Benslie
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Benslie is a small village in North Ayrshire, in the parish of Kilwinning, Scotland. Map reference NS 336 429.
[edit] History
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This village, previously Benislay (1205),[1], Beinslay (Timothy Pont 1604 - 08),[2] Bainsley in 1821 (John Ainslie's map[3]), Bensley (Groome 1903),[4] Benslee or Benslee square on the 1860 OS map, is situated next to Benslie wood. The village sits on the B 785 Fergushill Road and on the junction of the road to Montgreenan and Torranyard on the Lochlibo Road. The OS maps show that it was named 'Montgreenan' up until at least 1938, with the name Benslie given to the wood, the old farmhouse on the 'island' created by the three roads and the term Benslie Square. A Mission hall is marked as being at Benslie square on the 1910 OS map. The postal address may have been the direct cause of the name change, preventing confusion with the nearby Montgreenan estate.
Some dwellings were also present at Rosebank or Woodneuk (1858 OS map), situated just before the bridge that crossed the railway at Montgreenan station. A small fire clay was developed here and only a brick tower and bing remain in 2007. The village had a small wooden community hall which was used for indoor bowls and other activities. This building was demolished in the 1980s. A tennis court also existed at one time, next to the community hall. A number of new houses have been constructed since 1990; transforming the size and nature of this rural settlement.
A Chapel Hill cottage existed at one time,[5] suggesting that the chapel existed on the 'hill', possibly within what is now Benslie Wood. A small mound existed in the wood near Wood Neuk Cottage, but this may have been removed during the building of the new houses. The 1774 Ayr Roads Act names a Corsehill Chapel on the Toll Road from Kilwinning to Dreghorn via Milnburn.[6] A statement to the effect that a chapel existed in the middle of the 'feature;' has been made, however details are lacking.[7] There is a Lady Acre on the lands of Corsehill.[8]
The local farms include Benslie Fauld, as well as North and South Millburn. A lane connected Laigh Patterton Farm with the old Netherfield farm and Benslie . The exit is preserved between the two modern buildings, Benslie House and Kinnouli, near the old fireclay mine.
Robert Aitken's 1823 map of The Parishes of Ardrossan, Stevenston and Kilwinning shows a Backmossfauld farm near the old Netherfield farm. This map also gives East Doura as the name of the farm which was later known as South Millburn.[9]
[edit] Benslie village Gallery 2007 - 2008
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[edit] The Ardrossan and Johnstone Railway - Doura branch
This line began life as a waggonway which opened in 1831 between Ardrossan and Kilwinning and was known as the Ardrossan and Johnstone Railway.[10] It was initially built to the Scotch gauge of 4 ft 6 in (1,372 mm) and was worked by horses.[11] It had a passenger services worked by a carriages which held 24 passengers; 16 inside and 8 outside.[11]
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 An original K & T R plateway sleeper. 54 cms long, 30 cms wide and 26 cm deep. The holes are 15cms deep. |
The railway was built by the Glasgow, Paisley and Johnstone Canal company. It commenced on the west side of Ardrossan harbour. The 3 mile (5 km) long Doura branch left the main line near Stevenston and crossed under the Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock and Ayr Railway to reach the Doura coal pit.[10][11] The 0.5 mile Fergus Hill branch left the Doura branch just after the Lugton Water crossing to reach the Fergus Hill coal pit.[10][11]
In 1840 the line was regauged to standard gauge and connected with the Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock and Ayr Railway at Kilwinning station; and in 1854 both lines merged with the new Glasgow and South Western Railway.
[edit] The Millburn railway building
Opposite the old South Millburn farm is a ruined cottage with highly unusual features. The gable ends both held rectangular windows with an elongated vertical axis, not set centrally, but offset towards the front of the building which itself faces South Millburn. These would have given a clear view to anyone within the building of any activity to the sides of the building. The side facing South Millburn may have had at least one similar windows to the gable inserts as shown by a surviving lintel. The side facing the Eglinton estate had a door and a least one normal shaped window with finely worked recycled stone. Only one end of the building had a fireplace. The building was used as a cottage or cottages in the early 20th-century and was later converted for use as a pig sty.[12].[12]
The old Ordnance Survey maps indicate that this building sat just behind and parallel to the horse drawn waggonway, opened in 1834, which ran up to Doura, ending at the coal pit. Later the building had the Perceton / Sourlie freight Branch of the Glasgow and South Western Railway located on its other side. A door was set into the gable end on the Millburn Drive side. The fireplace was set in the gable end, despite the odd position of the windows.[12]
This building may have been a tramway crossing keeper's cottage, controlling rail traffic crossing the Eglinton Castle estate's Millburn Drive.[14]; Millburn drive was also part of the old 1774 Toll Road from Kilwinning to Irvine,[15] running across the Redburn at the Drucken Steps and through the Draughtburn Gates.[16]
The method and architecture of the 'build' shows that it was constructed by or for the Earl of Eglinton to be in keeping with other buildings on the estate. It was built with re-cycled stone (See gallery); as were many of the estate structures, the stone mainly coming from the old Kilwinning Abbey site. Well made recycled stone is mixed with poorly worked stone and bricks.
The building is not close enough to the road to have acted as a toll house and may have served as a station of sorts, especially as it lay close to the holm where the Eglinton Tournament was held in 1839. The line was used to transport visitors to the tournament.[17] Early stations were very basic in construction and often only had a single room with a ticket office and a ladies waiting room, to which model Millburn conforms.
[edit] Millburn cottage gallery - 2007
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[edit] The 1774 Toll Road
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The Drucken Steps were stepping stones on the course of the old Toll Road which ran from the west end of Irvine through the Eglinton policies to Kilwinning via Milnburn or Millburn;[18] crossing the Redburn near Knadgerhill.
The Minutes of the Turnpike Trust of 27 may 1780 state that the road to the Dowra Coal Works had for more than 13 years been totally neglected, not one penny of Statute Money or repair of any kind have been expended. In the Winter Season and during wet weather the road was impassible, even for travelling on horseback, nor could carriages of any kind pass along it.[19]
[edit] Miner's Rows
A number of Miner's houses once existed at nearby North Fergushill, a shown by the various OS maps of the late 20th-century. Benslie itself was made up of 57 stone built miners houses, owned by A. Finnie and Son. Coalmasters. In 1913 the village was said to be 67 years old.[20] The population was 318 in 1881.[21] At first the houses only existed at the 'Square' and then later the village was extended towards the road which runs up passed the church. A number of coal pits were in the area as shown by the first edition OS map, one pit being close to the 'Millburn Cottage' opposite South Millburn.
[edit] The Coup
The coup for the 'old' miner's rows or village was just to the right of the entrance to Millburn Drive and was excavated circa 2006 by enthusiasts who retrieved many bottles and other items from the 'heyday' of the miner's rows.[12] The original 4 foot 6 inches waggonway ran along one side of this coup and a small stone fronted 'dock' or loading platform wall still stands.
[edit] Benslie wood and the Baroque deer park or garden
This 'Baroque' or 'Celtic Cross' feature is what is now known as Benslie Wood, part of the extensive Eglinton Castle historic landscape, located outside of the formal 'Pleasure Gardens' on Benslie farm.[22] Much of this landscape feature's outline survives except on the Benslie village side of the present wood, with the present road cutting through the extreme edge of the feature. The 'outline' is formed from linear earth banks which contain a quantity of stone and shows signs of being originally planted up with beech and sycamore trees as evidenced from the remains of old tree stumps or surviving old tree specimens. With no evidence of a boundary wall, it is possible that a pale existed to make the enclosure stockproof. The linear bank is mostly curved, except for short sections where 'right angle' bends were required to form the desired 'baroque' shape. It may have had a pale or fence on top of it to make it stockproof, in addition to the boundary ditch.
| Etymology |
| The meaning of Benslie is most likely to be the shelter or grassland / lea (Lee) on the hill (Ben).[23] |
Considerable skill would have been necessary to accurately lay out this complex shape. A cross-shape and peripheral 'path' network appears to have been created of which no definite sign remains. The extensive earth movements associated with the 'rig and furrow' works appear to pre-date the feature, the same works being visible in the surrounding fields as well.[12] The position of the older holly trees is suggestive of their being in lines as if they are the remains of an internal 'hedge' planting. These old holly trees were a feature of the wood as far back as the 1930s.[12] Rackham has shown that holly trees can live for three to four hundred years and therefore the old hollies could date from 1747. A few show clear signs of long predating the birch trees, their present stunted growth only occurring once the birch trees were mature and cast significant shade. [24] Holly is fairly resistant to cattle and deer, indeed it was deliberately planted because its foliage was cut as iron rations for deer and other stock in winter.[25]
The 1747 Roy's map is a 'snapshot' in time and does not necessarily represent the completed feature. It does not appear as an extension of the extensive Eglinton 'pleasure gardens', however it does appear to align with the large rond-point still known as 'The Circle'. As a feature it is unlikely that the entire 'baroque' shape could be seen from any nearby location, but it may have been discernible from the upper areas of the castle. The original feature appears to have had open launds, delineated by sycamore and beech planting on the outer boundary and possibly the aforementioned holly planting in the interior.
In 1775 Andrew Armstrong's, A new map of Ayrshire... shows a circular woodland on the borders of the Doura estate, open apart from what appears to be a single tree in its centre.
The name 'fauld' may hold a clue to the purpose or use of this landscape feature as this is Scots for an area manured by sheep, cattle or possibly deer.[26] At this time the main estate 'pleasure gardens' did not include a deer park.
The present wood is largely composed of Silver Birch trees which have grown naturally. The wood was felled in the 1940s by a foundry owner in Kilwinning and the ground was regularly burned until about forty years ago to keep it clear of brambles, trees, etc.[12] Downy birch, oak, sycamore and willow are also present. An unusually predominant presence of holly trees, especially old holly trees, has already been remarked upon and may reflect a feature of the planting of the original 'Baroque' feature.
The 'Baroque' or 'Celtic cross' layout is said to be similar to that which existed at the Optagon Park, Alloa Estate, Clackmannanshire; which in turn was modelled after the Dutch taste and based upon Hampton Court, the favourite home of King William; a Dutchman.[27] It is possible that this area was incomplete when mapped by Roy in the 1750s.
Mr. Robert McGill of North Millburn Farm recalls that local lore has it that after a 'plague' in the 19th-century a large number of people from the local miner's rows were buried in a mass grave in Benslie Wood.[28] Another local tradition is that the bodies were buried in the nether fields of Soth Millburn, close to the old Doura coal pit.[29]
The wood was created on the lands of the old Benslie farm, however a small wood existed before and a remnant of this wood survived until recently in the area now occupied by Benslie House and Kinnouli.[30]) John Thomson's Atlas of Scotland, 1832, shows Benslie Wood, bisected by a road, but without the characteristic shape.
[edit] Baroque Deer park / Benslie Wood gallery
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[edit] The Benslie wood mound
A Moot hill usually existed within each barony in feudal times, such as the surviving 'Court Hill' near Beith and the now destroyed example at Greenhills near Barmill in the Barony of Giffen. Fergushill was a barony, as was Montgreenan. It is not known where the moot hills were for these. A fair sized mound is shown on several OS maps as existing within Benslie Wood close behind Wood Neuk cottage and therefore to the rear of the modern houses facing onto the road to Montgreenan.
The purpose of this mound is unknown, however it would have been a prominent feature if the hill was not afforested and it could have served as the moot hill for the barony or it may be a plausible candidate for the site of the old chapel.
An irregularly shaped raised area of ground runs down from near Benslie Fauld farm into the garden of Wood Neuk.
[edit] Fergushill church
Fergushill church in Benslie was built to serve the local rural and mining communities of Doura, Fergushill, and Montgreenan .[31] It was consecrated on Sunday, 3 November 1879 and the first minister was then Rev. William McAlpine.[32] It got its name from the Fergushill Mission which was based at Fergushill school which had closed in 1950. The old school master's house (See photograph) is still in existence at the junction of the road to Seven Acres Mill.[33] The church had its spire blown down in a gale in 1968, also damaging the roof; the building was repaired in 1969.[34]
The manse, later named 'Janburrow' is now a private house and stands at the entrance to the old Montgreenan railway station drive. Opposite is Burnbrae cottage, built as the Montgreenan Estate factor's house in 1846. 'Janburrow' is derived from the lady named Janet who came from Burrowland farm and lived in the old manse for many years after a Mrs Reid, the previous owner, had died.
[edit] Fergushill church gallery
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[edit] Doura Hall
Doura Hall was a 17th-century building located on the road up to Doura Mains farm. It had been the intention of the Lairds of Corsehill to build a new house at the 'Dowrie', nothing was done, however plans of the proposed buildings have survived.[35] It was lived in by Sir Walter Montgomerie-Cunninghame in the 1780s after he lost Lainshaw House. James Boswell described it as a poor building. It was demolished in the 19th-century and appeared on the 1910 25 inch to the mile OS map. A Dovecote hill and orchard brae are further reminders of this estate, owned by the Cunninghames of Corsehill.[36] South Millburn is marked as East Doura on the 1910 OS map. A smithy was located at the Doura hamlet in the late 18th-century.
In 1775 Andrew Armstrong's, A new map of Ayrshire... shows the 'Dowrey' mansion house and wooded policies of Doura. John Ainslie's 1821 Map of the Southern Part of Scotland uses the name 'Dourey'.
[edit] Micro history, traditions and wildlife
Plagues were an occurrence in the 18th and 19th-centuries with outbreaks of Small pox in 1791, Cholera in 1832 and Scarlet fever in 1837. Sentinels were placed at points on the roads to stop anyone entering or leaving the effected areas.[34]
The name 'Benslie' exists as a surname.[37] It is not known if any connection exists with the village.
The British Telecom 2006/7 'Phone Book' has Benslie with the spelling 'Bensley' and even Bensley Cottage (Sic) is recorded as being in Montgreenan.
Houses existed at the end of Millburn Drive and mid-way along. On the left when facing Millburn Lodge; where it joins Fergushill Road, was the railway hut used by the railway employee who controlled the level crossing gates which permitted freight trains to cross the drive.[12]
A rare visitor, the Ivory Gull, was photographed at Laigh Patterton Farm, in Jan 2007.[38]
[edit] References
- ^ Eglinton Country Park archive.
- ^ Pont, Timothy (1604). Cuninghamia. Pub. Blaeu in 1654.
- ^ Maps at the National Library of Scotland. John Ainslie's Map
- ^ Groome, Francis H. (1903). Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland. Pub. Caxton. London. P. 148.
- ^ a b Eglinton Country Park archive.
- ^ McClure, David (1994). Tolls and Tacksmen. Ayr Arch & Nat Hist Soc. Ayrshire Monograph No.13. P. 53.
- ^ Benslie wood chapel
- ^ Robertson, William (1889). Historical Tales and Legends of Ayrshire Vol. II. London: Hamilton, Adams & Co. P. 30.
- ^ Aitken, Robert (1829). The Parish Atlas of Ayrshire - Cunninghame. Pub. W. Ballantine. Edinburgh.
- ^ a b c Lewin, Henry Grote (1925). Early British Railways. A short history of their origin & development 1801-1844. London: The Locomotive Publishing Co Ltd. OCLC 11064369. P. 17 - 18
- ^ a b c d Wishaw
- ^ a b c d e f g h Janet McGill (2008) of Auchenwinsey Farm. Oral information.
- ^ Roscoe, Thomas (1839). The London and Birmingham Railway; with the .... etc., Pub. Charles Lilt. London. Facing P. 64.
- ^ a b McClure, David (1994). Tolls and Tacksmen. Ayr Arch & Nat Hist Soc. Ayrshire Monograph No.13. P. 53.
- ^ McClure, David (1994). Tolls and Tacksmen. Ayr Arch & Nat Hist Soc. Ayrshire Monograph No.13. P. 53.
- ^ Strawhorn, John (1985). The History of Irvine. Pub. John Donald. ISBN 0-85976-140-1.
- ^ Anstruther, Ian (1963),"The Knight and the Umbrella: An Account of the Eglinton Tournament — 1839", Geoffrey Bles Ltd, London.
- ^ McClure, David (1994). Tolls and Tacksmen. Ayr Arch & Nat Hist Soc. Ayrshire Monograph No.13. P. 53.
- ^ The Turnpike Era.
- ^ Benslie Miner's Rows
- ^ Groome, Francis H. (1903). Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland. Pub. Caxton. London. P. 148.
- ^ General Roy's Military Survey of Scotland 1747 - 52.
- ^ Warrack, Alexander (1982) Chambers Scots Dictionary. Pub. W. & R. Chambers. Edinburgh.
- ^ Rackham, Oliver (1976) Trees and Woodland in the British Landscape. Pub. J.M.Dent & Sons Ltd. ISBN 0-460-04183-5. P. 27.
- ^ Rackham, Oliver (1976) Trees and Woodland in the British Landscape. Pub. J.M.Dent & Sons Ltd. ISBN 0-460-04183-5. P. 158.
- ^ Warrack, Alexander Edit. Chambers Scots Dictionary. Pub. W. & R. Chambers, Edinburgh.
- ^ Swan, Adam (1987). Clackmannan and the Ochils. Pub. Scottish Academic press. ISBN 07073-0513-6 19.
- ^ McGill, Robert, North Millburn Farm. Oral communication. 2007.
- ^ Janet McGill (2008) of Auchenwinsey Farm. Oral information.
- ^ Maps at the National Library of Scotland. John Ainslie's Map
- ^ Fergushill Church
- ^ Ker, Rev. William Lee (1900) Kilwinnning. Pub. A.W.Cross, Kilwinning. P. 153.
- ^ Ker, Rev. William Lee (1900) Kilwinnning. Pub. A.W.Cross, Kilwinning. P. 151.
- ^ a b Ness, J. A. (1969 - 70). Landmarks of Kilwynnyng. Privately produced.
- ^ Davis, Michael C. (1991). The Castles and Mansions of Ayrshire. Pub. Spindrift Press, Ardrishaig, Pps. 206 & 207.
- ^ Davis, Michael C. (1991). The Castles and Mansions of Ayrshire. Pub. Spindrift Press, Ardrishaig, Pps. 206 & 207.
- ^ Benslie genealogical site.
- ^ Ivory Gull
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- A photograph of Benslie wood from the B 785
- Ayrshire History & Benslie Wood.
- A map of Benslie.
- Maps at the National Library of Scotland.
- 1860 OS Maps.
- General Roy's Military Survey of Scotland 1747 - 52.
