Orangefield House, South Ayrshire
Encyclopedia
Orangefield House, previously known as 'Monkton House', was located near the village of Monkton, Ayrshire
in the Parish of Monkton and Prestwick in South Ayrshire
, Scotland; the settlement borders upon Glasgow Prestwick Airport, for which it served for a while as the control tower.
; he died here in 1746 and left the property to his daughter, who married Charles Dalrymple, the sheriff clerk of Ayrshire. He gave a statue of King William to the city of Glasgow which stood at the cross for many years. This statue cost £3,000 at the time.
MacRae's mother, nee Gairdner, had been a poor widow, supporting her family by washing and charing for others. James, probably born in Ochiltree
, was befriended by a poor joiner, Hugh McGuire, who had married his sister. James's life changing moment was a severe punishment following being caught stealing apples from a local orchard; he decided to emigrate and stowed away aboard a ship and was left Ayrshire for forty years. He became a ship's captain and served as such on a Madras Government mission to Sumatra
. He later became Governor of Fort Saint David and finally, in 1725, the President of the Madras Presidency
.
Upon his return MacRae discovered that his mother had died, however Hugh McGuire was still living, but impoverished, as were his son and three daughters. With great generosity he purchased the small estate of Drumdow, near Stair, for his old friend and brother in law, and ensured that his nephew and nieces had the best education available.
The eldest daughter, Elizabeth, married the 13th Earl of Glencairn
, her dowry being the estate of Ochiltree
and a fortune in jewels. Margaret married James Erskine, Lord Alva, of Barjarg, an advocate and only son of Lord Tinwald. Christian, the third daughter, married the Sheriff-clerk of Ayrshire, Charles Dalrymple, and inherited the Orangefield estate after her benefactor's death. The one son, took the name MacRae, as James McGuire MacRae and was presented with the lands of Houston, however he squandered his inheritance and sold the estate, dying in a duel.
A story is told of how Lord Cassillis commented in public on Lord Glencairn's wife being the daughter of a fiddler and the pithy response insinuating that Lord Cassillis was descended from a gypsy; as indeed is the Ayrshire legend.
The structure collapsed shortly after construction and had to be rebuilt before slowly deteriorating and undergoing restoration in more recent times. When the monument was being restored in 2000 - 2001 it was found to contain coffins of a likely 18th century style and the skeletons of two men, two women and two children of unknown identity. The bones were replaced after examination. The site has been referred to as the Orangefield family burial-plot.
; they were fellow-Masons and Dalrymple introduced Burns to Lord Glencairn
, a patron to whom Burns owed much and acknowledge such in verse. Burns wrote that "I have met in Mr. Dalrymple of Orangefield what Solomon emphatically calls 'a friend that sticketh closer than a brother'."
Lesley Baillie was a descendant of the family who had previously owned Orangefield; she featured in Burns's ballad, "Saw ye bonnie Lesley."
Colonel William Fullarton had acquired Orangefield in 1786, however he sold it, together with Fairfield, circa 1803.
In the 1860s James Sinclair of Orangefield died and this 106 acre (0.42896716 km²) estate was added to the 685 acres (2.8 km²) of Fairfield. The associated farms were Orangefield and West Orangefield.
The estate was purchased by the Campbells of Fairfield and later in 1943 the building became the main terminal building for Prestwick Airport. An extraordinary alteration was the placing the airport control tower on the roof. The building of a new airport building resulted in the demolition of Orangefield in the 1960s.
before passing to the Blairs of Adamton House. Overmains itself had been part of the lands of Monkton Castle, later Monkton Hall, and finally Monkton House.
Monkton, Ayrshire
Monkton is a small village in the Parish of Monkton and Prestwick in South Ayrshire, Scotland.The nearest town is Prestwick and the settlement borders upon Glasgow Prestwick Airport.- History :The village was originally known as Prestwick Monachorum....
in the Parish of Monkton and Prestwick in South Ayrshire
South Ayrshire
South Ayrshire is one of 32 council areas of Scotland, covering the southern part of Ayrshire. It borders onto East Ayrshire, North Ayrshire and Dumfries and Galloway....
, Scotland; the settlement borders upon Glasgow Prestwick Airport, for which it served for a while as the control tower.
James MacRae
Monkton House was rebuilt by James MacRae (1684–1746) who had been the President of Madras, 1725–1730 and came back with a fortune amounting to £100,000. He purchased the estate in 1736 and renamed the house 'Orangefield' as he was a great admirer of William of Orange, William IIIWilliam III of England
William III & II was a sovereign Prince of Orange of the House of Orange-Nassau by birth. From 1672 he governed as Stadtholder William III of Orange over Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel of the Dutch Republic. From 1689 he reigned as William III over England and Ireland...
; he died here in 1746 and left the property to his daughter, who married Charles Dalrymple, the sheriff clerk of Ayrshire. He gave a statue of King William to the city of Glasgow which stood at the cross for many years. This statue cost £3,000 at the time.
MacRae's mother, nee Gairdner, had been a poor widow, supporting her family by washing and charing for others. James, probably born in Ochiltree
Ochiltree
Ochiltree, spelt Uchletree in the Middle Ages, is a village in East Ayrshire, Scotland near Auchinleck and Cumnock. It is one of the oldest villages in East Ayrshire with archaeological remains indicating Stone Age and Bronze Age settlers....
, was befriended by a poor joiner, Hugh McGuire, who had married his sister. James's life changing moment was a severe punishment following being caught stealing apples from a local orchard; he decided to emigrate and stowed away aboard a ship and was left Ayrshire for forty years. He became a ship's captain and served as such on a Madras Government mission to Sumatra
Sumatra
Sumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the sixth largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 with a population of 50,365,538...
. He later became Governor of Fort Saint David and finally, in 1725, the President of the Madras Presidency
Madras Presidency
The Madras Presidency , officially the Presidency of Fort St. George and also known as Madras Province, was an administrative subdivision of British India...
.
Upon his return MacRae discovered that his mother had died, however Hugh McGuire was still living, but impoverished, as were his son and three daughters. With great generosity he purchased the small estate of Drumdow, near Stair, for his old friend and brother in law, and ensured that his nephew and nieces had the best education available.
The eldest daughter, Elizabeth, married the 13th Earl of Glencairn
Earl of Glencairn
The title of Earl of Glencairn was created in the Peerage of Scotland in 1488 for the first Lord Kilmaurs .On the death of the fifteenth earl in 1796, there existing no original Letters Patent of the creation nor a given remainder in the various confirmations in title of previous earls the title...
, her dowry being the estate of Ochiltree
Ochiltree
Ochiltree, spelt Uchletree in the Middle Ages, is a village in East Ayrshire, Scotland near Auchinleck and Cumnock. It is one of the oldest villages in East Ayrshire with archaeological remains indicating Stone Age and Bronze Age settlers....
and a fortune in jewels. Margaret married James Erskine, Lord Alva, of Barjarg, an advocate and only son of Lord Tinwald. Christian, the third daughter, married the Sheriff-clerk of Ayrshire, Charles Dalrymple, and inherited the Orangefield estate after her benefactor's death. The one son, took the name MacRae, as James McGuire MacRae and was presented with the lands of Houston, however he squandered his inheritance and sold the estate, dying in a duel.
A story is told of how Lord Cassillis commented in public on Lord Glencairn's wife being the daughter of a fiddler and the pithy response insinuating that Lord Cassillis was descended from a gypsy; as indeed is the Ayrshire legend.
The MacRae monument
The MacRae Monument, mausoleum or memorial was built around 1750 by John Swan and is of the Corinthian style, with alcove, urns and obelisk. MacRae himself died before it was completed and was buried in Monkton church. Smith records the story that a few years after his death, some of MacRae's friends assembled at Orangefield and decided to remove his bones from the Monkton churchyard and to place them in the mausoleum. After two days and nights of constant drinking they selected the largest skull and longest shank bones they could find out of reverence for the Governor and took them to the mausoleum.The structure collapsed shortly after construction and had to be rebuilt before slowly deteriorating and undergoing restoration in more recent times. When the monument was being restored in 2000 - 2001 it was found to contain coffins of a likely 18th century style and the skeletons of two men, two women and two children of unknown identity. The bones were replaced after examination. The site has been referred to as the Orangefield family burial-plot.
The later history of Orangefield
John Dalrymple owned Orangefield in the time of Robert BurnsRobert Burns
Robert Burns was a Scottish poet and a lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland, and is celebrated worldwide...
; they were fellow-Masons and Dalrymple introduced Burns to Lord Glencairn
Earl of Glencairn
The title of Earl of Glencairn was created in the Peerage of Scotland in 1488 for the first Lord Kilmaurs .On the death of the fifteenth earl in 1796, there existing no original Letters Patent of the creation nor a given remainder in the various confirmations in title of previous earls the title...
, a patron to whom Burns owed much and acknowledge such in verse. Burns wrote that "I have met in Mr. Dalrymple of Orangefield what Solomon emphatically calls 'a friend that sticketh closer than a brother'."
Lesley Baillie was a descendant of the family who had previously owned Orangefield; she featured in Burns's ballad, "Saw ye bonnie Lesley."
"The owner of a pleasant spot Near sandy wilds" |
Colonel William Fullarton had acquired Orangefield in 1786, however he sold it, together with Fairfield, circa 1803.
In the 1860s James Sinclair of Orangefield died and this 106 acre (0.42896716 km²) estate was added to the 685 acres (2.8 km²) of Fairfield. The associated farms were Orangefield and West Orangefield.
The estate was purchased by the Campbells of Fairfield and later in 1943 the building became the main terminal building for Prestwick Airport. An extraordinary alteration was the placing the airport control tower on the roof. The building of a new airport building resulted in the demolition of Orangefield in the 1960s.
Micro-history
The previous name of Fairfield had been 'Overmains' and had been held by three generations of the family of Hamiltons of BothwellhaughJames Hamilton (assassin)
James Hamilton of Bothwellhaugh was a Scottish supporter of Mary, Queen of Scots, who assassinated James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray, Regent of Scotland, in January 1570...
before passing to the Blairs of Adamton House. Overmains itself had been part of the lands of Monkton Castle, later Monkton Hall, and finally Monkton House.