Lainshaw Castle in 1779.[5]
Lainshaw Castle in 1779.[5]
As the original seat of the Stuarts or Stewarts it was considered of much value and was bestowed by the Scottish Kings only as a special mark of favour. Mary Queen of Scots changed the spelling to 'Stuart' during her time in France to ensure that the French pronounced the name correctly. James, High Steward of Scotland inherited Stewarton in 1283. Robert III granted it to
| Etymology |
| The name Lainshaw was derived from the Scots words Lang and Shaw. The meaning is a long strip of woodland rather than a large wood or forest. |
Archibald the Grim, Earl of Douglas then took it back to bestow as a dowry on Elizabeth, the Earl's daughter, when she married John Stewart, Earl of Buchan. The lands reverted to the crown many times. Queen Mary presented the lands to Mary Livingstone, one of the famous 'four Marys', upon her marriage to John Sempill, son of Lord Sempill in 1565. John Knox referred to them as "John the Dancer and Marie the Lusty". The Montgomeries obtained the lands shortly after.
One of the earliest references to Lainshaw, Langshaw or Langschaw[2] is the grant of land to Alexander Home of Holme by King James in 1450. Castleton, Gallowberry, Whitelee, Crennachbrare, Robertland and Magbiehill (Magby Hill in 1775) were also included in the grant. Thomas Home inherited, but he died without issue and it passed to the Eglinton family, namely Neil or Nigel Montgomerie of Langshaw who was the second son of the first Earl of Eglinton. He was killed at Irvine in 1547 through the feud with the Mowats of Busbie and Lord Boyd. His son, John, married Margaret, daughter of Lord Boyd. John Montgomerie died without issue and his brother Neil became the third Laird.
In 1691 the 'place of Longshaw (sic) and office houses' had eleven hearths and associated dwellings of the 'Lands of Longshaw' (sic) numbered over sixty, including Peacockbank.[3]
In 1745 the Laird of Langshaw died suddenly from drinking bad wine.[4] When the 9th Laird, James, died in 1767 his eldest sister, Elizabeth inherited. She had married Alexander Montgomerie-Cuninghame of Kirktonholme, son of Sir David Cuninghame of Corsehill. Her second husband was J.Beaumont Esq.(Paterson).
The 10th Laird was their son, Sir Walter Montgomerie-Cuninghame, who lost a fortune as result of the American War of Independence. William Cunninghame of Bridgehouse and (afterwards Lainshaw), the 'Tobacco Lord', had made a fortune in America between 1748 and 1762. In 1776 'Linshaw' is shown on road map as occupied by Bowman Esq[6]. In 1779 he leased Lainshaw and proceeded to improve the Estate under an agreement whereby the Montgomeries could reclaim the estate only if they could reimburse William for the cost of his improvements.
They were never able to do so. William's son, William Cunninghame the Younger inherited the estate in 1799 but did not take up residence until 1804. During his time the house was remodelled extensively. He was a religious eccentric, which led to various court actions and his publishing a wide range of eccentric books, including one against swearing. He never married[2], having heard his childhood sweetheart utter unacceptably bad language (Milligan & Barclay). On his death in 1849, the estate passed to his younger half brother, John, who in turn was succeeded in 1864[1] by his son William, a Captain in the 79th Highlanders (Jamieson) and married to Louisa Ormond. He had four sons and two daughters. He held the Crimea Medal, with clasps for Alma, Balaclava and Sebastopool, together with a Turkish Medal.
The estate map of 1779 shows a band of woodland running around the estate curtilage. This strip had a carriage-way running through its middle and this links with the ha-ha at the chalybeate spring field. Wide wooden bridges with stone abutments close to the Annick Bridge in Stewarton and close to the walled gardens allowed a complete circuit of the estate curtilage to be made. Only the abutments of these bridges remain.
Near the main entrance is marked a building or buildings called 'Castle-salt', the reason for the name is not known, however salt houses were assocaited with baronial dwellings and these were used for the storage of salted and preserved foods.[7] It could be that the name 'salt' is a corruption of another word, such as 'soiled' or 'soil', as in the 'night soil', i.e, the midden where the night soil was placed before being taken away for use as fertilizer. A ducument held in the Scottish National Archive mentions a 'Cattle salt' in Stewarton. In the Laigh Kirk graveyard there is a memorial to Robert Cunningham, erected by James Cunningham of Castle-Salt in 1827. A Mrs. Bracket lived at Castle-salt in 1820, the valued rent being £16. The land around Lainshaw Primary school was known as 'Picken's Park' and its trees were felled circa 1950, the trees being taken to Bickethall Farm for sawing, etc. Picken was a common local name at the time. Robertson records in 1820 that fields had been drained at considerable expense by filling ditches with stones.
In 1779 the estate farms included Gilmill, Kirkmuir, Righead, Parkside, Irvinehill, the Kilbryde Farms, Gouknest, Magbie-hill, Gaimes-hill, Bankend of Bollingshaw, Sandyland of Bollingshaw, Canaan and Clerkland. The rental income from the estate was £1628 per year, a considerable sum (Lainshaw 1779). James Kerr was the 'Baron Officer' at Lainshaw until his death on the 4th July 1880. His wife was Barbara Barclay and they were buried at the Laigh Kirk.
James Boswell of Auchinleck House, the famous biographer and friend of Dr. Samuel Johnson was married to his cousin Margaret Montgomerie in Lainshaw Castle. David Laing was the closest relative and therefore heir to Lord Lyle of Lainshaw, a judge of the court session. Laing took the surname Montgomerie and his daughter was the mother of James Boswell.[8]
James Forrest of Mid Lambroughton recorded the rare Bird's Nest Orchids and the Lesser Wintergreen plants as growing in the estate woodlands in the 1930s. Locally the woodlands, marked as Anderson's Plantation on some maps, are known as the 'Wendy woods' for some forgotten reason.
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