Join Scotland's Urban Past for Unlocking the Tower, a free all day event to explore the unique history of St John’s Tower in Ayr. The day will be full of family-friendly activities, re-enactments and tours celebrating the tower’s heritage from historic graffiti to treasure hunts to laser scanning to virtual reality.
Join us throughout the day for...
Treasure Hunt
Photography
Storytelling
Stone Rubbing + Grave Markers
Historical Graffiti
Laser Scanning
Tower Tours
Re-Enactors from the Sealed Knot Society
Soap Carving
Virtual Reality
Tale of a Scottish Tower: Meet the Author
...and more!
About St John's Tower
The Tower – the oldest building in Ayr – is the surviving fragment of the original 12th century parish church and has a unique and fascinating history. Oliver Cromwell constructed a fort on the site in the 1650s, and the church was commandeered as a store, mill house and chapel with the tower as an armoury and look-out. The church was pulled down in 1726 but the tower was retained as a navigation beacon.
