Ballikinrain is an independent residential school in

Stirling Stirling (; sco, Stirlin; gd, Sruighlea ) is a city in central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the royal citadel, the medieval old town with its me ...

, central Scotland. It is run by CrossReach, a social care outreach arm of the

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland. The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Scottish Reformation, Reformation of 1560, when it split from t ...

. The school is housed in the 19th-century Ballikinrain Castle, situated in the Parish of

Killearn Killearn (Scottish Gaelic: ''Cill Fhearann'', from orig. ''Ceann Fhearann'', "Head/End of (the) Land/Territory" – until the 15th century when ''Ceann'' was replaced by ''Cill''; denoting the presence of a house of worship) – is a smal ...

, south-east of

Balfron Balfron ( gd, Both Fron) is a village in the Stirling council area of Scotland. It is situated near Endrick Water on the A875 road, 18 miles (29 km) west of Stirling and 16 miles (26 km) north of Glasgow. Although a rural settlement, it ...

and west of

Fintry Fintry is a small riverside village in Stirlingshire, central Scotland. Landscape The village of Fintry sits on the strath of the Endrick Water in a valley between the Campsie Fells and the Fintry Hills. The name Fintry is said to have derive ...

History

Ballikinrain Castle was built in 1868 for Sir Archibald Orr-Ewing, (1818–1893) a

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

politician. Orr-Ewing was

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

(MP) for

Dunbartonshire Dunbartonshire ( gd, Siorrachd Dhùn Breatann) or the County of Dumbarton is a historic county, lieutenancy area and registration county in the west central Lowlands of Scotland lying to the north of the River Clyde. Dunbartonshire borders P ...

from 1868 to 1892, and was created a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

on 8 March 1886. He commissioned

David Bryce David Bryce FRSE FRIBA RSA (3 April 1803 – 7 May 1876) was a Scottish architect. Life Bryce was born at 5 South College Street in Edinburgh, the son of David Bryce (1763–1816) a grocer with a successful side interest in buildi ...

(1803–1876) to design a new house in the

Scottish Baronial style Scottish baronial or Scots baronial is an architectural style of 19th century Gothic Revival which revived the forms and ornaments of historical architecture of Scotland in the Late Middle Ages and the Early Modern Period. Reminiscent of Scot ...

, for his estate. The location is alongside the Ballinkinrain Burn, which rises to the south, on the Earl's Seat (), and runs for about across Ballikinrain Muir and through the estate, making in its descent a number of cascades, to the

Endrick Water The Endrick Water or River Endrick ( gd, Eunarag) is a river which flows into the eastern end of Loch Lomond, Scotland. Its drainage basin covers a large part of the west of Stirling District. The Burnfoot Burn rising on the southern slopes of the ...

. The castle was burned-out in June 1913, the blaze being attributed to suffragettes, causing £100,000 of damage. A three-year restoration was completed in 1916. In the early 20th century Ballikinrain Castle hosted Glasgow Poor Children's Fresh-Air Fortnight accommodating about 60 poor children. For a short time it was a hotel. Later, on the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, St. Hilda's School for Girls, a boarding school based at Liberton near Edinburgh, took up temporary residence at Ballikinrain Castle. After the war St Hilda's remained at Ballinkinrain, owing to the difficulty of securing a satisfactory renovation of the buildings at Liberton, which had been used by the army. The building is protected as a

category B listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

. Between 1950 and 1965 there was a tourist caravan and camping site, complete with site shop and outside swimming pool, within the grounds. The pool was fed by Campsie spring water. Ballikinrain School was a non-denominational independent school run by Crossreach, a social care agency which is part of the Church of Scotland. The school provided care and education services for young people aged six to 16 years who were experiencing social, emotional and behavioural difficulties. In January 2013, the roll was 33. 23 young people were resident and ten were attending on a daily basis. The young people were placed there by 12 local authorities. The school had a roll of 35 boys in 2009, aged between 8 and 14,including boarders and day pupils. Ballikinrain School closed at the beginning of 2021 following the combined influence of Government policy and an organisational understanding of effective practice. CrossReach Residential Care and Education services are now offered in the form of community children's houses supported by a separate school, Erskine Waterfront Campus
www.crossreach.org.uk/our-locations/erskine-waterfront-campus
Facebook groups have been established for anyone with an association to Ballikinrain or Geilsland residential schools.

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Category B listed buildings in Stirling (council area) Listed castles in Scotland Castles in Stirling (council area) Houses in Stirling (council area) Special schools in Scotland