Finnart
| Finnart | |
|---|---|
 Finnart
|
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| Finnart shown within Inverclyde | |
| OS grid reference | NS253767 |
| Council area | |
| Lieutenancy area | |
| Country | Scotland |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | GREENOCK |
| Postcode district | PA19 |
| Dialling code | 01475 |
| Police | Scottish |
| Fire | Scottish |
| Ambulance | Scottish |
| EU Parliament | Scotland |
| UK Parliament | |
| Scottish Parliament | |
The lands of Finnart to the west of Greenock belonged to the Earl of Douglas in medieval times. Around 1455 they were forfeited to the crown. Finnart was given to the Hamiltons, while the western part of the barony of Finnart went to Stewart of Castlemilk and became the barony of Finnart-Stewart, or Gourock.
Sir James Hamilton of Finnart inherited the barony and rose to high office, but was beheaded and his estates forfeited, with his Finnart lands going to Shaw of Sauchie and Greenock. These estates subsequently became the west end of Greenock. The northern part of the Finnart-Stewart estates forms the main part of modern Gourock, while the remainder now accommodates the housing estates of south-west Greenock.
The Douglas lands of Finnart lay west of the barony of Greenock, the boundary being "the Hole or West-burn": the burn is culverted under the modern town centre at Westburn Street, immediately to the west of The Oak Mall indoor shopping centre, and from there flows into the River Clyde which formed the northern boundary. The southern boundary was the glen leading to Inverkip; the West Burn flows down this valley, close to the line of the A78 trunk road. The area now includes Greenock West, as well as the Bow Farm housing estate.
The parish boundary with Gourock divided Easter Finnart from Finnart-Stewart (or Wester Finnart), which "extended from Achaneich to Achamead". The former Aughneagh House was sited adjacent to Fancy Farm, just to the west of the former municipal boundary: its location is marked by Aughneagh Road, which runs north west from the A78 Inverkip Road: the area is now a Greenock housing estate. The farms of Aughmead and West Aughmead were sited about 1 mile (1.6 km) further west. They lay to the west of Aughmead Road which runs north Inverkip Road, and were in the area of the modern south-west Greenock housing estates of Larkfield and Braeside, which both lie to the south of the current boundary with Gourock itself. The Rev. McRae's Notes About Gourock of 1880 includes a rough map showing the boundaries of Gourock estate including both Aughneagh and Braeside, and extending over the Inverkip road as far as Loch Thom. The map shows the western boundary as the Mile Burn. The notes quote Crawfurd's 1782 History of the Shire of Renfrew referring to a walk-mill called "Elie-mill" as "lying within the barony of Gourock". The mill site lies a short distance to the east of West Aughmead farm, on the location of the modern street named Aileymill Gardens.
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Wikipedia