparently transferred ["alienated"] the castle and property to William, 2nd Lord Sempill, upon his death just before 1539. Adam's son, James, took legal action for return of the property, but lost. The castle was said to be haunted by The White Lady, the ghost of Marion Montgomery, William Semple's third wife, who was starved to death in the castle by her angry husband after she murdered the tenants during his absence. Nothing is known of Levan's history until the New Statistical Account, published between 1834 and 1845, referred to Levan as the seat of a Mr. Crooks. A "Mrs. Crooks" was said to own the castle in 1878, but in 1879 the castle was owned by John Polson, co-founder of Brown & Polson Corn Merchants. It is not said if the old castle was actually occupied by these owners. At some point a new mansion was built on the property, and a source reports that sometime in the eighteenth century the castle began to fall into disrepair (see upper photos right and left).

The castle was purchased about 1980 by Lord Trevor Hayward and restored to its present state between 1984-7. It was the home of the Haywards, tall ship enthusiasts, and saw the rearing of their three sons. When I last was in contact with Lord Trevor in January 2000, prior to our trip to Scotland, Lady Janet was in the hospital for surgery. Young Douglas wanted to buy the Lego model below. The castle soon came up for sale - I feared due to the ill health or death of Lady Janet. The plans, elevations and sections below are from the architectural drawings prior to the restoration.

On a much happier note: my wife and I returned from our trip to Ireland on 3 July 2003 to find an email relating that Castle Levan indeed sold more than 6 months earlier to Lord and Lady Edelman. There are additional pictures of the castle on their website (see below) and the Laird's Bedroom is now available as a B&B accommodation beginning at £45 per night pps! The castle and surroundings are lovely - and this "history" previously ended with a suggestion to contact them if you were in the area.

Then in early July, 2018 I learned that the castle was purchased from the Edelmans in December 2015 by Ms. Kim Munro, who, after renovations including new ensuite bathrooms, continues to operate the B&B with her partner, Maria Hockin. The Laird's Bedroom is now considerably more expensive, but their reviews on Tripadvisor are outstanding, and they were recently awarded the Quirkiest Place to Stay award by eviivo.


Ground Floor Plan	First Floor Plan	Second Floor Plan	Battlement Plan


North Elevation	South Elevation	Cross-section View	South Cross-section	Dragon in the garden

Photos of the Lego Model Built Dec 1999

East Northeast View	East Southeast View	North Northeast View	Southwest View

Turret Closeup	In Progress #1	In Progress #2	In Progress #3

Build Your Own

East Elevation	Top Down	South Elevation