Dalmore House and Estate

Dalmore House

Dalmore (NS4344023291) was a country house and small estate in the Parish of Stair, East Ayrshire, on the River Ayr, East Ayrshire, Scotland

History

The estate and its owners

The old Toll House on the local turnpike; looking towards Stair from Dalmore Lodge.

Interior of the old Doocot.

The small property of Dalmore was originally part of the Barony of Gaitgirth (Gadgirth); Paterson recorded that the family of Scherar held the property in 1615; the Scherars (Shearer) were Burgesses of Ayr. The Earl of Stair held the property in 1696. In 1821 William Heron was the owner, followed by William Dunn in 1863. William was followed by his son James; William dying in 1830 and James in 1849. William Dunn was once the quarry manager and his wife, was Jessie Mckie (died 1913), her father being William McKie (died 1897), described as a quarryman. William McKie had obtained Dalmore House from the Heron's through inheritance.

An unusual joint memorial to the Herons, McKies and Dunns of Dalmore is located in the Stair cemetery close to the church.

Montgomerie of Dalmore

Isabella Montgomerie's 1901 Christmas card.

A page from the Bonshaw Visitor's Book.

William Aiton's map of 1811 showing Dalmore.

The family memorial in Stair cemetery shows that Jessie Helen Viola Dunn (JHVD), daughter of William Dunn, married John Cuninghame Montgomerie of Bruchag, Bute in 1876. Their first daughter, Mary Elizabeth, was born at Dalmore House in the year that the alterations on Dalmore House were completed, 1881. The Montgomerie family had five daughters and a son, John Cuninghame Montgomerie (died, Ayr, 1974). Placed on the Montgomerie grave are unusual oblong stone blocks with the inscriptions JHVD, 1930 (also carved on the memorial base); Maggie, 1965; Minnie (Williamina), 1966; and Isa (Isabella), 1968. A family exhibiting unusual longevity on the whole, with the parents living to 79 and 89; the children living to 41, 82, 81, 89 and 86.

John Cuninghame Montgomerie was born at Bruchag on Bute; in the 1870s a Robert Montgomerie, who had occupied Bruchag farm left for Hall of Caldwell, Renfrewshire and later Lessnessock, Ochiltree.

Robertson points out that the various branches of the 'Cunninghame' family spell their name differently, with Cunninghame for Glencairn and Corsehill; Cuninghame for Caddel and Monkredding; Cunningham for Baidland and Clonbeith; and Cuningham for Glengarnock.

Isabella Macalister Montgomerie may have received her MBE for services to nursing during WW1; she suffered stress from her experiences for the rest of her life. She was named after her fraternal aunt, Isabella Montgomerie of Lessnessock. The breed of Ayrshires, especially bulls from Lessnessock, had a world-wide reputation.

Dalmore House

The architect David Bryce is recorded as having worked on Dalmore House prior to 1868 and this may be an earlier house to which alterations and extensions were made in the 1880s. Dalmore House was completed in 1880-81 by the architects John and Robert Ingram for the Heron family. As shown by the illustration the house was an eccentric collection of styles, including Gothic, Tudor, French and Elizabethan styles. The owners clearly had problems with the chimneys and smoke as can be seen from the highly unusual presence of metal pipe vents.

In 1916 a machinery shed and water supply were added.

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  The old entrance way to Dalmore House.
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  The old entrance lodge house.
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  The ruins.
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  Armorial panel with a fist grasping a hone stone.
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  Servant's quarters.
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  Store house, Dalmore Mains.
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  Memorial to the Heron, McKie and Dunn of Dalmore.
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  Montgomerie family of Dalmore House memorial.

Dalmore House became unihabitable in the early 1960's, recognised as such after John Montgomerie moved into the property with his new and much younger wife, his ex-his secretary. The house was found to be riddled with dry rot and was condemned; John and his wife moved out and went to live in Sandfield Road, Ayr. John Montgomerie died in Ayr in 1974; as recorded on the family memorial in Stair cemetery.

After the fire in April 1969 the stone walls of the house, the abandoned and ruinous entrance lodge and the still occupied stable cottages remain. The property is still owned by the Montgomerie family who are now based in Coylton.

On Blaeu's 1654 map the site is named 'Dalmoir'. The name Dalmore may come from the Gaelic 'dail mòr', meaning 'big field'.

Local industry

Old Stair to Ayr turnpike milestone at Dalmore.

The Wilson's of Laigh Dalmore gravestone.

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A plumbago or graphite mine was located at Laigh Dalmore and worked between 1808–1815, milling being carried out at Dalmore Mill. The mill was then extended and used for carding wool. By 1841, however, it was used only for the dressing of whetstone.

The No 11 coal pit was near Dalmore Farm; Willie McIlwraith, a farmer there in later years, had a narrow escape when the shaft pit collapsed whilst he was ploughing over it. A Mowlum steam engine was used to sink the shaft in 1877 and this was later used at the Hone pit.

A quarry for whetstone existed on the estate as early as 1789, producing whetstones known as 'Water-of-Ayr' stone and 'Tam o' Shanter' stone depending on the geological characteristics; The Hone Works itself was situated west of the Stair Bridge. In 1789 Mr Smith of Mauchline held the lease to one of the quarries; possibly the one situated near Stair Wood, beside the Glenstang Burn, as marked on the OS map. This Mr Smith is known for his families involvement in 'Mauchline ware'.

Three buildings made up the Dalmore Mill complex, one of which is two-storeys high and partly unroofed due to vandalism in 2003. The works finally closed circa 1990, although some stone was still being worked in 2000. A suspension footbridge, dating from 1902, crosses the river to Milton Mill which was part of the complex. The lade is still visible as a shallow ditch running from the river to the mill, a sluice originally controlling the water flow. A sizeable and unusual sculpture of a sheaf of corn with the name 'W Heron, 1821' is located on the mill wall, part of which was rebuilt after a German plane jettisoned incendiary bombs onto it in 1942.

Dalmore holm and foundations of a structure beneath the mature trees.

The old doocot.

The mill at Milton had originally been a woollen mill, opened on New Year's day 1830 by Mr. Heron of Dalmore House and working until 1908. William (1795 – 1847) and Andrew (1797 – 1869) Smith were sons of William Smith, a mason in Mauchline. In the 1820’s it is recorded that the brothers were running a Hone stone factory at Milton Mill and it is thought that the Smith brothers diversified as Box Makers and established the famous Mauchline Ware manufacture in the village of Mauchline because they wished to have their own source of cases for their 'Water of Ayr Stones'.

In 1857 Dalmore Mill was described as 'A hone mill worked by water-10 horse power-two storeys high, slated and in good repair'. In later years Dalmore Mill housed the offices and stores. The stone from the aforementioned Dalmore Quarry was dressed and polished at the mill which was the property of William Dun Esq. of Dalmore House at that time.

A saw mill was present on the Dalmore Estate. The 1902 OS map shows a narrow gauge mineral railway running from Laigh Dalmore quarry to Dalmore Mill; a number of the old rails are stacked (2010) in the old quarry. The Victorian photograph of Enterkine shows the track in situ, although railway sleepers aren't visible. Sidings may have been present.

The old Ayr to Stair turnpike runs past the entrance to Dalmore House and the milestone is still located on the roadside verge near the entrance to Dalmore. The old toll house still stands beside the road down to Stair.

The Tam o' Shanter Hone works

The works had been owned by the Heron family and their successors of Dalmore House. The house was directly connected to Dalmore Mill by a lane. A pedestrian suspension bridge over the River Ayr linked the two mills together. Grindstones and other items were taken up to Dalmore's gardens as ornamental features.

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  Dalmore Mill.
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  Milton Mill.
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  Sluice for Milton Mill.
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  Wheat sheaf and inscription.
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  Dalmore Mill suspension bridge.
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  Suspension bridge makers plate.
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  The Laigh Dalmore whetstone quarry.
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  Laigh Dalmore Quarry and mine pithead gear.
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  Quarry and embankment with old rails.
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  Petter hot-bulb engine at the quarry.
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  Old waggons from the narrow gauge railway.
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  Interior of a Dalmore Mill outbuilding.

Micro-history

Probably the workforce of Dalmore Mill in the late 19th century.

A hone stone in a wooden case with lid.

Gravestones to members of the Shearer (Scherar) family from the 20th century are present in Stair cemetery.

In 1883 Mrs Dunn of Dalmore presented Stair Church with two brass pulpit lamps which are still in perfect condition; later Mr Montgomerie gave two silver salvers to the church.

A number of groups of grind stones and unfinished hone stones were used as garden features around the old house. Old milestones were used to help protect the bridge piers fron the scouring action of the river and these can still be seen at times of low water.

David Wyper is on the 'Stair Role of Honour', having worked at the hone mill until he was old enough to joy the army in 1917. David was killed in 1918 at the battle of Flanders Field.

The site of the old tennis courts.

Winter Aconite at Dalmore.

The hamlet of Stair lies next to the River Ayr and consists of the Stair Inn, old converted mills, Stair Church, and Stair House.

Stair House, a late 16th / 17th century house lying beyond the church, was the birthplace of John Dalrymple, 1st Earl of Stair. A category A listed building, it is still in use as a private dwelling.

The name Stair, previously written 'Stahar' or 'Stayhar', may come from the Gaelic 'Stair', meaning stepping-stones or a path over a bog.

In the 18th century, William Cunninghame of Enterkine held a Fête champêtre below the house on the holm pictured in the view from the Dalmore House tower. Robert Burns recorded the event in one of his songs; William was apparently trying to impress the local landowners to increase his chances of being elected as MP for Ayrshire.

Views of Dalmore and the Ayr Valley

The views of the River Ayr Valley were taken from the tower of Dalmore House.

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  Enterkineholm Farm in the foreground and Enterkine House in the distance. Sawmill in the middle ground.
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  Stair House and village, with Dalmore Mill in the foreground.
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  Dalmore House in the 19th century from the doocot.
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  The driveway.
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  Dalmore House drive and a Montgomerie family portrait.
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  The Montgomerie family at Dalmore's front door.
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  The same view in 2010.
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  Members of the Montgomerie family under a flowering Laburnum tree within the Dalmore House gardens.
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  A part of the Dalmore Gardens.
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  Monogram and Dalmore.
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  An old door lock.
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  An old composite grindstone from the flour mill with unfinished hone stones.

References

Sources

• Barber, Derek (2002). Steps through Stair. A History of Stair & Trabboch. Stair Church.
• Johnston, J. B. (1903). Place-names of Scotland. Edinburgh : David Douglas.
• Love, Dane (2003). Ayrshire : Discovering a County. Ayr : Fort Publishing. ISBN 0-9544461-1-9.
• Love, Dane (2005). Lost Ayrshire : Ayrshire's Lost Architectural Heritage. Edinburgh : Birlinn Ltd. ISBN 1-84158-3561-1.
• Paterson, James (1863–66). History of the Counties of Ayr and Wigton. V. - III - Cunninghame. Edinburgh: J. Stillie. V. II, Kyle, Part II.
• Robertson, William (1908). Ayrshire. Its History and Historic Families. Vols. 1 & 2. Pub. Ayr.
• Shaw, James Edward (1953). Ayrshire 1745-1950. A Social and Industrial History of the County. Edinburgh : Oliver & Boyd.

External links

• Wikimapia. Accessed : 2010-03-26
• The Works of David Bryce. Accessed : 2010-02-07