Interior of the Tower
Ground Floor
The ground floor of the tower is thought to have formed the west altar chapel of the Church of St. John the Baptist. The room has an original barrel vaulted ceiling and is now used to store architectural fragments found during archaeological digs of the site.
1st Floor
In this room we can see the the original fireplace, chimney and warming cupboard. There are window seats in the alcoves, a dry closet in one corner, and the lower part of an original round window. The spiral staircase continues up the tower.
2nd Floor
The upper part of the round window is visible in this room and restoration work, in keeping with the original stonework, can be seen surrounding the window. It is thought that this window was a feature of the west wall of the church before the tower was added. This room has another dry closet in the corner, more seats in the window alcoves and tall cupboards which may have stored manuscripts, money and church valuables.
3rd Floor
Continuing up the spiral staircase, leads to a room with more window seats. It seems likely that the church chaplain lived here, or the sacristan, who had charge of the altars, candles, robes and bells, and always slept within the building.
4th Floor
This floor housed the two bells, the greater and the lesser, mentioned in a medieval Obit Book. The room has louvred windows and a high pitched roof space. There are two corner alcoves which provided extra storage.
Top Floor
A final flight of stairs leads to an outside walkway, providing views out to sea, across the town and to the Ayrshire countryside. The Tower has served as a landmark for sailors for hundreds of years. Looking downwards from the eastern side, stonework depicts part of the outline of the original church.
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