Stair is a parish in

Ayrshire Ayrshire (, ) is a Counties of Scotland, historic county and registration county, in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. The lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area of Ayrshire and Arran covers the entirety ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. It lies at the bottom of a glen beside the

River Ayr The River Ayr (pronounced like ''air'', ''Uisge Àir'' in Gaelic) is a river in Ayrshire, Scotland. At it is the longest river in the county. The river was held as sacred by pre-Christian cultures. The remains of several prehistoric sacrificial ...

at the north-west border of the 5,376 acre (22 km²) Parish of Stair where the

is joined by the Glenstang Burn.

History

The parish is known for its connection with the Dalrymples,

Earls of Stair Earl of Stair is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1703 for the lawyer and statesman John Dalrymple, 1st Earl of Stair, John Dalrymple, 2nd Viscount of Stair. Dalrymple's father, James Dalrymple, 1st Viscount of Stair, Jam ...

. The family first became associated with the village in 1450, when William de Dalrymple acquired the lands of Stair-Montgomery and built Stair House. Formerly part of the Parish of Ochiltree, Stair was made a separate parish in 1653 at the request of

James Dalrymple, 1st Viscount of Stair James Dalrymple, 1st Viscount Stair (May 1619 – 29 November 1695) was a Scottish lawyer and statesman, and a key influence on the Scottish Enlightenment. He was a leading figure of Scottish law, "and also one of the greatest thinkers on ...

. Places of interest in the parish include Stair Brig built in 1745 and Stair House. Dalmore House stood overlooking the River Ayr until destroyed by fire in 1969. The "Stair Fair" at the Stair Parish Church churchyard was the equivalent of the Mauchline Holy Fair and was equally wild with people travelling from miles around and staying several days until every last item of food and drink had been consumed. A "Fair Stair Sacrament" was an expression used to describe a good hearty meal at which everything was eaten for many years after the fair ceased to be held.

Milton

At the old Clachan of Milton on the other side of the bridge from Stair which lies in

South Ayrshire South Ayrshire (; , ) is one of thirty-two council areas of Scotland, covering the southern part of Ayrshire. It borders onto Dumfries and Galloway, East Ayrshire and North Ayrshire. South Ayrshire had an estimated population in 2021 of 112,45 ...

, there used to be an inn here at which

Robert Burns Robert Burns (25 January 1759 – 21 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the List of national poets, national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the be ...

would stop on occasion and here also was the end of the old pack horse road to Annbank that once followed the course of the river. Opposite the inn was once an old toll house and nearby was the thatched cottage in which Mailly Crosbie lived, onetime housekeeper at Stair House. The miller here was one of the Covenanter martyrs who gave his life by refusing to hand over his bible to the king's soldiers.

Links with Robert Burns

Margaret or Peggy Orr was a nurserymaid at Stair House and

lent a hand as a 'blackfoot' with his friends courtship of this lady, however the engagement was brief and she later married John Paton, an Edinburgh shoemaker. In his first 'Epistle to Davie' entitled An Epistle to Davy, a Brother-Poet, Lover, Ploughman and Fiddler'', Burns wrote :- Catherine Stewart of Stair and Afton Lodge, the wife of Major-General Alexander Stewart, became aware of 'Robert Burns the poet' through his visits with David and she was the first member of the upper classes to acknowledge his ability and befriend him. Burns sent her a number of his poems in a document known as the 'Stair Manuscripts'. Burns would visit the thatched cottage at the Clachan of Milton in which Mailly Crosbie lived, onetime housekeeper at Stair House and a friend from the days of David Sillars attempts at courtship. The family kept the handleless cup from which Burns used to drink as a souvenir.

Views in Stair

File:Stair and Stair House Farm.jpg, Stair and Stair House Farm File:Stair Church, Ayrshire.JPG, Stair church File:Stair Bridge over River Ayr. 2010..JPG, Stair Bridge over the River Ayr File:Stair Inn, East Ayrshire.JPG, The Stair Inn File:Milton Mill hone works houses, Stair, Ayrshire.JPG, Cottages at Milton Mill

References

Bibliography

*Barber, Derek (2000). ''Steps through Stair''. Stair Parish Church. *Boyle, A. M. (1996). ''The Ayrshire Book of Burns-Lore''. Darvel : Alloway Publishing. . *Mcvie, John (1927). ''Burns and Stair''. Kilmarnock : The ''Standard Press''. *Nimmo, John W. (2003). ''Symington Village, Church and People''. Darvel : Alloway Publishing. .

External links

Video footage of Trabboch Castle
{{authority control Villages in East Ayrshire Robert Burns