Alexander Hastie Millar, F.S.A., Scot., “The Castles and Mansions of Ayrshire”, 1885 – Old Auchendrane

In A. H. Millar, The Castles and Mansions of Ayrshire: Historical and Descriptive

Accounts of The Castles and Mansions of Ayrshire, 1885, the entry for Old Auchendrane

opens with:

 

“OLD AUCHENDRANE.

 

UNTIL a few years ago, the ancient mansion-house of Auchendrane, which was associated with
one of the darkest crimes in Scottish history, was a bare and roofless ruin, occupying a most
picturesque situation by one of the crooks of the river Doon. It had been the residence of the
family of the Mures of Auchendrane for many generations, but after the decay of that race in the
eighteenth century, it had been allowed to sink into a dilapidated and ruinous condition. In 1868
that portion of the estate on which it stood was acquired by Sir Peter Coats, the successful and
philanthropic merchant of Paisley; and in 1881 he built the present mansion on the site of the older
erection. The different portions of the structure are grouped in a most effective manner, and the
quaint turrets and Flemish gables make the place especially attractive.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

George Fairfull-Smith, May 2025.