Shewalton House and estate
| Shewalton House and estate | |
|---|---|
 Shewalton House and estate
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| Shewalton House and estate shown within North Ayrshire | |
| OS grid reference | NS3528636925 |
| Council area | |
| Lieutenancy area | |
| Country | Scotland |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Irvine |
| Police | Scottish |
| Fire | Scottish |
| Ambulance | Scottish |
| EU Parliament | Scotland |
| Scottish Parliament | |
Shewalton House and estate were composed of the 'Lands of Shewalton' and the laird's dwelling, originally a tower castle and later a mansion house on the River Irvine in the Shewalton area, two miles from Irvine and west of Drybridge village, East Ayrshire, Dundonald Parish, Scotland. In 1883 the Boyle's estate of Shewalton was 2,358 acres in extent in Ayrshire and was worth at that time £2,708 a year.
The lands of Shewalton had been held by the Fullartons of that Ilk and by 1545 they were home to the Wallace family. The Earl of Glasgow later purchased the estate. The tower castle became ruinous and uninhabitable, but stood until the new house was built in 1806. 'Sewalton' was the spelling used in 1473.
Colonel John Boyle in 1806 had the mansion house built to a Georgian design, backing onto the River Irvine. The building had a partly subterranean ground floor with two floor above and a rather unusual attic space. Two hipped roofed bays stood on either side of a slightly recessed central bay area, fronted by a solidly simple porch. Another wing was later added to the western aspect of the mansion.
In 1896 the OS map shows a large walled garden, Shewalton Mains Farm and lodges at the end of the East, West and Mid drives. The mansion house had fountains in the gardens on the river facing side and a small summer house was located in an elevated position near the river bank.
George Frederick Boyle (1825-1890) was the 6th Earl of Glasgow and by 1888 he had bankrupted the estate through generous endowment of the Tractarian movement of churches in Scotland, particularly his funding of the Cathedral of The Isles on Great Cumbrae. In 1890 the earldom passed to David Boyle of Shewalton (1833-1915), the earl's cousin, who had decided to sell his own estates, including Shewalton, to buy back the Kelburn Estate which had been put up for auction.
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Wikipedia