Mature Student studying media honours. A memorial now stands in her memory and is situated between Sinclair Street and Glencairn Street. The town is first mentioned in a charter of c. 1240. Patrick Warner had picked up skills in land reclamation during his exile in Holland and his first act was to drain the bogs by cutting the Master Gott, linking several small lochans or dubbs[check spelling],[11] and it was this drain that was later partly incorporated into the Stevenston Canal. The NAC Ranger Service regularly patrols these sites. One of the most distinguished owners in the later 17th century was the covenanter Patrick Warner, a minister who was forced to escape to Holland after the Battle of Bothwell Bridge. It's sad that a building such as this (it was part of the British Exhibition and transported to the site it now occupies) should be allowed to rot. Nearby was Kerelaw House, once home to the family of Alexander Hamilton and later the family of Kenneth Campbell VC RAFVR; however, the house was demolished in the early 1970s. save hide report. The town's main link with Robert Burns is that Mayville House was the birthplace in 1768 of Miss Lesley Baillie. [6], A cave exists at the site of the old mansion, and remains of a dressed stone frame for an iron grille over a hole in the cave roof suggested its use as a grotto in the 19th century. In 1888, a second railway station, Stevenston Moorpark, was opened on the new Lanarkshire and Ayrshire Railway; however, this line had a short life span and the station closed in 1932. In 1840, Stevenston received its first railway station, Stevenston, on the line travelling from Ardrossan to Glasgow. There was little property damage and no serious injuries. A sea-washed cave is located a little behind the house. [19] The Wand House was located near to the Master Gott. For many years it was used as a conference centre and was pride of place at the 'factory'. [20] The site is now a public park. How gracefully has it been pictured by Dr Landsborough, "Sheltered sweet and cheerful, with its green fields and woody braes, martello-tower and mounted battery". Africa House is a building at Noble Explosives factory at Ardeer Stevenston in Ayrshire. The Stevenston Canal of 1772 was the first commercial canal in Scotland. The site was allowed to flood in 1920; it was 150 to 200 feet (50 to 60 m) deep, connected to old mine workings which provided a steady and substantial water flow[18] which has to be pumped out continuously to prevent flooding. Eglinton Country Park is close to Stevenston and is also linked to it via the Sustrans cycle path. A hamlet known as Piperheugh once existed near Woodhead Plantation and Ardeer Steading. The Parkend Quarry produced 'Osmond Stone' which as a form of whinstone was very heat resistant and was used in ovens, furnace linings, etc. [6] It was the residence of George Campbell, a relation of the Loudoun branch of that clan. The coal was carried from the canal end to the waiting boats on a railway, there being no direct physical link with the harbour. The passage is lined with corbelled drystone walling, roofed with capstones, and leads into the natural cave section which may have been formed by wave action as it shows a water-scoure[check spelling] created by wave action. Local kids have used it as a playground and older youths as a drugs den. At one point, a third railway station, Ardeer Platform, was in operation just south of the town serving the Nobel factory; however, it closed in 1966. The town is named after Stephan Loccard or Lockhart, whose father obtained a grant of land from Richard de Morville, Lord of Cunninghame and Constable of Scotland, around 1170. The closure of these facilities, along with the general decline in ICI's presence in the town has had a devastating long-term effect on the town's economy. For many years it was used as a conference centre and was pride of place at the 'factory'. [13] A miniature rifle range was once located in the old walled gardens. In 1849 the Glengarnock Iron Company built five blast furnaces on the foreshore of the Ardeer sands to smelt pig-iron. The regeneration of Irvine Bay includes the development of Stevenston Business Centre on the site of the Grange Bingo Hall. The works closed in 1931 and were demolished in 1935.[21]. Property descriptions, images and related information displayed on this page are based on marketing materials found on the website registered to Clowes Developments Scotland Ltd. Realla does not warrant or accept any responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of the property descriptions or related information provided here and they do not constitute property particulars. To the south of Stevenston, on the border of the Nobel Plant, sits the South African Pavilion. The pavilion was rebuilt at Ardeer after the end of the exhibition and served as the staff restaurant for many years. [16], The town became a coal mining centre with thirty-two mines recorded on the Ardeer Estate when it was sold to the Rev Patrick Warner in 1707. Stevenston Stone was a high quality white sandstone, marble-like, quarried from about 1800 and popular in places such as Dublin and Belfast. Seabank House, which was built by the enterprising Mr Cuninghame in 1708, has an interest all its own as it sits enclosed in the demesne that slopes down towards the Stevenston Road. Known locally as Africa House, this building was once part of the Empire Exhibition, Scotland 1938 in Bellahouston Park, Glasgow. share. | The visible remains suggested a souterrain, but the absence of records of these in south-west Scotland make this unlikely. The pavilion was rebuilt at Ardeer after the end of the exhibition and served as the staff restaurant for many years. To the north of the town sits the ruin of Kerelaw Castle, with a history spanning over 800 years. I would say that any former employees reading this should remember that there are some of us who appreciate the work they did and that the 'factory' will remain a part of the history of Stevenston. Property facts for Africa House, Stevenston Number of storeys 2 Rentable building area 16,208 sq ft Year built 1938 Parking Covered, Surface [12] The field behind the mansion house was once called the Temple Field. Stevenston (Scots: Steenstoun, Scottish Gaelic: Baile Steaphain)[3][4] is a town and parish in North Ayrshire, Scotland. Ballast and other material from the old Caledonian Railway embankment nearby was used to infill much of the old quarry. Local kids have used it as a playground and older youths as a drugs den. Alfred Nobel's Africa House, Stevenston, Scotland [OC] [6272x2144] [OC] 1 comment. Working exclusively in sub-Saharan Africa, we offer insight and access into the African trade and project environment through the provision of intelligence on projects and bespoke research on opportunities in … Coal was carried on barges and the waste was dumped along the route to act as a wind break as blown sand being a recurring problem.