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Dundonald
DUNDONALD,(1) a parish in the north-west of
Kyle, on the
coast of Ayrshire. It is bounded on the north by Irvine
water, which separates it from Irvine, Dreghorn, and
Kilmaurs; on the east by Riccarton and Craigie; on the
south-east by Symington and Monkton; and on the south-west
and west by the frith of Clyde. From a bend in Irvine
water, before that stream enters Irvine harbour, the
parish extends southward along the coast 7½ miles; in its
greatest breadth it extends between 6 and 7 miles; and it
contains an area of about 17 square miles. It is
divided from south to north into two nearly equal parts,
by the low range called the Claven hills, and afterwards
by Stewalton moss. The upper or eastern section is a
rolling surface of gentle eminences, adorned with clumps
and belts of plantation; and consists, in general, of a
fertile, loamy clay. The lower or western section is
nearly a dead flat; immediately on the coast, except
around Troon, and in some other spots, it is sandy and
barren; and from half-a-mile inland, it has an excellent
soil, and is in a state of fine cultivation. The
promontory of Troon, protruding 1¼ mile into the sea, and
not ¼ mile of average breadth, forms a fine feature in the
landscape of the Ayrshire coast, as seen from the
eminences south-eastward of Ayr.
The Claven hills range south-eastward about 3 miles, and
south-westward about 1½ mile, and are all either under
culture, in pasturage, or covered with plantation. They
are so low as not to bear comparison with the other bills
of the county, yet have long been distinguished by
particular names. One of the largest is called Warley
hill, — probably a corruption of 'warlike;' and bears on
its summits the vestiges of two encampments. The
Norwegians who landed near Ayr, and were afterwards
defeated at Largs, it is thought, fortified this hill; and
they here were not only on a post of great security from
the hostile warlike appliances of their period, but
enjoyed a delightful and extensive view over the rich
amphitheatre of Cunningham and Kyle, and the picturesque
attractions of the frith of Clyde. On a rising ground,
near the village of Dundonald, stands the ruin of
Dundonald castle, described below. Westward of the
castle is a very beautiful sylvan bank, nearly a mile in
length, and, in most places, upwards of 100 feet in
height. In a grand curvature of this bank, and on a gentle
eminence, stands the house of Auchans, for a long Period
the residence of the Wallaces of Dundonald; afterwards,
about 1640, the property of Sir William Cochrane of
Loudon, who was created Earl of Dundonald; and
subsequently the possession of the Earls of Eglington.
At the Auchans are the remains of a small orchard, which
was once in high reputation. I the pear, well-known in
Scotland by the name of Auchans, derived that name from
this place. The tree came originally from France, was
planted in this orchard, grew to a great height, and was,
not long ago, blown down by a storm. It appears that the
Wallaces had preceded the noble family of Dundonald in the
possession of this property, as well as that of Auchans:
for Douglas mentions John Wallace of Dundonald and
Auchans, as having married a daughter of David Stuart of
Castlemilk, some time posterior to the year 1570. Both
father and son, of the same name, are mentioned as
proprietors of Dundonald, a. d. 1572. Plantations,
especially around Auchans, are large. Shewalton moss,
nearly 4 miles in circumference, affords an inexhaustible
supply of peat. Coal abounds, and is worked in large
quantities for exportation. The parish is traversed
south-westward by the railway from Kilmarnock to Troon,
and southward along the coast by the great railway between
Glasgow and Ayr; it is intersected, in various directions,
by 7 or 8 lines of road, and it has harbours at Troon,
Halfway or Irvine. Its villages are Troon [See TROON],
Dundonald, Fairlie, Shewalton, Loans, and Halfway. The
last is a suburb of Irvine, In 1836, Troon had a
population of 1,088; Fairlie and Shewalton, of 505,
chiefly colliers; Dundonald and Loans, of 505, consisting
principally of handloom weavers and handicraftsmen; and
Halfway, 2,571, consisting chiefly of seamen,
ship-carpenters, and persons employed about the harbour.
Population of the parish, in 1801, 1,240; in 1831,
5,579.(2)
Houses 685. Assessed property, in 1815, £14,385.- Dundonald is in the presbytery of Ayr, and synod of
Glasgow and Ayr. Patron, the Earl of Eglinton. Stipend
£256 2s. 1d.; glebe £8. Unappropriated
teinds £647 1s. 5d. - The parish-church was built
in 1803, and repaired in 1835; sittings 611. In 1836 an
additional church was erected at Troon, having 900
sittings; and another was about to be erected at Halfway,
with from 800 to 1,000 sittings. Both were intended to be
made parish-churches, quoad sacra. - The United Secession
built at Troon a chapel in 1822 or 1823, with 289
sittings; and though they for a time abandoned it, they
have recently had their people there recongregated. — In
1830. according to the report of the religious instruction
commission, there were in the parish persons belonging to
the Established church, 3,960; belonging to other
denominations, 1,878; not known to belong to any
denomination, 29: total, 5,867. Parish scnoolmaster's
salary £29 18s. 9d., with about £50 of other emoluments.
There are 10 schools not parochial, — 3 of them
exclusively for females. — The parish of Dundonald
anciently comprehended, on the east, the chapelry of
Riccarton, which was erected into a separate parish long
before the Reformation; and, on the south, the chapelry of
Crossby, now included in the united parishes of Monkton
and Prestwick. The church, along with its two chapels,
belonged to the monks of Paisley, and was served by a
vicar.
Dundonald castle has never made any conspicuous appearance
in our national history; but it claims attention as having
been the residence of some of our princes of the house of
Stuart. It is situated on the coast of the frith of Clyde,
in the above parish. This castle gives name to the earldom
in the family of Cochrane; but the rising ground on which
the castle stands, with 5 roods of land adjoining, is all
the property in this parish which now pertains to that
family. No authentic record can be produced as to the time
when the castle was built, or when it was spoiled of its
roof, and rendered desolate. A large pile still remains.
The walls are very thick, and built of whinstone, which
abounds in the vicinity. The corners are of a freestone
superior in quality to any now found in the parish. The
Stuart arms are engrossed in different parts of the
building, and the whole has much the form of those castles
which were raised in many places of Britain during the
12th and 13th centuries. "The manor and parish of
Dundonald belonged to Walter, the son of Alan, the first
Stewart, who held the whole of the northern half of Kyle,
in the beginning of the reign of William the Lion; and it
might have been granted to him by David I., or his
successor Malcolm IV. Perhaps the castle of Dundonald was
built by the first Walter, who had no appropriate house or
castle when he settled in Scotland. It seems to have been
the only castle which the Stewarts had in their extensive
barony of Kyle Stewart; but several of their vassals had
small castles in that district." ['Caledonia,' vol. iii.
p. 508.] — Some writers have asserted — although perhaps
rather on doubtful authority — that Walter, the first of
this name, and son of Fleance, received from Malcolm
Canmore the baronies of Strathgrief, or Renfrew, and Kyle,
in lieu of his pretensions to Lochaber. We do not know
that the name of this place occurs before the mention that
is made of it in the designation of Walter, the third of
this Christian name, who is designed 'of Dundonald.' He
was made Justiciary of Scotland by Alexander II., in 1230.
It was his son Alexander who behaved so gallantly in the
battle of Largs, against the Norwegians. "The castle of
Dundonald," says Chalmers, "became the retreat of Robert
II., after his retirement from government, upon the death
of James, Earl of Douglas, at Otterburn, in 1388." He
must, however, before this date, have occasionally made
this the place of his residence: for Sir John Kennedy, of
Dunure, having endowed a chapel adjoining to the
burial-place of the parish-church of Maybole, this grant
is confirmed by Robert II. at Dundonald, 4th December,
1371.(3) Robert II., after he ascended the throne, lived
much in Dundonald castle, wherein he died in 1390. This
event is particularly commemorated by the good prior of
St. Serf's Inch in Lochlevin:
The secownd Robert of Scotland Kyng,
As God purwaid, maid endyng
At Downdownald in his cuntre.
Of a schort seknes thare deyd he.
Wyntoun, B. ix. c. 10, v.3
In the same fortress, his mild, but unfortunate, son and
successor, Robert III. occasionally resided.(4) We need
scarcely remind the reader, that this prince had been
baptized by the name of John; but that this being deemed
an unlucky name — as exemplified in the history of King
John of England, of John Baliol, and of John, king of
France — it was, at his accession, judged expedient that
he should assume that of Robert. Hence, in the language of
the vulgar, he was commonly known by the sobriquet of John
Fernyeir, equivalent to "John of the last year," or "he
who was formerly called John." His first title of honour
seems to have been Lord of Kyle; afterwards he was Earl of
Carrick; as we learn from Wyntoun :—
Syne eftyrwartis all a qwhile
Wyth a gret folk the Lord of Kyle,
That syne was Erle of Karryke,
And alsua Prynce of our kynryk,
Made in Annandirdale a rade,
And sa lang tyme thare-in he bade,
Qwhill all the folk of that cuntre
Consentyt Scottis men to be.
Cronykil, B. viii. c. 42, r. 197.
It would appear, that the title above referred to was not,
like that of Earl of Carrick, connected with the dignity
of heir apparent, but had been given to him as a younger
son, from the patrimonial inheritance of the Stewarts.
This good prince terminated his unhappy reign, April 4th,
1406. According to Pinkerton, this event took place at the
castle of Rothsay in Bute. This corresponds with the
account given by the continuator of Fordun, and by Skene
in his 'Table of all the Kinges of Scotland. 'But
Ruddiman, David Macpherson, and others, give the
preference to Wyntoun's testimony, who says that he died
at Dundonald :—
A thousand and foure hundyr yere
To tha tlie sext all reknyt clere,—
Robert the thrid, oure Lord the Kyng,
Maid at Dundownald
his endyng.
CRONYKIL, B. ix. c. 26, v. 1.
Not far from this royal seat, the remains of an ancient
ecclesiastical foundation are still to be seen, popularly
denominated, 'Our Lady Kirk of Kyle: 'but the time of its
erection is quite unknown. This chapel was called Capella
de la Grace, as appears from a charter of James IV., A.D.
1490. From its vicinity to Dundonald, it seems to have, at
least, occasionally received some special tokens of royal
favour. For the same prince, we are told, never passed
through that part of the country without making an
offering at 'Our Lady's Kirk of Kyle.' It appears that
belonging to this establishment, there was a very useful
minister of the church of Rome, who was commonly known as
"Our Lady of Kyle's Pardoner," and who seems, like others
of the same order, to have perambulated the country for
the purpose of vending her acts of grace.(5)
{1 The name means 'Donald's hill' or fort,' and must have
been derived froman eminence within its limits surmounted
by a stronghold.}
{2 The vast difference between the population in 1801 and
1831. it not all increase. For since 1821, the villages of Troon, Halfway, and Sherralton, were detached from the
parish of Irvine, and annexed to that of Dundonald. 1831,
these alone contained 2,516 of the population; and, in the
census of 1801, they of course do not appear, or appear
only in the parish of Irvine.}
{3 Wood's Doug. Peerage, i. 325. Reg. Mag. Sig. p. 83, No.
282. The orthography appears more correct in Robertson's
Index, p.33, No.262, where it is Doundovenald.}
{4 This, it would seem, may be fairly assumed from the
supplies provided for the royal family here. As Irvine was
the nearest seaport to Dundonald, and only a few miles
distant from it, there is extant a Compotum of 1396, — in
which it is stated, that there was paid to the burgesses
of Irvine, in different installments for the use of the
house of "our Lord the King." for goods in vessels and
other utensils, ordered by the King's letters under his
own seal, £13 3s. 4d.; and to the officers of the king's
house, for their services for that year, £23 18s 8d
[Rotul, Compot. ii. 345.] There is another of the bailies
of Irwyn, A.D. 1398, for money paid for the proper use of
"our lord the King." From the same source, we learn that
herrings had formed no inconsiderable part of the
provision made tor the royal family. For a charge is
stated "for the purchase of six thousand mayse of herrings
for the use of the King," A.D. 1402. This Compotum,
however, apparently refers to Perth.}
{5 James IV. being at Edinburgh, December, December 8th,
1511, gave gratuity of three shillings to "Our Lady of
Kyle's Pardoner." Various instances of his liberality have
a prior date. July 6th, 1497, he gave an offering of 14s.
in "Our Lady's Kirk of Kyle;" in September of the same
year, when he was at "Our Lady Kirk of Kyle," he, by his
treasurer, paid £5 for five trentales of masses to be
there said for him. - 'Caledonia,' iii. 497, 498.
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