Editing East Ayrshire (section)

===13th–15th century===
{{further|Battle of Loudoun Hill}}
[[File:Trig Point and Battle Plaque - geograph.org.uk - 818532.jpg|thumb|right|Battle plaque, marking the location of the [[Battle of Loudoun Hill]] in 1307]]

East Ayrshire is home to a number of towers, castles and other structures which were constructed between the 13th–15th century. Many of the areas castles played a prominent role, largely in part due to barons being at the peak of military and political powers. Many of the barons were involved in wider Scottish politics and affairs, in particular, resistance to the advances of [[Edward I]] towards Scotland.<ref name="Local history"/> Prominent Scottish independence figure [[William Wallace]] has close connections with East Ayrshire. The Wallace family had a castle at Riccarton, later part of Kilmarnock, as well as his surprise attack on the English at [[Loudoun Hill]] in 1297. Wallace is also associated with Lockhart's Tower in the town of [[Galston, East Ayrshire|Galston]]. Lockhart's Tower was largely rebuilt during the middle ages, and is commonly referred to as Barr Castle presently. Wallace is said to "have made a daring escape" from Lockhart's Tower at one point.<ref name="Local history"/>

During the [[First War of Scottish Independence]], the areas Loudoun Hill was the scene of a Scottish victory over the English during the [[Battle of Loudoun Hill]] on 10 May 1307. The battlefield at Loudoun Hill is currently under research to be included in the [[Inventory of Historic Battlefields in Scotland]] and protected by [[Historic Scotland]] under the Scottish Historical Environment Policy of 2009.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.historic-scotland.gov.uk/index/heritage/battlefields/battlefieldsunderconsideration.htm |title= Inventory battlefields|publisher=Historic Scotland | access-date=2012-04-12}}</ref>