The Lands of Ashgrove
Encyclopedia
The Lands of Ashgrove, previously known as Ashenyards formed a small estate in the Parish of Kilwinning
, North Ayrshire
lying between Kilwinning and Stevenston
. The Georgian mansion house was demolished in 1960, the substantial walled garden survives.
The Lands of Ashgrove, previously known as Ashenyards formed a small estate in the Parish of Kilwinning
, North Ayrshire
lying between Kilwinning and Stevenston
. The Georgian mansion house was demolished in 1960,Love, Page 53 the substantial walled garden survives.
The Lands of Ashgrove, previously known as Ashenyards formed a small estate in the Parish of Kilwinning
, North Ayrshire
lying between Kilwinning and Stevenston
. The Georgian mansion house was demolished in 1960,Love, Page 53 the substantial walled garden survives.
An unusually large walled garden survives and OS maps show that it was once an orchard and contained formal paths, a centrally placed sundial and a greenhouse area. The main entrance had 'white gates' as recorded by locals who took walks along the lane to Whitehirst.Irvine Herald Retrieved : 2011-03-25
Pont records the owner as Alexander Cuninghame and the estate's name as 'Asshin-Zairds'; he comments that the name derives from 'Esch' an ash tree and 'yaird' a measure of an area of land. This branch of the Cuninghame family were derived from the Cuninghames of Craigends who were in turn a cadet branch of the Earls of Glencairn. Andrew Martin of Clochridge (Lochridge near Beith) in 1712 acquired the property from William Cuninghame, his father in law. John Bowman (see below) purchased Ashinyards when Andrew Martin's son was in his minority; he was himself related in the maternal line to the Cuninghames.
Paterson states that the Cuninghame family continuously held Ashinyards from circa 1570 until an eldest daughter, Elizabeth Cuninghame, married John Bowman Esq in 1695; who did however, as stated, purchase the estate. John Bowman was a Glasgow merchant, and chief magistrate in 1715. Their son, John Bowman, became Lord Provost of Glasgow and married a Miss Houghton of Dublin in 1734, the couple had two sons and two daughters. When he died in 1796 he left the estate and other properties in the parish to Anne, his eldest daughter, because his eldest son John married and settled in North America, whilst his second son Houghton married a Miss Vere and moved to Dominica
. John Bowman changed the name from Ashinyards to Ashgrove.
Anne Bowman married Miller Hill Hunt, a captain in the 6th Regiment of Foot who had fought and been wounded at the Battle of Culloden
. Captain Hunt died in 1783 and his wife died in 1811. They had three daughters, Maria, Margaret Anne and Elizabeth Ballantyne. Margaret inherited in 1811 as the only surviving heir and changed her name to Bowman, her maternal grandfathers surname, and took his coat of arms. Elizabeth had married Roger Rollo, brother of Lord Rollo
, a Collector of Customs in Ayr and had four sons and two daughters. The coat of arms are a classic armorial rebus
or pun on the 'Bowman' name with two strung bows and a quiver of arrows. Records show that family members joined the Ancient Society of Kilwinning Archers
.
Anne, or Lady Bowman as she was known locally, was succeeded by Andrew FitzJames Cuninghame Rollo-Bowman-Ballantyne of Ashgrove and Castlehill, born, 1835, who was the son of Elizabeth and Roger Rollo, her sister and brother in law. Andrew married Anne Harriet Curzon Chalmers in 1864 and the couple had offspring.Burke's Peerage Retrieved : 2011-03-25 The Ballantine family still held the property in the 1930s.
The loch is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) since 1975 and many interesting plant species, including Greater Bladderwart, Lesser Pond Sedge, Tufted Loosestrife, and the nationally rare Cowbane have been recorded. Breeding birds include Snipe, Water Rail, Grasshopper Warbler, and Reed Bunting. The countryside around Ashgrove Loch is amongst the richest in the area; the fields attract flocks of Chaffinch, Reed Bunting, Yellowhammer, and Tree Sparrow.Stevenston Conservation Retrieved : 2011-03-25
in Ashgrove Loch, one of which is said to be unique in that it was mainly of a stone rather than the more usual timber construction. A considerable number of relics were found, such as chisels, wooden spoons, shears, bone implements, etc.
.
James Cunninghame of Ashinyards was a Covenanter and was jailed for 9 months for his refusal to conform.Records of Parliament Retrieved : 2011-03-25
John Bowman Esg of Ashgrove purchased the estate of Montgreenan in 1778, however he later sold the property to Robert Glasgow Esq of Glasgow in 1794.
The 1851 census records that Margaret Ann Bowman Margaret, aged 78 was the landed proprietrix, farming about 130 acres. Alexander Currie was an agricultural labourer at Ashgrove, together with a dairymaid Margaret Macallum and a housemaid, Janet Baillie 1851 census Retrieved : 2011-03-25
A film of Ashgrove in the 1930s exists with a DeHavilland DH-60 Moth airoplane G-EBUX on display. At the time the property was still owned by the Ballantine family.Scran Site Retrieved : 2011-03-25
The house stood derelict for many years prior to its demolition.
The estate fields were largely planted with turnips and potatoes in the 1940s.
Kilwinning
Kilwinning is a historic town in North Ayrshire, Scotland. It is known as The Crossroads of Ayrshire. The 2001 Census recorded it as having a population of 15,908.-History:...
, North Ayrshire
North Ayrshire
North Ayrshire is one of 32 council areas in Scotland with a population of roughly 136,000 people. It is located in the south-west region of Scotland, and borders the areas of Inverclyde to the north, Renfrewshire to the north-east and East Ayrshire and South Ayrshire to the East and South...
lying between Kilwinning and Stevenston
Stevenston
Stevenston is a town in North Ayrshire, Scotland. It is one of the 'Three Towns' along with Ardrossan and Saltcoats.-History:The town is named after Stephan Loccard or Lockhart, whose father obtained a grant of land from Richard de Morville, Lord Cunninghame and Constable of Scotland, around 1170....
. The Georgian mansion house was demolished in 1960, the substantial walled garden survives.
The Mansion house and walled garden
Ashgrove House was originally built as a suit of offices, however it was adapted as a large and comfortable dwelling. Ashenyards or Ashinyards is recorded as a farmstead lying to the East and overlooking Ashgrove Loch. Nothing now remains of this dwelling, however the ruins are evident on the 18th century OS maps. The name 'Short Ride Plantation' is given for the one area near the lane to Whitehirst.The Lands of Ashgrove, previously known as Ashenyards formed a small estate in the Parish of Kilwinning
Kilwinning
Kilwinning is a historic town in North Ayrshire, Scotland. It is known as The Crossroads of Ayrshire. The 2001 Census recorded it as having a population of 15,908.-History:...
, North Ayrshire
North Ayrshire
North Ayrshire is one of 32 council areas in Scotland with a population of roughly 136,000 people. It is located in the south-west region of Scotland, and borders the areas of Inverclyde to the north, Renfrewshire to the north-east and East Ayrshire and South Ayrshire to the East and South...
lying between Kilwinning and Stevenston
Stevenston
Stevenston is a town in North Ayrshire, Scotland. It is one of the 'Three Towns' along with Ardrossan and Saltcoats.-History:The town is named after Stephan Loccard or Lockhart, whose father obtained a grant of land from Richard de Morville, Lord Cunninghame and Constable of Scotland, around 1170....
. The Georgian mansion house was demolished in 1960,Love, Page 53 the substantial walled garden survives.
The Mansion house and walled garden
Ashgrove House was originally built as a suit of offices, however it was adapted as a large and comfortable dwelling. Ashenyards or Ashinyards is recorded as a farmstead lying to the East and overlooking Ashgrove Loch. Nothing now remains of this dwelling, however the ruins are evident on the 18th century OS maps. The name 'Short Ride Plantation' is given for the one area near the lane to Whitehirst.The Lands of Ashgrove, previously known as Ashenyards formed a small estate in the Parish of Kilwinning
Kilwinning
Kilwinning is a historic town in North Ayrshire, Scotland. It is known as The Crossroads of Ayrshire. The 2001 Census recorded it as having a population of 15,908.-History:...
, North Ayrshire
North Ayrshire
North Ayrshire is one of 32 council areas in Scotland with a population of roughly 136,000 people. It is located in the south-west region of Scotland, and borders the areas of Inverclyde to the north, Renfrewshire to the north-east and East Ayrshire and South Ayrshire to the East and South...
lying between Kilwinning and Stevenston
Stevenston
Stevenston is a town in North Ayrshire, Scotland. It is one of the 'Three Towns' along with Ardrossan and Saltcoats.-History:The town is named after Stephan Loccard or Lockhart, whose father obtained a grant of land from Richard de Morville, Lord Cunninghame and Constable of Scotland, around 1170....
. The Georgian mansion house was demolished in 1960,Love, Page 53 the substantial walled garden survives.
The Mansion house and walled garden
Ashgrove House was originally built as a suit of offices, however it was adapted as a large and comfortable dwelling. Ashenyards or Ashinyards is recorded as a farmstead lying to the East and overlooking Ashgrove Loch. Nothing now remains of this dwelling, however the ruins are evident on the 18th century OS maps. The name 'Short Ride Plantation' is given for the one area near the lane to Whitehirst.RCAHMS Retrieved : 2011-03-25 It is not clear whether Ashgrove was built on a new site or replaced the older laird's dwelling; in 1775 both placenames are recorded on Armstrong's map.Armstrong's Map Retrieved : 2011-03-25An unusually large walled garden survives and OS maps show that it was once an orchard and contained formal paths, a centrally placed sundial and a greenhouse area. The main entrance had 'white gates' as recorded by locals who took walks along the lane to Whitehirst.Irvine Herald Retrieved : 2011-03-25
The estate
The lands of Ashinyards, including the wood, comprised between three and four hundred acres of good land. The extent of the woodland policies was a notable feature. One area of woodland is known as the 'Short Ride Plantation' and a former area was known as the 'Long Ride Plantation'. Quhytehirst or Whitehirst, Nether Mains and Auchenkist were at one time part of the estate lands. A wooded belvedere known as the Ashgrove Mount survives to the north of the walled garden. A small wooded roundel was located beyond the Ashenyards farmstead at the intersection of hedgerows.The Lairds of Ashgrove
The various sources differ in some details. Robertson gives John Russel as the first recorded owner, selling the lands in 1567 to James Cunninghame of Eisenyards, the first of that designation. James married Margaret Fleming of Barrochan and was succeeded by Alexander, his eldest son. James, brother to Alexander, inherited Eissenyards in 1627. William Cunninghame of Ashinyards and Whitehurst is next recorded in 1664 and inherited from his father James in 1671. He married Margaret Wilkie and in 1706 their only surviving heir married Andrew Martin of Lochridge near Beith. A son, Arthur Martin, married Isabel Aitchison and moved to the West Indies where he died and his daughters Margaret and Magdalene as co-heiresses, sold the estate to John Bowman in 1766.Pont records the owner as Alexander Cuninghame and the estate's name as 'Asshin-Zairds'; he comments that the name derives from 'Esch' an ash tree and 'yaird' a measure of an area of land. This branch of the Cuninghame family were derived from the Cuninghames of Craigends who were in turn a cadet branch of the Earls of Glencairn. Andrew Martin of Clochridge (Lochridge near Beith) in 1712 acquired the property from William Cuninghame, his father in law. John Bowman (see below) purchased Ashinyards when Andrew Martin's son was in his minority; he was himself related in the maternal line to the Cuninghames.
Paterson states that the Cuninghame family continuously held Ashinyards from circa 1570 until an eldest daughter, Elizabeth Cuninghame, married John Bowman Esq in 1695; who did however, as stated, purchase the estate. John Bowman was a Glasgow merchant, and chief magistrate in 1715. Their son, John Bowman, became Lord Provost of Glasgow and married a Miss Houghton of Dublin in 1734, the couple had two sons and two daughters. When he died in 1796 he left the estate and other properties in the parish to Anne, his eldest daughter, because his eldest son John married and settled in North America, whilst his second son Houghton married a Miss Vere and moved to Dominica
Dominica
Dominica , officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island nation in the Lesser Antilles region of the Caribbean Sea, south-southeast of Guadeloupe and northwest of Martinique. Its size is and the highest point in the country is Morne Diablotins, which has an elevation of . The Commonwealth...
. John Bowman changed the name from Ashinyards to Ashgrove.
Anne Bowman married Miller Hill Hunt, a captain in the 6th Regiment of Foot who had fought and been wounded at the Battle of Culloden
Battle of Culloden
The Battle of Culloden was the final confrontation of the 1745 Jacobite Rising. Taking place on 16 April 1746, the battle pitted the Jacobite forces of Charles Edward Stuart against an army commanded by William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, loyal to the British government...
. Captain Hunt died in 1783 and his wife died in 1811. They had three daughters, Maria, Margaret Anne and Elizabeth Ballantyne. Margaret inherited in 1811 as the only surviving heir and changed her name to Bowman, her maternal grandfathers surname, and took his coat of arms. Elizabeth had married Roger Rollo, brother of Lord Rollo
Lord Rollo
Lord Rollo, of Duncrub in the County of Perth, is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1651 for Sir Andrew Rollo. His great-great-grandson, the fifth Lord, was a Brigadier-General in the Army and fought in North America during the Seven Years' War. He died without surviving male...
, a Collector of Customs in Ayr and had four sons and two daughters. The coat of arms are a classic armorial rebus
Rebus
A rebus is an allusional device that uses pictures to represent words or parts of words. It was a favourite form of heraldic expression used in the Middle Ages to denote surnames, for example in its basic form 3 salmon fish to denote the name "Salmon"...
or pun on the 'Bowman' name with two strung bows and a quiver of arrows. Records show that family members joined the Ancient Society of Kilwinning Archers
Kilwinning
Kilwinning is a historic town in North Ayrshire, Scotland. It is known as The Crossroads of Ayrshire. The 2001 Census recorded it as having a population of 15,908.-History:...
.
Anne, or Lady Bowman as she was known locally, was succeeded by Andrew FitzJames Cuninghame Rollo-Bowman-Ballantyne of Ashgrove and Castlehill, born, 1835, who was the son of Elizabeth and Roger Rollo, her sister and brother in law. Andrew married Anne Harriet Curzon Chalmers in 1864 and the couple had offspring.Burke's Peerage Retrieved : 2011-03-25 The Ballantine family still held the property in the 1930s.
Ashgrove Loch and natural history
Ashgrove Loch, Lochwood Loch, or Stevenston Loch lies to the west of Ashgrove and is recorded as the only mineral enriched mesotrophic loch in North Ayrshire. The area has been extensively drained by means of a deep ditch or 'cunnel' and only 10% of the surviving loch is open water; a floating raft of vegetation covers the remainder.The loch is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) since 1975 and many interesting plant species, including Greater Bladderwart, Lesser Pond Sedge, Tufted Loosestrife, and the nationally rare Cowbane have been recorded. Breeding birds include Snipe, Water Rail, Grasshopper Warbler, and Reed Bunting. The countryside around Ashgrove Loch is amongst the richest in the area; the fields attract flocks of Chaffinch, Reed Bunting, Yellowhammer, and Tree Sparrow.Stevenston Conservation Retrieved : 2011-03-25
Crannogs
John Smith recorded up to six crannogsCrannog
A crannog is typically a partially or entirely artificial island, usually built in lakes, rivers and estuarine waters of Scotland and Ireland. Crannogs were used as dwellings over five millennia from the European Neolithic Period, to as late as the 17th/early 18th century although in Scotland,...
in Ashgrove Loch, one of which is said to be unique in that it was mainly of a stone rather than the more usual timber construction. A considerable number of relics were found, such as chisels, wooden spoons, shears, bone implements, etc.
Micro-history
In 1673 James Cunninghame was appointed as then tutor to Sir William Cunninghame of CunninghamheadCunninghamhead Estate
The Cunninghamhead Estate is in the 21st century mainly a residential caravan park with two private residences near Irvine, Scotland. It was once a private estate, owned by a sequence of recorded families since around 1418. The Mansion House, one of Britain's lost houses, was built in 1747; it was...
.
James Cunninghame of Ashinyards was a Covenanter and was jailed for 9 months for his refusal to conform.Records of Parliament Retrieved : 2011-03-25
John Bowman Esg of Ashgrove purchased the estate of Montgreenan in 1778, however he later sold the property to Robert Glasgow Esq of Glasgow in 1794.
The 1851 census records that Margaret Ann Bowman Margaret, aged 78 was the landed proprietrix, farming about 130 acres. Alexander Currie was an agricultural labourer at Ashgrove, together with a dairymaid Margaret Macallum and a housemaid, Janet Baillie 1851 census Retrieved : 2011-03-25
A film of Ashgrove in the 1930s exists with a DeHavilland DH-60 Moth airoplane G-EBUX on display. At the time the property was still owned by the Ballantine family.Scran Site Retrieved : 2011-03-25
The house stood derelict for many years prior to its demolition.
The estate fields were largely planted with turnips and potatoes in the 1940s.