Dundonald, South Ayrshire

Dundonald (Gaelic: Dùn Dhòmhnaill) is a village in South Ayrshire, Scotland.

The village is mostly known for Dundonald Castle, which was built in the 14th century by King Robert II, on the ruins of a castle built earlier (in 1260 by his grandfather, Alexander Comyn. It served the Scottish kings for 150 years.

The ruins of Old Auchans Castle lies nearby, the previous residence of Susanna Montgomery, Lady Eglinton.

Since 1945, it serves mostly as a dormitory town for the larger towns in the area.

Tens of thousands of years ago Dundonald did have a beach at one point.

The present church (NS 366 343) was built in 1803, however the first recorded church was present in 1229 when it was gifted to the convent at Damilling and later to Paisley Abbey, with whom it stayed until the Reformation.

The Auchans Burial Ground, Dundonald Parish Church

Memorial to John Dunlop Esq., who lived to over ninety years of age; onetime Factor at Auchans Castle.

A view from the South-East of Auchans House ruins in 2009

A miniature of Susanna Montgomery, Lady Eglinton, Dowager Countess. Circa 1710.

Commissioner Vernon of the Eglinton estates.

A new Auchans House (NS 36035 34900) was built circa 1819, designed by William Wallace. The house was built for the Earl of Eglinton's commissioner Monteaulieu Burgess of Coilsfield, followed in 1885 by the Hon. Greville Richard Vernon, son of the 1st Lord Lyveden. Major Coats of the Paisley thread manufacturers tenanted the house at one time, as did the Beattie banking family. In 1947 the Earl of Eglinton sold the house to the Earl of Dundonald. The house was then sold by the Earl of Dundonald in 1960 to a builder and finally demolished in 1970 and the site has since been developed as a housing estate on the edge of the town.

Dundonald Woods (NS363343) are one of the most extensive areas of elm-dominated woodlands in Ayrshire. Ash, oak and sycamore are also abundant; much of the policies are composed of derelict-coppiced-type growth from trees felled in the Second World War. Some conifer plantations are present. Wetland habitats are also present, including the Collennan Reservoir, springs and a eutrophic loch, contributing to the high biodiversity of the site. Dog's Mercury, Wood Melick, Broad-leaved Helleborine, and Giant Bellflower are amongst the significant plants present.

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