Continued entries/extra info

No. 21 Sheet 44.8 -- Parish of Kirkoswald -- [Page] 27

"Though the Statist is silent in reference to this old building,
"it nevertheless claims the attention of the topographer. It is
"within view of Crossraguel Abbey. The walls are still pretty
"entire, but it has long been roofless, and the orchards, gardens,
"parks and woods have given place to corn and pasture fields. A few
"solitary trees sympathize with it in its decay. It bears evidence,
"however, of having been at one time a good house. *** The first
"of the Kennedies of Baltersan mentioned in the "Historical Account"
"of the Ailsa family, is Major Thomas Kennedy, who lived about the middle
"of the seventeenth century. It had been long previously, however, in
"possession of a family of the name of Kennedy, no doubt a branch of the
"main stock. The first occupier, apparently, was James Kennedy, second
"son of Gilbert, first Lord Kennedy, afterwards designed of Row. He is
"mentioned in a charter dated 14th May 1473 ** It would thus
"appear that Baltersan belonged at the time to the Abbey of Crossraguel,
"and that the manor-house or place of Baltersan was not then in existence
"The building of this baronial residence was probably the work of the
"next possessor, John Kennedy of Beltersane who also possessed the barony
"of Greenan - the old tower of which stands upon a rock overhanging the
"sea, at the Doonfoot, near Ayr. He had a dispute with the Magistrates of Ayr
"in 1591" Patterson's History of Ayrshire (1847)