E N T C O N T S . E G A R R AL L AN H O USE . ANNICK L O D G . G FF A DEE . I EN E . R R G HOUS G . ARD M ILLAN . IR ENTI A AN L D G L E NAPP UC H S, O . E . W HOUS N E . AUC H ANS, A H E N R U I VE . U C C HILLHOUSE . N AU C H E N D R A E . HOLMS R N E L D AUC H E N D A , O . H UN T E R ST O N . AUCHINLECK . KE L B UR N E C AST L E . E IL E AN . BAL L O C H M Y L . K K RR K I L L H O C AN C AST L E . BARG ANY . I ILL. B E AC H HOUSE . K RKH T . N C CA LE B E L L E I SL E K O K S KN O C K D O L I AN T CA LE . BER R ETH . S B L AI R E . HOUS L AI N H W H AN S A . BL AI R QU . L AN FI B I B AN E N E E . R S HOUS ‘ LOUDOUN CASTLE . C AM B USD O O N . M T L N C A E . I T N C APR NG O CASTLE . OU H R S C ASSI L L I S E . W T HOUS N E A CA LE . CE N C . RK S N E WFI L SS O K E D . R D C L O N C AI CASTLE . D C O I L S FI E L . M C O O D H A . W C O R AR . CRAIG IE HOUSE . R AU FUR D L AN D T C CA LE . R E M N S O S O U T . B C IE CA TLE. R O WAL L AN T ROS S CA LE . AN C U L ZE CASTLE . S F SEA IELD . DALJA C SH E WAL T O N RRO K E . D AL U H AR R AN Q M HOUTS EL LIE CA LE . D M F IE E . SK OR S U R S HOUS N CA TLE . P D NL E . SOR S U O HOUS SUN D R UM . SW I N DRI D G E M U I R . EG LINTON CASTLE . E NT E R KI N E T R E E SBAN K HOUSE . W W FAI LIE E . ELL D . R HOUS W OO F ULLARTON HOUSE . OODSIDE . A N N I C K L O D G E . T H E estate at present k nown as Annick Lodge has been formed gradually by the purchase o f r of which seve al contiguous estates , some can be traced back to a very ancient date . The - of old al — mansion house occupies the site the manori dwelling of Pearston hall , the house of the - f Lairds o f Over Pearston in the fifteenth century . The lands o Pearston were acquired by the Blairs o f Ada mton through the marriage o f o ne of that family with the heiress of Sir William of s of Douglas Pearston , and remained in their posses ion till the beginning last century . The name of J ames M o ntgomerie appears as Laird of Over- Pearston in 1 7 1 7 ; and though the lands passed o f 1 0 out the possession of that family for some time , they were again acquired in 79 by Alexander M o nt o m erie so n of M on t o m erie of C oilsfi eld g , second Alexander g , a brother of H ugh , twelfth Earl - of Eglinton , who named the place Annick Lodge . The manor house is described by Pont o f veill , Ada mtoune ; as a proper bulding, planted , the inheritance Blaire Laird of and it is probable that the erection to which he alludes was in the very spot upon which the modern mansion o f stands , as some traces an old foundation were discovered while the present house was under - M n t om ri e a o . o e e r pair a few years g Lieut Colonel William Eglinton g , the second Laird of Annick 1 8 2 1 80 2 . Lodge, succeeded his father in , and died in 5 , leaving five sons and three daughters The so n wa s 1 0th ; - eldest , Alexander , formerly Captain , Regiment whilst the second is Rear Admiral M ont omeri e 8 2 8 M o nt omeri e G B . 1 J ohn Eglinton g , The third son , Roger g , born , was Advocate M P . 1 8 Depute under several Conservative administrations, and was . for N orth Ayrshire from 74 n w s - 1 880 . s o a . until his death in Thomas George , the fourth , who Lieut Colonel of the Royal of 1 8 8 E ngineers , an and Gold Medallist the Royal Geographical Society, died in 7 ; and m 1 8 . Willia , late Lieutenant , Royal Artillery , died in 77 The present proprietrix is he ' Archibald t ’ f - M n t om e rie to o . o widow Lieut Colonel William Eglinton g , who succeeded the estate on his father s 1 8 2 death in 0 . - wa s a n d The mansion house , which erected at the close of last century , is a commodious unpretending structure , architecturally decorated with a porch supported upon elegant Corinthian pillars , and surmounted by a facade bearing sculptured urns at its three angles . The tympanum is S - T he filled in with a heraldic hield and scroll work in high relief. river Annick , which gives its i ts - name to this residence , takes rise in Renfrewshire , flowing south westward by Stewarton , and falls into I rvine Water at a short distance above the town of I rvine . A R DEE R . ’ T Y M O L O G I ST S A r d —d z r have derived the name of Ardeer from the Gaelic y , which “ o f signifies the barren promontory, and so far as the outward appearance the locality is concerned, the descriptive cognomen seems appropriate . The shore for miles around is composed - a n . almost entirely of s nd hills , which alter their co formation with every hurricane The land for a - o ut great distance inland is bare of forest trees, and the stunted shrubs which eke a sickly existence in that quarter intensify the feeling o f desolation which oppresses the visitor in his journey from - a o f the sea coast . The we lth the district , however , lies underground and one of the most valuable i s been ' wrou ht sandstone quarries in Scotland upon the estate of Ardeer . Coal has g in the 1 6 o f neighbourhood since 7 5 , and though the industry the place was only developed some thirty years ago he mining interest has been most remu erative . The recent establishmen of t ’ n t works for the manufacture of Nobels Explosives (dynamite) o n the sand - dunes of Ardeer has f directed special attention to the district . Traces o very early fortifications may be found on the - trap rock mound still called Castlehill , which lies near the main road between Stevenston and - fi re Kilwinning, though it may be doubted whether this post was other than a beacon to signal o n I n the advent of an invading force the Scottish shore . ancient times the estate of Ardeer C u n i n ha m es Auchenh ervi e 1 08 belonged to the g of , but it was purchased from them i n 7 by the f . o Rev Patrick Warner, and remains in the family of his descendants The daughter the first - . W dr w 1 6 1 Warner of Ardeer wa s married to the Rev Robert o o ( 79 7 the eminent historian of h - of s e fi ve . the Church Scotland , and survived her husband for twenty years o f - The mansion Ardeer does not occupy the position of the original manor house , but seems o ld of - so to have been built near the house Ducat hall , the property named having been purchased 8 1 0 . by the Rev . Patrick Warner in 7 , when he became proprietor of Ardeer An avenue and - o f r carriage drive lead to the door a regula ly built dwelling, over the entrance to which a balconied o f porch has been erected , supported on four I onic pillars and pilasters . The style the triangle facade and heavily corniced windows places the date of the structure towards the close of last century . M A R D I LLAN . - o f T H E mansion house Ardmillan is pleasantly situated near the coast , a few miles southwards m f f o . o fro the town Girvan I t consists two portions erected at different dates , the earlier of part following the Scottish Baronial style architecture , with crenellated battlements , turrets , and - of . o f crow step gables , while the later is in the domestic style last century The front elevation is ashlar, relieved by two pilasters surmounted by elegant vases . The close porch , which gives access to the mansion , reproduces the outline of the front of the building in miniature . of who The name of Ardmillan is inseparably associated with that the late J ames Craufurd , c u i ed fo r p an honourable place on the Scottish Bench as Lord Ardmillan over twenty years .