Geilsland House lies in between the village of Gateside and the town of Beith in North Ayrshire, Scotland. After serving as a private house it became a school and most recently (2015) has passed into the ownership of the Beith Development Community Trust.
Geilsland was a half merk land, part of the 4 merk land of Marshalland of old extent, in the Barony of Braidstone. An earlier name is said to have been 'Neilsland'. [1] The name is pronounced 'Jillsland' locally. The origin of the name may refer to a gil or gyll, referring to a cleft or ravine as found at the 'Fairy Glen' where the Powgree Burn cuts through the fields.
The lands of Geilsland were bounded to the south and west by the lands held by James Kerr; by the Lands of Crummock held by Fanny Brown; by the lands of Little Hill of Beith once held by John Shedden and then by Alexander Aitkenhead and finally by the road from Beith to Broadstone. [2]
In 1672 the lands were held by John Anderson of Cruckhills whose wife was Janet Barclay. [2] Thomas had inherited by 1697 and then James Anderson. The lands of Cruckhills (near Balgray and Hessilhead) separately passed into the ownership of Hugh Wilson [2] Robert Pollock purchased the lands of Geilsland in 1761 and by 1767 the Crawford family had obtained title with Thomas and John holding the lands prior to William Fulton Love's acquisition in 1867. [2]
On 7 June 1902 the local paper reported The purchaser of Geilsland is Mr Warren, wine and spirit merchant, Glasgow, who is a brother of Mr Warren, of the firm Warren and Stewart, engineers, who have had control of the various local schemes in connection with water and drainage for a number of years back. Thomas, John and Timothy Warren inherited in turn before an insurance manager, Robert James Cecil Govan and his wife Jean Kinniburgh Templeton purchased the property in around 1923. [2]
In 1942 a builder, Charles Scott Gray purchased Geilsland for £1750, [2] followed by Norman Dunlop McCombe family who were involved in the fruit trade. The Church of Scotland then obtained and used the house, chapel, gymnasium and dormitory blocks from 1963 [3] as a special school until closure of the facility in 2015 and its sale to the Beith Development Community Trust Ltd. later that year.
Geilsland was sold in four lots and in 1867 two of these lots were purchased by Wiliam Fulton Love, writer and bank agent in Beith. He built a handsome villa and gatehouse, in the domestic Gothic style, [4] and enclosed and planted 5 acres (20,000 m2) around the villa. [5] The Millport Chapel, situated within the grounds, was fitted out with items from an old church that once stood on the Isle of Cumbrae.
Geilsland House may have been designed by Robert Samson Ingram (1841-1915) [6] of J & R S Ingram, Kilmarnock. A pair of late 19th-century Gothic semi-villas at 28 and 30 Portland Road, Kilmarnock are believed to be by Ingram and clearly possess architectural details comparable with Geilsland, in particular the entrance porch with its columned supports. [7]
The McCombe family were the last owners before it became a Church of Scotland school and being involved in the fruit trade they built greenhouses, a walled garden, and fruit packing sheds. A Summer House existed in the grounds at this time, extensively used by Mr McCombe who suffered from ill health. [8]
In 1963 the property came to 13 196/1000 Acres of grounds. [9]
Lomond House within the grounds was built in a mock Gothic style in 1999 as a unit for young people with special needs. [8]
The Church of Scotland established a Special School at Geilsand in 1964, the opening date being 1 July that year. Sixty boys was set as the original intake maximum and the first major task was for the staff and pupils to convert or build the necessary buildings. The sports hall was also largely constructed by the staff and pupils. [10]
The first headteacher was Mr. A. L. 'Sandy' Munro. [11] To commemorate the millennium and the work of the school, the stained glass windows in the hall ceiling were commissioned from Gail Muir and depict the activities taught at the school. In 2002, work was undertaken to remove some of the unsympathetic 1960s additions to the building. [7]
Geilsland House was still part of Geilsland School until 2015, run by the Church of Scotland under its 'Crossreach' initiative. [12] In late 2015 Geilsland House and associated buildings were sold to the Beith Development Community Trust with financial assistance from the Scottish Land Fund. [13]
The Millport Chapel was opened and dedicated on 25 September 1976. It was built by the head teacher of wood craft and joiner William Jenkins with help from staff and pupils as a conversion of a stable and barn, with pews and pulpit coming from the East Church in Millport, Isle of Cumbrae. In March 1994 William Jenkins (Jenki) daughter Nicola was married in the Chapel to her husband Alastair Morrison, this was a very proud moment for Bill having built the chapel his daughter got married in. The hand made parquet flooring also made use of recycled oak from pews taken out of East Church in Millport. [10]
Geilsland was the subject in 1846 of an antenuptial/prenuptial agreement between Mrs Elizabeth Crawford and her husband to be, John Hallifield Spencer. This was a written contract between them, setting out the terms of possession of assets, control her late father's property and potential details of who would inherit after her death. Geilsland was to pass to her children or failing that to her sister. [14]
Ayrshire is a historic county and registration county in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine and it borders the counties of Renfrewshire and Lanarkshire to the north-east, Dumfriesshire to the south-east, and Kirkcudbrightshire and Wigtownshire to the south. Like many other counties of Scotland it currently has no administrative function, instead being sub-divided into the council areas of North Ayrshire, South Ayrshire and East Ayrshire. It has a population of approximately 366,800.
North Ayrshire is one of 32 council areas in Scotland.
Beith is a small town in the Garnock Valley, North Ayrshire, Scotland approximately 20 miles south-west of Glasgow. The town is situated on the crest of a hill and was known originally as the "Hill o' Beith" after its Court Hill.
North Ayrshire and Arran is a constituency of the British House of Commons, located in the south-west of Scotland within the North Ayrshire council area. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) at least once every five years using the first-past-the-post voting system of voting.
Kilbirnie is a small town of 7,280 inhabitants situated in the Garnock Valley area of North Ayrshire, on the west coast of Scotland. It is around 20 miles (30 km) south-west of Glasgow and approximately 10 miles (16 km) from Paisley and 13 miles from Irvine respectively. Historically, the town's main industries were flax production and weaving before iron and steelmaking took over in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The suburb of Kilbirnie in the New Zealand capital of Wellington is named after the town.
Glengarnock is a small village in North Ayrshire that lies near the west coast of Scotland. It forms part of the Garnock Valley area and is about 18 miles from Glasgow, the nearest city. The Barony of Glengarnock is one of three baronies which together form the parish of Kilbirnie in the district of Cunningham which lies in north Ayrshire. The River Garnock flows through the village, but the name Glen Garnock applies more specifically to the ravine at Glengarnock Castle, some 4 kilometres north of the village.
The River Garnock, the smallest of Ayrshire's six principal rivers, has its source on the southerly side of the Hill of Stake in the heart of the Clyde Muirshiel Regional Park. About a mile and a half south of this starting point the untested stream tumbles over the Spout of Garnock, the highest waterfall in Ayrshire, once thought to be the river's origin. The river then continues, for a total length of 20 miles (32 km) or so, through the towns of Kilbirnie, Glengarnock, Dalry and Kilwinning to its confluence with the River Irvine at Irvine Harbour.
Cunninghame North is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament (Holyrood) covering part of the council area of North Ayrshire. It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the first past the post method of election. It is also one of ten constituencies in the West Scotland electoral region, which elects seven additional members, in addition to the ten constituency MSPs, to produce a form of proportional representation for the region as a whole.
Gateside is a small village in North Ayrshire, Scotland about 1⁄2 mile east of Beith on the B777.
Spier's School, 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.
Garnock Rugby Club is an amateur rugby union club based in Glengarnock in Scotland. They currently play in West Division One.
Old Spierians RFC was an amateur rugby union club in Beith, North Ayrshire, Scotland. The club no longer exists. In 1972 they merged with Dalry HSFP to form Garnock RFC.
Kilbirnie Loch, is a freshwater Loch situated in the floodplain between Kilbirnie, Glengarnock and Beith, North Ayrshire, Scotland. It runs south-west to north-east for almost 2 km (1.2 mi), is about 0.5 km (0.31 mi) wide for the most part and has an area of roughly 3 km2. It has a general depth of around 5.2 metres (17 feet) to a maximum of around 11 metres (36 feet). The loch is fed mainly by the Maich Water, which rises in the Kilbirnie Hills near Misty Law, and is drained by the Dubbs Water that runs past the Barr Loch into Castle Semple Loch, followed by the Black Cart, the White Cart at Renfrew and finally the River Clyde. The boundary between East Renfrewshire and North Ayrshire, in the vicinity of the loch, runs down the course of the Maich Water along the northern loch shore to then run up beside the Dubbs Water.
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.
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 Morishill,Morrishill,Moorishill or Moricehill were part of the holdings of the Barony of Beith, Regality of Kilwinning and Bailiary of Cuninghame. The name may have derived from large shielings or huts that were once erected at the site.
Elections to North Ayrshire Council will be held on 5 May 2022 on the same day as the 31 other Scottish local government elections. The election will be the first to use the nine wards created under the Islands (Scotland) Act 2018, with 33 councillors being elected. Each ward – except Arran which will return one member – elected either 3, 4 or 5 members, using the STV electoral system.
Coordinates: 55°44′50″N4°37′25″W / 55.747244°N 4.623555°W
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