The Castle of Clonbeith is in the old feudal Baillerie of

Cunninghame Cunninghame ( gd, Coineagan) is a former comital district of Scotland and also a district of the Strathclyde Region from 1975 to 1996. Historic Cunninghame The origin of the name (along with the surname ''Cunningham'') is uncertain. The endin ...

, near

Auchentiber The hamlet of Auchentiber (Scottish Gaelic, ''Achadh an Tiobair'') is in North Ayrshire, Parish of Kilwinning, Scotland. Auchentiber is northeast of Kilwinning on the Lochlibo Road, from the hamlet of Burnhouse and from the village of Barrmil ...

, on a sideroad off the B778, in what is now

North Ayrshire North Ayrshire ( gd, Siorrachd Àir a Tuath, ) is one of 32 council areas in Scotland. The council area borders Inverclyde to the north, Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire to the northeast, and East Ayrshire and South Ayrshire to the east and so ...

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Structure

It was a simple oblong mansion, about with walls thick. The ground floor was vaulted and the entrance was central, leading into a passage with a straight staircase branching off to the right up to the first floor hall. A wheel-stair in a square chamber led to the upper floors. The hall was lit by windows in three of the walls and had a large fireplace on one side, and a circular bow window on the opposite side, boldly projected on a series of corbels (see photograph). The

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style door bears the date 1607.MacGibbon, David & Ross, Thomas (1887 - 1892). ''The Castellated and Domestic Architecture of Scotland from the 12th to the 18th century.'' Vol. III. Reprint 1990. Pub. James Thin, Edinburgh. . P. 374 - 375. The name "Clonbeith" is said to be derived from the Celtic words "Cluan" (grazing land) and "Beithe" (birch).

Lairds of Clonbeith

Given as "Klonbyith" by Pont in the 1690s it was then the property of William Cunningham,

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of this cadet branch of the Glencairn Cuninghames through those of Aiket Castle. He was married to Agnes who died in 1612. Cunninghame of Clonbeith coat of arms

In 1691 the Hearth Tax records show that "Clonbeith House" had five hearths and nineteen other dwellings were associated with the house. Alexander Cuningham (sic) is said to have assaulted a professor in the College gardens at Glasgow and was forced to make an open acknowledgment of his faults in front of an assembly of his friends. Together with around thirty other participants, it was John Cuningham shot and killed, the coup de gras, Hugh, the fourth Earl of Eglinton in 1586 and was caught hiding in a chimney at

Hamilton Palace Hamilton Palace was a country house in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Scotland. The former seat of the Dukes of Hamilton, it dated from the 14th century and was subsequently much enlarged in the 17th and 19th centuries.Ker, Rev. William Lee (1900) ''Kilwinnning''. Pub. A.W.Cross, Kilwinning. P. 161. in

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

, possibly at Hamilton palace. James Cunningham of Clonbeith and Darnmuyle (1581) was the father of John Cunningham of

Corsehill The old Barony and castle of Corsehill lay within the feudal Baillerie of Cunninghame, near Stewarton, now East Ayrshire, Scotland. The Lairds of Corsehill Godfrey de Ross was an early holder of the castle and lands of Corsehill, moving his ...

. Robertson points out that the various branches of the family spell their name differently; as Cunningham for Baidland and Clonbeith, Cunninghame for Glencairn and

, Cuninghame for Caddel and Monkredding, and finally Cuningham for Glengarnock.McNaught, Duncan (1912). ''Kilmaurs Parish and Burgh.'' Pub. A.Gardner. The Cunninghams of Clonbeith are usually referred to as being of "Clonbeith and Darnmyule", with Darmule being nearer Kilwinning. Daniel Cunningham, whose wife was Mary Wallace, with the consent of his son William, sold the property to James Scott, Provost of Irvine in 1633. Paterson, James (1863-66). ''History of the Counties of Ayr and Wigton''. V. - III - Cunninghame. J. Stillie. Edinburgh. p. 253. In 1691 Walter, brother of James, sold the lands to Patrick Warner, Minister of Irvine. William Cunninghams wife was Jean; in 1717 a reference is made to a George Cunningham of Clonbeith. In 1698 the Monkredding estate was sold to Hugh Cuninghame of Clonbeith, Writer to the Signet, and became the family seat.Paterson, James (1863-66). ''History of the Counties of Ayr and Wigton''. V. - II - Cunninghame. J. Stillie. Edinburgh. p. 515.

Stories

Lady of Clonbeith

The "Leddy o'Clumbeith" is a ghost story told by Dr. DuguidService, John (Editor) (1887). ''The Life & Recollections of Doctor Duguid of Kilwinning.'' Pub. Young J. Pentland. P. 81 - 83. in the 1820s. A servant girl from the farm of Clonbeith was making her way to the Blair Tavern to keep a tryst when she fell into a mine shaft, horse and all, and was killed. Others say that her "lad" killed her and then jumped into the shaft after her. Her ghost is said to haunt the fields around Auchentiber.

Lady in the Peat

Dr. Duguid in around the 1840s records that near Clumbeith (Clonbeith) on the way to "Meg'swa's" he met Pate Glunch cutting peats. Pate was normally a still, dour man, but on this occasion he was highly animated and took the doctor to see the long dead corpse of a "bonnie lady" lying in a hole in the peat. She was around 18 to 20 years of age, had rosy cheeks, a sweet smile playing around her lips and blonde hair. Her identity was unknown, but a rumour linked her to the family of Montgreenan.

History

In around 1691 the Rev Patrick Warner, having purchased Clonbeith and likewise purchased Scott's lands in Irvine, went on to drain much of the "Loch of Irving" or Trindlemoss, later called Scott's Loch, after returning from exile in Holland. The Cowlinn Burn runs down to join the Lugton Water at the site of Montgreenan castle or the Bishop's Palace. A dwelling called Cowlinn is marked on the Thomson's 1820 map and a Clonbeith Mill was nearby. A limestone pit and workers row existed near the castle in the 19th century, providing a constant supply for the local limekilns.''Ayrshire Notes'' (2003), Ayrshire Arch Nat Hist Soc. ISSN 1474-3531. Vol. 24, P. 4. A finely-shaped round and oval stone implement was found at Clonbeith or Clonkeith by Mr. Baird Kirkland in the 19th century.Smith, John (1895), ''Prehistoric Man in Ayrshire''. London : Elliot Stock. p. 60.

References

Sources

* Strawhorn, John (1985). ''The History of Irvine''. Royal Burgh and Town. Edinburgh : John Donald. .

External links

General Roy's Military map of Scotland.

Details of the De Soulis, De Morville and other Cunninghame families.

A photograph of Clonbeith castle. {{Castles in North Ayrshire Castles in North Ayrshire Category B listed buildings in North Ayrshire Listed castles in Scotland History of North Ayrshire Reportedly haunted locations in Scotland