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Ordnance Survey - Ayr county, OS Name Books - Ayr county - Volume 31 - Parish of Irvine, OS1/3/31

Continued entries/extra info

[page] 51
County of Ayr -- Ph [Parish] Irvine

[Note] -- "The Seagate Castle" says Robertson in his
Topographical Account of Cunningham, "is a
ruinous fabric of Considerable antiquity. It belongs
to the Earl of Eglinton, and is supposed to have been
intended as the jointurehouse of the Dowager Ladies of that family. There is no date
upon it; but from the circumstance of the united arms of Montgomery & Eglinton being
engraved upon a central stone, in a vaulted chamber in the lower story, it must have been
built since the union of these two families by Marriage in 1361; and that it could not
be much later than that period, may be inferred from its structure as a house of defence, in
which are many arrow slits for bows, but no gunports for cannon or other firearms." "In
this Old Castle there remains still quite entire, one of the most perfect specimens of the Saxon or
Norman round Arch, that is perhaps now to be met with in Britain. It is erected over
the principal gateway into the house. A square tower, in one of the corners, is evidently
much more ancient than the rest of the building" * -- New Statistical Acct [Account] - Page 625

* "This is corroborative of one suggestion, that the Seagate Castle is the ancient castle of Irvine
alluded to by Hovenden" -- A note in Paterson's History - Vol. [volume] 2. Page 99

Ordnance Survey - Ayr county, OS Name Books - Ayr county - Volume 31 - Parish of Irvine, OS1/3/31

This volume contains information on place names found in the parish of Irvine.

Ordnance Survey - Ayr county

Ordnance Survey was established in the 18th century to create maps, surveys and associated records for the entirety of Great Britain. These records are arranged by county. This entry has been created to enable searching for Ordnance Survey records for the county of Ayr, which is in the south west of Scotland. The boundaries of the county were altered by the Boundary Commissioners in 1891.

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