Nettlehirst

A view of Nettlehirst House

Nettlehirst was a small mansion house (NS365504) and estate in the Parish of Beith, near Barrmill in North Ayrshire, Scotland. The house was built in 1844 and burned down in 1932.

Nettlehirst House and estate

Nettlehirst House circa 1890

The Nettlehirst watertower

This was a fine mansion, also known as 'Nettlehurst', a castle-like structure with 16 rooms, on the high ground above the limekilns, overlooking the old Giffen Station, viaduct, Barrmill and the Dusk Water. It had a five storey central tower and was surrounded by three storey crow-stepped wings.^[1] The Burns family built Nettlehirst House in 1844.^[2]

Davis sees the house as being an enlargement of a pre-existing house and attributes the style to lack of finance and amateurish design. The unusual gate-piers, one is taller than the other, still look onto the former groom's cottage.^[3] Other buildings nearby were the homefarm and accommodation associated with the limekilns.

The 1932 fire

In July 1932 the house burned down, possibly due to an electrical fire, however as mains power was not installed in the district until circa 1935 the house would have had to have possessed its own generator. The dramatic fire coincided with the return from South Beach by a special train of Barrmill Sunday School trip on the line from Ardrossan to Giffen Station. Passengers climbed up and watched the fire from the quarry area. The fierce fire was clearly visible from the train and it was a talking point in the village for months. The Kerr family moved to Beith.

The mansion house was never restored and shortly afterwards the dangerous ruin was demolished. The unusual entrance gatepiers, apple and pear orchard, boundary walls, mausoleum, farm and the stables, with its crow stepped gable ends and an 1811 marriage stone remain. The platform of the old tennis court is still apparent.^[4]

The Nettlehirst mausoleum

The OS Map shows a family burial ground located near woodland to the south of the old house site. The fine red sandstone structure still survives (2010) although the crypt has been broken into and the frontage stones are much disturbed. No inscriptions are apparent on the structure. The burial site is said to have been in front of the mausoleum, within the skirting wall.

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  A side entrance

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  The back of the mausoleum

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  The frontage

Nettlehirst House

The location of Nettlehirst House

Owners and tenants

In 1804, Captain John Fulton of Grangehill married Catherine MacLellan, only daughter of the Rev. David Maclellan of Nettlehurst, Minister of Beith. They had two offspring, namely John and Isabella Fulton. Isabella married the Rev. Robert Crawford of Irongray. John's son was William Patrick Fulton.^[5] David Maclellan wrote articles under the name 'Urtica' (The scientific binomial for a Nettle is 'Urtica dioica'). William Patrick of Roughwood obtained Nettlehirst from the Fultons and it later became part of the Giffin House estate.^[6]

William Burns, a shoemaker from Drumbuie, obtained Townhead of Nettlehirst in the 18th century and his sons Robert and James inherited it in turn; Robert having no heirs. William Burns, son of James, inherited it in 1845. William had three sons, James, William and David.^[6]

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  Nettlehirst House in 1923

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  The house and the driveway from an old postcard

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  Nettlehirst with the old house gate-piers in the background

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  The unusual gate-piers

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  1811 Marriage stone from the old Nettlehirst Mains Farm

James Brown, Writer in Beith, was the son of Hugh Brown of Broadstone and is recorded as 'James of Nettlehurst'. James married Janet, daughter of James Finlay of Easter Highgate, had a son Robert and died in 1855.^[7]

William and Anne Burns lived at Nettlehirst in 1901 according to the Census, together with their sons Walter and Albert. William is recorded as being a merchant dealing in 'fancy goods', also a toy-maker.

In 1915 it was sold to Mr Thomas Currie Kerr JP, at that time a well known ironmaster^[8] and owner of the limeworks. Reid records that Thomas was an engineering contractor and and together with his wife, Elizabeth Jane Donaldson, owned William Kerr and Co. Kerr's were based at Mavisbank in Glasgow, and specialised in moving heavy loads, such as locomotives. Road Engines and Kerr Ltd was its name just prior to being taken over by Pickfords.^[1] Izabel Kerr, daughter of Thomas Kerr, married Dr Ian Sommerville, a Beith GP in 1932.^[1] In 2011 it was the property of the Gillan's of nearby Shotts Farm.

Micro-history

The Black Loch was a shallow loch situated near Nettlehirst House and it was once used for curling. The site was filled with earth and is now overgrown.^[9]

John Kerr of Nettlehirst, son of Hugh Kerr of Gatend, gave £20 a year and established a Society for Clothing, Blankets, and Clothes for the poor.^[10]

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  Nettlehirst's old groom's cottage and stables

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  Nettlehirst old estate wall and trees

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  A ruin within the Nettlehirst grounds bearing an 1811 marriage stone

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  Nettlehirst limekiln and old estate policies on the hill

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  The site of the Black Loch below Nettlehirst

A confusing number of properties in the area are known as Nettlehirst, some distinctions being made by adding 'cottage' or the owners name, such as Reid Nettlehirst. The origin of the placename itself is unknown; however, the 'Nettle' may refer to the plant and 'Hurst' may refer to harvest, meaning an area where nettles predominate. The term 'hairst' might refer to a barren hillock, knoll, or ridge. A fitting description of the site today.

References

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b c} Reid (2006), Page 23
2. ^ Jamieson, Page 15
3. ^ Davis, Page 314
4. ^ Barmill history
5. ^ Paterson, Pages 97–98
6. ^ ^{a b} Dobie, Page 346
7. ^ Dobie, Page 134
8. ^ Porterfield, Page 38
9. ^ Jamieson, Page 27
10. ^ The High Church, Page 48

Sources

1. Campbell, Thorbjørn (2003). Ayrshire. A Historical Guide. Edinburgh : Birlinn. ISBN 1-84158-267-0.
2. Davis, Michael C. (1991). The Castles and Mansions of Ayrshire. Ardrishaig : Spindrift Press.
3. Dobie, James (1876). Pont's Cunninghame topographized 1604–1608 with continuations and illustrative notices. Pub. John Tweed.
4. Jamieson, Sheila (1997). Our Village. Greenhills Women's Institute.
5. Paterson, James (1863–66). History of the Counties of Ayr and Wigton. V. - III - Cunninghame. Edinburgh: J. Stillie. V. IV, Cunningham, Part I.
6. Porterfield, S. (1925). Rambles Round Beith'. Beith : Pilot Press.
7. Reid, Donald L. (2006). More Old Beith. Stenlake Press. ISBN 9781840333749.
8. Reid, Donald L. (2009). Discovering Matthew Anderson. Policeman-Poet of Ayrshire. Beith : Cleland Crosbie. ISBN 0-9522720-9-1
9. The High Church. An Illustrated Guide. 1983.

External links

• RCAHMS Canmore site
• A Guide to Local History Terminology
• General Roy's maps.

Coordinates: 55°43′08″N 4°36′11″W / 55.719°N 4.603°W / 55.719; -4.603