The earl spent a considerable sum of money repairing the tower in 1789, however it developed "large rents and fissures the sides" in 1809. The one remaining northern tower stood until 1814 when it was deemed unsafe and demolished with gunpowder, just when strengthening works were about to begin; one wall had just collapsed "with a mighty crash that shook everything as if there had been an earthquake". The tower had been struck by lightning on 2 August 1809, the considerable damage caused hastening its demise. The bells, the original Kilwinning Bell and a smaller bell donated by the Eglinton family, had been removed a fortnight earlier.