Burnhouse

Burnhouse
The Trap
Burnhouse The Trap;
	; A view of the village looking towards Torranyard and Irvine
	Burnhouse Location within North Ayrshire
OS grid reference	NS 38431 50338
Council area	North Ayrshire ;
Lieutenancy area	Ayrshire and Arran ;
Country	Scotland
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Dialling code	01560
Police	Scotland
Fire	Scottish
Ambulance	Scottish
UK Parliament	Central Ayrshire ;
Scottish Parliament	Cunninghame South ;
	List of places UK Scotland 55°43′10″N4°34′35″W / 55.71936°N 4.576327°W Coordinates: 55°43′10″N4°34′35″W / 55.71936°N 4.576327°W

Last updated August 23, 2022

Burnhouse, sometimes known locally as The Trap from "Man Trap", is a small village or hamlet in North Ayrshire, Parish of Beith, Scotland. It lies on a crossroads of old B706 and the more recent A736 Lochlibo Road, between Lugton and Torranyard.

History

Roy's map of 1747 records the settlement of Burnhouse on the Beith to Kilmarnock road, the Lochlibo Road did not exist at the time.^[1] Armstrong's map of 1775 still does not mark the Lochlibo Road as it had not yet been constructed.^[2] The 1828 John Thomson's map is the first to show Burnhouse as a crossroads with the newly constructed Lochlibo Road and a Cross Roads Inn. It also shows a "square" of roads on the west side of the village that are no longer present, although the old ford on the Bungle Burn near the Burnhouse Manor Hotel entrance is still discernible.^[3]

The settlement lay within the old Barony of Giffen; the castle no longer exists.

The Trap

The "Trap"^[4] is a contraction of "Man Trap" or "Trap 'Em"^[5] because the village lies on the old turnpike road, the busy Lochlibo Road from Irvine to Glasgow via Lugton where dealers, drovers, travellers, etc. on their business or returning from markets in the old days were prone to stop and spend their money at the inns; it was so named by the farmers wives and eventually it was shorted to "The Trap".^[6] The inn at Lugton was called the "Lug 'Em Inn", that at Auchentiber the "Cleek 'Em Inn", and finally the one at Torranyard was called the "Turn 'Em Out".^[5]

A Crossroads Inn is marked on John Thomson's map of 1828 and in 1858 it had two inns at the crossroads, the Burnhouse Inn and the Waggoners Inn, no longer shown on the 1911 OS.

A Grain Store was once located at Burnhouse, local farmers brought their grain here to be weighed and sold.^[5] A Ham Curing business existed here, serving the surrounding farms. A joinery shop here made furniture which had a good reputation for quality.^[5] A Police Station was present, complete with a cell and the well next to it was the main source of water for villagers.^[7] The village shop was opposite the old inn. A weighing station was located opposite the entrance to Burnhouse Manor Hotel.

Mr. Howatson started a threshing and baling business here in 1928, worked by a traction engine. Howatson was a pioneer of lime spreading machinery.^[7]

What is now Burnhouse Manor Hotel was present as a private house on the 1858 OS map and as the "Manor House" in 1911. In the 1870s, whilst nearby Trearne House was being built, Mr and Mrs Ralston-Patrick lived for some time in Burnhouse Manor until the new house was ready for them. The original part of the hotel complex is a fine two story ashlar building with Tudoresque hood moulds and a gablet over the central window.^[8] The Robertson family occupied Burnhouse Manor in 1967.^[7]

Willow Park is a gated residential park in Burnhouse intended for the over 50s.^[9]

Old OS maps show that a toll house was located on the Dunlop road side of the crossroads on the Lochlibo Road, on the Laigh Gree Farm side; it was demolished circa 1935.^[5]

The Bungle Burn outflow from Blae Loch flows on down country from near Lochend, past the old mill site, Mossend and Tandlehill Farms, before making a confluence with the Lugton Water near the Bungleburn Bridge just outside Burnhouse. The Lugton Water forms the boundary to the east of Burnhouse between North Ayrshire and East Ayrshire.

The old farm of Laigh Auchengree stands nearby to Burnhouse. The old farmhouse has been incorporated into the byre and the Owl Hole has been blocked up.

Micro-history

The course of the Lugton Water was altered in 1830, including widening and straightening, the cost being £150, shared between the farm proprietors.^[7]

On 18 May 1894 Alexander Logan of Burnhouse was killed on the old turnpike road when he was crushed by a traction engine he was accompanying. Alexander was employed as a forerunner by Mr King and the accident happened when he tried to pass between the wheels of the loaded wagon that the engine was pulling. Dr Syson from Beith rode out to record the death, which must have been instantaneous. Matthew Anderson, the local Barrmill "Policeman Poet", wrote a poem in the boy's memory.

This is an extract:

"This little lad so anxious,
Had tried to pass between,
The engine and the waggon,
When, oh! the awful scene."
^[4]

In 2012 the village was home to several businesses, including Halley's caravan sales, Robert Wilson agricultural supplies, and Courtney coach hire.

The village lies within Barrmill and District Community Association's area and is also covered by Beith Community Council.

In 2013 the Barrmill Conservation Group put up a community notice board and placed a flower tub on the site of the telephone box that had been removed shortly before.

Related Research Articles

Lugton is a small village or hamlet in East Ayrshire, Scotland with a population of 80 people. The A736 road runs through on its way from Glasgow, 15 miles (24.1 km) to the north, to Irvine in North Ayrshire. Uplawmoor is the first settlement on this 'Lochlibo Road' to the north and Burnhouse is to the south. The settlement lies on the Lugton Water which forms the boundary between East Ayrshire and East Renfrewshire as well as that of the parishes of Dunlop and Beith.

Giffen railway station was a railway station approximately one mile south-west of the village of Barrmill, North Ayrshire, Scotland. The station was part of the Lanarkshire and Ayrshire Railway.

Barrmill railway station was a railway station serving the village of Barrmill, North Ayrshire, Scotland. The station was originally part of the Glasgow, Barrhead and Kilmarnock Joint Railway.

Auchenharvie Castle is a ruined castle near Torranyard on the A 736 Glasgow to Irvine road. Burnhouse lies to the north and Irvine to the south. It lies in North Ayrshire, Scotland.

The hamlet of Auchentiber is in North Ayrshire, Parish of Kilwinning, Scotland. Auchentiber is four miles northeast of Kilwinning on the Lochlibo Road, 2+1⁄4 mi (3.5 km) from the hamlet of Burnhouse and 2+1⁄2 mi (4 km) from the village of Barrmill. Grid Ref. NS3647. Some new housing has been built, but the settlement is still very much a hamlet. The settlement is on the Lugton Water, which runs into the River Garnock after running through Montgreenan and Eglinton Country Park in Irvine.

Barony and Castle of Giffen Barony in the former District of Cunninghame, now North Ayrshire

The Barony of Giffen and its associated 15th-century castle were in the parish of Beith in the former District of Cunninghame, now North Ayrshire. The site may be spelled Giffen or Giffin and lay within the Lordship of Giffin, which included the Baronies of Giffen, Trearne, Hessilhead, Broadstone, Roughwood and Ramshead; valued at £3,788 9s 10d. The Barony of Giffen comprised a number of properties, including Greenhills, Thirdpart, Drumbuie, Nettlehirst and Balgray, covering about half of the parish of Beith. Giffen was a hundred merk land, separated from the Barony of Beith, a forty-pound land, by the Powgree Burn which rises on Cuff hill. The Lugton Water or the Bungle Burn running through Burnhouse may have been the Giffen barony boundary with that of the adjacent barony and lands of Aiket castle.

Gateside is a small village in North Ayrshire, Scotland about 1⁄2 mile east of Beith on the B777.

Barrmill is a small village in North Ayrshire, Scotland about 1+1⁄2 miles east of Beith on the road to Burnhouse and Lugton. Locally it is known as the Barr.

Spier's School (NS352533), at Beith, in North Ayrshire, Scotland was opened in 1888 and closed in 1972. The school, now demolished, was built using Ballochmyle red sandstone and was reminiscent of the ancient Glasgow University. The school motto was 'Quod verum tutum'. The gardens and woodlands are open to the public at all times.

Montgreenan is an estate in North Ayrshire, Parish of Kilwinning, Scotland. The Lugton Water runs through the policies and farmland of Montgreenan. Nearby are the hamlets of Torranyard and Auchentiber.

Nettlehirst or Nettlehurst 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.

Barkip, also known as The Den, is a hamlet in North Ayrshire, Scotland about three miles southwest of Beith on the A737 road to Dalry. The earliest recorded name is 'Blairkip'. In the Gaelic language, the name Barkip comes from bar ("top"), and kip. It is not clear when or why the name 'The Den' started to be used although it appears in the local press as both in 1898, however in Scots as in old English one meaning is 'A hollow between hills,' which is certainly an accurate description of the geography of the area that Barkip lies in. Following construction of a new road, Barkip no longer sits on the main Beith to Dalry road.

Bogston or later Bogstone was a small estate in the old Barony of Giffen near Barrmill in the Parish of Beith, North Ayrshire, once held by collateral descendants of the Montgomeries of Broadstone. The estate covered 160 acres or around 65 hectares, its rental in 1896 being £180 per annum.

Greenhills is a small village or hamlet in North Ayrshire, Parish of Beith, Scotland. It lies between the settlements of Barrmill and hamlet of Burnhouse on a crossroads of the B706 and the lanes to Nettlehirst and Tandlehill via Thirdpart. It is named after the 'Green Hill' an artificial mound, a Moot, Law or Justice hill that once stood here. The settlement lay within the old Barony of Giffen; the castle no longer exists. The village lies within Barrmill and District Community Association's area and is also covered by Beith Community Council.

Torranyard is a small village or hamlet in North Ayrshire, Parish of Kilwinning, Scotland. It lies between the settlements of Auchentiber and Irvine on the A736 Lochlibo Road.

Donald Lees ReidBA (Hons) is a Scottish author. He specialises in local and social history and has written books on the history of the Garnock Valley and Doon Valley, including the towns of Beith, Barrmill, Dalmellington, Gateside, Kilbirnie, Patna, and Waterside. He has resided in Beith, North Ayrshire since 1986. A strong emphasis in the books is on the people and the social context of their lives.

The ancient lands of Willowyard, Willieyeards, Williyard or Willizeards were part of the holdings of the Regality of Kilwinning, Barony of Beith, and Bailiary of Cuninghame. They later became the property of the Montgomerie family before being sold to the Simson family in 1723. The manor house still survives as part of a business premises and the nearby industrial estate and whisky bond carry the name 'Willowyards'.

The lands of Marshalland, Marsheland, Marsheyland or Marshyland were part of the holdings of the Barony of Beith, Regality of Kilwinning and Bailiary of Cuninghame. They became the property of the Lyle family, then the Shedden family, passing next to the Spier's family before finally becoming part of the Spier's Trust lands. The laird's house and farm were demolished in the 1960s.

The lands of Threepwood were located in the Parish of Beith, at the eastern boundary between East Renfrewshire and North Ayrshire, Scotland. The settlements of Midtown, Townhead and Townend were part of the old Threepwood Estate. Cuffhill at 675 feet is the highest eminence in the parish and it overlooks the area with Little Hill and Cuff Hill and Little Hill plantations nearby, now situated next to the entirely artificial Cuffhill Reservoir.

Gree Goods station or Gree Depot as it was listed in the Caledonian Railway Working Timetable was a relatively short lived railway freight facility located approximately one miles south of Lugton on the A736 Lochlibo Road, North Ayrshire, Scotland. Gree Goods served the industrial and agricultural requirements for transportation in the vicinity, with the village of Burnhouse not far away, sitting on the crossroads to Barrmill, Dunlop and Irvine. Over Gree, High Gree, Nether Gree, Gree and Brownhills Farms were located nearby. Gree Goods was close to the Lugton East Junction, just south of the 11 arch Gree Viaduct. The nearest passenger station on the line north was Lugton High and to the south was Giffen.

References

Notes

↑ Roy's Map Retrieved : 2012-02-19
↑ Armstrong's Map Retrieved : 2012-02-19
↑ Thomson's Map Retrieved : 2012-02-19
1 2 Reid (2009), Page 53
1 2 3 4 5 Jamieson, Page 18
↑ Reid (1999), Page 37
1 2 3 4 Jamieson, Page 19
↑ Love, Page 90
↑ Willow Park Retrieved : 2013-10-15

Sources and bibliography

Jamieson, Sheila (1997). Our Village. 'Greenhills Women's Institute.
Love, Dane (2003). Ayrshire : Discovering a County. Ayr : Fort Publishing. ISBN 0-9544461-1-9.
Reid, Donald L. and Monahan, Isobel F. (1999). Yesterdays Beith, a pictorial guide. Beith : DoE Award Scheme. ISBN 0-9522720-5-9.
Reid, Donald L. (2001). In the Valley of Garnock. Beith : D. Reid & the Jolly Beggars Burns Club. ISBN 0-9522720-5-9.
Reid, Donald L. (2009). Discovering Matthew Anderson. Policeman-Poet of Ayrshire. Beith : Donald Reid. ISBN 0-9522720-9-1.
Reid, Donald L. (2011). Beith, Barrmill and Gateside. Beith : D. Reid & the Jolly Beggars Burns Club. ISBN 978-0-9566343-1-3.
Reid, Donald L. & Monahan, Isobel F. (1999). Yesterday's Beith: A Pictorial Guide. Beith, North Ayrshire, Open Award Group. ISBN 0-9522720-5-9.

External links

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[1] Roy's Map Retrieved : 2012-02-19

[2] Armstrong's Map Retrieved : 2012-02-19

[3] Thomson's Map Retrieved : 2012-02-19

[R53-4] 1 2 Reid (2009), Page 53

[j-5] 1 2 3 4 5 Jamieson, Page 18

[6] Reid (1999), Page 37

[ja-7] 1 2 3 4 Jamieson, Page 19

[8] Love, Page 90

[9] Willow Park Retrieved : 2013-10-15

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