Kennox House
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290px, Aerial view of Kennox House Kennox House is situated on Kilwinning Road between Stewarton to
Torranyard Torranyard is a small village or hamlet in North Ayrshire, Parish of Kilwinning, Scotland. It lies between the settlements of Auchentiber and Irvine on the A736 Lochlibo Road. History Torranyard is a hamlet at what is now a crossroads on the ...
in North Ayrshire, Parish of Dunlop, Scotland. The house overlooks the Glazert Burn, which runs into the
Annick Water The Annick Water (previously also spelled as Annack, Annoch (1791) or Annock) is the largest tributary of the River Irvine. The river runs from Long Loch, just inside East Renfrewshire, in a generally south-western direction through North Ayr ...
at Watermeetings.


History


Crivoch House

Kennox house was originally called Crivoch and a house nearby still retains that name. Sir Neil Montgomery of Lainshaw married Elizabeth Cunninghame of Aiket and one of their sons, John of Cockilbie, had a son named John of Crivoch in the mid-17th century. He may have lived at Crivoch before it was purchased by the Somervilles. Paterson, James (1863-66). ''History of the Counties of Ayr and Wigton''. V. - III - Cunninghame. J. Stillie. Edinburgh. The letters of Sir David Cunningham of Auchenharvie to his cousin the laird of Robertland preserved in the National Archives of Scotland detail his efforts to purchase some of these lands (NAS GD237/25/1-4) He sold some of them in turn to James Douglas of Chesters in 1642 (RGS, ix, (1634–1651), no.1189) In 1691 the Hearth Tax records show the Lands of Crivoch with twelve families and the largest dwelling, that of Mistress Miller, possessing four.


The Somervilles and MacAlisters

In around 1700 John Somerville of the Kennox Estate in Lanarkshire purchased the Bollingshaw (now Bonshaw) Barony and built Kennox House (also Kenox in 1832 and Kennoch in 1792) on the lands of Montgomerie - Crevoch. John Somerville married Janet, eldest daughter and heiress of Alexander Montgomerie of Assloss House (previously Aslois, Sloss or Asloace) near Kilmarnock. The family sold Assloss in 1725.Robertson, George (1823). ''A Genealogical Account of the Principal Families in Ayrshire, more particularly in Cunninghame.'' Vol.1. Pub. Irvine. William Somerville succeeded to the Kennox property in 1743 and married Lilias Porterfield of Hapland. A daughter, Janet, married Charles McAlester, 12th of Loup, in 1792, only son of Angus McAlester of Loup, Chief of the
Clan MacAlister Clan MacAlister is a Scottish Clan. The clan is the earliest branch to have split off from Clan Donald, claiming descent from Alasdair Mòr, son of Domhnall founder of Clan Donald. From Alasdair Mòr the clans takes its surname ''MacAlister''; ...
, who died in 1797. He assumed the name and arms of Somerville along with his own. He died in 1847 and was succeeded by his son, Charles. Patterson records that the McAlester's were
Jacobites Jacobite means follower of Jacob or James. Jacobite may refer to: Religion * Jacobites, followers of Saint Jacob Baradaeus (died 578). Churches in the Jacobite tradition and sometimes called Jacobite include: ** Syriac Orthodox Church, sometime ...
and had lost their estates and money after 1745, however this marriage restored their fortunes and, as stated, 'Somerville' has been retained in the patronym and coat of arms. Charles was succeeded by his son, Charles. Charles Somerville McAlester of Loup and Kennox died in 1903 and was succeeded by his son, Charles Godfrey Somerville McAlester of Loup and Kennox. Colonel Charles McAlester, Laird of Loup and Kennox, became Deputy Lieutenant of Ayrshire, and Commandant of the first regiment of Ayrshire Local Militia. It is recorded that when the regiment was disbanded he kept the banners, instruments and other items at Kennox, saying that "if anyone had a better claim" he would release the items to them.Kilmarnock Glenfield Ramblers Society. (1930). V.10. P. 62 & 133. Captain Charles Somerville McAlester married Williamina P. Pollok - Morris of Craig House. She died aged 27 in 1872 and is buried in Saint Maurs - Glencairn church with her parents and not with her husband. This arrangement is rather unusual and may have been a family tradition judging by the other married daughters buried here with the family. Kennox is not even in the same Parish as Craig House. Charles Somerville McAlister and Janet had four children. They bequeathed the part of the Barony of Bollingshaw named Chapelton to their younger son James, who never married and died in 1857. Charles the father died in 1847 and his eldest son, also called Charles Somerville McAlester, born in 1828 and married to Mary Brabazon, inherited the Kennox estate. It is recorded by Dobie that the older Charles was an eccentric and was one of the last of the country squires of old in his attitudes and behaviour. The current chief of the clan is William St John Somerville McAlester of Loup and Kennox who lives in England. The current chief is a member of The Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs. Today (2010) there is a clan centre located at Glenbarr Abbey.


Kennox estate

The estate consisted of the lands of Crevoch - Lindsay, Crevoch - Montgomerie, part of the lands of Bonshaw and the lands of Fairlie - Crevoch, including the chapel lands and the glebe. These chapel lands would have been held in mortmain until after the reformation.Aiton, William (1811). ''General View of the Agriculture of Ayr.'' Pub. Glasgow. The old cottage beyond the site of the old mill was known as Crevoch and a building of that name is placed in this area in
Timothy Pont Rev Timothy Pont (c. 1560–c.1627) was a Scottish minister, cartographer and topographer. He was the first to produce a detailed map of Scotland. Pont's maps are among the earliest surviving to show a European country in minute detail, from an ...
's map of 1604. Fairlie - Crevoch is situated near
Cunninghamhead Cunninghamhead is a hamlet on the Annick Water in the Parish of Dreghorn, North Ayrshire, Scotland. The area was part of the old Cunninghamhead estate, and once contained several watermills. Cunninghamhead and the mills on the Annick Water The ...
and a Fairlie - Crevoch Mill existed on the Annick Water near Ramstane (1860 OS), however this had been known as Scroaggy or Scroaggie Mill until after the 'Kennox' Crevoch mill fell into disuse. James Somerville obtained Chapelton, however we know from Dobie that James McAlister, nephew of the aforementioned James, was the owner in 1874. This James McAlister, the nephew of James Somerville, also never married. Chapelton had been re-acquired into the Bollingshaw Barony for him by his father, Charles McAlister.


Micro history

Major McAlester of Kennox, then a heritor of Dunlop church, obtained the 1792 bell and Miss McAlester and Mr.Charles G. S. McAlester returned it to the Kirk Session in 1935 to honour the centenary of the present church.Bayne, John F. (1935). ''Dunlop Parish - A History of Church, Parish, and Nobility''. Pub. T. & A. Constable, P. 10 - 16. Charles Somerville MacAllister was one of the stewards at the great banquet held after the Eglinton Tournament. Colonel and Mrs MacAllister attended the famous 1839 Eglinton Tournament in what is now
Eglinton Country Park Eglinton Country Park is located on the grounds of the old Eglinton Castle estate in Kilwinning, North Ayrshire, Scotland (map reference NS 3227 4220). Eglinton Park is situated in the parish of Kilwinning, part of the former district of Cunni ...
and were allotted a seat in the Grand Stand.Aikman, J & Gordon, W. (1839) ''An Account of the Tournament at Eglinton.'' Pub. Hugh Paton, Carver & Gilder. Edinburgh. M.DCCC.XXXIX. The Glazert burn, previously GlazartPaterson, James (1847). ''History of Ayr and a Genealogical Account of the Ayrshire Families.'' P. 452. has otters and the rare
freshwater mussel Freshwater bivalves are one kind of freshwater mollusc, along with freshwater snails. They are bivalves that live in fresh water as opposed to salt water, which is the main habitat type for bivalves. The majority of species of bivalve molluscs ...
(source of freshwater pearls) as witnessed by broken shells found scattered on the river bank.


The Kilmarnock Glenfield Ramblers

Over many years this society paid several visits to Kennox and on one visit in 1930 they were told by McAlister, the Laird of Loup and Kennox, that the nearby name Gallowayford is derived from the
Gallows A gallows (or scaffold) is a frame or elevated beam, typically wooden, from which objects can be suspended (i.e., hung) or "weighed". Gallows were thus widely used to suspend public weighing scales for large and heavy objects such as sacks ...
which permanently stood beside the ford on the Glazert. It was also noted that an ancient Yew tree grew in the grounds which challenged the Loudoun Castle yew in size and antiquity. A very fine specimen of a
Hornbeam Hornbeams are hardwood trees in the flowering plant genus ''Carpinus'' in the birch family Betulaceae. The 30–40 species occur across much of the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Origin of names The common English name ''hornbeam ...
was also noted.


The Kennox estate saw pit

Kennox possesses one of the few surviving, although long unused,
Saw pit A saw pit or sawpit is a pit over which timber is positioned to be sawed with a long two-handled saw, usually a whipsaw, by two people, one standing above the timber and the other below. It was used for producing sawn planks from tree trunks, w ...
s, clearly marked on the first edition of the OS map. These pits were used for cutting local timber into planks, stobs and other forms of timber for fencing, building, etc. The site is next to the Glazert Water (Glassard in 1779)National Archives of Scotland. RHP/1199. which runs through the estate. An early OS map shows a track running from the saw pit up across the leat and towards the entrance to Bickethall.OS Towns maps
Image:Kennox sawpit 1.JPG, The main surviving retaining wall of the pit with the collapsed wall in the foreground. Image:Kennox sawpit 2.JPG, Looking along the pit towards the Glazert Water. Image:Kennox sawpit 3.JPG, Looking up the pit towards the 'closed off' end. Image:Kennox sawpit 4.JPG, Detail of the stonework on the surviving retaining wall.


See also

*
Chapeltoun Chapeltoun is an estate on the banks of the Annick Water in East Ayrshire, a rural area of Scotland famous for its milk and cheese production and the Ayrshire or Dunlop breed of cattle. Templeton and the Knights Templar The feudal allocatio ...
*
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 ...


References and Bibliography


External links

* * *
Maps at the National Library of Scotland

1860 OS Maps
* A Researcher's Guide to Local History terminology {{coord, 55.670993, N, 4.569871, W, display=title, region:GB_scale:10000 Houses in North Ayrshire History of North Ayrshire Category A listed buildings in North Ayrshire