Ballikinrain is an independent residential school in

Stirling Stirling (; ; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Central Belt, central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town#Scotland, market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the roya ...

, central Scotland. It is run by CrossReach, a social care outreach arm of the

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland (CoS; ; ) is a Presbyterian denomination of Christianity that holds the status of the national church in Scotland. It is one of the country's largest, having 245,000 members in 2024 and 259,200 members in 2023. While mem ...

. The school is housed in the 19th-century Ballikinrain Castle, situated in the Parish of

Killearn Killearn (, from orig. ''Ceann Fhearann'', "Head/End of (the) Land/Territory"; until the 15th century when ''Ceann'' was replaced by ''Cill''; denoting the presence of a house of worship)Knight "What's in a Name"(August 2014) (pdf) ''Killearn C ...

, south-east of

Balfron Balfron () is a village in the Stirling council area of Scotland. It is situated near Endrick Water on the A875 road, 18 miles (29 km) west of Stirling and 16 miles (26 km) north of Glasgow. Although a rural settlement, it lies within ...

and west of

Fintry Fintry is a small riverside village in Stirlingshire, central Scotland. It is located south-west of Stirling and around north of Glasgow. Landscape The village of Fintry sits by the Endrick Water in a strath between the Campsie Fells and the ...

History

Ballikinrain Castle was built in 1868 for Sir Archibald Orr-Ewing, (1818–1893) a Conservative Party politician. Orr-Ewing was Member of Parliament (MP) for

Dunbartonshire Dunbartonshire () or the County of Dumbarton is a Shires of Scotland, historic county, lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area and registration county in the west central Lowlands of Scotland lying to the north of the River Clyde. Dunbar ...

from 1868 to 1892, and was created a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

on 8 March 1886. He commissioned

David Bryce David Bryce Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, FRSE FRIBA Royal Scottish Academy, RSA (3 April 1803 – 7 May 1876) was a Scotland, Scottish architect. Life Bryce was born at 5 South College Street in Edinburgh, the son of David B ...

(1803–1876) to design a new house in the

Scottish Baronial style Scottish baronial or Scots baronial is an architectural style of 19th-century Gothic Revival which revived the forms and ornaments of historical architecture of Scotland in the Late Middle Ages and the Early Modern Period. Reminiscent of Scot ...

, for his estate. The location is alongside the Ballinkinrain Burn, which rises to the south, on the Earl's Seat (), and runs for about across Ballikinrain Muir and through the estate, making in its descent a number of cascades, to the

Endrick Water The Endrick Water or River Endrick () is a river which flows into the eastern end of Loch Lomond, Scotland. Its drainage basin covers a large part of the west of Stirling District. The Burnfoot Burn rising on the southern slopes of the Gargunnoc ...

. The castle was burned-out in June 1913, the blaze being attributed to suffragettes, causing £100,000 of damage. A three-year restoration was completed in 1916. In the early 20th century Ballikinrain Castle hosted Glasgow Poor Children's Fresh-Air Fortnight accommodating about 60 poor children. For a short time it was a hotel. Later, on the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, St. Hilda's School for Girls, a boarding school based at Liberton near Edinburgh, took up temporary residence at Ballikinrain Castle. After the war St Hilda's remained at Ballinkinrain, owing to the difficulty of securing a satisfactory renovation of the buildings at Liberton, which had been used by the army. The building is protected as a

category B listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

. Between 1950 and 1965 there was a tourist caravan and camping site, complete with site shop and outside swimming pool, within the grounds. The pool was fed by Campsie spring water. Ballikinrain School was a non-denominational independent school run by Crossreach, a social care agency which is part of the Church of Scotland. The school provided care and education services for young people aged six to 16 years who were experiencing social, emotional and behavioural difficulties. In January 2013, the roll was 33. 23 young people were resident and ten were attending on a daily basis. The young people were placed there by 12 local authorities. The school had a roll of 35 boys in 2009, aged between 8 and 14,including boarders and day pupils. Ballikinrain School closed at the beginning of 2021 following the combined influence of Government policy and an organisational understanding of effective practice. CrossReach Residential Care and Education services are now offered in the form of community children's houses supported by a separate school, Erskine Waterfront Campus
www.crossreach.org.uk/our-locations/erskine-waterfront-campus
Facebook groups have been established for anyone with an association to Ballikinrain or Geilsland residential schools.

The Future

In January 2024, planning permission was granted to return the building to a private residence, with the stables being converted to housing. Two dilapidated cottages in the grounds will be demolished and replaced.

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Category B listed buildings in Stirling (council area) Listed castles in Scotland Castles in Stirling (council area) Houses in Stirling (council area) Special schools in Scotland