Eglinton Country Park - Micro History

Micro History

Archibald, the 11th Earl, was Deputy Vice-Admiral of the Port of Troon, within the limits from Kelly Bridge to Troon Point.

Like many other lairds the Montgomeries maintained a town house at Irvine, Seagate Castle.

A mountain and river in New Zealand were named 'Eglinton' after the 13th Earl of Eglinton.

The Glasgow, Paisley and Ardrossan Canal was never completed and the section from Paisley to Glasgow was converted into a railway. The Glasgow terminus had been known as Port Eglinton and the Caledonian Railway station that replaced it was known as Eglinton Street Station.

Eglinton has been used as a Christian name, as in William Eglington Montgomerie of Annick Lodge, who died 13 October 1884 age 84 yrs and is buried in Dreghorn cemetery.

A loch was planned in 1807, to be located where the existing loch is situated, but continuous with the river. An 'Eagle Well' existed in the Sourlie Burn plantation.

Dr. Duguid visited Bonshaw, circa the 1840s and lists some of the items in the owners collection, including the stirrups from the horse that the 10th Earl of Eglinton was riding when he was shot and killed by gauger Mungo Campbell in 1769.

Persistent rumours exist of a ley tunnel which is said to from Kilwinning Abbey, under the 'Bean Yaird', below the 'Easter Chaumers' and the 'Leddy firs', and then underneath the Garnock and on to Eglinton Castle. No evidence exists for it, although the story may be related to the underground burial vault of the Montgomeries which does exist under the old abbey Another ley tunnel is said to run to Stanecastle.

Three ghosts are associated with the castle; a white lady; a grey lady and a ghost seen within the surviving castle tower in 1997.

A Charter of the time of Mary, Queen of Scots, refers to Eglinton's 'cunningaries' or rabbit-warrens.

The 'gem ring' on the Ardrossan Academy badge is taken from the Eglinton coat of arms; the Earl of Eglinton having been one of the founders of the school.

Another Eglinton Park (Toronto) is a public park located in the North Toronto neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, just west of the Eglinton Subway Station.

Knadgerhill was only acquired by the Earls of Eglinton in 1851 when they excambied part of the lands of Bogside Flats for them. This allowed the construction of the new entrance to the policies at Stanecastle via Long Drive.

Eglinton castle is said by one of the gardeners to have had a room which was never opened. In about 1925 a young man from Kilwinning decided to take some of the panelling from a room in the castle as it was all being allowed to rot in the rain anyway, the roof had been removed. He went the castle to take away as much as he could carry, however one of the last pieces he selected left exposed the skeletal hand of a woman. The whole skeleton was later removed by a student doctor, but for fear of prosecution the matter was never reported to the police.

The commercial park near Irvine, situated in what was called the 'Crow Wood', has been named 'Tournament Park' and a 'castle' folly has been constructed on the nearby roundabout, commemorating the event. One of the main entrances to the castle, the Redburn gates, ran through this commercial park, however nothing now is left of the old ornamental gates and lodges that existed here, with just a portion of sandstone walling existing at the side of a layby. It is not known what happened to this sundial, but it may survive at another site.

A pet's grave, that of the dog Toby, the 10th Earl's pet, was located near Lady Jane's cottage, as was a marble memorial pillar to the 13th Earl's elder brother who died when he was six; the pillar being placed here because this was the site of the boys garden. This pillar is now located in the woods next to the Visitor centre. Parts of the sculpture that sat on top of this pillar were found at the 'new' site in 2007 by the North Ayrshire Rangers Service. The base of the pillar carries this inscription:

The earl's dog was buried originally in the Old Wood by James Allen (a wright) with a young Robin Cummell at the scene and the earl giving him a sixpence with a gentle telling off for tresspassing.

The Barony Courthouse, owned by the Montgomeries, was situated opposite the old Abbey Green close to the Abbey grounds. It was demolished in 1970.

After the castle had be un-roofed circa 1925 the estate largely continued for some time to be in the hands of the Montgomeries. Eglinton Mains farm was eventually abandoned and all the stock and equipment moved by a special train from Montgreenan railway station to Tonbridge Wells in Kent.

The Redburn burn runs through the Eglinton estate from near Stanecastle and is named after the very high red iron salt content. It runs through the nearby 'Garnock Floods' Scottish Wildlife Trust nature reserve before flowing into the Garnock.

The Earls of Eglinton were keen hunters and the Eglinton Kennels (previously called Laigh Moncur) are situated off the B 785 Kilwinning to Benslie road.

Beside the Irvine New Town trail at the Old Wood is a large piece of machinery that appears to be of a military nature. This is actually a 'grubber' or 'rooter' which Robert Howie & Sons brought in to remove many of the old estate trees and create new pasture land. It was restored recently as part of a Countryside Ranger led project.

A boat house was present in 1828 beside the River Garnock, just below the old Redburn House on a loop of the river that was cut off and filled in as shown on the 25 inch OS map. The same map shows an area called 'Game Keppers' near Corsehill, the abode of estate Game keepers.

The small gates from Stanecastle were purchased and restored by Lord Robert Crichton-Stuart circa 1970, husband of Lady Janet Montgomerie, daughter of Archibald Montgomerie, 16th Earl of Eglinton and Winton. Upon Lord Robert's death in 1976 they passed to a Mr. Simon Younger, in Haddington. The large gates were beyond 'economic' restoration.

John Thomson's map of 1820 marks the 'Gallow Muir' near Bogside. The name suggests that this was the site of the Gallows, probably linked with the medieval right of 'Pit & gallows', held by the Lord of the Barony. This right was removed in 1747. In 1813, 31 unemployed men were given work levelling the Gallows Knowe at the muir prior to the construction of the new Academy. The wooden base of the gallows and several other associated finds were made.

In woodland near to the near the Doura Burn at North Millburn is a Glacial erratic boulder. Such boulders were usually broken up by farmers and such a rare survival as this, is one more indicator that the site may be a genuine ancient woodland.

The A 78 (T) and B7080 are partially built on the old estate's 'Long Drive' carriageway to Stanecastle. The road from the Eglinton interchange to the Hill roundabout and onwards towards Dreghorn has been named 'Long Drive'.

A piggery was built at the park before it was purchased by the local authority. A few of its buildings survive.

£100,000 was spent by the Montgomeries on creating Ardrossan's harbour and they intended to make it the principal port for Glasgow. Construction of the Glasgow, Paisley and Johnstone Canal began in 1807 and the first boat, the passenger boat, The Countess of Eglinton, was launched in 1810; completion to Glasgow's Port Eglinton from Paisley was achieved in 1811, but the section to Ardrossan was never built. The Head gardener at Eglinton Castle laid out the policies and gardens at Spier's school, Beith in 1887.

HMS Eglinton was a World War II Hunt Class escort Destroyer built by Vickers Armstrong of Newcastle and launched on 28 December 1939. A previous HMS Eglinton was a World War I minesweeper; both were named after the Eglinton Foxhunt.

A Gauging station operated by SEPA is located just above the weir on the Lugton Water at the suspension bridge; it appears as a small building and a set of cables and wires stretched across the river.

Lady Frances Montgomerie was buried at Hollyrood Abbey in Edinburgh on 11 May 1797. She was the daughter of Archibald, 12th Earl of Eglinton.

At the coronation of Charles I at Holyrood the Earl of Eglinton had the honour of bearing the king's spurs.

Glasgow University's Eglinton Arts Fellowship was established in 1862 by subscription to commemorate the public services of Archibald William, 13th Earl of Eglinton, Rector of the University 1852-54.