Chapeltoun

Estate on the banks of the Annick Water in East Ayrshire, Scotland

Chapeltoun is an estate on the banks of the Annick Water in East Ayrshire, a rural area of Scotland famous for its milk and cheese production and the Ayrshire or Dunlop breed of cattle.

The feudal allocation of tenements to the vassals of the overlord, such as Hugh de Morville, was carried out very carefully, with the boundaries being walked and carefully recorded. The term 'ton' at this time was added to the site of the dwelling house, not necessarily a grand stone built structure, which was bounded by a wall or fence. The tenements were held in a military tenure, the land being in exchange for military assistance to the overlord. In later years the military assistance could be exchanged for financial payment. The name Templeton may have arisen due to lands here being given by the overlord to a vassal. The site of the original dwelling is unknown, Laigh Chapelton being the oldest known site of a habitation, probably dating from at least 1775. The name Chapelton is relatively recent as Pont's Map of 1604 does not show such a place name; however, he does show a Templeton in approximately the right place between the Annick Water and the Glazert Water. Other Knights Templar temple lands were to be found at the Templehouse and Fortalice in the old village of Darlington near Stewarton, Templehouse near Dunlop, at Templetounburn on the outskirts of Crookedholm and at several other places in the area, such as Temple Ryburn and Temple Hapland. In 1312 the Knights Templar order, whose Scottish headquarters had been at Torphichen, was disbanded and its lands given to the Knights of St. John who today run the St John Ambulance amongst other activities. Lord Torphichen as preceptor obtained the temple land tenements and the lands passed through the hands of Montgomerie of Hessilhead to Wallace of Cairnhill (now Carnell) in 1720, before passing out of the hands of the aristocracy. A tenement is a grant of land which has a building on it and is held in tenure by the tenant

The farms in the area used the Chapelton name in 1829 (Aitken) and Armstrong's 1775 map shows and names a Chapel. The name change from Templetoun to Chapelton may have resulted from the end of the official existence of the temple lands sometime after 1720 or as a result of the breaking up of the ownership of these lands at around this date or possibly slightly earlier. Thus the name Templeton was in use in 1604 in 1654, but not by 1775 implies a change of name at an earlier date. This Chapeltoun may be the modern day Chapeltoun Mains. Paterson (1866) states that on the lands of Langshaw (now Lainshaw) there was a chapel, dedicated to the Virgin Mary and that it had an appropriate endowment. After the Reformation the endowment was appropriated by the patron and the chapel allowed to fall into ruins. Temple lands did not pay teins to maintain the local church and they were therefore a highly prized and lucrative asset. In 1616 the patronage of the chapel and the lands of Peacock Bank (sic) were held by Sir Neil Montgomerie of Lainshaw as granted 'clare constat' by the Earl of Eglinton, but by 1661 the patronage was once again held directly by the Earl of Eglinton as indicated below. The site of the chapel was called Chapelton in the 17th century and Chapel by 1874. The same information is given by Paterson but no evidence of the Christian sites is visible, apart from the inconspicuous Holy Well in the field bordered by the burn. Bayne states that the stone may have been a rocking or 'logan stone' at one time and it is recorded that the farmer was not permitted to plough within a set distance of the stone, presumably because of a tradition of pagan burials around this monument, which is a 'glacial erratic' in origin. It was still worshiped up until "the times of popery" according to McIntosh. The topography of the area is typical of the sort of site chosen for early ecclesiastical establishments and the building of chapels or churches on pagan sites is a classic example of the way that Christianity supplanted pagan beliefs and practices. Both these religious sites are also in sheltered valleys, with ample running water and they are hidden from view. As stated the 1775 Armstrong's 1807 map shows Chapel marked near Linshaw (Lainshaw) and no Laigh mentioned, while Ainslie's 1821 map shows a Chapel and a Laigh. It is likely that the term Chapel on most maps could be referring to a dwelling or farm and not the Chapel on the mound. The 1856 'Name Book' of the OS states that part of the house of Chapelton (NS 395 441) is believed to have been a chapel dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Though parts of the building are of great age, it is not certain that this was the chapel; it may have been the residence of the chaplain, while the chapel stood near Chapel Hill. This Chapel Hill is a circular artificial hill. About 1850, Mr. J McAlister raised it to its present height by taking the earth etc. that had slid from its sides, and putting it on the top. While doing this, a quantity of human bones was found near the base on the S and E sides, and also some stones which from their appearance Mr. McAlister thought had been exposed to fire, suggesting that the old chapel was destroyed by fire. Mr. R Miller, a former proprietor, stated that when the present road past Chapel Hill was being made, a quantity of bones was found, giving the idea that there had been a burial ground here. it is recorded that "Near the farm house of Low Chapelton, above a mile below Stewarton, on the right bank of the Annock, there appears to have once been a chapel, the ruins of which were lately dug up, when the proprietor was engaged in planting trees. There are now no records remaining of the place of worship." Fullarton records that " it derived its name from an ancient chapel which stood here, and some fragments of the walls of which still remain connected with this chaste and elegant cottage residence. The site is peculiarly monastic, in a finely sheltered depression close by the brink of the stream." The Ardossan & Saltcoats Herald on 28.11.1863 ran an article that stated that: "The Chaplehill, an artificial mound, not unlike the one at Castleton, as large, (some people think larger) and of an equally perfect shape. A portion of one side had been thrown down in the last century, to form part of a private road; but when James McAllisiter, Esq., succeeded to the place, in 1847, he found the road had long been disused, and with good taste restored the hill to what had been its original form. In doing so, we believe, he found a good many bones, but not in coffins; and from their position had been evidently disturbed. A large quantity had been found on a former occasion. No very remote date is assigned to these remains. The place probably had been used as a Catholic Burying ground. There was also found a small portion of what seems to have been a clay urn; also, two very ancient copper coins, so ancient indeed, that it is impossible to make anything of them; one or two of those circular pieces of a sort of thick slate, with a hole perforated through the centre, and believed to be the currency of the early ages; and a stone ball, about the size of an ordinary ball. It is therefore presumable that the Roman Catholic Chapel and Burying ground occupied the site of the more ancient faith." The Scotsman for Wednesday, 26 September 1866 records the sale of the 176 acre estate and states that the dwelling house was built around the ancient chapel of St Mary, being repaired and improved. The American genealogist Steve Miller has revealed that in 1828 the deceased John Miller, was through his son James who was then living at Montfode House, being sued by Col Charles S. McAlister of Kennox. Charles S. McAlister and Janet had four children. They bequeathed the part of the Barony of Bollingshaw named Chapelton (the glebes and chapel lands of the Register of Sasines) to their younger son James, who never married and died in 1857. No date is given for when James Somerville obtained Chapelton, however we know from Dobie that James McAlister, nephew of the aforementioned James, was the owner in 1874. This James McAlister, the nephew of James Somerville, also never married. Chapelton had been re acquired into the Bollingshaw Barony for him by his father, Charles McAlister. The formal name change from Templeton to Chapelton did not occur as a result of the rediscovery of the St. Mary's Chapel ruins by the new landowner, James McAlister, for it had clearly never been truly lost as such. However the discovery may help provide an approximate date for the reconstruction / extension of the house at Laigh Chapelton. Paterson says in 1866 that the chapel discovery was some years before, evidence from Dobie gives us the date of 1836 and Smith's evidence gives the date of 1845. Aitken shows only a Laigh Chapelton Farm in 1829 and all this suggests that the 'old' Chapelton House and estate were developed in around 1830 to 1850. The early to mid 19th century is a time during which many country houses were built, modernised or extended and OS maps show the increasing importance of the Laigh Chapelton estate around this time, with the development of formal gardens (from the 1858 OS), new driveways, etc.

Chapeltoun (Chapleton, Chappleton, Chapeltown, etc.) Mains farm changes its name from simple Chapelton, which Laigh Chapelton now adopts as the site of the new mansion house, sometime between 1829 and 1858. This suggests that at this time Chapelton Mains was the home farm prior to the building of what is now Chapelhill House in around 1911, as judged from the OS maps. A small building appears near the site of Chapelburn Cottage from 1858. The area around the front of the farm is referred to as 'Black Sawneys Park'; 'Sawney' being a Scots term for 'Alexander'. At one time it effectively meant a 'Scotsman', as with the use of the name 'Jock'. Another explanation is that the field had black sandy soil due to the river flooding onto the holm and creating rich fertile soil.

A farm originally called Chapelton Moss Head by Thomson in 1828 or Mosshead of Chapelton, is later called just Mosshead and was situated in the fields of Bottoms Farm with its entrance just after the bridge over the Chapel Burn. All traces of it above ground have vanished, while Bogside cottage is still represented by building debris at the edge of the field near the entrance to the Bogflat Farm. Bogside had a rental value of £10 in 1820 and the proprietor was Robert Stevenson. Bottoms point Crevoch farm still exists close to Kennox (2009). The Scotsman newspaper in 1866 records the sale of the lands of Chapeltoun, Wattshode and Mosshead. In 1881 an Alexander Muir, aged 38, a general merchant lived at Bogflat with his wife Margaret and sons David and John. A building named Bog is marked on Armstrong's 1775 map and this was most likely Bogflat for we know from a Marriage stone from Bogflat, now in the Stewarton Museum, that a dwelling was there in 1711 with a 'JR' recorded and other initials, unfortunately now cut off. In 1919 Robert Bryce, Import and Export Merchant of Melbourne, Australia owned Chapelton and Bogflat. In May 1941 a bomb was dropped on the nearby Anderson's Mount and a pipe was laid from the resultamt crater to the well at Bogflat as the crater had filled with water and was kept full by the springs here (see video).

Windwaird is the name given by Aitken in 1829 to a house on the Torranyard to Stewarton road, not far from the fairly recently created entrance for pedestrians to Lainshaw House that runs through the Anderson Plantation (a name marked on the maps but not used by the local farmers). This building is called Parkside on the OS maps, first shown on the 1832 map, it is marked on the 1960, but not the 1974 OS. Stewarton Old Parish Records show Alexander Watt and his wife Agnes (Wardrop) in Parkside when their daughter Mary was born in May 1809. In 1809, neighbours Susanna Wardrop Parker in Bogflat Farm and Agnes Wardrop Watt in Parkside Farm were sisters. The last family to live here were the Muir's, relatives of the Muir's of Gillmill (also Gillmiln) Farm. A 'park' refers to an area of enclosed land in the days when most land was not enclosed with hedges or fencing. In 1616 the "lands of the Waird, etc." were conveyed to David Cunninghame of Robertland by William, Lord Kilmaurs (McNaught 1912), but any connection with this site is unproven. A waird is a feudal land tenure right conferred through military service obligations of tenants (see Definitions and Scot's words). Wardpark near Lochridge is spelt Wairdpark in Pont's map of 1604. Cankerton or Cankerton Hollow is rarely indicated by name; it was the home of James Orr, farmer who died on 6 April 1859 aged 43 (born 31 May 1845). His wife Mary King Brown had died on 12 July 1845 aged just 25 (born 20 September 1820). Another John Orr farmed here with his spouse Janet Wilson. He died on 21 January 1847, aged 68, and she died on 16 October 1889, aged 79, having moved into High Chapeltoun to live with her brothers. Husband & spouse were buried at the Laigh Kirk, Stewarton. Cankerton, originally Cankerton was also found locally as a surname, but the etymology is unclear, a 'canker' usually meaning a 'blight, a fungal disease' of trees or cereals. A Cankerton Estate is listed under a survey of coal deposits.

High Chapelton is first marked on the 1829 and the 1858 maps, together with a limekiln and a ford over the Annick. An old track is seen running from the farm to the field containing the 'grain barn' near Laigh Castleton; ploughing in this field has not turned up any stones, building or otherwise therefore suggesting a building constructed from wood. James Wilson and his spouse Mary Steven farmed at High Chapeltoun in 1760, when she died, aged 56. They were buried at the Laigh Kirk in Stewarton. Mary Reid of High Chapelton and Stacklawhill was born here on 20 January 1827, daughter of Thomas Reid of Stacklawhill. His wife was Mary Wilson of High Chapelton. The memorial stone is in the Stewarton cemetery. The rental value in around 1820 was £137. A Miss Mary McAllister may have been the last occupant of the house. Some of the dressed stonework may have been used in the building of the new house, garden and drive walls, the sides of the Chapel burn and elsewhere. The walling around the field side of the Chapel Hill mound is not entirely built with stones from Chapelton (old) House as some old building rubble was brought in from elsewhere at a much later date by the owner of Chapeltoun Mains, Mr. A. Robinson. The gate to the field below the mound has three sandstone gateposts laid horizontally, two of them are exceptionally large and could be the ornamented gateposts from the old entrance and driveway to Chapelton (old) House. The actual drive is now represented by the curling pond behind the walled up entrance and the OS maps show an entrance here until at least 1911. Chapeltoun Mains has only one gatepost and both High Chapeltoun and Chapelhill house have none. These changes probably reflect the requirement to have access for large modern farm machinery. The gateposts are machine cut sandstone and the same design is found elsewhere, such as at the Kennox lodge, Cankerton and opposite Peacockbank Farm (previously Pearce Bank) near Stewarton, near the original entrance road to Lochridge. In 1775 Armstrong's map shows the road going no further than Lochridge (formerly Lochrig). A wind pump is shown situated above Chapeltoun House on the 1923 OS map. During demolition it was noted The family moved into the house in 1910, however The gate lodge was not built until around 1918, having been designed by Cullen, Lochhead and Brown. R. W. Schultz had proposed a terraced garden in 1911, but it is not known to what extent the existing terraces reflect this design. The pillars at the base of the main flight of steps incorporate old ornamental worked sandstone, presumably from the Chapelton (old) House. A separate conservatory building existed in front of the house at one time according to the Kilmarnock Glenfiled Ramblers. Bogside cottage was lived in by Mr. Troop and his family and later on by a Mr. McGaw who worked at Chapeltoun Mains. He was the Chapeltoun House gardener. Mr. Thow (pronounced Thor) a forester, lived with his family at the Bogflat Farmhouse. A chauffeur, a Mr. McLean lived at Chapelburn cottage and Firbank existed as a small copse with a possible (unrecorded) standing stone, the bungalow was built in the 1970s. An incident remembered by Mrs. Wilson is that of Mr. Neilson challenging a young man from Kilmaurs to a fist fight because he had found that the man was courting one of his housemaids. The 'mansion' house of 1910 has had a number of changes of use after it was a private house, being the headquarters of an insurance company and a hotel under several different owners, before becoming a family home again around 2004. The Lobnitz family of Chapeltoun House moved to High Clunch. The Third Statistical Account of 1953 still records Chapeltoun as being one of the six main estates in the parish of Stewarton.

A finial from Chapelton House or possibly a 'wheat sheaf' from the old Monks' Well is used as a feature in the gardens.]] In the woodland policies of Chapeltoun House is the Monks' Well (OS 1974), fountain or spring as indicated on the OS maps going back as far as 1858. Its present appearance is probably as a Victorian or Edwardian 'whimsy' or 'folly' with a large, thick sandstone 'tombstone appearance' with a slightly damaged cross carved in relief upon it and a spout through which the spring water once passed into a cast iron 'bowl'. The Kilmarnock Glenfield Rambler's visited Chapeltoun in 1939 and recorded that a gargoyle had once been present as a spout and that the 'cross' was actually a 'wheat sheaf' that had stood on top of the stone. It seems unlikely from the workmanship that the well's stone and 'cross' have anything to do with the old chapel, but one possibility is that it came from over the entrance door to Laigh Chapelton as the custom was for a Templar property to have the 'cross' symbol of the order displayed in such a fashion. The OS record that in the 1970s a Mr. H. Gollan of Chapeltown stated that the 'Monk's Well', was believed to have been associated with the chapel. In July 1956 the OS state that the 'Monk's Well' is a spring emerging through a stone pipe, situated in a stone faced cutting in the hill slope. Above the spring is a stone slab with a cross in relief.

A well is marked near the Chapelton (old) House which became a pump later and may now be represented by a surviving stone lined well with steps leading down to it. The water from this well was used to fill the Curling Pond which was built by the Neilsen's on the site of the original driveway into the old house/farm. It is said that the curling pond was constructed on the site of the old stables. The amount of stone clearance in the 'Lambroughton Woods' bearing plough scoring, illustrates the extent of the ploughing. Other fields in the area still show these unmistakable signs of cultivation and place names such as Lochrig (now Lochridge) and Righead Smithy preserve the history of the practice.

The area of 'wild wood' beyond the ha ha, with its 'sheets of bluebells', the wood rushes, wood sorrel, dog's mercury, snowdrops, celandine, broad buckler, lady and male shield ferns, helleborine orchids and other species typical of long established woodlands, abruptly ends at the 'march' (estate boundary) indicated by a large earth bund and a coppiced boundary beech. The 1858 OS shows the wood as confined to the area of the ha ha, however by 1897 the OS shows woodland as far up as the march. The Lambroughton woods beyond (until recently the property of the Montgomery / Southannan Estate) are not shown on the older maps including the 1911 OS, they are shown in the 1960 OS map as a pine plantations amongst what was scrub or partial woodland cover containing elder, gean, ash, etc. Before this time the area above the river was not even fenced off at the top where it becomes 'level' with the field. Although giant hogweed is taking hold along the Annick (2006), however the riparian (water side) flora is still indicative of long established and undisturbed habitats. The rare crosswort, (a relative of the goosegrass or cleavers) is found nearby. The river contains, amongst others, brown trout, sea trout, salmon, eels, minnows, and stickleback. The water quality is much improved since the Stewarton cloth mills closed and the river no longer carries their dyes and other pollutants as shown by the presence of freshwater limpets and shrimps, together with leeches, caddis fly larvae and water snail species. Kingfishers have been seen just downstream and the estate's woodland policies and river contain, amongst others, tawny and barn owls, herons, mallard, ravens, rooks, treecreepers, buzzards, peewits or lapwings, roe deer, mink, moles, shrews, grey squirrels, hares, hedgehogs, foxes, badgers, pipistrelle bats and probably otters. Migrating Canada and greylag geese frequent the nearby fields on their way up from the Caerlaverock or coming down from Spitzbergen in the winter. Duncan McNaught

The hedgerow trees accepted today as part of the familiar landscape were not planted by farmers for visual effect, they were crops and the wood was used for building and fencing and the millers needed beech or hornbeam wood for mill machinery, in particular for the sacrificial cogs on the main drive gears. It is not generally appreciated how much the Ayrshire landscape has changed its character, for even in 1760–70 the Statistical Account it is stated that "there was no such thing to be seen as trees or hedges in the parish; all was naked and open". The Glazert burn, previously Glazart or Glassert has otters and the rare freshwater mussel (source of freshwater pearls). The name may come from the celtic, glas in Gaelic meaning grey or green and dur meaning water. It is recorded by Dobie in 1876 as being a favourite resort of fishermen and this is still very much the case today (2006). Another River Glazert, runs through a considerable part of the parish of Campsie, emptying itself into the Kelvin, opposite the town of Kirkintilloch. A number of small woodlands are marked as 'fox coverts', such as below Chapeltoun Mains and near Anderson's Plantation, left for foxes to breed and shelter in safety. The local Eglinton hunt used to meet at Chapeltoun House.

Wheeled vehicles were unknown to farmers in the area until the end of the 17th century and prior to this sledges were used to haul loads as wheeled vehicles were useless. Roads were mere tracks and such bridges as there were could only take pedestrians, men on horseback or pack animals. The first wheeled vehicles to be used in Ayrshire were carts offered gratis to labourers working on Riccarton Bridge in 1726. In 1763 it was still said that no roads existed between Glasgow and Kilmarnock or Kilmarnock and Ayr and the whole traffic was by twelve pack horses, the first of which had a bell around its neck. A mill wand was the rounded piece of wood acting as an axle with which several people would role a millstone form the quarry to the mill and to permit this the width of some early roads was set at a 'mill wand breadth'. The Stewarton to Torranyard (Torrenzairds in 1613) road was a turnpike as witnessed by the farm name Crossgates (Stewarton 3 and Irvine 5 miles), Gateside (near Stacklawhill Farm) and the check bars that are shown on the 1858 OS at Crossgates and at the Bickethall (previously Bihetland) road end to prevent vehicles, horse riders, etc. turning off the turnpike and avoiding the toll charges. A small toll house is shown at Crossgates, now demolished, on the left when facing Torranyard. In Scots a 'bicket' is a 'pocket', an appropriate description of the area the farm lies in. A modern cottage nearby is called 'Robelle' after the farmers Robert and Isabelle from Bickethall. The name 'Turnpike' originated from the original 'gate' used being just a simple wooden bar attached at one end to a hinge on the supporting post. The hinge allowed it to 'open' or 'turn' This bar looked like the 'pike' used as a weapon in the army at that time and therefore we get 'turnpike'. The term was also used by the military for barriers set up on roads specifically to prevent the passage of horses. Other than providing better roads, the turnpikes settled the confusion of the different lengths given to miles, which had varied from 4,854 to nearly 7000 feet (2134 m). Long miles, short miles, Scotch or Scot's miles (5,928 ft), Irish miles (6,720 ft), etc. all existed. Another point is that when the toll roads were constructed the Turnpike trusts went to considerable trouble to improve the route of the new roads and these changes could be quite considerable. The tolls on roads were abolished in 1878 to be replaced by a road assessment, which was taken over by the County Council in 1889. Colonel McAlester was a member of the Turnpike Trust and no doubt exerted considerable influence over the route of the turnpike and other matters. John Loudon McAdam was very actively involved with Scottish Turnpikes, living at Sauchrie near Ayr until he moved to Bristol to become Surveyor to the local Turnpike Trust in 1826. None of the toll road milestones are visible because they were buried during the Second World War to prevent them from being used by invading troops, agents, etc. The milestone near Bloomridge Farm and Kirkmuir Farm are likewise missing, presumed buried.

Close to Kirkmuir (previously Laigh Kirkmuir), a farm occupied by William Mure in 1692, It could have been a pen for strayed stock or be connected with the tolls on the turnpike in some way or a 'stell', the Scot's word for a partial enclosure made by a wall or trees, to serve as a shelter for sheep or cattle. A building may have existed here. Kirkmuir was farmed by John Brown (died 21 August 1880, aged 54) and his wife Catherine Anderson (died 27 August 1895, aged 72). James Walker (died 11 December 1926, aged 86) and his wife Mary Woodburn (died 27 April 1899, aged 57) also farmed Kirkmuir. They were all buried in the Laigh Kirk graveyard. The field between Kirkmuir & Righead was known as Lady Moss Meadow. The plethora of religious names in this area – the Kirkmuirs, Kirkhill, Lady Moss, High Cross, Canaan and the Kilbrides, suggest that at some point in the distant past a pre Christian and Christian site was located here. No documentary evidence appears to survive and the earliest record is for Kirkry in 1654, now Kilbride. Bride, Brigit or St. Brigid was originally a Celtic Goddess linked with the festival of Imbolc, the eve of the first of February. She was the goddess of spring and was associated with healing and sacred wells. The Carlin Stone at Commoncrags in Dunlop is associated with the 'old winter hag', the antithesis of the goddess Bride. The name Canaan at Kirkmuir was in use as early as 1779. In 1922 James Martin and Mary Gilmour purchased Gillmill and Canaan from the Cunninghames of Lainshaw. High Cross was occupied by the Harvies in 1951, who had purchased the farm from the Nairnshaw Estate in 1921. According to Strawhorn they had reconditioned the old thatched farmhouse in 1915 and added a gravitation water supply, bathroom, telephone and electricity. The farm buildings are now (2006) abandoned and the site awaits a new use.

Paterson or 1800, by the fact that pigeons from Lainshaw House and the neighbouring parishes were found to flock here to drink. Mr. Cunningham of Lainshaw built a handsome house over the well in 1833 and appointed a keeper to take care of it as the mineral water was of some value owing to healing properties attributed to it. The well was located in the middle of the kitchen. The Chapel Burn rises near the Anderson Plantation in the fields below Lainshaw Mains and it is marked as a chalybeate or mineral spring on the 1911 6" OS map. Bore holes nearby suggest that the water was put to a more formal use at one time, supplying cattle troughs or possibly even for a stand pipe as mineral water was popular for its supposed curative properties. According to the opinion of the day, it could cure 'the colic, the melancholy, and the vapours; it made the lean fat, the fat lean; it killed flat worms in the belly, loosened the clammy humours of the body, and dried the over moist brain. The main spring here has been covered over and the water piped out to the burn. The chalybeate spring (otherwise known as Siderite, a mineral consisting of iron(II) carbonate, FeCO3 – 48 percent iron) described here is not the only well / spring in the area which is identified as being a mineral spring, for there is still a cottage named Saltwell in what was the hamlet of Bloak. This information is stated by the Topographical Dictionary of Scotland, however Mrs. Florence Miller of Saltwell recollects that this well was never known specifically as the Bloak Well. The present building was purchased from the Cunninghames of Lainshaw in the 1920s, having been built between 1800 and 1850. It is thought that the salt well now lies beneath the floor of the building and various physical features of the building suggest that it is the structure built by the Cunninghames. The well was first discovered by the fact that migrating birds, especially swifts and swallows, flocked to it. It is of unknown composition and is not listed as chalybeate. The cottage was a 'but and ben' and it is a 'handsome' building as described by Paterson. A Redwells Farm is located nearby at Auchentiber, the etymology of tiber itself refers to a well. In 1930 the Kilmarnock Glenfield Ramblers' Society record a Ramble during which they walked past the well known local spring, its waters rich in iron, on their way to the Kennox Estate, having already visited the Lainshaw Estate. The old cornmill was part of the Barony of Crevoch and lay in the portion which was called Crivoch Lindsay. In 1608 Archibald Lindsay was heir to Andrew Lindsay the owner, however by 1617 the lands were in the hands of James Dunlop, whose father was James Dunlop of that Ilk. In January 1678 Robert Cunynghame, apothecary / druggist in Edinburgh, is stated to be the heir to Anne, daughter of Sir Robert Cunynghame of Auchenharvie. She was his cousin german and part of the inheritance was the 5 merk land of Fairlie Crivoch and the mill. He also owned some of the lands of Lambroughton and Auchenharvie near Cunninghamhead / Perceton. A Robert and Jonet Galt are recorded as living at Crivoch in around 1668. had been one of the last occupants of the house at the Crevoch Mill site. The family name was Kerr. A track led from Crivoch up to Bottoms farm and this gave access through to Chapeltoun. The full name of Bottoms farm is Bottoms at Point Crivoch. The dusky cranesbill, a rare garden escape, was recorded by the Glenfield Ramblers' at Crivoch mill in the 1850s and was still growing at the site in 2004. In 1735 John Cummin, a schoolmaster, is recorded as living at Crivoch. Gallowayford Farm is no longer in existence; however, the remains of the dam or weir in the Glazert nearby can be clearly seen. Robertson (1820) regards this as being a valuable property, the proprietor being James Millar, with a valued rent of £21. Close to the cists site is the Mound Wood on Kennox Moss, an oval shaped artificial structure made of piled turf and surrounded by a well constructed drystone wall. It has not been investigated archaeologically. An access track ran up to it at one time and Roy's map of 1747 indicates that a dwelling known as Water House existed in this vicinity at that time. The Gallowayford Farmhouse is now (2006) just a jumble of stones, however John Shields and his spouse Jean Guthrie farmed here in the mid 19th century, Jean dying on 4 October 1887 and John on 22 September 1908; they lost a daughter, Isabella at the age of 4 in 1862. James Miller farmed here previously, dying on 3 April 1813. They are all buried at the Laigh Kirk in Stewarton. General Roy's map of 1747–55 clearly shows Gallowayford and Irvinhill.

Bonshaw (formerly Bollingshaw or Bonstonshaw) was a small estate and barony of the Boyd's, a cadet of the Boyds, Lords of Kilmarnock.

Given as 'Klonbyith' by Pont in the 1690s Clonbeith was then the property of William Cuninghame, Scion of this cadet branch of the Glencairn Cuninghames through those of Aiket Castle. John Cuninghame shot and killed the Earl of Eglinton in 1586 and was caught and 'cut to pieces' in Hamilton, possibly at Hamilton palace. The Cowlinn burn runs down to join the Lugton Water at the site of Montgreenan castle or the Bishop's Palace. A dwelling called Cowlinn is marked on the Thomson's 1820 map and a Clonbeith Mill was nearby.

Limekilns are a common feature of the area and limestone was quarried in a number of places, such as at Stacklawhill. Limekilns seem to have come into regular use about the 18th century and were located at Stacklawhill, Haysmuir, Bonshaw, High Chapeltoun, Bloomridge (Blinridge in 1828), Gillmill, Sandylands (now Bank End) and Crossgates. Large limestone blocks were used for building but the smaller pieces were burnt, using coal dug in the parish

Aiton in 1811 comments on the growing of carrots by William Cunningham of Lainshaw as an 'excellent article of food for the human species'. This was one of the first estates to grow them in quantity. In 1820 only six people were qualified to vote as freeholders in Stewarton Parish, being proprietors of Robertland (Hunter Blair), Kirkhill (Col. J. S. Barns), Kennox (McAlester), Lainshaw (Cunninghame), Lochridge (Stewart) and Corsehill (Montgomery Cunninghame). The Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) is a neo classical building in Royal Exchange Square in the Glasgow city centre, which was built in 1778 as the townhouse of William Cunninghame of Lainshaw, a wealthy tobacco lord. The building has undergone a series of different uses; It was used by the Royal Bank of Scotland; it then became the Royal Exchange. Reconstruction for this use resulted in many additions to the building, namely the Corinthian pillars to the Queen Street facade, the cupola above and the large hall to the rear of the old house. Shoes were only used for Sunday best and for many of the younger folk going bare foot was the order of the day. The family at High Chapeltoun were one of the last to do this on a day to day basis. The Royal Mail re organised its postal districts in the 1930s and at that point many hamlets and localities ceased to exist officially, such as Chapeltoun, Lambroughton and other areas in Stewarton district. Beeboles and straw skeps were used previous to these developments and here the bees had to be killed to obtain the honey. Running from Anderson's Plantation across the hill and back down to the old driveway near to the walled garden is a wall or dyke replacing a tree lined hedge shown in 1858. The wall or dyke is very unusual in that it is made from roughly equal sized rounded whinstones and it is held together by cement. A great deal of expense and effort would have been needed to build this long section of dyke, which seems to have been in place by 1911. The estate wall running from near Freezeland to near the Law Mount was built by unemployed labourers in the early 19th century. Rudolf Hess's Messerschmitt Bf 110 was spotted by locals as he flew on his mission from Nazi Germany to meet with the Duke of Hamilton in 1941. He crashed in Eaglesham on Floors Farm.