Fergushill: Difference between revisions
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Fergushill House stands near the Lugton Water, close to South Fergushill Farm and the present day Fergushill cottage. |
Fergushill House stands near the Lugton Water, close to South Fergushill Farm and the present day Fergushill cottage. |
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== Fergushill church == |
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[[Image:Fergushillbenslie.JPG|right|thumb|160px|<center>Fergushill church at Benslie.]] |
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Fergushill church in Benslie was built to serve Fergushill, Doura and Benslie. It was consecrated on Sunday, [[3 November]] [[1879]] and the first minister was then Rev. William McAlpine.<ref name="Ker">Ker, Rev. William Lee (1900) ''Kilwinnning''. Pub. A.W.Cross, Kilwinning. P. 153.</ref> |
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Fergushill church in Benslie was built to serve the local rural and mining communities of Doura, Fergushill, and Montgreenan .<ref name="Fergushill">[http://guide.visitscotland.com/vs/guide/5,en,SCH1/objectId,INF51999Svs,curr,GBP,season,at1,selectedEntry,home/home.html Fergushill Church]</Ref> It was consecrated on Sunday, [[3 November]] [[1879]] and the first minister was then Rev. William McAlpine.<ref name="Ker">Ker, Rev. William Lee (1900) ''Kilwinnning''. Pub. A.W.Cross, Kilwinning. P. 153.</ref> It got its name from the Fergushill Mission which was based at Fergushill school.<ref name="Ker151">Ker, Rev. William Lee (1900) ''Kilwinnning''. Pub. A.W.Cross, Kilwinning. P. 151.</ref> |
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== The rural community == |
== The rural community == |
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Revision as of 19:15, 26 January 2008
Fergushill is a small community in North Ayrshire, Parish of Kilwinning, Scotland. The Barony of Fergushill was held by the Fergushill family of that Ilk and the area has a complex history.
History
A number of properties in the surrounding area have the appellation Fergushill, such as at Knockentiber; North & South Fergushills near Eglinton, also Hill and Hall of Fergushill at Auchentiber. Robert Fergushill of Fergushill had a crown charter in 1633 of the lands of Middle Auchentiber.
The area is named after the family of this name, Fergushill of that Ilk. Robert de Fergushill de Eodem had an extensive estate here in 1417. Robert Fergushill died in the late 17th-century and was the last of the family to be local lairds.
Alexander Craufurd of Fergushill inherited the property from his father and it next passed by inheritance to the Kincaid family who alienated the lands to Neil Macvicar and his wife Elizabeth Montgomerie in 1728. The Macvicars retained the lands until 1802 when they were acquired by Robert Glasgow of Montgreenan.[1].
Fergushill as a surname is a sept of the Clan Fergusson.
Fergushill House stands near the Lugton Water, close to South Fergushill Farm and the present day Fergushill cottage.
Fergushill church
Fergushill church in Benslie was built to serve the local rural and mining communities of Doura, Fergushill, and Montgreenan .[2] It was consecrated on Sunday, 3 November 1879 and the first minister was then Rev. William McAlpine.[3] It got its name from the Fergushill Mission which was based at Fergushill school.[4]
The rural community
Fergushill Cottage faced the Lugton Water just below the point at which the Fergushill Burn joins the river. Nothing much remains, however a Mrs. Miller once lived here and she recollected collecting water from the well which still exists as a circular low brick wall near to the site. A weir still exists on the Lugton Water near here and this was the site of a drowning in the 1990s.
Saugh Trees cottage sits close to the old waggonway bridge and a cottage by the unusual name of Redboiler used to sit road junction up to Seven Acres.
The school
Fergushill school house still exists, however the school, which sat on the road up to Broomhill and North Fergushill farms has been demolished.
The Industrial past
Fergushill miners' village, was owned by Messrs. Finnie & Son. It was composed of 7 rows of cottages. There were ten thatched cottages. In 1913 63 persons lived here. One room, measuring 9 feet by 6 feet, held thirteen persons. The rows had names like Wellington and Burn. At one time there were 78 houses in the village, with a population of 363.[5]
A horse drawn tramway, opened in 1834, which ran up to Fergushill and Doura, ending at the coal pit.[6] The old wagonway bridge across the Lugton Water still stands.
Fergushill Tile Works existed in 1858, but is not shown on the 1897 OS map. A number of freight lines have run through the village, connecting the main line near Montgreenan with the Doura branch.
Fergushill gallery
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The 19th-century waggonway bridge (foreground) over the Lugton Water near Fergushill farm. -
The Fergushill Burn where it joins the Lugton Water. -
The old well in the woods near Fergushill cottage. -
The ruins of Fergushill Cottage. -
The ruins of Fergushill Cottage and gardens remnants.
References
- ^ Paterson, James (1899) History of the County of Ayr with a Genealogical account of the families of Ayrshire. Vol. 2. Pub. Thomas George Stevenson, Edinburgh. P. 504.
- ^ Fergushill Church
- ^ Ker, Rev. William Lee (1900) Kilwinnning. Pub. A.W.Cross, Kilwinning. P. 153.
- ^ Ker, Rev. William Lee (1900) Kilwinnning. Pub. A.W.Cross, Kilwinning. P. 151.
- ^ Fergushill Miner's Rows
- ^ The Eglinton Archive. Eglinton Country Park.