Balvonie, 1 Halketburn Road – B Listed
Photo sources: 1., 3. – 16. courtesy of the Lambrechts & Blyth family. 2. 1910 Ordinance Survey. 17. Facebook: Skelmorlie & Wemyss Bay in their Heyday. 18. & 19. Postcards of Balvonie – Circa 1950 and Interior 1960s – Courtesy of Mr & Mrs Lambrecht. 20 – 27 Photos of Balvonie 2016-20 following refurbishment – Mr & Mrs Lambrecht.
| Owners | Dates | Notes / Alterations |
|---|---|---|
| Earl of Eglinton and Winton | Pre 1904 | Landowner |
| Mr Robert Blyth and children | 1904 – 1921 | Feu contract signed. Build Commissioned by Robert Blyth. Architect – Henry E Clifford |
| Mr William & Mrs Jessie Dobbie | 1921 – 1938 | |
| Mrs Elizabeth Cockburn | 1938 – 1945 | |
| Mr William Marr | 1945 – 1959 | |
| The Salvation Army | 1959 – 2005/6 | 1960s – Main house altered for use as a conference centre. Gabled wing added between house and laundry. 1970s/80s – Standalone hall constructed opposite coach house. 1985 – Tree preservation order (wooded area) 1995 Annex added housing 10 bedrooms. 2000 – Timber equipment shed added. |
| Dickie & Moore Construction Ltd. | 2005/6 – 2009 | 2008/9 – Hall knocked down and ground cleared. Orchard cleared. 2009 – Remaining land sold. |
| Mr Rick & Mrs Lorna Lambrecht | 2007 – Present | 2007 – Main house, annex, coach house and woodland purchased. 2007 – 2014 Modernisation & back to ‘period’ refurbishment of main house. 2009 – Remaining land purchased. |
The House:
Balvonie is situated on a commanding hillside position overlooking the Firth of Clyde, between Eglinton Terrace to the west and Halketburn Road to the north. [1][2]
The history of this beautiful mansion dates to 1904, when the Earl of Eglinton and Winton granted seven acres of land to Robert Blyth, General Manager of the Union Bank of Scotland. The contract required Robert Blyth to build a dwelling house or villa of no less value than £3,000. [1]
There have been only a few alterations to the house and grounds since its original build (marked in red below). Most of these were made during the time Balvonie was used as a conference centre by the Salvation Army.
Alterations made by The Salvation Army
- 1. A gabled wing was added in the 1960s, between the house and the laundry, for use by the Salvation Army Superintendent.
2. The conservatory to the south was removed around 1960 (hatched square on map).
3. A hall was erected on the other side of the driveway from the coach house. It was built in the 1970s/80s and demolished in 2008.
4. A separate annex, housing 10 bedrooms, was added to the south of the house on the site of the grass tennis court in 1995. [2][4]
From the 1910 Ordinance survey map, we can see that the original property had two driveways (shown in grey). The main driveway opened onto Eglinton Terrace, just to the south of where the Halketburn runs under the road. The second driveway, and the only one in existence today, is accessed from Halketburn Road and runs past the coach house (marked in yellow). [2]
Like many of the large houses of its time, Balvonie had a walled garden (to the southwest of the plot, marked in yellow), where fruit, vegetables, and flowers were grown for use in the house. As mentioned above, there was originally a tennis court to the south of the house, and we’ve been told that there were formal gardens to the south and west. [2][4]
Moving on to the house itself.
Balvonie Exterior Features
Balvonie is a beautiful house, built in the Arts and Crafts/Tudor style. Historic Scotland describes it as a two-storey, roughly U-plan-shaped, gabled house with a forecourt. It also features:
- a crenelated entrance to the north with a timber panelled front door in a recessed porch,
- a small veranda to the south,
- bull-faced snecked red sandstone with ashlar dressings to the lower floor and gables,
- some white painted render to the first floor and decorative half-timbering to the north,
- several crenelated bay windows,
- stone mullioned windows on the gables,
- mostly sash and case windows with plate-glass to the lower sashes, and multi-light upper sashes,
- plain bargeboards,
- Corniced chimney stacks with red clay cans and a bell cast, red-tiled roof, with red ridge tiles. [3][5]
Author’s note: Follow the link for a glossary of architectural terms. [5]
Historic Scotland concludes that “The exterior detailing has been skilfully handled, with alternating sections of half-timbering, painted render and plain sandstone balancing each other in a manner that quietly draws attention to the different parts of the building.” [3]
The interior is just as striking. Entering the front door, there is an outer entrance hall with a boot room to the left. A panelled, glazed screen divides the outer and inner hallway. This hallway has panelling to picture rail level, a decorative plaster diamond frieze, and a beamed ceiling. A timber staircase, with matching wooden balustrade, rises from the inner hall to the upper landing and two majestic stone mullioned windows with leaded panes that light the area (one in the lower hallway and one on the staircase). [3][5]
Opening off the hallway to the south is the dining room, which has panelling to picture rail level, a huge bay window, a beamed ceiling, and a timber chimneypiece. A doorway leads from this room to a veranda which faces south and overlooks what was originally a grass tennis court. [3][5]
The original drawing room was in the southwest of the house. Today, it’s a kitchen, although the special features have been retained and incorporated. The timber chimney piece is recessed in an arched inglenook supported on Doric columns. Also, of note is a small stained-glass window depicting a sailing ship and the wording “Little boats should keep near shore, but larger ships may venture more.” A version of Franklin Benjamin’s metaphor, from his book ‘The Way to Wealth’. Very apt for the house of a banker. The room has two large bay windows with plate glass to the lower sash and multi-lights at the top. [3][5]
To the northwest of the house, there was an open-plan billiard room and library, which today is the sitting room. At the north end of this room, there’s a large timber chimneypiece, which is slightly recessed in an arch supported on Doric columns. The adjoining library has a corner timber chimney piece, some panelling up to the picture rail, and some built-in bookshelves. The ceiling is beamed in both areas. [3][5]
Moving upstairs….
There are arched ceilings in the principal west and south-facing bedrooms. The main bedroom in the southwest corner of the house also has an inglenook fireplace, with a timber settee and built-in wardrobes. Most of the original fixtures have survived inside, including all the main fireplaces, and many of the built-in wardrobes in the bedrooms. [3]
Balvonie today has been lovingly restored by its current owners to retain its character and heritage. Whilst it remains a family home, it is also hired out when the owners are not present. [4]
Author’s note: To help bring the house to life and show you some of the amazing features, we’ve included the promotional video for Balvonie, which is 2.5 minutes long.
About the owners:
Robert Blyth (owner between 1904 and 1918)
Robert Blyth – Family Tree
Our first owner, Robert Blyth, was born in 1843 in Glasgow, the sixth of seven children. His grandfather was a leather merchant, and his father, John Swanson Blyth, was a partner in the firm of Lethem, Blyth & Lethem, muslin manufacturers in the city. His mother was Elizabeth Oswald Letham, who we assume is related to one of John’s business partners. [7][8][9]
Robert was educated at Glasgow Academy, the University of Glasgow, and New College, London. He served his accounting apprenticeship in the office of James McClelland. At the time, James McClelland was regarded as one of the city’s leading accountants and was the founder and first president of the Glasgow Institute of Accountants and Actuaries. [9]
At the age of 30, in 1873, Robert married Isabella Charlotte Muir, who was 27 at the time. Isabella’s father was Andrew Muir, a London merchant, and her mother was Isabella Charlotte Fox. Over the next 10 years, the couple had four children: Alice (1874), Lucy (1876), Margaret (1879), and Robert (1883). [7][8][9]
Robert Blyth
Around 1881, Robert was made a partner in the firm. He stayed on for a further 10 years, earning a reputation as a specialist in the field of banking sector audit and liquidations. In 1891, he was appointed the General Manager of Scottish Amicable. Two years later, he was elected a Fellow of the Faculty of Actuaries in Scotland and President of the Insurance and Actuarial Society in Glasgow. [9]
Robert’s career continued to flourish, and in 1895, he was appointed General Manager of the Union Bank of Scotland. [9]
Author’s note: The Union Bank was founded in 1830 as the Glasgow Union Bank. The name changed to the Union Bank of Scotland after several amalgamations, and in 1955, it was absorbed by the Bank of Scotland. [10]
Around 1897, Robert rented Skelmorlie House, located at the north corner of the Crescent and Sandybrae Road. As he was still working at the Union Bank, this was most likely a weekend or holiday home. [11]
At the time of the 1901 census, Robert (57), his wife Isabella (54), and their four children, Alice (27), Lucy (24), Margaret (22), and Robert (17) were staying at 1 Montgomerie Quadrant in Kelvinside, Glasgow, which had seventeen rooms. [12]
Author’s note: We understand that between 1925 and 1930, Montgomerie Quadrant became Cleveden Crescent Lane, and similarly, Montgomerie Drive and Crescent became Cleveden Crescent and Drive. [13]
Cleveden Crescent – Glasgow
In this census, Robert describes his occupation as Banker, Chartered Accountant, Actuarial Fellow, and Justice of the Peace. Robert Junior gives his occupation as an Art Student.
The family had four live-in servants: a cook and three maids. [12]
Three years later, in 1904, Robert acquired the land on which Balvonie sits today and commissioned the construction of the house, which was completed in early 1906. In the meantime, the family continued to rent and live in Skelmorlie House until Balvonie was ready. [1][11]
Robert continued to work at the Union Bank of Scotland until 1909, when he retired. [9]
In 1911, the whole family was at Balvonie: Robert (67), his wife Isabella (64), Alice (36), Lucy (34), Margaret (32), and Robert (27), an actuarial clerk. The house had seventeen rooms with one or more windows, and there were four live-in servants. The cook, Joan Sutherland, was the same as in 1901. [14]
Just a year later, in 1912, Robert’s wife, Isabella, died at home, aged 66. She was followed by their daughter Margaret, who died in 1916, aged 37, and then Robert himself in 1917. [7]
Once the estate was settled, Balvonie was left to the three remaining children in equal shares: Robert, who was by then a lieutenant in the army and living in Haslemere, Middlesex, and his two sisters, Alice and Lucy, who still lived at Balvonie. [1]
lectern and a bible at the South Parish Church Skelmorlie
stained-glassed window depicting “The Angel at the Tomb” Skelmorlie
We know that the Blyths were regular churchgoers. In 1904, Robert gifted the lectern and a bible to the South Parish Church following its enlargement. In 1917, the siblings gifted a stained-glass window depicting “The Angel at the Tomb” in memory of their father, mother, and younger sister. [15]
In March 1921, the Blyth siblings sold Balvonie and moved to Surrey. [1][11]
Robert Blyth, his wife, and three daughters are buried in Glasgow Necropolis. [16]
William and Jessie Dobbie (owners between 1921 and 1938)
The next owner of Balvonie was Mr William Love Dobbie, a shipowner from Glasgow. [1]
William was born at St Ninian’s Manse, 2 Albert Terrace on London Road in Stranraer, in 1868. His father, Thomas Dobbie, was a minister in the United Presbyterian (U.P.) Church, and his mother was Agnes Love. [17]
In the 1871 census, we learn that the Manse had 10 rooms, that William had two brothers: James, born in 1866, and Aemilius, born in 1869. The family also had two live-in servants: a nurse and a general domestic. [18]
Mr William Love Dobbie – Family Tree
By 1881, the family had moved house to Hamilton Drive in Hillhead, and William’s father was now minister at Lansdowne U.P. Church, half a mile away on Great Western Road. With the birth of three sisters: Mary in 1872, Jane in 1875, and Janet in 1879, William was now the second eldest of six children. The new house was a similar size to the last, with eleven rooms, and the family still employed two live-in servants: a nurse and a general domestic. [18]
Author’s Note: William and his brothers were not recorded at home in 1881. We can only assume that as teenagers, they were either away at school or on holiday with a relative.
We lose track of William until he gets married in 1899. At this time, he was 31, his occupation was Iron Merchant, and his usual address was North Park Terrace (now known as Hamilton Drive), Hillhead. His wife was Jessie Ross Brown, aged 27. Jessie’s father was James Brown, a pottery manufacturer, and his mother was Jessie Duncan. The wedding took place in Finnart United Presbyterian Church in Greenock and was conducted jointly by the local minister and Thomas’s father. [17]
After the wedding, the couple moved to 34 Granby Street, now Hillhead Street, where their first child, Hugh Kerr Love Dobbie, was born in 1900. The family lived there until 1902, but at the time of the 1901 census, they were staying at the Glenburn Hydropathic in Rothesay. William was 33 and still an Iron Merchant, Jessie was 29, and Hugh was 11 months old. [17][18][19]
In 1902, the family moved to Greenock West. Initially, they lived at 62 Finnart Street, where their son Ernest was born. From there, they moved to Ardgowan Street, where their son Thomas was born. Next, they moved to 50 Esplanade, where they lived when their daughter Winifred was born, as well as for the 1911 census. Finally, they moved to 101 Finnart Street, which was called Erlsmere, around 1914, where they lived until 1921. [18]
Mr William Dobbie – Family Tree
Around 1904, William went into partnership with John McNab Marshall to carry on business as Shipowners, Ship and Insurance Brokers in Glasgow, under the name ‘Marshall & W.L Dobbie’. Over the next 10 years, the company had at least four cargo ships built by Russell & Co. in Port Glasgow. [20][21][22]
Marshall & W.L Dobbie
Earl Of Forfar
The partnership lasted until 1914 when it was dissolved, with William retaining the ships and John taking on the Brokerage. [22]
Authors Note: From the 1921 census we learn that William continued to run his Iron and Steel Manufacturing business in parallel to the Ship ownership firm. [18]
Jessie Dobbie outside Balvonie with one of her sons
In February 1921 William Dobbie purchased Balvonie. At the subsequent census later in the year, we find all family members present except Thomas, who would have been 16 or 17. William was 53 years old, Jessie was 48, Hugh was 21 years old and working in an ‘Iron and Steel Office’, presumably his father’s business, Ernest was 19 and still at school, and Winifred was 12. Living with the family were a cook, two housemaids and a chauffeur. The family have one female visitor with a surname of Brown, who is possibly a relative of Jessie’s. [1][18]
Jessie Dobbie
Four years later, in 1925, William died aged 57 years. Unusually, he is buried in the Protestant Cemetery in Jerusalem. There, the gravestone refers to him as the beloved husband of Jessie and son of the late Rev. Thomas Dobbie. [17][23]
Jessie continued to live at Balvonie until 1938, when she sold it and purchased Wilmar on Eglinton Terrace, which she renamed Erlsmere, possibly after her and William’s previous home at 101 Finnart Street, Greenock. Jessie continued to live at Wilmar until her death in 1955. [1][17][24]
John and Elizabeth Cockburn (owners between 1938 and 1945)
Mr John and Mrs Elizabeth Cockburn were the next family to own Balvonie. Unusually for the period, the house was purchased by Elizabeth. [1]
John Cockburn was born in 1881 in Grangemouth to James Cockburn, a chemist, and Elizabeth Craig. He was the middle child of three. His elder sister was born in 1879, and his younger sister was born in 1890. [25][26]
In 1891, we find John and his family visiting a friend’s home in Prestwick. Unfortunately, it’s not possible to read either the owner’s surname or the house address. [26]
Ten years later, in 1901, the family was living in Millbrae Crescent in Cathcart. The street comprises an elegant row of two-storey terraced houses and is believed to have been designed either by Alexander “Greek” Thomason or his architectural partner Robert Turnbull. The houses are not large, with seven rooms, but they are now B-listed, indicating their historical importance. At the time, John’s parents were 49 and 44 years old, respectively. His sisters, Ellen and Margaret, were 21 and 11 years old, and John was 19 and an apprentice Chartered Accountant. They had one live-in servant. [26] [27]
At some point over the next 10 years, the family moved to a slightly larger house (nine rooms) in Cathcart. By this time, John was 29 and an accountant at a private firm. [26]
Elizabeth Wellwood Fleming was born in 1886, the eldest of four. Her father was Andrew Lachlan Fleming, a cloth salesman, and his mother was Jane Wellwood. At the time, the family lived in Shawlands in Glasgow. [25]
In 1901, the family was living in a seven-room house in Rothesay. Elizabeth was fourteen, her sister was thirteen, and her two younger brothers were nine and three years old. There was one live-in domestic. [26]
By 1911, when Elizabeth was 24, the family had moved back to Glasgow, to a nine-room house in Cathcart. [26]
Later the same year, Elizabeth and John got married in the United Free Church in Cathcart. Before the wedding, the two families only lived a couple of streets apart from each other, so it’s possible that the couple met locally at the Church, in Newlands Park, or somewhere similar. By the time of the wedding, John had become a Company Secretary. [25]
Ten years later, we find John and Elizabeth at Rose Cottage in West Kilbride, which had fifteen rooms. John was 39 and a stockbroker with his own company. Elizabeth was 35. There were two children, James, aged two, and John, who was a newborn, aged just 2 months old. As both boys were born in Percy Drive in Giffnock, it is most likely that ‘Rose Cottage’ was a weekend/ holiday home. [25][26]
It was in 1938 that Elizabeth purchased Balvonie. At the time, she and John were living at Netherplace in Newton Mearns. Elizabeth would have been fifty-two and John fifty-seven. We do not know if the couple kept their house in Newton Mearns or whether John commuted to his workplace in Glasgow. [1][25]
Only four years later, in 1942, John died at Balvonie, aged sixty. [25]
Despite John’s death, Elizabeth continued to live at Balvonie. [1]
A year later, in August 1943, Elizabeth’s youngest son, John, aged twenty-two, married Margaret Rhind, aged twenty-one, at the Old High Church in Inverness. Both John and Margaret were engaged in war service at the time. He was a Lieutenant in the R.N.V.R., and she was a Leading Wren in the W.R.N.S. [25]
A month later , Elizabeth’s eldest son’s engagement to Evelyn Mathieson of Midlothian was announced in the Glasgow Herald. The wedding took place a year later in St Giles’s Cathedral, Edinburgh. At this time, both Ronald and Evelyn gave their occupation as Students of Economics, but both were engaged in war service, Ronald as a Lieutenant, R.N.V.R., and Evelyn as Third Officer W.R.N.S. [25][28]
Elizabeth sold Balvonie in November 1945. We don’t know where she moved to next, but Elizabeth lived until the great age of ninety-five and died in Helensburgh. [25]
William Marr (owner between 1945 and 1959)
Our next owner of Balvonie was William Harrower Marr, who purchased the estate in November 1945, six months after the end of the war in Europe and three months after the end of World War II. [1]
So, what do we know about William Marr?
William Harrower Marr was born in 1888 in Hornsey, Middlesex, England, and was the eldest of four siblings. His father was James Marr, an East Indian Merchant, and his mother was Mary Harrower. [29][30]
The family moved to Scotland, around 1896, to Montgomerie Street in Maryhill, and William attended Glasgow Academy between 1896 and 1904. After leaving school, he joined the firm James Finlay & Co. Ltd. After serving six years in Glasgow, he was posted to Calcutta in 1910, aged 21. [30]
A couple of years later, his father died, and then in 1916, his younger brother, Captain James Marr of the 17th Highland Light Infantry, was killed in action at the Somme in France, aged just 26. [30]
William also saw action during the First World War and served with the Calcutta Light Horse, a regiment of the British Indian Army. [30]
In 1919, when William was 31, he married Isabel McLean Kelly, then aged 27. Isabel’s father was Thomas Kelly, a chartered accountant, and his mother was Anne Cameron. From research, we learn that Isabel had a younger brother, who also attended Glasgow Academy and was a second Lieutenant in the 16th Highland Light Infantry. He too fell in action in France in 1916, six months earlier than William’s brother. [29][30][31]
Author’s note: Interestingly, Isobel Kelly and her family lived at 1 Montgomerie Quadrant in Glasgow at the time of the wedding, just as Robert Blyth, our first owner, had in 1901. [8][29]
After the wedding, William spent a further twelve years in India. Over this time, the couple had four children: Hamish, born in 1920; Anne, born in 1921; Thomas, born in 1925; and William Donald, born in 1930. At least one of the children was born in Calcutta. [29][30]
On returning to Glasgow, William was elected to the Board of Finlays in 1933. [30]
When WW2 broke out, William, then 51, served in the Home Guard. [30]
Hamish Marr – Killed at Dunkirk
Tragically, just a year later, in 1940, Hamish, William, and Isobel’s eldest son was killed in action at Dunkirk, trying to rescue troops. He was just 20 years old. [32]
Six months later, William’s mother, Mary, also died at the age of 74 years. [29]
In 1945, William purchased Balvonie from the Cockburns. It’s not clear whether William and Isobel lived in Skelmorlie full-time or if it was more of a weekend and holiday home. However, we did hear that a party was organised at Balvonie to watch the Queen’s coronation on TV in 1953, and many locals were invited. Apparently, the Marrs had one of the few TVs in the village at the time. [1]
In that same year, i.e., 1953, William was appointed Chairman of Finlays, a position he held until 1957. [30]
In addition to his work with Finlays, William had many other business interests. Like our first owner, he was a director of the Union Bank. His tenure lasted up to and including its amalgamation with the Bank of Scotland in 1955. He was also a director of another business, several investment trusts, and the Merchants House of Glasgow, becoming Dean of the Guild in 1955. [30]
In 1959, William, then aged 71, sold Balvonie, and he and his wife moved to Elie in Fife. [1][30]
Salvation Army (owners between 1959 and 2005/6)
The next owners of Balvonie were the Salvation Army, who purchased the property to use as a rest home and conference centre. [1]
This required substantial interior renovations and the construction of a suitable house for the superintendent. The latter was achieved by building a gabled, 2-storey, rendered extension in the courtyard between the house and servants’ quarters. [3][4]
In the late 70s or early 80’s, the Salvation Army constructed a hall, opposite the coach house, for use as an additional conference and meeting area. The Salvation Army allowed local groups to use the hall, and there was a good uptake from the village. For example, in 2002, the Attic Players used it for rehearsals for pantomimes and other productions after the costs of hiring the community centre rose. [33][34]
In 1995, the Salvation Army invested £400,000, creating a 10-room annexe and refurbishing the centre, with the aim of turning Balvonie Conference Centre into a profit-making business. Sadly, this was not to be, and ten years later, whilst acknowledging that the management team had done everything possible to minimise the deficit funding while continuing to provide a sound service to clients, they decided to close the centre and sell the property. [33]
Balvonie During Salvation Army ownership – Circa 1960
Over the years, many groups have stayed at Balvonie, the Salvation Army, Church of Scotland, Church of Nazarene, Christian nurses, firemen and guiders. Residents would often visit every year because they loved the centre so much. [33]
Before leaving this chapter of Balvonie’s history, it’s worth mentioning one of the more ‘dramatic’ events to happen at the house. In 2002, Balvonie’s lounge was used as a backdrop for the Attic Players’ atmospheric production of Patrick Hamilton’s gripping thriller, ‘Gaslight’. Each performance played to a full house and even had waiting lists. To meet demand, four more performances were scheduled early in the New Year. [34]
Dickie & Moore Construction Ltd (owners between 2005/6 and 2007/9)
After the Salvation Army decided to sell, Balvonie was bought by a property development company, Dickie & Moore Construction Ltd., in 2005/6. [1]
They parcelled the 7-acre estate into four lots:
- the main house and woodland (white),
- the coach house at the bottom of the driveway (yellow),
- a plot of 5 – 2 acres of land on the site of the old orchard with planning permission for six houses (blue) and
- a plot of land to the east of the coach house, where the Hall mentioned above, once stood (pink). [6]
Lots 1 and 2 were sold in December 2007 to our next owners, the Lambrechts. The remaining plots were then cleared of trees, and the hall was demolished by the developer, ready to start building. [1][4]
However, in 2009, before work started, the Lambrechts decided to purchase the remaining land and return the property to a single estate. [1][4]
Mr & Mrs Rick Lambrecht (owners from 2007 to present)
As mentioned above, Rick and Lorna Lambrecht purchased the main house, woodland and the coach house in 2007. [1]
After investigating several options regarding the redevelopment of the house and gardens, they decided to recreate a single-family home. [4]
Over the next seven years, they painstakingly refurbished the main house, modernising, removing the institutionalism (necessary for a conference centre) and returning it to the period, where appropriate. [4]
In 2014, when the Lambrechts moved south, they decided to keep Balvonie as their family home and let it out. This allows them to visit regularly and retain their links with the village. [4]
If you are interested in seeing the house as it looks today, follow the link here:
https://balvoniehouse.com/en/video-of-balvonie-house-grounds-and-interior
Balvonie Gate /Coach House
Balvonie Coach House
The gatehouse/lodge on Halketburn Road forms part of Balvonie’s listing and originally contained the stables, offices, and the coachman’s house. [3]
Historic Scotland describes the building as L-plan with an advanced 2-storey gabled bay to the south with multi-light strip windows, and a single-storey piended-roof section to the north, with a former hayloft entrance to the attic. Under the statement of special interest, they write: “It was designed by Henry Clifford, and although it has been altered, it was originally of a very good design and still retains vestiges of its former self”. [3]
In 1999, planning permission was granted by North Ayrshire Council, allowing alteration of the existing gatehouse to form four self-catering holiday units. [35]
Today, the gatehouse is still divided into 4 cottages, which are let long-term. [4]
Acknowledgments:
Our thanks to Lorna and Rick Lambrecht, the current owners of Balvonie, for allowing access to their home and providing information and photographs.
Sources and references:
[1 ] Land Registry – Summary Sasine Deed and Titles for Balvonie.
[2] 1910 Ordinance Survey map – Skelmorlie.
[3] Historic Scotland’s listing for Balvonie
[4] Information provided by the current owners, Mr & Mrs Lambrecht.
[5 ] Historic Scotland’s glossary of architectural terms or https://skelmorlievillas.co.uk/architectural-glosary.
[6] Photos of Balvonie and the Dobbie family, 1930 -1951 provided by Jessie Dobbie’s relatives.
[7] Birth, death, and marriage certificates for Robert Blyth and family.
[8] Simon & Thelma Dawson’s genealogy pages at The Limes.
[9] 1909 Glasgow Men – Robert Blyth http://www.glasgowwestaddress.co.uk
[10] Wikipedia – Union Bank, difference between the amalgamation and merger, etc.
[11] https://www.curiousfox.com/uk/r.lasso?vid=50584
[12] 1901 Census – Kelvinside Glasgow.
[13] https://www.reddit.com/r/glasgow/comments/dd55ke/history_question_on_kelvinside_montgomerie_to/
[14] 1911 Census – Skelmorlie
[15] Skelmorlie & Wemyss Bay South Church 1856 – 1956 one hundred year, Wm Newton Macartney.
[16] https://historicgraves.com/glasgow-necropolis/gla-necr-sig-0040/grave
[17] Birth, death, and marriage certificates for William Dobbie and family.
[18] Censuses- 1871 Stranraer, 1881 Hillhead, 1891 Hillhead, 1901 Rothesay, 1911 Greenock W., 1921 Skelmorlie
[19] http://www.glasgowwestaddress.co.uk/Hillhead_Street/34_Hillhead_Street.htm
[20] https://www.douglashistory.co.uk/history/ships/earl_of_forfar_ship.html
[21] https:// www.clydeships.co.uk/list.php
[22] https://www.thegazette.co.uk/Edinburgh/issue/12653/page/371/data.pdf
[23] https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/52759673/william_love-dobbie
[24] Skelmorlie Valuation Rolls – 1920, 1925, 1930, 1935 and 1940
[25] Birth, death, and marriage certificates for John Cockburn, Elizabeth Fleming and their families.
[26] Censuses – 1891 Prestwick, 1901 Cathcart & Rothesay, 1911 Cathcart, 1921 West Kilbride.
[27] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millbrae_Crescent
[28] Glasgow Herald – 17th September 1943 – page 4.
[29] Birth, death, and marriage certificates for William Marr and family.
[30] https://ancestorium.com/tng/getperson.php?personID=I000240&tree=1
[31] https://universitystory.gla.ac.uk/roll_of_honour/person/1278
[33] Greenock Telegraph Articles: Top Centre to be axed – April 2005. Cub together and help boys – April 2006
[34] The History of the Attic Players – 1992-2003. https://www.atticplayers.com/our-history-1992—2003.html
[35] https://www.eplanning.north-ayrshire.gov.uk/OnlinePlanning/simpleSearchResults.do?action=firstPage