Giffordland, Ayrshire

Giffordland
Barony
Giffordland Farmhouse with 'Crow steps' on the gable ends
William Aiton's map of Ayrshire showing 'Gifford'
Country	United Kingdom
County	North Ayrshire
Region	Strathclyde
Parish	Dalry

Coordinates: 55°42′07″N 4°45′04″W / 55.702°N 4.751°W / 55.702; -4.751

Giffordland is in North Ayrshire, Parish of Dalry (Cunninghame) in the former Region of Strathclyde, Scotland.

Giffordland was a small barony, but the families associated with it played an active part in the history of feudal Scotland.

The name is given as just 'Gifford' on Armstrong's 1775 map and Ainslie's 1821 map and as 'Giffertland Mains' on the first 6 inch OS maps of 1840 - 1880. A Giffordland Mill, originally with stepping stones and now a bridge, lie at the Caaf Water (Keaff in 1747 ); a smithy lay close to the Caaf Water near the Dalry to West Kilbride Road. A limekiln were located near to the 'Mains' farm buildings. A ford existed over the Auldmuir Burn until the late 19th century.

The Auldmuir Burn runs through a deeply cut glen which has been planted up with beech trees in the vicinity of Giffordland Farm. A small building sat close to the junction of the road to Auldmuir, and a building known as 'Green House' is marked as a ruin in the 1840–1880 Ordnance Survey map and an active settlement on Roy's map of 1747.

The Barony of Giffordland included the estate of Auldmuir, including the one merk land of Wardlaw and Bradshaw. Paterson describes Gifford as being a mansion house set on the banks of a rivulet (the Auldmuir Burn) about two miles West of Dalry, small in dimensions, but surrounded by old woods.George Robertson gives the same account, but states in the 1820s that it was not in the best of order.. Its rental value at the time was £123 6s 8d. The Barony would have had a Moot hill and interestingly the small mound in the Giffordland Glen shows signs of having been artificially altered (see illustration). Giffordland had also been known as Netherton.