Cunninghamhead, Perceton and Annick Lodge
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Cunninghamhead is a hamlet in North Ayrshire, Scotland. This is a mainly rural area, famous for its Milk and Cheese production and the Ayrshire, Cunninghame or Dunlop breed of cattle.
The History of the Lands of Cunninghamhead, Perceton and Annick Lodge in Cunninghame
[edit] Bourtreehill Estate
Listed by Pont/Blaeu as Bourtreen in 1654 and other variations are Bourtree and Bow Tree. A 'Bour Tree' is the Ayrshire name for the Common Elder tree, Sambucus nigra, often found in the older and more biodiverse local woods. The estate was within the demesne of the De Morvilles, Lords of Cunninghame, and passed by marriage to Alan de la Zouche and William de Ferrars (see Lambroughton) who, as supporters of John Baliol forfeited the property to Robert the Bruce. James Francis of Stane obtained most of the property and Roger de Blair a small portion, for which he had to annually pay twelve silver pennies or a pair of gilt spurs to the King. In 1621 William, son of John Cuninghame of Cunninghamhead holds the property and by 1661 it is in the hands of Hugh, later Earl of Eglintoun. In 1685 Sir James Montgomerie of Skelmorlie is named as heir. In 1748 Peter Montgomerie, Merchant in Glasgow, purchased it and his son then sold it on to Robert Hamilton of Rozelle. Robert's daughter, Jean, Countess of Crawfurd, inherited it later passed to Archibald William, Earl of Eglintoun through the marriage of Hugh, twelfth Earl of Eglinton to his cousin Eleonora, yougest daughter of Robert Hamilton. Alexander Guthrie of Mount in Kilmarnock purchased Bourtreehill in 1847 and it passed to his daughter, Christina in 1852 (Dobie 1876). Christina married the Hon. D.A.F.Browne, who became Lord Oranmore and Browne in the Peerage of Ireland. Very little now remains of Bourtreehill House.
[edit] Standalane
Above Cunninghamhead railway station was a cottage, called Standalane, lying on the left hand side of the old road to Springside, which is now closed as a new road has been made closer to Irvine for traffic safety reasons. The name 'Standalane' is quite common and was applied to dwellings which lay just outside and thus seperated and 'standing alone' from villages or small towns, in this case Crossroads.
The old sandstone parapet of the bridge overlooking the site of Cunninghamhead railway station has many niave carvings on it, made over the years by local children and pupils from the local village school as they waited and watched the old steam and diesel trains going by.
[edit] Warrickhill and Righouse Estates
Like Annick Lodge, Righouse was also described as a 'ferme ornee' or 'rustic dwelling' . It was occupied by Colonel Fullarton of Fullarton in 1838.
Warrix (now Warrick) Hill also formed part of the demesne of the De Morvilles who forfeited their lands to Robert the Bruce. Sir James, son of Sir James Stewart of Bonkill, son of Alexander the High Steward of Scotland, obtained Peirstoun and Warrixhill, and his son, also Sir James, in turn inherited. This son had only a daughter as heir and she married Sir William Douglas and thus the property passed by marriage to the Barclay's of Pierstoun. Warrixhill became divided into two and the Montgomeries of Bourtreehill held one half whilst the Cunninghamhead family obtained the other. In 1524 William Cuninghame inherited the lands from his father John and both parts were sold to John Edmeston, Minister of Cardross, whose son John sold them to Jonathan Anderson, a Glasgow Merchant. William Henry Ralston, a cadet of the Ralstons of that Ilk purchased them in 1790 from John, son of Jonathan Edmeston. A nephew, Alexander MacDougal Ralston inherited in 1833. Margaret Fullarton was the wife of Alexander McDougall Ralston. They were buried in Dreghorn parish churchyard. The three sections of Peirstoun were known as Pierstoun-Barclay, Pierstoun-Blair and Pierstoun-Cunninghame. This latter portion is thought to have contained Warrickhill itself. John Muir of Warwick Mains died in 1875. He was a private in the Ayrshire Yeomanry Cavalry and was killed in accident by his horse. He was buried in Dreghorn Parish Churchyard.
[edit] Langlands Farm
This farm is shown on Pont's / Blaeu's 1654 map and it is close to the River Annick (previously Annock or Annack Water) in the area once known as Strathannick. The name may refer to the appearance of the long strips of land which were typical of the 'rig and furrow' ploughing system. Langlands Farm overlooks the confluence of the Annick and the Glazert at Water Meetings; two high-arched bridges provide the road crossing. Langlands was owned at one time by the Sword family who ran the Western SMT Bus Company in the mid 1900's. They had a large collection of Hackney horses with an exercise track and other facilities at Langlands (Smith 2006). A rare example of a pear tree grows near the farm. The invasive weed the Japanese Knotweed is taking hold in the hedgerows in these parts (2006).
[edit] Scroaggy or Fairliecrevoch Mill
A mill is marked on Pont's map of 1654, identified as a waulkmill, used for preparing serge for clothing. The site of the mill is marked on Aitken's 1829 map as Scroaggie Mill, in Robertson (1820) it is called Scrogie Mill and valued at £36 rent. Thomson's 1832 map shows it as being close to and upstream from Ramstane on the River Annick. It was on the west side near to a pronounced bend in the river. The term Scroag or Scrog in Scots means a gnarled or stunted tree or tree stump. Specifically it can mean a Crab Apple tree or Scrog-Apple as they were known. Aiton comments that crab-apple-trees were sometimes used in the hedges which were erected since the year 1766. This fits well with the present appearance of the site which has an old wood next to it with a contiguous woodland recently planted by the farmer at Langlands. Crab apples trees are common in the area of the old mill itself.
In 1832 Thomson's map shows a ford and a lane running down from Ramstane, which can still be made out and the natural bedrock dyke of the river bed here made this an obvious site for a ford. The 1860 OS shows a lade running across the 'peninsular' of land made by the 'U' bend, with a dam across the river below Langlands farm forming a millpond. At this date the mill is known only as Fairliecrevoch, being a clothmill with a track running down to it from Barnahill and a footbridge across the river from Ramstane. The 1923 OS marks the site and the ford, but does not name it as a mill and the 1963 OS indicates a single building at the end of a rough track which would originally have been the miller's dwelling. Very little remains today (2006) other than the vague line of the lade, the ruins of the miller's house, the foundations of the mill and the lade water outlet area beside the river. The name change may have occurred as the mill at Fairlie-Crevoch by Kennox had been abandoned and could now be used here next to the farm of that name. Scroaggy was name still used for this area by local farners (Hastings 2006).
A very substantial metal bridge with concrete abutments crosses the Annick nearby. It is now without its wooden decking and was presumably built by the Sword's when they owned both Barnahill and Langlands farms. The map rather improbably shows the track from this bridge running up to join the mainroad near the point where the lane runs down towards Aultonhead and Aulton Farms. The track can still be seen below the hedge with a gradient that would be too great for most vehicles and a dangerous proximity to the river. The exit to the road was at a dangerous bend and this route must have been abandoned after only a relatively short period of use.
[edit] Ramstane
This 'Butt and Ben' is an old site, first recorded in 1775. The name can probably be translated literally as no obvious alternative seems to exist in old Scot's. Thomson's map records it as Ramston in 1832. A lane, still visible, ran down to the River Annick here, the line it took being still clearly visible. A dyke here formed a suitable site for a ford and stepping stones, which are likewise still discernable. The lane from the ford ran up to Barnahill and to old Scroaggy or Failliecrevoch Mill, whilst another lane didn't cross over and instead followed the river and came out at what is now Cunninghamhead. A favourite swimming pool, called Toad Hole is found near here (Hastings 2006). The house was destroyed by fire in the 1990's but was rebuilt on the same site.
[edit] The Lands of Balgray
Sir Hugh de Eglintoun held a charter for Pocertoon in 1361 from John de Moravia (Dobie 1876). In 1361 the Barony of Balgray esiated and the lands changed hands many times over the centuries, passing through the hands of the families from Corsehill, Pearston Hall (Annick Lodge), Bourtreehill, Eglintoun, Rowallan, Grange, Auchenharvie, Lainshaw and others. The lands were divided up into South Balgray (now West), East Balgray, Muirhead of Balgray and Knowehead of Balgray. Balgray or East Balgray was originally called Bagra, a celtic name, on Pont's 1600's map, Bagraw on Ainslie's 1821 map and in 1832 Thomson marks it as Balgary.
East Balgray had been another of the Sword family farm and it was also used to house the John C. Sword collection of 160 Scottish motorcars as well as horse drawn carriages and motorbikes (An Illust. Descript. Cat. Vet. & Vint. Motor Cars). It had been hoped to open 'The Museum of the Sword Collection of Transport' at East Balgray using John C. Sword the collection, however the level of estate Death Duties made this impossible to achieve (Neill 2006). An auction had already taken place to sell off duplicate or unrepresentative vehicles and eventually the whole collection was sold off and dispersed
[edit] Barnahill
Barnahill's name previously been Barnhill.(1775) and also Barneyhills on Thomson's 1832 map and Barnyhill in 1837, at which time William Pollock Esq. is recorded by Pigot as being in possession. The farm is not shown on Pont's map of 1654. The traditional workhorse of the ploughman, the Clydesdale, are kept here for breeding and showing by the Mitchell family. Robertson (1820) records the rental value at £168, the farm belonging to an R. Montgomery. Alexander Lindsay (died 5th October 1872, aged 77) and his spouse Marion Miller (died 20th November 1881) farmed at Byrahill (as spelt on their tombstone) in the mid 1800's. They were buried at the Laigh Kirk in Stewarton.
[edit] Rashillhouse Farm
This farm has had many name and spelling changes with Shakhill from Ainslie's 1821 and Armstrong's 1775 maps, Rashshallhouse from Thomson's 1832 survey and Rashillhouse from 1895 onwards. 'Shak' in old Scots is to shake as in threshing, this being usually done on exposed windy sites to help blow away the chaff from the grain. Given its elevated position above the river, Rashillhouse may well have been such a site. Watermeeting's Cottage is nearby, rebuilt from a ruin in the 1980's. The traditional workhorse of the ploughman, the Clydesdale, are kept here for breeding and showing by the Craig family. Robertson (1820) mentions a Thrasher-house farm near Barnahill at a £82 rental
[edit] Bonnyton / Girgenti House and Estate
Bonnyton had belonged to the Reids of Stacklawhill and also to several generations of the Watts family, who were Joiners and Cartwrights. Robert Watt, the eminent Scotsman who wrote the 'Bibilotheca Britannica' was born at Bonnyton (Dobie 1876). His direct descendants still live in the Stewarton area.
Girgenti was originally known as Bonnyton (not Muirhead as sometimes stated) and was presumably named after a visit of this well travelled man to the ancient Greek ruins of Agrigentum at Girgenti in Sicily. The name of this town has since been changed Agrigento. Captain John Cheape built a rather eccentric mansion house at Bonnyton and planted extensive plantations and shrubberies. Only the two italianate lodges survive, together with part of the walled garden (Love 2005) and the tower. The mansion house and some other buildings were demolished in the 1940's. John Cheape was the son of James Cheape of Sauchie in Clackmannanshire (Dobie 1876). Captain Cheape, late of the Scots Fusiler Guards, believed in reincarnation or transmigration of the soul, and was so convinced that he would return in the form of a bird that he built a large tower, with a dovecote on top, next to his mansion. Finished in 1843 it stands 80 feet tall, has four clock faces, a coat of arms and a motto - Didus Fructus (Let it spread its fruit abroad) - all on the outer surfaces. He died unmarried in on the 10th February 1830, aged 76, and the estate was sold to benefit a number of infirmaries across Scotland. He was buried in the Laigh Kirk, Stewarton. His sister was married to Thomas, 11th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne and their residence was Glamis Castle, where the Queen Mother spent a great deal of her childhood and where Princess Margaret was born. She was to have inherited Girgenti, however she predeceased her brother.
William Broom, an Ironmaster in Glasgow was the owner in Dobie's time (1876) and then the estate was purchased by a Glasgow businessman for private use then sold, in 1900, to Glasgow Corporation as a reformatory for females. After less than 10 years as such, it was sold again and transformed into a privately owned training centre for homeless boys between the ages of 14 and 20. It was next sold to The Scottish Labour Colony Association who continued its use as a training centre. In 1918 it changed hands yet again and this time it returned to farm use. The owner was now a Mr Muir who was the great-grandson of Mr Thomas Reid of Stacklawhill who had owned the estate in 1827. The farm was next sold in 1932 to a Mr Sword who took considerable interest in the outbuildings, had the tower restored and the clock repaired. A Mr and Mrs Smith owned and worked the farm from around 1960.
[edit] The Turnpike and Milestones
Wheeled vehicles were unknown to farmers in Ayrshire until the end of the 17th. century and prior to this sledges were used to haul loads (Strawhorn 1951) as wheeled vehicles were completely useless. Roads at this time 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 and even then some refused to use them.
The road running up from Irvine to Cunninghamehead and on to Stewarton was made into a turnpike by the 'Ayr Roads Act of 1767' (McClure 1994) and the opportunity was taken to move its route to make the road as convenient as possible for travellers. The date of construction is unclear as the 1775 map doesn't show a new route. Toll house were at intervals and one was on the right as the road joins with the Stewarton to Kilmaurs road opposite the site of the old Lainshaw Mill and the other toll house. Cunninghamhead Toll house was at the corner where the road runs down to the mill (1860 OS).
In 1782 Neil Snodgrass of Cunninghamhead petitioned the road meeting at Stewarton for compensation. In adjusting the line of a road, a piece of his improved land had been taken; he had been given in return the land occupied by the old line. His loss amounted to the money he had expended on improving the land given up to the new road. Many of the local dignatories were present, including The Earl of Loudoun, John Dunlop of Dunlop, Sir Walter Montgomerie of Corsehill, Major Alexander Dunlop of Aiket, etc. His case was carefully researched and he was awarded compensation of £40 5s. 9 3/4d. with interest, as well as a further 50 shillings as the Fee and Wages for a herd for his cattle for five months during which his grounds were laid open by the alteration of the road (McClure 2002).
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 (Thompson 1999), which varied from 4,854 to nearly 7000 feet. Long miles, short miles, Scotch or Scot's miles (5,928 feet), Irish miles (6,720 feet), etc. all existed. 5280 seems to have been an average! Another important point is that when these new toll roads were constructed the Turnpike Trusts went to a great deal of trouble to improve the route of the new road 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.
Red sandstone milestones were positioned every mile. Only one survives in the hedge opposite the entrance to the upper Law Mount field, indicating Stewarton 1 mile and Irvine 6 3/4 miles, another was positioned opposite the entrance to Mid Lambroughton farm and as with the others the only remaining clue is a 'kink' in the hedgerow as seen near Langlands Farm. The milestones were buried during the Second World War so as not to provide assistance to invading troops, German spies, etc. (Wilson 2006). This seems to have happened all over Scotland, however Fife was more fortunate than Ayrshire, for the stones were taken into storage and put back in place after the war had finished (Stephen 1967-68).
[edit] Newtonhead, Paddocklaw, Overton, Newtonhead and Southhook Farms
Only a Newton farm is marked on the 1775 map and a by 1860 a Newtonend Farm is shown just beside the railway, but it is no longer marked by 1897.
Not shown on the 1775 Armstrong map, Paddocklaw was shown on a crossroads in 1821 on Ainslie's map. The name was originally Puddocklaw, which is Toad Hill or Burial Mound in Scot's. Thomson's 1820 map only shows three roads and not the fourth which ran down to the Thorntoun Estate area. Paddocklaw has an unusual semi-circular road running around it and would have been an ideal site for a wayside inn. The road across to Newtonhead Farm is still present in 1895, however it is only a rough track by 1912 and no longer marked by 1960.
Overton, previously Overtoun or Evertoun (1775)) is surprisingly not on the 1821 map, however it is shown on Thomson's map of 1820. The 1895 OS shows the main line railway and a mineral or freight line branching off near the station and running close to Overton with a branch running parallel to the road to Southhook just in front of the shelterbelt plantation. These lines are gone by 1912 and only some low embankments remain today. In 1860 a miners row, coal pit, school and clay works were all located near the point where the Capringstone Burn passes under the road at what is now the Meadow Wood Community Woodland site. A colliery near Southhook and a brickworks and a coal pit are shown at Springside on the 1912 OS. The road down to Overton seems to have had a small Belvedere of trees in 1832.
The Barony of Kilmaurs was composed of the lands of Buston (now Buiston), Fleuris (now Floors), Lambroughton, whyrrig (now Wheatrig), and Southhook (otherwise Southwick, Southook, Southuck, Southeuk, Seurnhouck, Seurnbenck or Hooks (1775)) and therefore this area was associated with the Lands of Lambroughton. On Thomson's 1820 map a East and a West Southhook are shown, but only on Ainslie's map. A Little Southhook is shown on the 1960 OS. A brickworks with this name used to exist in the area, using local clay and coal.
James Hunter farmed here in the 1840's with his wife Margaret Young. He died in 1844 and was buried in Dreghorn Parish churchyard. Their son died when his ship, taking him from Quebec to Dundee, sank with all hands.
[edit] The Knights Templar
Greenwood near Irvine was still known as Templeland Farm and plantation in the 1860's, the name Greenwood being restricted to a small cottage. A secondary school and Teachers' Resource Centre are now present at the site. On the opposite bank of the Annick from Annick Lodge is the Friersmill Holm. The Reid Friers were the Red Friars, better known as the Knights Templar. In 1820 Robertson gives Colonel Hamilton as the proprietor of Temple Lands with a rental value of £6 13s. 4d.
The mill in this vicinity would have belonged to the order before their dissolution and the proximity of Templeland makes this doubly likely. In 1312 the Knight's Templar order, who's Scottish headquarters had been at Torphichen, was disbanded (Barber 1996) and its lands given to the Knight's of St.John (Dobie 1876). Lord Torphichen as preceptor obtained the temple-land tenements and the lands then passed through the hands of Montgomerie of Hessilhead and Wallace of Cairnhill (now Carnell) in 1720, before passing into unrestricted ownership.
[edit] The Darien Affair
The Darien Company was an attempt by the Scots to set up a trading colony in America in the late 1690's, however the opposition from England and elsewhere was so great that the attempt failed with huge losses and great financial implications for the country and for individuals. Half of the whole circulating capital of Scotland was subscribed and mostly lost. In Cunninghame some examples of losses are Major James Cunninghame of Aiket (£200), Sir William Cunninghame of Cunninghamhead (£1000), Sir Archibald Mure of Thorntoun (£1000), William Watson of Tour (£150) and James Thomson of Hill in Kilmaurs (£100).
[edit] Miscellaneous Notes
The Royal Mail re-organised its postal districts in the 1930's and at that point many hamlets and localities ceased to exist officially, such as Springside, with the loss of Springhill, Warrickhill Row, Bankhead and Little Kirkland (Strawhorn 1951).
The term "rebus" refers to the use of a pictogram to represent a syllabic sound. One example is that of a seal with a barrel (or tun) engraved on it, the barrel transfixed with an arrow. This becomes 'A Tun Pierced' or Piercetun, Piercetoun, Pearston or Perceton. The origins of the name Perceton is unclear and the use of rebuses was so popular at one time that the name may have some obscure link with this fashion for pictoral puns (Roberts 2006).
Lawthorn Wood is a Scottish Wildlife Trust Nature reserve and from the old maps it seems to have been part of a swathe of woodland which ran on either side of the road to Glasgow in the heyday of the Eglinton Estate.
In 1820 Dreghorn Parish had only five people qualified to vote, these being the proprietors of Cunninghamhead, Annock Lodge, Langlands (2) and Warwickhill!
On one of the hills at Hessilhead, previously Hazlehead (1820), there was a druidical rocking stone which due to people digging beneath it, has ceased to rock! (Robertson 1820).
Aiton in 1811 mentions "a curious notion that has long prevailed in the County of Ayr, and elsewhere, that the wool of sheep was pernicious to the growth of thorns".
A large and well preserved prehistoric cairn is present at Lawthorn (Smith 1895). Its name is suggestive of a court hill or burial mound. It is 21 paces in diameter at the base, 14 feet in diameter at the top and 9 feet 8 inches high. It is largely composed of boulders and a large one made of graywacke, 7 feet long, is partly buried on the top edge facing south (Smith 1895).
A dwelling with the unusual name of Little Sea is indicated as lying between Ruddinghill (now Roddinghill) Farm and Fairleycrivoch (now Fairliecrevoch) Farm on the Thomson 1832 map. It is not shown on the 1860 or subsequent OS maps.
A dwelling named Dambuck or Damback lay close to the railway embankment near West Balgray (just Balgary in 1832), it is last named on the 1860 map, but the site is still shown on the 1921 OS . Limekilns are a feature of some farms in the area, indicated in 1860 at Fairliecrevoch and Barnahill.
Frederick the Great of Prussia visited Irvine and made a trip to Perceton before returning to Potsdam.
Limekilns seem to have come into regular use about the 18th century. Large limestone blocks were used for building but the smaller pieces were burnt, using coal dug in the parish (Topog Dict Scot) to produce lime which was a useful commodity in various ways: it could be spread on the fields to reduce acidity, for lime-mortar in buildings or for lime-washing on farm buildings. It was regarded as cleansing agent.
John Hasting's of West Lambroughton in 1995 recalled when the road was tarmaced as this made walking to the school awkward in hot weather as the tar melted and stuck to the soles of his feet. In those days, the 1900's, children in particular still did not wear shoes, except for church on Sundays.
The Wallace family were blacksmiths for several generations, living and working at Crossroads in the 19th century. They are buried at the Dreghorn parish churchyard.
[edit] Definitions
- Bour Tree - a Common Elder
- Breike - trousers
- Butt & Ben - Literally 'backwards and forwards'. A dwelling entered by a single shared fore-door with a double partition and doors to the living quarters on one side and the byre on the other. A person sitting in the living area, called the in-seat, would look butt to the byre and someone in the byre would look ben to the living area.
- Cothouse - a dwelling with or without land attached. A tied cottage to a farm labourer and his family.
- Cottar - a tenant .
- Cotte - woman’s or child’s petticoat; a skirt
- Demesne - all the land, not necessarily all contiguous to the castle, that was retained by the lord for his own use as distinguished from that "alienated" or granted to others as tenants. Initially the demesne lands were worked on the lord's behalf by villeins or by serfs, in fulfillment of their feudal obligations.
- Dyke - in geology an intrusion or band of hard stone, usually igneous, often running for miles and eroded very slowly in relation to softer rocks.
- Heck - a rack for keeping fodder, often coupled with manger. 'Food and board' in modern terms.
- Law - a small hill or burial mound.
- Reid Frier - the Red Friars or Knights Templar.
- Rodden - a rough track, sheep path or right of way.
- Scrag - a variant of the commoner Scot's word Scrog, meaning a gnarled or stunted tree or tree-stump, specifically a crab-apple tree or its fruit, previously called scrag-apples.
- Shak - to shake as in the threshing of grain.
[edit] References
- Ainslie, John (1821). A Map of the Southern Part of Scotland.
- Aitken, John (1829). Survey of the Parishes of Cunningham. Pub. Beith.
- Aiton, William (1811). General View of the Agriculture of the County of Ayr. Pub. Glasgow. p.61.
- An Illustrated and Descriptive Catalogue of Veteran and Vintage Motor cars. The Museum of the Sword Collection of Transport. East Balgray. Pub. Historic Cars Ltd
- Armstrong and Son. Engraved by S.Pyle (1775). A New Map of Ayr Shire comprehending Kyle, Cunningham and Carrick.
- Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The directory of railway stations.
- Dobie, James D. (ed Dobie, J.S.) (1876). Cunninghame, Topographized by Timothy Pont 1604-1608, with continuations and illustrative notices. Pub. John Tweed, Glasgow.
- Ferguson, Robert (2005). The Life and Times of the Dalgarven Mills. ISBN 0955093503. p.4.
- Griffith, Roger (2004). The History of Coldstream Mill, Beith, Ayrshire. Held by the North Ayrshire Resource Centre, Ardrossan.
- Hastings, John (1995). Oral Communications to Roger S.Ll.Griffith.
- Hussey, Christopher. English Gardens and Landscapes 1700-1750.
- Love, Dane (2005). Lost Ayrshire. ISBN 978-1-84158-436-2. p.39.
- McClure, David (1994). Tolls and Tacksmen. ISBN 0-9502698-5-9. pps.27-28.
- McClure, David (2002). Editor. Ayrshire in the Age of Improvement. Ayr. Arch. & Nat. Hist. Soc. ISBN 0-9542253-0-9
- McKay, Archibald (1880). The History of Kilmarnock. Pub. Kilmarnock. p.347.
- Milligan, John (1975). Snippets of Dreghorn. Dreghorn Library.
- Moll, Herman (1745). The Shire of Renfrew with Cuningham.
- Neill, Frank (2006). Oral Communications to Roger S.Ll.Griffith.
- Paterson, James (1863-66). History of the Counties of Ayr and Wigton.
- Pigot (1837). The Directory for Ayrshire.
- Pont, Timothy (1604). Cuninghamia. Pub. Blaeu in 1654.
- Railton, William (1856). Map of the Turnpike & Parish Roads in the District of Kilmarnock. Pub. The Turnpike Trustees.
- Robertson, George (1820). Topographical Description of Ayrshire; more Particularly of Cunninghame: together with a Genealogical account of the Principal families in that Bailiwick. Cunninghame Press. Irvine.
- Smith, Janet (2006). Oral Communications to Roger S.Ll.Griffith.
- Smith, John (1895). Prehistoric Man in Ayrshire. Pub. London. p.123.
- Stephen, Walter M. (1967-68). Milestones and Wayside Markers in Fife. Proc Soc Antiq Scot, V.100. P.184.
- Stoddart, John (1801). Remarks on the Local Scenery and Manners in Scotland. Pub. William Miller.
- Strawhorn, John and Boyd, William (1951). The Third Statistical Account of Scotland. Ayrshire. Pub. Edinburgh.
- Thomas, David St John T. & Whitehouse, P. (1993). The Romance of Scotland's railways. ISBN 0-946537-89-5 p.204.
- Topographical Dictionary of Scotland (1846). Pps.467-89
- Wilson, Jenny (2006). Oral Communications to Roger S.Ll.Griffith.
