Skelmorlie Castle – B Listed

Owners	Dates	Notes / Alterations
The Lairds of Skelmorlie & Lillias Montgomerie, Heiress of Skelmorlie	1461 – 1783	1461: Land gifted to the first Laird. By 1502: Tower House constructed. c.1636: Alterations to the Tower House, construction of a building to the south (where the south wing stands today) and completion of an L–plan range to the south, including a chapel.
12th – 18th Earls of Eglinton and Winton. Tenants: • James Montgomerie of Wrighthill, M.P. (c.1809-c.1829) • Mr John Graham of Glasgow (1852-c.1890) • Mr William. A. Coats (1892-c.1919) • Mr Clement Wilson (1956-1975)	1783 – 1975	1856-64: Major refurbishment of the existing castle, and the construction of a West Wing and South Wing during the tenancy of John Graham. Architect: William Railton of Kilmarnock. 1886: Further range added to the SE (The Mews). Architect: John Honeyman. 1959: Removal of the West Wing and refurbishment of the Tower House and South Wing, following a fire during the tenancy of Clement Wilson and family. Architect: Noad and Wallace.
Mr & Mrs J Wilson	1975 – 2009	Although Clement Wilson moved to Skelmorlie castle in 1956, it was tenanted until 1975 when it was purchased by the Wilson family from the 18th Earl of Eglinton.
Dr Cameron Marshall and Mr Graham Stock	2009 – Present	2009-2016: Replacement roof, Tower House re-harled and major refurbishment work.

About the Castle

The Skelmorlie Estate

Skelmorlie Castle stands prominently on a hillside, overlooking the Firth of Clyde towards Bute, Arran, and Cumbrae. It lies just north of Meigle, a settlement that grew up to support the castle, and one mile south of Skelmorlie village, which developed more than three hundred years after the castle and from which it took its name. ^[1][2]

From around 1400, the Skelmorlie estate stretched from the Kelly Burn in the north to Knock in the south and was held by Sir William Cunninghame of Kilmaurs. In 1453, Sir Alexander Montgomerie of Ardrossan, the first Lord Montgomerie, acquired the northern half of the estate, which extended from the Kelly Burn to the burn at Meigle. In 1461, he gifted this estate to his second son, George Montgomerie, who became the first Laird of Skelmorlie. The Montgomeries went on to build Skelmorlie Castle on the clifftop, at the southern boundary of this acquired land. ^[1][3]

Over the centuries, much of the Skelmorlie estate was gradually feued and sold off. By 1975, when the 18^th Earl of Eglinton sold the castle and its grounds, the holding had been reduced to approximately 56 acres (see picture below and the area outlined in blue). By 2009, this had diminished further to just over 25 acres (see picture below and the area shaded purple). ^[1][2][3]

Pictures: 1. 1910 ordinance survey map showing the Skelmorlie castle estate in 1975 (outlined in blue) and the estate in 2009 (shaded purple). 2. An aerial view of Skelmorlie castle: Canmore 1977 – Crown copyright - HES. [13]

Pictures: 1. 1910 Ordnance Survey map showing the Skelmorlie Castle estate in 1975 (outlined in blue) and the estate in 2009 (shaded purple). 2. An aerial view of Skelmorlie Castle: Canmore 1977 – Crown copyright – HES. [13]

Skelmorlie Castle is approached either from Eglinton Terrace, via a long avenue, or from Skelmorlie Castle Road, which runs east of the building. Although much of the present estate is now woodland, a considerable extent of lawn remains, together with the formal gardens lying to the east and north-east of the castle. These gardens are enclosed by a wall, most likely to keep out deer. ^[1][2]

Architectural Evolution

Source: Canmore 2011 – Crown Copyright – HES

The castle has evolved over more than five centuries and can broadly be divided into four principal components:

The original Tower House to the north, constructed before 1502, remodelled in the mid-17^th century, extended in the 19^th century, and later reduced following a fire in 1959.
The south wing was originally built in the 17^th century and replaced during the 19th-century alterations.
An L-Plan range which forms two sides of the inner west courtyard and dates from around 1636.
A further building to the east, the Mews, likely the addition carried out by John Honeyman in the late 19^th century. ^{[4][5][6][7][8]}

Looking at each of these parts in turn……

The Tower House

The oldest surviving part of Skelmorlie Castle is the substantial rectangular Tower House, situated at the northern end of the building. ^[3]

The construction is generally attributed to George Montgomerie, the 1^st Laird of Skelmorlie. An alternative account suggests that it may have been built by a nephew of the 1^st Laird, although firm evidence for this is limited.^[3][5][9]

The date 1502 is widely recorded as the construction date of the Tower House. However, some members of the Scottish Castles Association believe it was built 30 to 40 years earlier. They argue that medieval buildings can, in part, be dated by the thickness of their walls, which generally became thinner as Scotland grew more peaceful and the need for defensive construction declined.^[5][8]

Architecturally, the tower shares features with similar buildings at Law (West Kilbride), Fairlie, and Little Cumbrae, though it is the largest of the group. ^[4]

Photos: 1. Skelmorlie Tower House – Wikipedia. 2. Little Cumbrae – V Staffen 22. 3. Fairlie – Wikipedia. 4. Law (West Kilbride) – Wikipedia.

To appreciate the Tower House’s earliest form, imagine stripping away the white harling to reveal rubble masonry walls with dressed stone quoins at the corners. Retain the largely original windows, but replace the pitched roof with a flat roof enclosed by battlements. Remove the modern downpipes and the single-storey structure to the east. The result is a plain but impressive defensive tower, closely resembling other contemporary castles along this stretch of the Ayrshire coast.

A notable feature of Skelmorlie’s tower is the unusual placement of the kitchen on the first floor, situated directly to the east of the main hall. ^[4]

Returning to the current day Tower House. Historic Scotland describes the structure as a rectangular-plan tower of three storeys plus attic, constructed of red rubble stone with ashlar dressings (See pictures 1 and 2 below). The building was harled during renovations following the 1959 fire and features crow-stepped gables at either end. ^[6]

Photos: 1. Skelmorlie Tower House – Wikipedia. 2. M Yeomans 2026. 3. The south entrance: Canmore 1942 – Crown copyright-HES. 4. Douglas and Montgomerie coats of arms supported by unicorns or lions – CM

Although many additions have been made to the tower house over the centuries, the original south-facing entrance has been preserved (see above). The entrance features the arms of Montgomerie and Douglas, supported by lions with two saltires and Douglas emblems above. This would have been added by Sir William Montgomerie in the mid-1600s. As at Fairlie, a newel stair is set within the wall thickness to the right of the south entrance. The windows above ground-floor level also remain unaltered. ^[4][6]

As noted earlier, the original Tower House would almost certainly have featured battlements and a flat roof, in keeping with other castles of the period. The removal of these defensive features and the addition of a pitched roof and creation of the turrets were probably undertaken during the renovations of around 1636. By the seventeenth century, changing patterns of warfare and a more stable political climate meant that wealthy Scottish landowners increasingly favoured comfort and architectural fashion over military practicality. As a result, medieval defensive features were often replaced with more domestic and stylistically refined designs, reflecting a society that had become more peaceful and civilised. ^[8][10]

Photos: 1. Remnant wall on the northeast angel, indicating where a parapet likely once stood: ND-10/25. 2. The north entrance and west wing: Canmore 1942 -Crown copyright-HES. 3. Views from the walled garden looking southwest towards the Tower House and West Wing: Castles and Mansions of Ayrshire, 1889.

Photos: 1. Remnant wall on the northeast angle, indicating where a parapet likely once stood: ND-10/25. 2. The north entrance and west wing: Canmore 1942 -Crown copyright-HES. 3. Views from the walled garden looking southwest towards the Tower House and West Wing: Castles and Mansions of Ayrshire, 1889.

The positioning of the angled turrets, whose corbelling aligns with the current eaves, supports the idea that the roofline has been altered over time. ^[4]

On the first floor, two windows flank a prominent chimney breast serving the first-floor hall. Above this level, three smaller windows illuminate two upper rooms and a former closet (picture 2 above). Finally, there are two narrow slit windows: one on the east end of the north gable lighting a small closet, and another in the north gable providing light to a mural stair (stone spiral staircase set in the corner of the building) which rises from the first to the second floor. ^[4]

19th Century Alterations

Between 1852 and 1890, Skelmorlie Castle was tenanted by John Graham of Glasgow, a textile and port wine merchant. With the permission of the 13^th Earl of Eglinton (the owner) and at his own expense, Graham undertook extensive renovations between 1856 and 1864, employing the Kilmarnock-based architect, William Railton. ^[5][6]

Photos: 1. Footprint of Skelmorlie Castle in 1908 showing the original Tower House and new wings.[12] 2. View of the castle from the North showing the west wing and front door: Canmore 1942- Crown Copyright-HES [15] 3. The new entrance to the North: Canmore 1942-Crown Copyright-HES.[15 ] 4. The 13th Earl of Eglinton’s Coat of Arms above the north entrance – CM 2026.

The work significantly transformed the castle. In addition to refurbishing the Tower House, Graham added a substantial west wing, replaced the earlier south wing, and relocated the main entrance from the south to the north side. The new entrance, which survives today, features a moulded surround and displays the thirteenth Earl of Eglinton’s coat of arms, together with a datestone of 1856. ^[4][12]

Outside, Graham added the north drive, running from Eglinton Terrace to the new front door. This provided a far more impressive approach to the castle, transforming the welcome and making the building feel less isolated and defensive in character. Although the exact date of the drive’s construction is unknown, it was most likely laid out at the beginning of the works to improve access for the extensive alterations that followed. ^[8]

Author’s Note: It is assumed that the gatehouse, which unfortunately no longer survives, was also constructed during this period. Evidence for its existence can be traced through the valuation rolls. In 1895, it was occupied by John Stalker, butler to W. A. Coats, and records show continued occupation until at least 1940, when it was home to Mrs McClymont, a widow employed as the gatekeeper. It is also understood that Kate Downie was the last resident, after which it fell into disrepair and was most likely demolished during the 1970s. ^[13]

By 1864, the number of rooms in the castle had increased dramatically – from twenty-nine to sixty-two, reflecting the scale of the expansion.^[14]

The interior of the Tower House has evolved in response to several factors, including the construction of additional buildings to the south and west, the relocation of the main entrance, and the changing needs of its occupants. While no public records survive describing the interior before the 1860s, a clear impression can be gained from a 1908 floor plan of what the Tower House looked like after John Graham’s renovations.

1908 Tower House floor plan: 1. Ground floor. 2. First floor. 3. Second floor. Source: The National Library of Scotland.[12]

At ground-floor level, the Tower House comprised a hall, kitchen and scullery, with a newel stair rising from the hall to the upper floors. The first floor contained a large billiard room, an adjoining room (once a kitchen), and access to the staircase. This space reflects the adaptation of the earlier hall for more formal Victorian use. The upper floor of the Tower House accommodated two bedrooms. ^[12]

Further insight into the interior is provided by photographs taken in 1942 that depict the former billiard room. These images show architectural detailing such as moulded ceilings, decorative plasterwork, a painted ceiling centrepiece with the date 1672 and two lions rampant, and an ornate fireplace, all offering valuable evidence of the character of this room during the early 20^th century. ^[15]

Photos: 1. Alcove in south wall 2. Moulded ceiling & chandelier looking west. 3. Ceiling centrepiece showing two lions rampant and a shield dated 1672. 4. The interim fireplace. Source of pictures: Canmore 1942- Crown copyright- HES [13]

Before leaving the Tower House, it is worth noting that, despite the passage of centuries, the building retains its original footprint and, remarkably, has remained almost continuously inhabited.

The West Wing

As noted earlier, John Graham not only renovated the Tower House but also added a substantial west wing. Measuring approximately 25 by 35 feet, this extension increased the castle’s footprint by some 2,600 square feet (approximately 245 m²). ^[12]

In 1908, the ground floor of this wing contained a large dining room of approximately 40 m², with windows facing south and west, a study with windows to the north and west, a toilet and a staircase to the upper floors. ^[12]

On the first floor, the wing housed the drawing room (of similar size to the dining room) and an adjoining ante-drawing room. The second floor contained three bedrooms, a shared dressing room and a shared bathroom. This floor also benefited from the additional space created by three projecting oriel turrets. ^[12]

Skelmorlie Castle West Wing floor plan (1908) 1. Ground floor. 2. First floor. 3. Second floor. Source: The National Library of Scotland.[12]

The 1959 Fire

In 1959, shortly after Clement Wilson and his family moved to the castle, a fire broke out in the third-floor nursery (attic) of the Tower House and spread west and south at attic level. There was no fire hydrant, so a lack of water made the blaze slower to contain. Eventually, a very long hose was run down to the sea, and the fire was extinguished. ^[8]

Photos: 1.The 1959 Fire- CM. 2. M Yeomans 2026.

During the subsequent restoration work, carried out by Noad and Wallace of Glasgow and lasting three years, parts of the roof were replaced, central heating was installed in the Tower House, and several aspects of the design were improved. One of the most significant changes was the removal of Railton’s west wing. In its place, three storeys of paired sash windows were added to the west wall of the Tower House, opening views towards the Isle of Arran and the Sleeping Warrior. It was also at this time that the Tower House was harled. ^[4]

The restoration work revealed several previously hidden features, including the original fireplace of the Tower House and a staircase, possibly the newel staircase between the first and second floors. ^[11]

Following these changes, a description of the interior is provided by Close and Ritchie in their book The Buildings of Scotland: Ayrshire and Arran.

“The nineteenth-century north door opens into an unusually tall, vaulted hall, made wonderfully light by Noad’s inserted west windows. A door to the east leads into a similarly vaulted dining room (the kitchen in the 1908 plan) into which the sixteenth-century newel stair projects. From the entrance hall, another door opens into a lobby, from which a short, defensible passage leads to a wide newel stair, rising the full height of the tower.

At first-floor level, this stair opens into the principal reception room (formerly the billiard room). In the north wall is an exceptionally wide fireplace with a strong roll-moulded surround, revealed following the 1959 fire. On its right jamb is a clear, star-like mason’s mark.

A moulded doorway in the northwest angle leads to a secondary newel stair serving the upper floors. From the southeast corner of the tower, a passage curves around the stair compartment; created in the seventeenth century to provide access to the south wing, it now continues past the nineteenth-century stair (with its distinctive barley-twist cast-iron balusters) to the east passage of that wing.” ^[4]

Photos: 1.The dining room in 2007 – Strutt and Parker Sales Brochure. 2. The lounge in 2007 – Strutt & Parker Sales Brochure.

The South Wing

Skelmorlie Castle – ND 2025

Records show that a building was constructed to the south of the Tower House in 1636, when the battlements of the latter were replaced by a pitched roof. Nothing is known about the building’s shape or size, but it was believed to be connected at the first floor. This building stood for more than two hundred years before being replaced by the present south wing during John Graham’s alterations of the 1860s. ^[4]

Today’s south wing is connected to the Tower House at every level. Built of red sandstone, it links the Tower House with the courtyards and buildings to the south, helping to tie the different parts of the castle together. ^[6]

Close and Ritchie describe the south wing as baronial in style but with refined detailing. At the junction between the new wing and the Tower House, discreet squints are set within the inner angle, allowing light to reach the original newel stair windows. ^[4]

Photos: 1. South wing from the west: Canmore 1980 194378 – Crown Copyright – HES. 2. 1908 south wing floor plan – first floor (showing east passage and squints on inner angle) [12].

They go on to note:

Within the wing itself, sizeable Gothic windows with etched and coloured glass illuminate the stair added by Railton (marked 1 above). The west front of the wing projects forward from the stair to provide sufficient width for a passage on the east side. The wing has three bays; the widest of these has an unusual roofline, with a split crow-stepped gable meeting a substantial octagonal turret (marked 2). To the right are dormer heads with finials (marked 3), and at the southwest corner stands a tourelle with a narrower upper stage, complete with a dummy cannon and a candle-snuffer roof (marked 4).

The rear elevation is simpler, with a strongly modelled angle turret at the northeast marking the return to the Tower House (see picture 1 below). A wall at ground-floor level screens the servant’s passage (picture 2 below). ^[4]

Photos: 1. South wing from northeast showing angle turret – M Yeomans 2026. 2. Wall at south wing, screening the servant’s passage - M Yeoman 2026. 3. 1908 south wing floor plan –ground floor. [12]

Photos: 1. South wing from northeast showing angle turret – M Yeomans 2026. 2. Wall at south wing, screening the servant’s passage – M Yeomans 2026. 3. 1908 south wing floor plan –ground floor. [12]

The ground floor of the south wing housed the servants’ quarters. Access was via a gate leading along an open-air passage to a porch, which opened into a lobby. (see picture 2 above). From here, the scullery and kitchen (in the Tower House) lay to the right, the stairs to the upper floors were straight ahead, and the servants’ hall was on the left. This level also contained three bedrooms for live-in servants and a butler’s pantry. ^[12]

1st & 2nd floor plans 1908: The National Library of Scotland.

It is worth adding that in 1871, there were eleven live-in servants: two nursemaids, a cook, a lady’s maid, a housemaid, an under-housemaid, a laundry maid, a dairy maid, a kitchen maid, a footman and a groom. These servants likely occupied the ground-floor bedrooms, with others accommodated in attic spaces elsewhere in the castle. ^[14]

The first floor of the south wing contained two bedrooms, each with its own dressing room and a bathroom. Given their size and panoramic view over the Clyde, these were likely the master bedrooms. The second floor contained a further three bedrooms, one of which included a dressing room and bathroom, bringing the total number of family and guest bedrooms to ten (excluding servant’s accommodation). ^[12]

L-plan range and The Mews

L-plan range & linked archway: Canmore- Crown copyright – HES

To the south of the castle, linked by an archway (highlighted in green), is an L-plan range, so called because of its shape, which dates from around 1636. This building forms two sides of a west courtyard and has many special architectural features (see photos below): a segmental pedimented gable to the south with a cross on top, a crow-stepped gable to the north, and east-facing windows set within pilastered aedicules, with segmental heads breaking through the wall-head. The central window was originally a doorway, with the forestair now removed. ^{[4][6] [15]}

Around 1878, a chapel was discovered in this part of the L-plan range during alterations to the building. Reverend John Boyd, in his 1879 Guide to the District, described the chapel as having an arched gable, an oak ceiling, and joists secured with wooden pegs – features that attest to its age. The L-Plan range was built during Sir Robert Montgomerie, 1^st Baronet of Skelmorlie’s lifetime, and as someone who became increasingly pious in later life and who also built Skelmorlie Aisle (in Largs), it’s safe to assume that he was responsible for the construction of the chapel. ^[7][17]

Photos: 1. A segmental pedimented gable to the south with a cross on top. 2. The L-plan range from the east – M Yeomans 2026. 3. The crow-stepped gable to the north with fleur-de-lys – M Yeomans 2026. 4. A pilastered aedicule window/door – M Yeomans 2026. 5. South side of L-Plan range: Canmore 1942–Crown copyright – HES. [15] 6. South side of the L-plan range and guard House: Canmore 1942–Crown copyright -HES [15]

The south-facing section of the L-plan range also features segmental dormer heads, though they lack the pilasters found on the east-facing façade. At the south-west corner stands a two-storey tower, or guard house, with a crenelated parapet and a conical roof set within it. The guard house also contains gun loops, suggesting that when Sir Robert Montgomerie built this range around 1636, he still considered some defensive features necessary, despite having removed the battlements from the main Tower House. ^[4]

The Mews

In 1876, apparently in need of additional space, John Graham employed the Glasgow architect John Honeyman to carry out further additions to the castle for £800. As no other significant alterations are known to have occurred at this time, it is generally assumed that this work involved the construction of the Mews highlighted in the photograph below. This addition transformed the two southern buildings into a T-plan arrangement. ^[4][7]

Photos: 1. Aerial view of castle highlighting the east wing: Canmore 2011 - Crown copyright – HES. [15] 2. The east wing from the south: Canmore 1977 - Crown copyright – HES. [15] 3. A large bas-relief, fleur-de-lis on the north wall of the tower - M Yeomans 2026.

Photos: 1. Aerial view of castle highlighting the Mews: Canmore 2011 – Crown copyright – HES. [15]
2. The Mews from the south: Canmore 1977 – Crown copyright – HES. [15] 3. A large bas-relief, fleur-de-lis on the north wall of the tower – M Yeomans 2026.

The Mews was constructed in a style consistent with the earlier L-plan range, incorporating pilastered aedicules and segmental heads breaking through the wall-head. Originally built to house carriages, it was later converted to a garage for motor cars. More recently, the Mews was used as office accommodation for the Wilson family’s Barcapel Foundation charity and has been derelict since a major flood in 2023. ^[4]

At the northeast corner of the building is a turret with a large bas-relief fleur-de-lis set within a pointed quatrefoil panel. Above this rises a fish-scale-slated bell-cast roof, adding a distinctive decorative element to the composition. ^[4]

The Castle today

The castle today is divided into three sections:

The white-harled Tower House to the northeast, dating from around 1470. Connected to this is the baronial-style south wing, known as the Wing or Victorian Wing, built around 1860, and replacing an earlier structure believed to date from around 1636.
An L-plan range with a guard house to the south. Built around 1636, this building has served multiple purposes over time, including use as a chapel, stables, accommodation, and offices. Today, it is a standalone house known as the Turret House.
The Mews, adjacent to the Turret House, was built around 1876 to accommodate carriages and staff.

Together, these elements reflect the castle’s architectural evolution over more than five centuries, illustrating the changing needs of its inhabitants from fortified residence to modern private home.

Last updated 31^st August 2026 – ND.

About the Owners and Inhabitants

This account traces the owners and tenants who shaped Skelmorlie Castle from the fifteenth century to 2009. Organised chronologically, it follows the Montgomerie lairds and Earls of Eglinton, the Wilson family and several notable tenants, showing how changes in ownership and occupation affected the castle, its estate and the surrounding village.

The account is divided into three parts: the Montgomerie owners, the Wilson family, and the tenants. Each biography concentrates on the subject’s relationship with Skelmorlie Castle; wider family, political and commercial detail is included where it explains changes to the property or its place in the community.

The Montgomerie Owners

Author’s Notes:

Records relating to the castle’s early inhabitants are incomplete and sometimes contradictory. Where evidence conflicts, this account either avoids an exact date or identifies the uncertainty in an author’s note.
Sources use several spellings of Montgomerie/Montgomery and Cunninghame/Cunningham. For consistency, this account uses Montgomerie and Cunninghame except when quoting or citing a source.

The Early Years

One of the earliest references to the estate of Skelmorlie (Knock to Kelly Burn) dates to the reign of King Robert III of Scotland (1390 -1406), when Sir William Cunninghame of Kilmaurs owned the land. Before this, the land was believed to have been inhabited by the ancient Foresters or Fosters of Skelmorley, a family line that died out by the late 1700s. ^[3]

In 1453, the Cunninghame estate was divided by charter. The northern portion, extending from Meigle to Kelly Burn, passed to the Montgomerie family as Skelmorlie-Montgomerie and the southern portion, from Meigle to Knock, remained with the Cunninghames and became known as Skelmorlie-Cunninghame. One account associates this division with the marriage of Anne Montgomerie, sister of Alexander, 1st Lord Montgomerie, to Sir Robert Cunninghame of Kilmaurs. However, the surviving evidence does not establish that the marriage caused the transfer. ^[3]

It is not known whether the marriage and land transaction were intended to unite the two families. Around 1448, a bitter feud developed between the Montgomeries and Cunninghames. It lasted for roughly two centuries and had a significant effect on the Skelmorlie branch of the Montgomerie family.

The Feud between the Montgomeries and Cunninghames

The hostilities are generally traced to 1448, when King James II awarded the office of Baillie of Cunninghame to the eldest son of Sir Alexander, 1st Lord Montgomerie. The Cunninghames had previously held the office, and its transfer created a lasting source of rivalry between the families. ^[18]

In June 1461, Sir Alexander, the first Lord Montgomerie, granted, by charter, to his second son, George, the lands of Lochliboside, Hartfield and Colpy (in the barony of Renfrew) as well as Skelmorlie-Montgomerie, referred to above. This grant established a cadet branch of the Montgomerie family, with George becoming its progenitor and first Laird of Skelmorlie. ^[5]

The Montgomerie–Cunninghame feud intensified after the Battle of Sauchieburn in 1488, fought between King James III and forces supporting his son, the future James IV. Hugh Montgomerie, 3rd Lord Montgomerie and later 1st Earl of Eglinton, fought with the rebels, while Alexander Cunninghame, 1st Earl of Glencairn, supported James III and was killed alongside the defeated king. Later that year, members of the Montgomerie clan burned the Cunninghames’ stronghold at Kerelaw Castle. ^[18]

Author’s Note: Some accounts suggest that James IV granted the Baillieship of Cunninghame to the Montgomeries for their support in the Battle of Sauchieburn in 1488 rather than in 1448, but the earlier date seems more likely.

The confrontations and reprisals continued. In 1499, Cuthbert Cunninghame led an attack on a branch of the Montgomerie clan at Irvine. In 1526, the Montgomeries murdered Edward Cunninghame of Acheharvie, followed two years later by Archibald Cunninghame of Westertoun. In 1528, William Cunninghame, 4th Earl of Glencairn, retaliated by burning Eglinton Castle at Irvine, the Montgomeries’ stronghold. Hugh Montgomerie, 1st Earl of Eglinton, and his family escaped, but historic clan papers and artefacts were lost. The Crown later awarded the Earl a cash settlement, which was used to rebuild the castle. ^[20]

The feud continued. In January 1583-4, a fierce encounter occurred between the Montgomeries of Skelmorlie and the Maxwells of Newark, the latter kinsmen of the Cunninghames, in which many on each side were slain, including Patrick Maxwell of Stanley. In revenge, in April of the same year, Patrick Maxwell of Newark murdered Robert Montgomerie, 6^th Laird of Skelmorlie, and his eldest son William. ^[3]

The feud reached its most infamous climax on 18 April 1586 with the murder of Hugh Montgomerie, 4th Earl of Eglinton. The twenty-three-year-old Earl had inherited the title only ten months earlier and was travelling to Stirling Castle to attend the King’s court, accompanied by a small group of domestic servants. Near Lainshaw Castle at Stewarton, around thirty Cunninghames ambushed the party. The servants were killed, and John Cunninghame of Clonbeith Castle shot the Earl dead. ^[18]

The assassination triggered extensive reprisals against the Cunninghames and their associates. Robert Montgomerie, 7th Laird of Skelmorlie, whose father and elder brother had been killed a few years earlier, tracked John Cunninghame of Clonbeith to a house in Hamilton and killed him after he was discovered hiding in a chimney. Robert was also implicated in the later killing of Alexander Cunninghame, Commendator of Kilwinning Abbey, at Montgreenan, apparently in retaliation for the 4th Earl of Eglinton’s murder. ^[19]

Author’s note: One account attributes the killing of Alexander Cunninghame, Commendator of Kilwinning Abbey, to the 6^th Laird. Other evidence points to Robert Montgomerie; this account follows the latter interpretation.

Despite these brutal reprisals, the vendetta did not end immediately. Sporadic violence between the two families continued for decades, finally coming to an end in 1661. That year, reconciliation was achieved through marriage, when William Cunningham, 9th Earl of Glencairn, married Margaret Montgomerie, daughter of the 6th Earl of Eglinton, bringing the long-running feud to a close. ^[18][19]

The Lairds of Skelmorlie — Owners from 1461 to 1735, followed by the heiress Lilias Montgomerie to 1783

George Montgomerie, 1^st Laird of Skelmorlie (Laird from 1461 to 1505)

The progenitor of the Montgomeries of Skelmorlie was George Montgomerie, who was born

in 1415 in Kilwinning, Ayrshire. He was the second son of Sir Alexander Montgomerie (later the first Lord Montgomerie) and Margaret Boyd, daughter of Sir Thomas Boyd of Kilmarnock. ^[5]

Around 1450, George married Margaret Houston of that Ilk, the surname suggesting she came from a landed family. They had at least two children: John, born in 1453, and a younger son, Robert (date of birth unknown). ^[21]

Figure 1 – The family tree of the first Lairds of Skelmorlie ^[21]

In 1461, when George was forty-six, he was given the estate of Skelmorlie North by his father. He was also granted the lands of Lochliboside, Hartfield and Colpy in the Barony of Renfrew. George proceeded to construct a substantial rectangular tower house, which still stands today^[3][5]

The latest view which comes from the Scottish Castle Association is that the original Tower house dates to between 1462 and 1472 and was certainly complete by the frequently cited 1502 date. ^[8]

Author’s note: Another account suggests that the tower house may have been constructed by the first laird’s nephew, Hugh Montgomerie, brother of the first Earl of Eglinton. This assertion came from suggestions that the first Laird of Skelmorlie died earlier than the dates given in other accounts. ^[9]

George lived a long life, dying in Skelmorlie in 1505 when he was 90 years of age. His wife Margaret, who was fifteen years his younger, lived to age 48, dying in 1478. ^[21]

John Montgomerie, 2^nd Laird of Skelmorlie (Laird from 1505 to 1507)

John, born in 1453, was George’s eldest son and was eight when his father became the first laird of Skelmorlie. He married Marion Dalzel, whose surname also appears as Dalzell or Dalziel, the heiress of Lochranza. The match may have extended the Montgomeries’ influence and resources, although its precise circumstances are not recorded. Their only known son, Cuthbert Montgomerie, was born at Skelmorlie in 1483, when Marion was twenty-three, and John was thirty. John succeeded his father as the second laird in 1505, aged fifty-two, and died two years later, aged fifty-four. ^[21][22]

Cuthbert Montgomerie, 3^rd Laird of Skelmorlie (Laird from 1507 to 1513)

After his father’s early death, Cuthbert became Laird at the age of twenty-four. In 1508, a year after his accession, he married Elizabeth Houston, daughter of Patrick Houston of Houston. The sources do not establish Elizabeth’s relationship, if any, to Margaret Houston, the first laird’s wife, or the motives behind the match. The couple had at least two children: George, born in Skelmorlie in 1510, and Alexander, born c. 1512. ^[21]

Figure 2 – The family tree of the Lairds of Skelmorlie (continued) ^[21]

In 1513, when King James IV declared war on England, Cuthbert joined his kinsmen and marched south to Northumberland, where they engaged the English at the Battle of Flodden Field. The disastrous battle resulted in a defeat for Scotland, the death of King James IV and nearly 10,000 of his fellow countrymen, including Cuthbert, who was only 30. ^[22]

George Montgomerie, 4th Laird of Skelmorlie (Laird from 1513 to 1561)

After the untimely death of his father, George became the 4^th Laird of Skelmorlie in 1513, when he was only three. Although his mother outlived him, the Crown assigned his wardship to Hugh Montgomerie, the first Earl of Eglinton. George was brought up alongside the Earl’s youngest daughter, Lady Catherine Montgomerie, whom he later married. The marriage strengthened the alliance between the Earls of Eglinton and the Lairds of Skelmorlie. George and Lady Catherine are reported to have had a large family. Their two eldest sons, Thomas Montgomerie, born before 1534, and Robert Montgomerie, born in 1534, were both born in Skelmorlie. George died in 1561, aged fifty-one; Lady Catherine lived until about 1600 and was reportedly ninety-four when she died. ^[21][22]

Author’s Note: Some accounts state that George became a ward of Lady Catherine Montgomerie rather than of her father, the Earl of Eglinton. As Lady Catherine was only four years older than George and would have been about seven when the wardship was assigned, the Earl is the more plausible guardian.

Thomas Montgomerie, 5th Laird of Skelmorlie (Laird from 1561 to 1566)

When his father George died, Thomas became the 5^th laird in his early 30s, but in name only, as he was deemed mentally unfit to hold the position. In 1562, Hugh Montgomerie, third Earl of Eglinton, in his capacity as superior Lord, appointed Thomas’s younger brother, Robert, to be his legal guardian and estate manager. Thomas didn’t marry and died a few years later in 1566, when the title and lands passed to his brother, Robert. ^[22][23]

Robert Montgomerie, 6th Laird of Skelmorlie (Laird from 1566 to 1584)

Robert was born in Skelmorlie in 1534, the second son of George and Lady Catherine Montgomerie. When his father died in 1561, his elder brother Thomas inherited the title, but for all intents and purposes, it was Robert who took over the reins, due to his brother’s mental incapacity. In 1566, when Thomas died, Robert officially became the 6^th Laird of Skelmorlie, aged thirty-two. ^[21][22]

At some point, Robert married Mary Dorothea Sempill, born in 1543, daughter of Robert, Lord Sempill. They had six children, including William, born in 1565, and Robert, c.1560. ^[21][22]

Author’s note: The dates given in Monty’s notes (source ^[21]) are internally inconsistent: it gives Robert and Mary’s marriage as 1567, but dates their daughter’s birth to 1557, Robert’s to 1560 and William’s to 1565. These dates would place all three births before the marriage and would make William the second rather than the eldest son. They are therefore included only as dates reported by that source and should not be treated as securely established.

Robert, the 6^th Laird, was reported to be very active in the feud with the Cunninghames, as were the Maxwells of Newark, whose mother was a Cunninghame. In a conflict in January 1583-4, Patrick Maxwell of Stanlie (Stanley) was slain by the Montgomeries of Skelmorlie, and many others were killed and wounded on both sides. In April of the same year, another encounter took place in which Robert, the sixth laird, and his eldest son William were killed by Patrick Maxwell. Robert was 60, and William, sometimes referred to as the young Laird, was only 19. ^[22]

Robert Montgomerie, 7th Laird and 1st Baronet of Skelmorlie from 1584 to 1651

Robert II became the 7^th Laird of Skelmorlie in 1584, as a young man of no more than twenty-four years of age, mourning the untimely deaths of his father and brother. ^[21]

Two years later, after Hugh Montgomerie, 4th Earl of Eglinton, was murdered in 1586, Robert II is believed to have killed John Cunninghame of Clonbeith and Alexander Cunninghame, Commendator of Kilwinning Abbey, in retaliation. These acts contributed to his reputation as “a cruel and bloodthirsty character”. ^[19]

A story is told in Crawford’s MS. Genealogy that Sir Robert was one day discovered by Patrick Maxwell in Newark Castle, presumably bent on revenge for his father’s and brother’s deaths. Patrick is recorded as saying.

“Come down Robin, out o’ that corner, come down, man to me, who did you so good a turn as to make a young laird and auld laird o’ Skelmorlie in one day.”

This invitation was received in the same spirit in which it was given, and they were reportedly reconciled from that day onwards. ^[5]

In 1593, Robert II married Margaret Douglas, who was the eldest daughter of Sir William Douglas of Drumlanrig, a minor branch of a powerful family. She was a famous beauty and intellect and was the subject of at least two sonnets, written by her kinsmen. ^[22]

Robert II and Margaret had one son, Robert III, born c. 1594, and a daughter, who died at a young age. ^[22]

The sources disagree about the date of Robert II and Margaret Douglas’s marriage, Margaret’s birth year, and their son’s year of birth. Because these dates cannot be reconciled securely, no precise birth year for Margaret is given here. ^[22]

In 1624, Lady Margaret tragically died during the Colm’s Fair in Largs, after having been thrown and given a fatal kick from her horse. Robert II was heartbroken and reportedly changed his ways, becoming ‘a man mighty in prayer’ and performing many acts of charity and mortification in his later years. ^{[16] [22]}

Robert Montgomerie, 7^th Laird, was knighted by James VI and in 1628, created a baronet by Charles 1. ^[24]

Author’s note: A baronetcy is a hereditary dignity created by the monarch. It ranks below the peerage and above most knighthoods, which are personal and non-hereditary. A male baronet is styled “Sir” followed by his forename, while his wife is styled “Lady” followed by the family surname.

Around 1636, Sir Robert commissioned significant alterations to Skelmorlie Castle, transforming it from a medieval stronghold into a more comfortable and prestigious residence. The works included additions to the south of the original tower house and the creation of an L-plan range incorporating a private chapel. As part of these improvements, Sir Robert displayed the coats of arms of himself and Dame Margaret above the entrance, reflecting both his status and his pride in the family estate. ^[4][26]

Sir Robert’s most enduring architectural legacy, however, lies not at the castle itself but in nearby Largs. In 1636 he commissioned the magnificent Skelmorlie Aisle as a burial place for himself and his wife, Lady Margaret Douglas. Originally attached to the medieval parish church, the aisle survived the demolition of the church in 1812 and remains one of the finest Renaissance monuments in Scotland. Its richly decorated interior reflects both Sir Robert’s wealth and his deep affection for his wife. ^[25]

After Lady Margaret died in 1624 following a riding accident at Largs, contemporary accounts portrayed Sir Robert as profoundly affected by the loss. They describe him as increasingly devoted to prayer, charity and acts of mortification. Local tradition adds that, in later life, he travelled by night from Skelmorlie Castle to pray beside her tomb in the aisle built in her memory. A further tale recounts an unsuccessful attempt by a local warlock/ the devil to disturb one of these visits. ^[21][25]

Sir Robert Montgomerie, 1st Baronet and 7th Laird, died in 1651 aged seventy-seven and was buried alongside Lady Margaret in the Skelmorlie Aisle, bringing a close to the life of one of the most influential and memorable lairds in the castle’s history. ^[22][25]

Sir Robert Montgomerie, 2nd Baronet (8th Laird) of Skelmorlie from 1651 to 1654

Upon his father’s death, Robert (III) inherited the title of 2^nd Baronet of Skelmorlie, aged fifty-seven. ^[25]

Figure 3 – The family tree of the Lairds of Skelmorlie (continued) ^[21][27]

Robert III died in 1654, and his wife, Lady Mary, fifteen years later. ^[21][27]

Author’s note: Some texts suggest that Sir Robert (III) predeceased his father and, as such, the second baronetcy went straight to his son, Robert (IV). Sir Robert (IV)’s date of death is the same in all texts.

Sir Robert Montgomerie, 3rd Baronet (9th Laird) of Skelmorlie from 1654 to 1684

Following his father’s death in 1654, Sir Robert (IV) became the third Baronet and ninth Laird of Skelmorlie. He would have been twenty-six at the time. ^[21]

Sir Robert (IV) married Antonia Scott, one of two daughters and a co-heiress of Sir James Scott of Rossie, in Fife. Together they had four sons and four daughters, including James, the eldest son, born in 1660; Hugh, born in 1663, the second eldest; Archibald; and John. ^[24]

The texts suggest that Antonia was an ardent Covenanter, and Sir Robert IV was repeatedly fined for her attendance at conventicles. ^[21]

It was during Sir Robert IV’s tenure that the feud between the Montgomeries and Cunninghames finally ended. The reconciliation was marked by the 1661 marriage of William Cunninghame, 9th Earl of Glencairn, and Margaret Montgomerie, daughter of the 6th Earl of Eglinton. ^[18][19]

According to Thomas Montgomerie, writing in 1863, Sir Robert IV enjoyed a high reputation for honour, virtue and integrity. He died in 1684. ^[22]

Sir James Montgomerie, 4th Baronet (10th Laird) of Skelmorlie from 1684 to 1694

In 1678, James Montgomerie married Lady Margaret Johnston, second daughter of James, Earl of Annandale. Together they had at least two sons: Robert (V), born in 1679, and William, born around 1681. ^{[21] [22]}

Figure 4 – The family tree of the Lairds of Skelmorlie (continued) ^[21][27]

Following his father’s death in 1684, James became fourth Baronet of Skelmorlie. A rather telling story about the young man’s character appears in several accounts: a couple of months later, his widowed mother strongly appealed to James to make suitable provision for her and his brothers and sisters, but he replied that he’d already done enough. ^[21][28]

On 2^nd October 1684, James was imprisoned for harbouring Covenanters (religious rebels), and on 7^th May 1685, he and his mother were pursued on account of conventicles held in his father’s lifetime, but both pleaded that they were not responsible. ^[28]

In 1689, he became MP for Ayrshire and was chosen as one of the deputies who carried the offer of the Crown to King William and Queen Mary in London. Reportedly extremely ambitious, he was dissatisfied when he received the office of Lord Justice-Clerk rather than his desired post of Secretary of State for Scotland. He was forced to stand down in 1693 for failing to sign the assurance of allegiance to the Crown, after which he supported the exiled Catholic King James II and joined his court at St Germain, Paris. He died in London in 1694. ^[27][28]

James’s youngest son, William, joined the army and rose to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel in William of Orange’s army. He died in battle in Flanders, most likely during the Nine Years’ War, which ran from 1688 – 1697. ^[22]

Sir Robert Montgomerie, 5th Baronet (11th Laird) of Skelmorlie from 1694 to 1731

Following the death of his father, Sir Robert (V) became the fifth Baronet and eleventh laird of Skelmorlie. Sir Robert (V) followed in the footsteps of his uncle William and became a military man. He progressed to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel in the army and became governor of a garrison in Ireland. ^[21]

He married Frances, eldest of two daughters of Colonel Francis Stirling, and by her had three daughters, the eldest Lilias (sometimes Lillas and Lillias) born in 1715. ^[27]

In 1728, Sir Robert (V) sold the estates of Skelmorlie to his uncle, Hugh Montgomerie, Provost of Glasgow, Member of Parliament and a principal merchant of the city.

Hugh Montgomerie then entailed Skelmorlie, along with the additional lands of Lochliboside, Hartfield and Ormsheaugh, decreeing that the land should revert to his nephew, Sir Robert (V), Baronet, and then on to his eldest male heir; but if that male line failed, to continue to the first female line and then to her first male heir, etc. The heirs entailed were to adopt the name ‘Montgomerie of Skelmorlie’ and to use the family arms. ^[16]

Sir Robert died in 1731, Limerick, Ireland. Frances died in 1759 in Skelmorlie. ^[27]

Sir Hugh Montgomerie, 6th Baronet (12th Laird) of Skelmorlie, from 1731 to 1735

Sir Hugh Montgomerie was born around 1663, the second son of Sir Robert Montgomerie, 3rd Baronet of Skelmorlie, and the younger brother of Sir James, 4th Baronet. At eighteen, Hugh was apprenticed to an Edinburgh merchant. With an initial sum of 8,000 merks (approximately £400) from his father, he amassed a considerable fortune and subsequently established himself as a Glasgow merchant in his own right. ^[29]

In 1687, he married Lillias Gemmel, then aged seventeen, the daughter of Peter Gemmil, a merchant and Baillie of Glasgow. The marriage produced no children. ^[21]

By 1694, he was a partner in a sugar factory and, two years later, joined with one of his brothers and founded a sugar refinery in Glasgow’s West End. He invested the profits from these ventures in land, acquiring the estates of Busbie in Ayrshire and Hartfield, near Port Glasgow. ^[29]

In addition to serving as Provost of Glasgow, he was a Member of the UK Parliament between 1707 and 1708 and Rector of the University of Glasgow in 1724-5. ^[29]

He purchased the heavily indebted and encumbered Skelmorlie estate from his impoverished nephew, the 5^th Baronet, in 1728. Upon his nephew’s death in 1731, Sir Hugh succeeded to the baronetcy. ^[29]

When Sir Hugh died at Skelmorlie in 1735 with no heirs, the baronetcy became dormant. Under the terms of the settlement made in 1728, the estate then passed to his grand-niece, Lilias Montgomerie. ^[21]

Lilias Montgomerie, heiress of Skelmorlie, 1735 to 1783

Lilias was born in 1715 in Skelmorlie. Her father was Sir Robert (V) Montgomerie, 5^th Baronet of Skelmorlie, and her mother was Frances Stirling. Lillias’s father died when she was only sixteen and her great-uncle Hugh died when she was nineteen, leaving her heiress of a considerable fortune. ^[21]

In that same year she married a distant cousin, Alexander Montgomerie of Coilsfield (sometimes Coylsfield), a grandson of the 6^th Earl of Eglinton, and a second cousin of the future 11^th Earl of Eglinton. ^[30]

The couple went on to have five children, the eldest of whom was Hugh, born in 1739 at Skelmorlie. ^[21]

Lilias was a shrewd businesswoman. She obtained an Act of Parliament in 1757 to enable her to sell Lochliboside and Hartfield estates in Renfrew and purchase lands near her husband’s in Ayr. She died in Nov. 1783 and Alexander in December of the same year at Coylsfield. ^[16]

Author’s Note: Some texts talk about thirteen lairds of Skelmorlie, but our research has only identified twelve. We do not know if those texts counted William, the sixth Laird’s eldest son who was killed together with his father in 1584, Lillias [1715-1783], the heiress who inherited the estates, or indeed Hugh Montgomerie, her son, who in due course became the 12^th Earl of Eglinton.

The Earls of Eglinton – Owners between 1783 and 1975

Hugh Montgomerie, 12th Earl of Eglinton and 1^st Baronet of Ardrossan (Earl 1796 – 1819)

Hugh Montgomerie was born in 1739, the eldest son of Alexander and Lilias Montgomerie. One of five children, he spent his childhood at Skelmorlie before joining the army in 1756. ^[21][30]

Commissioned as a lieutenant in 1757, he was promoted to Captain in 1762, Major in 1774, and Colonel by 1793. After active service overseas, including North America during the Seven Years’ War (1756 -1763), he became involved with various Fencible Regiments, temporary military units established for home defence during wartime. ^[31]

In 1769, when his predecessor became the 11^th Earl of Eglinton, Hugh became heir apparent. Three years later, he married Eleanora Hamilton. Hugh was 33, and Eleanora was 30, and together they had four children: Archibald, born in 1773, Robert, Jane, and Lillias. ^[30]

Alongside his military career, Montgomerie served as a Member of Parliament on three occasions: 1780-1781, 1784-1789, June-October 1796. After his parents died in 1783, Hugh inherited the Skelmorlie estates. In 1796, he succeeded Archibald Montgomerie as 12^th Earl of Eglinton. Although the title passed to Hugh, most of the 11^th Earl’s wealth went to his daughter, Lady Mary Montgomerie, who later married Hugh’s eldest son, thereby reuniting the family title and wealth. ^{[21] [30][31]}

After succeeding to the earldom, Hugh was elected a Scottish representative peer and took his seat in the House of Lords. In 1806, he was created Baron Ardrossan in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, giving him the right to sit in the Lords in his own right. Around 1796, he moved to Kilwinning, the principal seat of the Earls of Eglinton, while his younger brother, Colonel James Montgomerie of Wrighthill, is believed to have occupied Skelmorlie Castle for much of the early 1800s. ^[3][5][31]

As Earl, Hugh continued a programme of improvements across the family’s Ayrshire estates and commissioned the architect John Paterson to build Eglinton Castle. Relations between the two later deteriorated, leading Paterson to take legal action to recover unpaid fees. ^[32]

Hugh also promoted and partly financed the Glasgow, Paisley and Ardrossan canal, arguing that the silting of the River Clyde prevented large ships from reaching Glasgow. However, funding ran out, and the canal was completed only as far as Johnstone, ending at what became known as Port Eglinton. Preparatory work associated with the harbour at Ardrossan later formed the route of Glasgow Street, the town’s principal thoroughfare. These ambitious projects added substantially to the family debt. ^[30][32]

During Hugh’s tenure, the foundations upon which Skelmorlie later developed were laid. Skelmorlie’s first known school was established at the Meigle (c. 1790), and Shore Road between Largs and Skelmorlie was also constructed during this period, providing an alternative to the ‘Red’ Road and Skelmorlie Castle Road. Farms such as Mains, Barr, Beithglass, Auchendarroch, Annetyard and Thirdpart were already well established. Ashcraig, Black House and Brigend were built, and there were also a few cottages: Kelly Bridge (Toll House), Ravensburn, Craigmore, Holm and Millburn. ^[3][16]

Beyond public life, Hugh was an amateur composer and cellist. His best-known work is the Scottish dance tune “Ayrshire Lasses”. Elenora died in January 1817, and Hugh followed her in December 1819. ^[30]

Archibald William Montgomerie,13th Earl of Eglinton, 1st Earl of Winton and 2nd Baronet of Ardrossan (Earl from 1819-1861)

Upon the death of the 12th Earl in 1819, the title passed to his seven-year-old grandson, Archibald William Montgomerie, who became the 13th Earl of Eglinton, his father having died when he was only two years old. Born in Palermo, Sicily, in 1812, Archibald inherited not only the earldom but also, through his mother, Lady Mary Montgomerie, daughter of the 11th Earl, much of the Eglinton family’s land and wealth, thereby reuniting title and estate. ^[33][34]

Educated at Eton, Archibald became one of Scotland’s most prominent aristocrats. A committed Tory, he sat in the House of Lords and held several public offices, including Lord Lieutenant and Sheriff Principal of Ayrshire. He served twice as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, first in 1852 and again between 1858 and 1859. In recognition of his family’s connection to the title, he was also created Earl of Winton in 1859. ^[33][34]

In 1841, aged twenty-nine, he married Theresa Newcomen, daughter of the 2nd Viscount Newcomen. They had four children: Lady Egidia, Archibald (later the 14th Earl), Seton and George, who would eventually become the 15th Earl of Eglinton. Following Theresa’s death in 1853, Archibald married Lady Adela Capell in 1858. They had two daughters, Lady Sybil and Lady Hilda. ^[21]

He is perhaps best remembered for organising the famous Eglinton Tournament of 1839, a lavish re-creation of a medieval joust held at Eglinton Castle. Although enormous crowds attended, the event cost a fortune and became one of the most celebrated spectacles of the Victorian age. He also encouraged industrial development on his estates and achieved considerable success as a racehorse owner, his horse Flying Dutchman winning both the Derby and the St Leger in 1849. ^[33][34]

The 13th Earl spent little time at Skelmorlie Castle beyond occasional visits. In 1852, he leased the castle and its surrounding lands to John Graham, a textile and port wine merchant. With the Earl’s permission, Graham refurbished the interior of the Tower House, which was by then tired and dated, and added west and south wings, a mews house and a second driveway on the north side. ^[3][5]

During the 13th Earl’s tenure, Skelmorlie started to develop as a village with George Arbuthnot building Beach House on Shore Road in 1844. Annet Lodge, Ravensburn, Craigdhu, Seabank (Strathclyde), Thorndale and Heywood followed, and in 1856, Skelmorlie was put on the map when it got its first place of worship, the Chapel of Ease, built on the site of what would later become the South Church. ^[3]

Archibald William Montgomerie died in 1861 at the age of forty-nine and was succeeded by his eldest son, Archibald William Montgomerie, 14th Earl of Eglinton. ^[21]

Archibald William Montgomerie, 14th Earl of Eglinton, 2nd Earl of Winton, 3rd Baronet of Ardrossan (Earl from 1861 to 1892)

Archibald William Montgomerie was only nineteen when he inherited the earldom and associated titles upon his father’s death in 1861. ^[21]

A year later, on 6 December 1862, he married Lady Sophia Anderson-Pelham, the only daughter of Charles Anderson-Pelham, 2nd Earl of Yarborough. The marriage produced four daughters: Sophia, Theresa, Gertrude, and Diana. ^[21]

Compared with his colourful father, the 14th Earl led a relatively quiet public life. He sat in the House of Lords and served as Deputy Lieutenant of both Ayrshire and Lanarkshire but appears not to have sought the high-profile political offices or public attention that had characterised the career of the 13th Earl. ^[36]

Nevertheless, his earldom coincided with significant change at Skelmorlie Castle. John Graham remained tenant until his death in 1886, maintaining the castle and continuing to make improvements. He added the Mews, renovated the L-plan range to the south and discovered a chapel that was almost certainly built by Sir Robert Montgomerie, 1st Baronet of Skelmorlie. ^[35]

The 14^th Earl’s tenure was also a period of significant growth for the village. The railway had arrived in neighbouring Wemyss Bay in 1865 and by 1891, the population had more than doubled to 951. Shore Road, Montgomerie Terrace and Skelmorlie Castle Road were complete, and the roads in between were filling fast. The village now had a Hydro, a new school, extensions to the Chapel of Ease, the North Church, the Workman’s Rest, shops, clubs and societies. ^[3]

In September 1886, tragedy struck the Earl and his family when Lady Sophia died at the age of forty-six. The Earl survived her by only six years, dying at Eglinton Castle in 1892, aged fifty. ^[21]

George Arnulph Montgomerie, 15^th Earl of Eglinton, 3rd Earl of Winton and 4^th Baronet of Ardrossan (Earl from 1892 to 1919)

George Arnulph Montgomerie was born in 1848, the youngest son of Archibald William Montgomerie, 13th Earl of Eglinton, and his first wife, Theresa Newcomen. As a younger son, he was not originally expected to inherit the family titles. However, his elder brother Archibald died in 1892 without a male heir, while his other brother, Seton, had died in 1883. George therefore succeeded as the 15th Earl of Eglinton and 3rd Earl of Winton, aged forty-four. ^[21]

George pursued a short military career, serving as a lieutenant in the Grenadier Guards. In 1873, aged twenty-five, he married Janet Lucretia Cuninghame, daughter of Boyd Alexander Cuninghame of Craigends. The couple had five children: Georgiana, Edith, Archibald Seton, who later became the 16^th Earl, William and Francis. ^[21][37]

Unlike some of his predecessors, the 15th Earl appears to have been more closely associated with country life than with high politics. He served as Lord-Lieutenant of Ayrshire, maintained the Eglinton Hunt and took a keen interest in tennis and other field sports. A portrait published by Vanity Fair in 1896 presented him as the traditional Victorian country gentleman. ^[37][38]

George and his family lived principally at Eglinton Castle. During his tenure, Skelmorlie Castle was occupied by William Allan Coats and his family, who leased the property from the Eglinton estate. Following George’s death, his widow, Janet, then the Dowager Countess of Eglinton, is believed to have taken up residence at the castle. ^[37][39]

During George’s tenure, Skelmorlie continued to expand rapidly. By 1921, shortly after his death, the village had more than 1,500 residents and was almost fully developed. Seton Terrace, Eglinton Terrace, Sandybrae and the Crescent were complete, as were the Arts and Crafts houses of Balvonie, Wilmar, Croftmohr and St Margaret’s. The period also saw the construction of the Skelmorlie Village Hall, later known as the Mission Hall, and an electric power station in the Hydro grounds. A wide range of shops and trades served the growing population. ^[39]

The family suffered a tragedy in 1903 when their second son, Lieutenant William Alexander Montgomerie, died in South Africa at the age of twenty-one. Their eldest surviving son, Archibald Seton Montgomerie, continued his military career before later inheriting the earldom. ^[21][37]

George died at Eglinton Castle on 10 August 1919, aged seventy-one, reportedly following an operation for appendicitis. He was buried at Kilwinning and succeeded by his eldest son, Archibald. Janet, the Dowager Countess, survived her husband by four years and died in 1923. ^[21][37]

Archibald Seton Montgomerie, 16^th Earl of Eglinton, 4th Earl of Winton and 5th Baronet of Ardrossan (Earl from 1919 to 1945)

Archibald Seton Montgomerie was born in 1880, the eldest surviving son of George Montgomerie, 15th Earl of Eglinton, and Janet Cuninghame. ^[40]

Educated at Eton, Archibald followed his father’s and grandfather’s footsteps and joined the British Army. During the First World War, he served with the Life Guards and was mentioned in despatches. He also held the rank of major in both the Guards Machine Gun Regiment and the Ayrshire Yeomanry. ^[40]

In 1908, aged twenty-seven, Archibald married Lady Beatrice Dalrymple, daughter of John Dalrymple, 11th Earl of Stair. The couple had five children: Barbara, born in 1909; Janet, born in 1911; Betty, born in 1912; Archibald William, born in 1914, who later became the 17th Earl of Eglinton; and George, born in 1919, who tragically died aged 14 in 1934. The marriage ended in divorce in 1922. ^[40]

Later that same year, in 1922, Archibald married Marjorie Vernon. They had two further children, Roger, born in 1923, and Anne, born in 1927. This brought Archibald’s known children to seven, although some short biographical summaries list six. ^[40]

After Archibald Seton succeeded his father as the 16^th Earl in 1919, his mother, Janet, Dowager Countess of Eglinton, moved to Skelmorlie Castle where she lived until her own death in 1923. ^[39]

The 16th Earl inherited at a difficult time. Eglinton Castle, once one of the grandest houses in Ayrshire, had become increasingly costly to maintain. The family’s finances had already been weakened by unsuccessful business ventures (Ardrossan Harbour and the Glasgow to Ardrossan Canal by the 12^th Earl), the Eglinton Tournament, which cost £0.5m in today’s money (13^th Earl), the failure of the Glasgow Bank in 1878 (14^th Earl), expensive estate commitments, and, finally, death duties. ^[42]

In 1925, Archibald abandoned Eglinton Castle, the old family seat. The roof was removed and the windows taken out, reportedly to avoid liability for tax and rates on an uninhabitable mansion, and the family moved to Skelmorlie Castle. It marked a significant shift in the relationship between the Montgomeries and their principal Ayrshire residence: Eglinton, once the centre of the family’s power, was left to decline, while Skelmorlie once again became a principal family home. ^[40][42]

Archibald’s years as Earl coincided with an important period in Skelmorlie’s history. By the early 1920s, the village was a well-established coastal community with its shops, school, churches, and public buildings all forming part of everyday life. In 1922, the Skelmorlie and Wemyss Bay war memorial was unveiled beside Wemyss Bay Station, a visible reminder of the losses suffered during the First World War. Then, in 1925, the same year that Archibald moved permanently to the castle, the lower reservoir burst after heavy rain, sending water and debris down through the village, killing one adult and four children. (c.f. The Skelmorlie Reservoir Disaster). ^[3][39][41]

House building had started again in the village, with seven houses built on Station Hill by 1930 and nine years later, the bungalows on Eglinton, Winton and Montgomerie Drives were completed together with the first forty houses on Innes Park Road. By the Second World War, Skelmorlie was again drawn into national events, with local names later added to the war memorial and evacuees, including refugee children, recorded in the village. ^[3][39][41]

In public life Archibald appears to have been less prominent than several of his predecessors, although he served as a Deputy Lieutenant of Ayrshire and, from 1920 to 1921, as Grand Master Mason of the Grand Lodge of Scotland. His interests were more firmly rooted in country pursuits and local affairs. A keen sportsman, he was for many years Master of the Eglinton Hounds and also played golf and polo. In later years, his local involvement centred mainly on the Skelmorlie Unionist Association, of which he was chairman for many years, and he was also actively connected with the war savings movement in the district. ^[40][41]

Archibald died at Skelmorlie Castle in 1945, aged sixty-four. A short obituary in The Scotsman described his military service, sporting interests and local work, suggesting a man remembered less for national office than for his connection with Ayrshire, Skelmorlie and the country life of the Eglinton estate. ^[40][41]

Archibald William Montgomerie, 17^th Earl of Eglinton, 5th Earl of Winton and 6th Baronet of Ardrossan (Earl from 1945 to 1966)

Archibald William Alexander Montgomerie was born in October 1914 during his father’s first marriage to Lady Beatrice Dalrymple. Although born in England, he spent part of his childhood at Skelmorlie Castle after the family left Eglinton Castle in the 1920s. He was educated at Eton and then at New College, Oxford, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1936. ^[43][44]

Like several of his forebears, Archibald pursued a military career. He served as a Lieutenant in the Scots Guards and later held the rank of Major in the Ayrshire Yeomanry, Territorial Army. He also served during the Second World War. Following his father’s death in April 1945, he inherited the family titles, becoming 17th Earl of Eglinton, 5th Earl of Winton, 6th Baron Ardrossan and 18th Lord Montgomerie. ^[43][44]

In 1938, aged twenty-four, he married Ursula Joan Watson, daughter of the Honourable Ronald Watson. The couple had four children: Archibald George, born in 1939, who would later become the 18th Earl of Eglinton; Susanna; and twin daughters, Elizabeth and Egida. Egida sadly died in 1957, aged only eleven. ^[43][44]

Freemasonry formed an important part of Archibald’s public life. Initiated while studying at Oxford, he became actively involved in Ayrshire Freemasonry after returning to Scotland. He joined Lodge Mother Kilwinning in 1947 and served as its Master from 1949 to 1957. In the same year, he affiliated to Lodge Montgomerie Kilwinning at Skelmorlie, serving as its Master in 1947. He subsequently held senior county and national roles, serving as Provincial Grand Master for Ayrshire from 1949 and Grand Master Mason of the Grand Lodge of Scotland between 1957 and 1961. ^[43]

Although entitled to sit in the House of Lords, Archibald’s public service was largely local and ceremonial rather than parliamentary. No recorded speeches are noted in the biographical accounts consulted. He was, however, a member of the Royal Company of Archers, the Sovereign’s ceremonial bodyguard in Scotland, and served as Lord-Lieutenant of Ayrshire from 1948 to 1953. Thereafter, he held the position of Vice-Lord-Lieutenant until his death. ^[43]

Following his wartime service, the 17th Earl returned to live at Skelmorlie Castle. During this period, he served as a District Councillor and took an active role in local community affairs. His wife, Ursula, was similarly engaged in local activities. ^[3]

During Archibald’s years as Earl, Skelmorlie continued its transition into a settled post-war community. The Hydro, which had been requisitioned during the war, was refurbished and reopened. Chaseley House became a convalescent home for women from mining families, while Annet House was demolished to make way for the ninety-six flats of Shuma Court. Innes Park Road and Annetyard were completed, adding to the village’s housing stock. Meanwhile, Mr and Mrs Hally Brown purchased Stroove, converting it into a community centre, and gifted the village library that still serves the community today. ^[3]

The castle itself also entered a new phase. In 1956, Clement Wilson and his family moved into Skelmorlie Castle as tenants, using it as both a family home and a base connected with the Wilson business interests at Eglinton. ^[3][43]

Archibald William Montgomerie died in April 1966, aged fifty-one. He was succeeded by his eldest son, Archibald George Montgomerie, 18th Earl of Eglinton. ^[43]

Archibald George Montgomerie, 18^th Earl of Eglinton, 6th Earl of Winton and 7th Baronet of Ardrossan (Earl from 1966 to 2018)

Archibald George Montgomerie was born in 1939, the eldest son of Archibald William Montgomerie, 17th Earl of Eglinton, and Ursula Joan Watson. He spent his early years at Skelmorlie Castle before attending Eton College and went on to have a distinguished career in the City of London as a stockbroker and investment banker. ^[3][45]

In 1964, he married Marion Dunn-Yarker, and together they had four children: Hugh, born in 1966 and later 19th Earl of Eglinton; William, James, and Robert.^[46]

He succeeded his father in 1966 at the age of twenty-seven, the same year his first son was born, becoming the 18th Earl of Eglinton and inheriting the family estates and responsibilities. ^[45][46]

In 1975, following the death of Clement Wilson, who had been leasing the castle from the Earl, Archibald sold the Castle to Jimmy and Valerie Wilson, Clement’s son and wife; thus, for the first time in more than five centuries, Skelmorlie Castle passed out of Montgomerie ownership. ^[5]

Like his father, Archibald was a Freemason, rising to the level of Assistant Grand Master in the English United Lodge of Prudence from 1989 until 1995. Archibald died in 2018. ^[45]

The Wilson Family – Tenants and owners between 1956 and 2009

Robert Clement Wilson (tenant between 1956 and 1975)

Robert Clement Wilson was born in Dunlop, Ayrshire, in 1903. His father, Robert Wilson, and grandfather were both wholesale provision merchants, while his mother, Ellen Clement, came from a similar background. ^[47]

Together, his parents had at least three children: Robert, known as Clement, the eldest; Mary; and Andrew. All three children were born in the ten-room Westwood House in Dunlop, before the family moved to the larger (nineteen-room) West Hurlet House in Paisley, sometime before 1921. ^[47][48]

From an early age, Clement showed a strong interest in the environment and community life. Influenced by Andrew Carnegie, he believed that business success carried social responsibilities and that some wealth should be used for public benefit. ^[49]

The Wilson family’s commercial origins lay in farming. An ancestor, James Wilson, bred pigs and produced ham and is credited with introducing the Ayrshire Cure in the early nineteenth century. In 1849, Clement’s grandfather Robert founded Scotland’s first bacon factory in Dunlop as Robert Wilson & Sons (1849) Ltd. The business later passed to Clement’s father and moved to larger premises in Barrhead in 1912. Clement joined the factory floor in 1922, aged eighteen, when the company produced cured bacon, hams and sausages. ^[49]

In 1928, aged twenty-five, Clement travelled to Chicago to study the meat by-product industry. The following year, he bought a former clog factory in Belfast and created gardens for its workers, establishing what became Northern Ireland’s first factory garden. The factory closed during the Second World War; the council later acquired the site and converted it into Clement Wilson Park, which opened officially in 1975. ^[49]

As the business expanded, additional factories were established. At its peak, the Wilson Group employed more than 2,000 people in Ireland, while the Barrhead factory remained a major centre for bacon and ham production. ^[49]

In 1930, Clement, then aged twenty-six and living on Kilmarnock Road in Glasgow, married Elizabeth Wiseman, whose father, James Wiseman, was an engine waste merchant. They had three children: Robert (known as Dickie), born in 1931, James (known as Jimmy), born in 1933, and Helen, born in 1935. ^[47]

Clement registered the brand Kennomeat in 1932. More factory space was required as demand grew, and the Barrhead plant was adapted to produce both Kennomeat and Kattomeat. Following his father’s death, Clement returned to Ayrshire and, in 1953, began searching for a site for a new factory. He wanted a location that combined industrial practicality with historical character and eventually selected Eglinton Castle grounds and stable block, at Kilwinning. In 1956, he also chose Skelmorlie Castle as the family home and headquarters of the Wilson Group. ^[1][42][49]

The 17^th Earl of Eglinton officially opened the factory and gardens in 1958. The gardens were open to both employees and the public. By the early 1980s, the factory employed around 400 people and had become an established industrial site. It closed in 1997. ^[49]

In 1959, shortly after the family moved to Skelmorlie, a fire affected part of the castle. Restoration work included structural repairs, removal of the west wing and alterations to improve access and views. According to local myth, the 1959 fire also ended the haunting of the castle by Dame Margaret Douglas, who had first appeared after dying in a riding accident in 1626. ^[5][11]

After selling the Renfrewshire factory to Spillers in 1964, Clement established the Clement Wilson Foundation to support local charities and environmental projects. A sum of £400,000 was allocated to the development of the Eglinton site, including stabilising the castle ruins, planting trees, landscaping the grounds, creating paths and restoring the Tournament Bridge. Parts of the site were subsequently opened to the public. Following his death, the family gifted the park to Cunninghame District Council, helping to establish what is now Eglinton Country Park. ^[5][49]

Clement was a successful entrepreneur and philanthropist who was also active in local life. He was a member of the Rotary Club of Irvine and the Irvine Burns Club, serving as its President in 1971. In 1973, he, with others, founded a Federation of Arts that brought together organisations in this field for mutual benefit. Clement Wilson died in 1975, aged seventy-two. ^[5][42][49]

James Wiseman Wilson, OBE – owner between 1975 and 2009.

James Wiseman Wilson was born in 1933. Although relatively little is recorded about his early life, he attended Harvard Business School in the 1950s and, on his return to Scotland, joined the family business, Wilson’s Food. There, he became involved in marketing and promotion of Kennomeat through a series of television advertising campaigns. Featuring the voice of Peter Sellers and built around the exploits of two dogs, the advertisements proved highly successful. Within two years, Kennomeat had captured around 18 per cent of the UK pet food market, equivalent to sales of approximately three million cans per week. ^[1][47][49]

In 1964, Spillers Ltd acquired Kennomeat and Kattomeat for £7.3 million, equivalent to around £190 million today. The sale provided the financial foundation for the owners’ subsequent philanthropy: Clement established the Clement Wilson Foundation, while his brother Andrew established the Truth Research Foundation. ^[49][50]

In 1994, these two charities were consolidated to form the Barcapel Foundation, which supports organisations in Scotland in Health, Heritage and Youth Development. Since 1965, the Wilson family have distributed over £35 million through these charities. ^[50]

During Clement Wilson’s lifetime, Skelmorlie Castle was rented from the 17^th and 18^th Earls of Eglinton. Following his death in 1975, the castle and its 56.6 acres were purchased by the Clement Wilson Foundation, later the Barcapel Foundation, on behalf of Jimmy Wilson and his wife, Valerie. They divided their time between Skelmorlie Castle and their home in London. ^[3][51]

In late 2007, the main part of the castle, along with 25 acres of land, was placed on the market and subsequently sold to Dr C Marshall and Mr G Stock in 2009. After the sale, James & Valerie moved to Turret House, to the south-west of the castle, which they had retained. The Mews was retained by the Barcapel Foundation and used as offices. ^[1]

Like his father, James Wilson was heavily involved in charitable work and community activities and was awarded an OBE. He had four children and married his second wife, Valerie Louise Grant, in the 1970s. James Wilson died in March 2023. ^[47][51]

The Tenants

Colonel James Seton Montgomerie of Wrighthill (1755 – 1829)

Tenant from c.1809 to c.1829 during the 12^th Earl of Eglinton’s tenure.

Born in 1755, James was a career soldier who served as Governor of Demerara and Berbice (in present-day Guyana) and later as Governor of Dominica. When he returned to Scotland in 1809, he moved into the castle, which his brother Hugh had left vacant when he became the 12^th Earl. Continuing his military career, James was promoted to Lieutenant-General in 1814. After entering Parliament as M.P. for Ayrshire in 1818, he reverted to the rank of Colonel. A successful parliamentarian, he retained his seat at every subsequent election until he died in 1829. ^[52]

James married for the first time in 1824 at the age of 69. His wife was also 69, and he died after a short illness at her family home in Bath in 1829. ^[21][33]

John Pattison Graham (1797 – 1886)

Tenant from 1852 to c.1890 during the 13^th Earl of Eglinton’s tenure.

John Pattison Graham was born into a prosperous Renfrewshire family. His grandfather, James Graham (1720-1795), was a successful Paisley-based surgeon who, in the mid to late eighteenth century, purchased Burntshields House, Kilbarchan, which later became the family home. James married Agnes Campbell in 1755, and although they had six children, two died at birth. Their two eldest sons, William and John, went into business together, founding W & J Graham, a Glasgow-based textile firm trading in cotton and calico imported from India. ^[53][54][55]

As the business expanded, the brothers opened a new market in Porto, in north-west Portugal. In 1820, they famously accepted twenty-seven barrels of port wine in settlement of an outstanding debt. Inspired by the quality of the wine, they redirected their energies towards producing the best port in the Douro Valley. From this pivotal decision, Graham’s Port was established, and the business went from strength to strength. ^[54][55]

In 1782, William Graham married Margaret Pattison. Together they had ten children, of whom John Pattison Graham was the eighth. He was born in 1797 at Burntshields House.^[56]

After school, John joined the family business and became an East India merchant. He married Eleanor Smith in 1830; she and their son John, born in 1831, both tragically died the following year. In 1836, while living in Oporto, John married Elizabeth Hatt Noble, then aged twenty-four. The couple had seven children, most born in Portugal, although one son, William, died in early childhood. ^[53][57]

By 1851, the family had returned to Scotland and were residing at Makerston Place in Largs. At the time, John, aged fifty-two, was recorded as a general merchant, while Elizabeth was forty-two. Their four youngest children: Margaret (8), Donald (6), James (5), and Jessie (2) were living with them. The household employed five live-in servants, and there was a female visitor, Jessica Smith, aged twenty-five, from Oporto. In 1852, just a year later, John Graham leased Skelmorlie Castle from Archibald William Montgomerie, the 13th Earl of Eglinton. ^[3][58][59]

With the Earl’s permission, John carried out extensive renovations at Skelmorlie Castle between 1856 and 1864, funding the work himself and employing the architect William Atkinson Railton. Further alterations followed in 1876, when John commissioned John Honeyman to add the Mews House. ^[3][7]

In 1861, John (62) was still working, lived with Elizabeth (52), and five of their children: John Hatt (23), Margaret (18), Donald (16), James (14), and Jessie (12). The family employed four live-in servants, with an additional butler, gamekeeper, and gardener residing in separate accommodation.^[61]

At the time of the 1871 census, Skelmorlie Castle reportedly had sixty-three rooms, up from twenty-nine rooms ten years before, demonstrating the scale of John Graham’s alterations. The household consisted of John, Elizabeth, their married daughter Emma and five grandchildren. There were eleven live-in servants: two nursemaids, a cook, a lady’s maid, two housemaids, a laundry maid, a dairy maid, a kitchen maid, a footman and a groom. ^[61]

Other employees lived in estate accommodation rather than in the castle. The butler and his family occupied the Gatehouse; the coachman and his family lived at the Coachman’s House; and gardeners and gamekeepers were housed at the Gardener’s Lodge, Millburn Cottage and the Gamekeeper’s House. A groom occupied the Groom’s Room, and the estate would also have employed numerous local workers. ^[61]

By 1881, John was eighty-three and Elizabeth seventy-two. Their household included their son Donald, his wife Gertrude, and their three children, together with several visitors and attendants. Eight servants lived in the castle, while the wider estate staff included a butler’s household at the Gate Lodge and gardeners and gamekeepers in other estate properties. ^[61]

John began collecting fine art in his early twenties and assembled a collection that included works attributed to Gainsborough, Turner, Millais, Linnell, Henri Leys, Edwin Landseer, Jean-Léon Gérôme, Rosa Bonheur and Edward Cooke. Among the best-known works displayed in the picture gallery, dining room and drawing room were Gainsborough’s The Two Sisters, Turner’s The Wreck Buoy and Millais’s Sir Isumbras at the Ford. ^[60][62]

It’s said that one of Mr Graham’s daughters—although it is not known which—was a particularly gifted amateur artist who produced a copy of Venice by Moonlight. According to contemporary accounts, the copy was so accomplished that a former president of the Royal Academy nearly mistook it for the original, while several distinguished art critics were deceived. ^[60]

A story recorded by the Reverend John Boyd concerns a painting titled The Distinguished Member of a Humane Society, believed at the time to be an original Landseer. Graham reportedly paid £2,000 for it, and most experts accepted it as genuine until a visiting Frenchman expressed doubts. According to Boyd’s account, Landseer later identified it as a copy made by his sister from one of his discarded sketches. Graham received a refund, and the painting was subsequently sold at a much lower price as a copy. ^[60]

John was generous in sharing his collection, and the paintings could be viewed by appointment. As a result, the Skelmorlie Picture Gallery—despite being a private collection—became more widely known than many public galleries. ^[3][60]

Life for John and Elizabeth was evidently sociable. They were involved in village activities, and several members of the wider Graham family also lived nearby.^[58]

John’s younger brother, Robert, married Susan Schuyler in Devon in 1842, and they had five children. In addition to their country estate at Skipness, near Tarbert in Kintyre, they owned Brooksby in Largs. After Robert died in 1858, Susan inherited the house and continued to live there until her own death in 1895, regularly visited by her children and grandchildren. ^[56][58][64]

His elder sister, Margaret, married William Thomson, later Lord Kelvin of Largs. Margaret’s poor health necessitated frequent, prolonged stays abroad; nevertheless, the couple did visit Largs. When Margaret died in 1870, it was at Brooksby, the home of her sister‑in‑law. At the time of the 1871 census, William was recorded as a visitor at Brooksby, staying with his sister-in-law, Susan. ^{[56][58][64][65]}

In addition to Robert, John’s younger sister Jessie also owned a house in Largs. In 1852, she married Walter Crum, a successful calico printer from Thornliebank, Glasgow, and the couple had nine children. Their principal residence was Rouken Glen, but as keen sailors, they frequently spent their holidays in Largs. By 1865, Walter had either built or acquired Auchinean House at the foot of Nelson Street, on the site now occupied by Nardini’s. Following Walter’s death in 1867, Jessie spent increasing amounts of time in Largs and was living at Auchinean at the time of the 1871 census. When she died in 1876, she was staying nearby at Brooksby, in the home of her sister‑in‑law, Susan. ^[58][63][64]

After a long and prosperous life, John Pattison Graham died in 1886 at Skelmorlie Castle, aged eighty-nine. His body was taken to Glasgow, where he was buried in the Necropolis.^[58]

William Allan Coats (1853 -1926)

Tenant from 1892 – c.1919 during the 14^th Earl of Eglinton’s tenure.

William Allan Coats was born in Paisley in 1853, most likely at Ferguslie House, the family home. The sixth of eleven children, he grew up with five brothers and five sisters in one of Scotland’s most successful industrial dynasties. His father, Thomas Coats, was the son of James Coats, one of the founders of the Coats textile empire, while his mother was Margaret Glen. ^[66][61]

At the time of the 1861 census, seven-year-old William was living at the eighteen-room Ferguslie House with his parents and several siblings. His father, Thomas Coats, then aged fifty-one, described himself as a sewing cotton manufacturer, acting partner in J. & P. Coats, which employed 1,172 workers, as well as a coal master and retiring partner in the Nitshill Coal Company, employing a further 150 people. Alongside the family lived four resident servants: a nursery maid, housemaid, waiting maid and cook. ^[68]

By 1871, William’s father, Thomas, then sixty-one, described himself as a Justice of the Peace, thread manufacturer and landowner. William’s two eldest brothers had already entered the family business as thread manufacturers, while William was recorded as a Student of Arts. ^[68]

The next census shows a young man beginning to establish his own path. In 1881, twenty-seven-year-old William was staying with his friend Peter McAra, a marine insurance broker, at the fourteen-room Springboag House in Shettleston. His occupation was given as Coal Master, which he did for a year before joining the family business, J. & P. Coats. ^[68][69]

Marriage followed in 1888 when William, then thirty-five and established as a thread manufacturer, wed Agnes Bunten Muir, aged twenty-two. Agnes was the daughter of John Muir, a merchant, and Margaret Kay of Deanston House, Kilmarnock. Following their marriage, the couple settled at the thirty-room Westfield House in Ayr, where their first son, Thomas Haywood Coats, was born the following year. ^[66]

The flotation of J. & P. Coats on the stock market in 1890 transformed William’s fortune. As a company director, he joined the ranks of Scotland’s wealthiest industrialists and used much of his wealth to build one of the country’s finest private art collections. By the end of his life, the collection comprised 341 works, ranging from paintings by Vermeer, Rubens, Corot and Monticelli to works by leading Scottish artists such as Joseph Crawhall. ^[69][70]

Evidence of the family’s growing prosperity can be seen in the 1891 census. Westfield House remained their home, with William aged thirty-seven, Agnes twenty-four, and baby Thomas just seven months old. Service was provided by seven live-in staff consisting of a butler, footman, lady’s maid, cook, two housemaids and a kitchen maid. ^[68]

Another major change occurred in 1892 when the family left Ayr for Skelmorlie. William had leased Skelmorlie Castle from the 14th Earl of Eglinton, and within months their second son, John Alexander, was born there. Occupation of the castle would continue for the next quarter-century or more, ending around 1919 when the Dowager Countess of Eglinton took up residence. ^[66][71]

During the same period, William acquired Dalskairth House in Dumfriesshire. Ownership of the estate was retained for the remainder of his life, and thereafter he divided his time between his different homes. ^[71]

Tragedy struck in 1894 while the couple was staying in Cannes. Agnes died at the age of only twenty-seven, leaving William a widower with two young sons, Thomas aged four and John just two. No second marriage followed. Instead, he appears to have devoted much of his attention to his children, his art collection and his other great enthusiasm—yachting. ^[66][70]

Further prosperity came in 1896 when Coats and Clark merged, increasing William’s already substantial wealth. ^[70]

Yachting was an important part of the Coats family life, with brothers, sisters and cousins all sharing an enthusiasm for sailing. William owned five yachts during his lifetime, the largest and most impressive being the steam yacht, Queen of Scots. ^[72]

Built for him in 1904 by the Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company of Govan, Queen of Scots measured 162 feet on the load waterline. Designed for both comfort and entertaining, she contained elegant reception, sitting, drawing and dining rooms, luxurious private accommodation and the latest Edwardian conveniences, including electric lighting and refrigeration. The yacht reflected the wealth and status that William had acquired through the success of J. & P. Coats. ^[73]

By 1921, William’s two sons, John and Thomas, were employed in the family business as thread manufacturers and had married. John and his Canadian wife, Audrey, were raising their two-year-old son Vernon in a seventeen-room house in Ayr, supported by nine live-in servants. Thomas, meanwhile, had married Olivia Violet Pitman, daughter of an advocate. Following their marriage, the couple settled at the twenty-one-room Levenholm in Eastwood, where their daughter Jane was born the following year. Their household employed seven live-in servants. ^[66][68]

Death came in 1926 when William was seventy-three years old. Although he died at Ferguslie House in Paisley, his usual residence was recorded as Dalskairth, Dumfriesshire. His estate was valued at almost £4 million, a sum equivalent to approximately £218 million in 2026. By the time of his death, William had established himself not only as a successful industrialist, but also as one of Scotland’s most significant art collectors and an enthusiastic patron of the Edwardian yachting world. ^[66][69]

Acknowledgements

Our thanks to the current owners of the Castle for allowing access to their home and providing information and photographs.

Sources and references

^[0]Historic Scotland’s glossary of architectural terms: https://www.skelmorlievillas.co.uk/architectural-glosary.

^[1] Land Registry – Summary Sasine Deed and Title Deeds for Skelmorlie Castle, the Turret House and the Mews House.

^[2]1910 Ordnance Survey map – Skelmorlie.

^[3] Skelmorlie – The Story of a Parish by Walter Smart, 1968.

^[4] Pevsner Architectural Guides: The Buildings of Scotland-Ayrshire & Arran, by Rob Close & Annie Riches (2012)

^[5] Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skelmorlie_Castle

^[6] Historic Scotland’s listing for Skelmorlie Castle

^[7]The Dictionary of Scottish Architects (1660-1980) – Skelmorlie Castle

^[8] Information provided by the current owner

^[9] The Castles and Mansions of Ayrshire by A. H. Millar and F. S. A Scot. 1885

^[10] For Sale: ancient castle, all mod cons: https://www.theguardian.com/money/2007/oct/21/property.business

^[11]Be King or Queen of the castle: https://www.glasgowtimes.co.uk/news/12791556.be-king-or-queen-of-the-castle-for-pound25m/

^[12] National Library of Scotland Maps – Skelmorlie Castle: Ground, First and Second Floors -1908.

^[13] Facebook chat on ‘We Know Skelmorlie Well’.

^[14] Censuses: Skelmorlie – 1861 and 1871.

^[15] Pictures of Skelmorlie Castle available on the Trove Scotland website.

^[16] A History of Skelmorlie by Chris Paton – from https://northayrshireremembers.tripod.com/id7.html – no longer accessible

^[17] An 1879 Guide to Wemyss Bay, Skelmorlie, Inverkip, Largs & Surrounding Areas by Rev John Boyd, M.A.

^[18] Wikipedia: Clan Cunninghame – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clan_Cunningham

^[19] Wikipedia: Clan Montgomery – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clan_Montgomery

^[20] Forged in Blood. https://scottishtales.substack.com/p/the-montgomery-cunningham-blood-feud

^[21] Family Tree of the Lairds and Baronets of Skelmorlie – http://www.montyhistnotes.com/genealogy/getperson.php?personID=I9621&tree=President

^[22] A genealogical history of Montgomery including the Montgomery pedigree by Thomas Harrison Montgomery, 1863.

^[23]Contract between Hugh, third Earl of Eglinton and Robert Montgomery, brother of Thomas Montgomery, dated 1^st August 1562.

^[24] A Genealogical & Heraldic History of the Extinct and Dormant Baronetcies of England, Ireland and Scotland, by John Burke and Bernard Burke, 2^nd Edition, 1841, p. 633.

^[25] Historic Scotland – Skelmorlie Aisle Official Visitor’s Guide.

^[26] Skelmorlie Castle by JWW/IGW dated 1^st June 1979, located in Largs Museum’s archives.

^[27] Complete Baronetage, by George Edward Cokayne (1902), Vol. II. Exeter: W Pollard & Co., Ltd., pp. 336-337.

^[28] Wikipedia: Sir James – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sir_James_Montgomery,_4th_Baronet

^[29] The History of Parliament – https://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1690-1715/member/montgomerie-hugh-1663-1735

^[30] Wikipedia: Colonel Hugh Montgomerie, 12^th Earl of Eglinton, KT – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugh_Montgomerie,_12th_Earl_of_Eglinton

^[31] The history of Parliament – https://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1754-1790/member/montgomerie-hugh-1739-1819

^[32] Gazetteer for Scotland: Hugh Montgomerie of Coilsfield. https://www.scottish-places.info/people/famousfirst760.html

^[33] Wikipedia: Archibald Montgomerie, 13^th Earl of Eglinton. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archibald_Montgomerie,_13th_Earl_of_Eglinton

^[34] Gazetteer for Scotland: Archibald W Montgomerie. https://www.scottish-places.info/people/famousfirst3170.html

^[35]Relevant research from the Skelmorlie Villas website – https://skelmorlievillas.co.uk/

^[36]Wikipedia: Archibald Montgomerie, 14^th Earl of Eglinton. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archibald_Montgomerie,_14th_Earl_of_Eglinton

^[37] Wikipedia: George Montgomerie, 15^th Earl of Eglinton. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Montgomerie,_15th_Earl_of_Eglinton

^[38] George Arnulph Montgomerie, 15th Earl of Eglinton, 3^rd Earl of Winton. National Portrait Gallery.

^[39] Censuses and valuation-roll evidence for Skelmorlie, Eglinton Castle and Skelmorlie Castle, 1891–1920.

^[40] Wikipedia: Archibald Seton Montgomerie, 16th Earl of Eglinton. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archibald_Montgomerie,_16th_Earl_of_Eglinton

^[41] Scotsman Archive – 24^th April 1945 – Page 4: Scottish Peer dead. https://www.scribd.com/doc/2153361/SKELMORLIE-Scotsman-Archives?page=52

^[42] North Ayrshire Heritage – The History of the Earls of Eglinton and the Eglinton Estate.

https://naheritage.co.uk/stories/history-of-the-earls-of-eglinton-and-eglinton-estate

^[43]Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archibald_Montgomerie,_17th_Earl_of_Eglinton

^[44] The peerage – 17th Earl. https://thepeerage.com/p2160.htm#i21592

^[45] Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archibald_Montgomerie,_18th_Earl_of_Eglinton

^[46] The Peerage – 18^th Earl. https://www.thepeerage.com/p2160.htm

^[47]Birth, death and marriage certificates for Robert C Wilson and family.

^[48]Censuses: 1911 census – Dunlop, and 1921 census – Hurlet, Paisley.

^[49] https://www.irvineburnsclub.org/clement-wilson.html

^[50]https://barcapelfoundation.org/clement-wilson-trust/

^[51] https://announcements.telegraph.co.uk/marketplace/advert/wilson-notices_41331#:~:text=WILSON,and%20to%20his%20eight%20grandchildren.

^[52] The History of Parliament – https://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1820-1832/member/montgomerie-james-1755-1829

^[53] FamilySearch website: https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/LZK2-YV3/john-pattison-graham-1797-1886

^[54] Facebook – Burntshields House: https://www.facebook.com/paisleyoorweetoon/posts/burntshields-house-kilbarchan-home-of-the-founder-of-the-world-renowned-grahams-/1364676492367556/

^[55] Grahams Port website: https://www.grahams-port.com/heritage.php

^[56] Birth, death and marriage certificates of John Pattison Graham and family

^[57]The peerage – John Graham (1797-1886)

^[58] NA Family History Society, Autumn 2025 journal – The story of three siblings by Fiona Williamson

^[59] 1851 census – Largs

^[60] An 1879 Guide to Wemyss Bay, Skelmorlie, Inverkip and Largs by Rev John Boyd, M.A.

^[61] 1861, 1871 and 1881 censuses – Skelmorlie

^[62] Various Internet websites used to identify the paintings, including Wikipedia, The British Museum, The Tate, etc.

^[63] Wikipedia – Lord Kelvin and Walter Crum

^[64] The History of Scotland – Baron Kelvin of Largs

^[65] Valuation Rolls Largs – 1855, 1865, 1875, 1885.

^[66] Birth Death marriage certificates for William Coats and family.

^[67] FamilySearch – William Coats: https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/KGJ1-39Q/william-allan-coats-1853-1926

^[68] 1861, 1871, 1881 censuses for W. A. Coats and family.

^[69] Souvenirs and Fêtes Champêtres: William Allan Coat’s Collection of 19^thCentury French Paintings by Frances Fowle. Journal of the Scottish Society for Art History, Vol. 14. 2009-2010 and online at Academia.edu/

^[70] Sotheby’s on W. A. Coats. https://www.sothebys.com/en/articles/masterworks-by-joseph-crawhall-from-the-coats-collection

^[71] Valuation Rolls relating to W. A. Coats properties: 1895, 1905, 1915 and 1920.

^[72] The Lutyens Trust: https://www.lutyenstrust.org.uk/portfolio-item/lutyens-afloat/

^[73] Facebook: Dunoon. Post by Michael McCallum about the Coats Boats, Part 2. https://www.facebook.com/groups/181817621857704/search/?q=Queen%20of%20Scots%20william%20coats

SKC Master