Dalmusternock (NS455417) was a

dower house A dower house is usually a moderately large house available for use by the widow of the previous owner of an English, Scottish or Welsh estate. The widow, often known as the "dowager", usually moves into the dower house from the larger family h ...

built and occupied by William Mure after his marriage and prior to inheriting the family seat of

Rowallan Castle Rowallan Castle (Scottish Gaelic: ''Caisteal an Rubha Àlainn'') is an ancient castle located in Scotland. The castle stands on the banks of the Carmel Water, which may at one time have run much closer to the low eminence upon which the original c ...

. The property is located near Fenwick, in the Barony of Rowallan, lying 3 miles north of

Kilmarnock Kilmarnock (, sco, Kilmaurnock; gd, Cill Mheàrnaig (IPA: ʰʲɪʎˈveaːɾnəkʲ, "Marnock's church") is a large town and former burgh in East Ayrshire, Scotland and is the administrative centre of East Ayrshire, East Ayrshire Council. ...

and 18 miles south of Glasgow, Parish of Fenwick,

East Ayrshire East Ayrshire ( sco, Aest Ayrshire; gd, Siorrachd Àir an Ear) is one of thirty-two council areas of Scotland. It shares borders with Dumfries and Galloway, East Renfrewshire, North Ayrshire, South Ayrshire and South Lanarkshire. The headquart ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. The estate is recorded as Dalmunsternoch circa 1654; Dalmasternock circa 1747; Dalmusterknok 1775

History

The Lands of Dalmusternock

In 1615 the poet Sir William Mure of Rowallan Castle married Anna Dundas, the daughter of the laird of

Newliston Newliston is a country house near Edinburgh, Scotland. It is located south-west of Kirkliston, and west of the city centre. The house, designed by Robert Adam in the late 18th century, is a category A listed building. The 18th-century gardens, ...

, an estate located near Edinburgh. William was the son of Elizabeth Montgomerie, sister of the well known poet

Alexander Montgomerie Alexander Montgomerie (Scottish Gaelic: Alasdair Mac Gumaraid) (c. 1550?–1598) was a Scottish Jacobean courtier and poet, or makar, born in Ayrshire. He was a Scottish Gaelic speaker and a Scots speaker from Ayrshire, an area which wa ...

of Hessilhead Castle near

Beith Beith is a small town in the Garnock Valley, North Ayrshire, Scotland approximately south-west of Glasgow. The town is situated on the crest of a hill and was known originally as the "''Hill o' Beith''" (hill of the birches) after its ''Court ...

. In 1643 William Mure was a member of the Scottish parliament through which the

Solemn League and Covenant The Solemn League and Covenant was an agreement between the Scottish Covenanters and the leaders of the English Parliamentarians in 1643 during the First English Civil War, a theatre of conflict in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. On 17 August 1 ...

was ratified with England and took part in the English campaign of 1644. He fought and was wounded at the

Battle of Marston Moor The Battle of Marston Moor was fought on 2 July 1644, during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms of 1639 – 1653. The combined forces of the English Parliamentarians under Lord Fairfax and the Earl of Manchester and the Scottish Covenanters und ...

, shortly after commanding a regiment at

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

. As a first home or

he built Dalmusternock in 1615 for although he was the eldest son he had not as yet inherited the family properties and would not do so until 1639. Dalmusternock is in an attractive location on the Fenwick Water within easy reach of the family seat at

. The coat of arms of Sir William and his wife are still located above the entrance door. The 1615 date of his marriage is carved on a stone to the right of the doorway with the initials A. D. for his wife Anna Dundas on a stone to the left. Five sons and six daughters came of this first marriage, namely William who succeeded, Captain Allexander who was killed fighting rebels in Ireland, Major Robert who married Lady Newhall in Fife, John of Fenwickhill and Patrick, who in 1662 was created a baronet of

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

. Only one daughter, Elizabeth, reached maturity and married Uchter Knox, Laird of Ranfurly. His first wife Anna died comparatively young and Sir William then married Dame Jane Hamilton, Lady Duntreth, having two sons, James and Hugh and two daughters, Jeane and Marion from this union. In 1616 his father inherited the family estates and in 1639 he in turn inherited at which point he moved to

and Dalmusternock remained as a small

before its final transition to a farmhouse. Dobie records that it was the property of the

Marquis of Hastings Marquess of Hastings was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 6 December 1816 for Francis Rawdon-Hastings, 2nd Earl of Moira. History The Rawdon family descended from Francis Rawdon (d. 1668), of Rawdon, Yorkshire. H ...

and by 1874 it was part of the Barony of Rowallan then held by the

Earl of Loudoun Earl of Loudoun (pronounced "loud-on" ), named after Loudoun in Ayrshire, is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1633 for John Campbell, 2nd Lord Campbell of Loudoun, along with the subsidiary title Lord Tarrinzean and Mauchline ...

. As stated it was used as a dower house by the Mures of nearby

although it is not recorded as to which members of the family lived there. Three heraldic panels are inserted, one with a date of 1671. It was remodelled as a farmhouse in the 19th century. A watermill of some sort was located at Dalmusternock in the 19th century as indicated by the lade, sluice and mill pond shown on OS maps of the time. Hugh Robertson was farming 129 acres at Dalmusternock in 1851 showing that the dower house had been remodelled by this time.

Bessie Dunlop of the Lynn

Bessie Dunlop of Lynn Bessie Dunlop, Elizabeth Dunlop or Elizabeth Jack (died 1576), was an Ayrshire farmer's wife who was 'burned at the stake' at Edinburgh for the crime of sorcery, witchcraft, incantations, etc. Her case was unusual in the amount of fine detail re ...

near Dalry recalled at her trial for witchcraft that a meeting with her 'familiar' Thomas Reid at a place known as the 'Thorn of Dawmstarnik.' This was probably Dalmusternock as it lies on the Stranraer to Glasgow road via Kilmarnock that would have been a busy thoroughfare which Bessie might well have used. Thomas offered her great rewards if she would deny her Christian faith however Bessie refused and Thomas was very displeased however she said that she would take his advice on lesser matters. Bessie Dunlop was burned at the stake in Edinburgh as a witch in 1576.

Cartographic evidence

Pont's map of circa 1600 shows a small wooded estate surrounded by a fence or pale. Moll's 1725 map shows the

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

Stranraer Stranraer ( , in Scotland also ; gd, An t-Sròn Reamhar ), also known as The Toon, is a town in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. It is located in the historical parish of Inch in the historic county of Wigtownshire. It lies on the shores of L ...

road running close to Dalmusternock. Roys map of 1747 shows Dalmasternock (sic) lying close to the Glasgow to Stranraer Road and a dwelling known as 'Stepends' which may relate to stepping stones across the Mathernock (later Fenwick) Water. The 1856 OS map shows a long lade running upstream and a sluice that suggests a waterwheel. The 1895 OS records a mill pond in addition to the other noted features.

Micro-history

In 1684 John Kirkland and Thomas Rainie are listed as

Covenanter Covenanters ( gd, Cùmhnantaich) were members of a 17th-century Scottish religious and political movement, who supported a Presbyterian Church of Scotland, and the primacy of its leaders in religious affairs. The name is derived from ''Covenan ...

s on the fugitives roll as living at Dalmusterlock. James Miller, son to Mathew Miller and Mary Smith of Dalmusternock was buried in Fenwick cemetery on Tuesday, 1 August 1749. Sara Steill of Dalmusternock was buried on Monday, June 24, 1723. In March 1851 Hugh Robertson, aged 36, was farming 129 acres at Dalmusternock.Ayrshire Rootsweb
/ref> Dalmusternock is 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 ...

References