The site of the old Lefnoreis Castle or Ward of Lochnorris (NS 53908 20515) lies about 100 yards north-west of the old stable block of

Dumfries House Dumfries House is a Palladian country house in Ayrshire, Scotland. It is located within a large estate, around west of Cumnock. Noted for being one of the few such houses with much of its original 18th-century furniture still present, including ...

East Ayrshire East Ayrshire (; ) is one of 32 unitary council areas of Scotland. It shares borders with Dumfries and Galloway, East Renfrewshire, North Ayrshire, South Ayrshire and South Lanarkshire. The headquarters of the council are located on London Roa ...

, Parish of

Old Cumnock Cumnock (Scottish Gaelic: ''Cumnag'') is a town and former civil parish located in East Ayrshire, Scotland. The town sits at the confluence of the Glaisnock Water and the Lugar Water. There are three neighbouring housing projects which lie j ...

, Scotland. The old castle stood on a natural rise overlooking the

Lugar Water The Lugar Water, or River Lugar, is created by the confluence of the Bellow Water and the Glenmuir Water, just north of Lugar, both of which flow from the hills of the Southern Uplands in East Ayrshire, Scotland. Course Source to Cumnock The ...

, built and held for many years by the Craufurd family. For consistency the spelling ''Craufurd'' will be used throughout and ''Lefnoreis'' for the castle.

History

Lefnoreis is recorded as being the most important of the three castles in the parish of

, the other two being Borland Castle and Terringzean Castle. One recorded suggestion in regard of the occupied castle or fortified mansion is that two castles existed, one near the present day stables that was occupied until

was built with its foundations still evident in 1885 and another that stood elsewhere on the estate that was abandoned before 1635 and of which no remains survive.

The spelling of the placename

The name of the fortification is commonly recorded as variations of both Lefnoreis and Lochnorris with the former version more widely used on maps and many other variations in spelling and title, such as the Ward of Lefnorris, Tower of Lefnoreis, Lefnoreise, Ward of Lochnoris, Lochnoreis, Tower of Leifnorris, Liffnoris, Leifnoreis and ''Lefnoryis''. It is recorded on old maps as ''Lesno'' in the mid 17th century, ''Castle of Lesno'' in 1654, ''Lesnoris'' in 1685 and finally as ''Lissnorris'' in 1747-1755. It is also recorded as ''Craufurdstoun'' as is the near by Terringzean Castle. Considerable confusion has arisen in the writing of the castle's name arising from the use of the

Long s The long s, , also known as the medial ''s'' or initial ''s'', is an Archaism, archaic form of the lowercase letter , found mostly in works from the late 8th to early 19th centuries. It replaced one or both of the letters ''s'' in a double-''s ...

to represent a lower case ''s'' in documents until around 1800 in printed documents and well into the 19th century for written documents. The convention previously being to use a letter similar to an elongated ''f'', leading to a lower case ''s'' being easily and often confused and interpreted as an ''f''. On the above mentioned maps this led to ''Lissnorris'' for example apparently having the spelling ''Liffnorris''. An actual ''f'' had a short horizontal stroke to differentiate it. The intended pronunciation of the name might therefore be closer to ''Lesnories''.

Ward

It is unusual for the term ''Ward'' to be applied to a fortification's name. In Scottish Law a ''Ward'' is "''..the oldest form of feudal land tenure, viz. by military service, with various attendant rights and obligations, esp. that of the superior to uphold and draw the rents of the lands of a deceased vassal while the heir was uninfeft or remained a minor, as an equivalent for the loss of military services during such period, the usage being termed simple ward. Later commutation was admitted for a monetary payment in lieu of the drawing of rents.''" This implies that the use of the name ''Ward'' only applied to periods in which the male heir was a minor, etc.

Description of the castle and lands

Paterson records that Lefnoreis was a tower known as the 'Ward'. Lord Bute in 1897 carried out extensive excavations at the castle's site and discovered part of the walls of a fortification of considerable strength and also a causeway composed using water-worn stones. In 1885 the foundations had still been visible above ground, the building being demolished circa 1759. The old Lefnoreis walled garden stood near the recently restored Lady's Well (2018) that drains into the

. The 1671 dated dovecote at

(NS 53951 20350) is the oldest dated building on the estate and is contemporary with Lefnoreis Castle. Another date of 1851 implies a restoration date. The armorial panel above the doorway is of the McDoualls of Freugh who in 1720 married into the Crichton family. To the west of the castle site and close to the site of the old Lefnoreis walled garden lies the recently restored Lady's Well (2018) that drains into the

. 1756 is the first date recorded for the well although the well's name suggests a pre-reformation date that would make it contemporary with Leifnorris Castle. Until 1944 the well designed by Robert Adam stood as a small square structure with four arched openings and a pyramidal roof. The Craufurds also held lands in

Ochiltree Ochiltree is a conservation village in East Ayrshire, Scotland, near Auchinleck and Cumnock. It is one of the oldest villages in East Ayrshire, with archaeological remains indicating Stone Age and Bronze Age settlers. A cinerary urn was found i ...

and

Dalmellington Dalmellington (, ) is a market town and civil parish in East Ayrshire, Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, co ...

. The lands of ''Blackettle'' and ''Beauch'' were part of the lands of Lefnoreis.

The Lairds of Lefnoreis

The first recorded lairds of Lefnoreis were the Craufurds in 1440, a branch of the Craufurd family of

Loudoun Castle Loudoun Castle is a ruined country house nicknamed the " Windsor of Scotland" located near Galston, in the Loudoun area of Ayrshire, Scotland. The majority of the building was constructed from 1804 to 1811 around existing structures dating to ...

near Galston. On the third of October 1528 the laird of Leiffnoris was at Mauchline Castle in the company of the bailie of the Barony of Kylesmuir, Hugh Campbell and the lairds of Ardgowan, Haining, Caprington and Ochiltree. It was the eve of the annual Mauchline Fair.Sanderson, Margaret H.B. (1975). ''The Mauchline Account Books of Melrose Abbey 1527 - 1528.'' AANHS. p.93 The estate belonged to the family until 1635 when it was purchased by William, 2nd Earl of Dumfries. His heiress, Penelope, married the second son of the 1st Earl of Stair and the Dumfries title passed into the Dalrymple family. The Crichton-Stuarts, Marquesses of Bute inherited Dumfries House and estate. The coat of arms of the Craufurds of Lefnoreis was "''Gules, a Fess Ermine, and in Chief, two Stars. Or.''" This translates from heraldic terminology as a shield with a red background with a band of ermine running horizontally across and two gold stars above the horizontal band.

Historical incidents

William Craufurd in 1510 was involved in the taking back of Loch Doon Castle from the Kennedy Clan. In 1512 the same William was involved in the murder of the laird of Corsintoune (sic) at Cumnock Church. This may refer to ''Coursington'' near

Motherwell Motherwell (, ) is a List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Shires of Scotland, Historically in the p ...

. In 1527 George Craufurd accompanied the Campbells of

Loudoun Loudoun () is a parish in East Ayrshire, Scotland and lies between five and ten miles east of Kilmarnock. The parish roughly encompasses the northern half of the Upper-Irvine Valley and borders Galston parish, Galston Parish (which encompasses ...

in the ambush that led to the death of the Earl of Cassillis at

Prestwick Prestwick () is a town in South Ayrshire on the west coast of Ayrshire in Scotland about southwest of Glasgow. It adjoins the larger town of Ayr to the south on the Firth of Clyde coast, the centre of which is about south, and the small vi ...

. In 1544

John Knox John Knox ( – 24 November 1572) was a Scottish minister, Reformed theologian, and writer who was a leader of the country's Reformation. He was the founder of the Church of Scotland. Born in Giffordgate, a street in Haddington, East Lot ...

records that George Craufurd of Lefnoreis opposed the Scottish

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

Reformation and joined the Bishop of Glasgow in attempting to prevent

George Wishart George Wishart (also Wisehart; c. 15131 March 1546) was a Scottish Protestant Reformer and one of the early Protestant martyrs burned at the stake as a heretic. George Wishart was the son of James and brother of Sir John of Pitarrow ...

, later a Protestant martyr, from preaching in Ayr. In doing so he stood against the

Earl of Glencairn Earl of Glencairn was a title in the Peerage of Scotland. King James III of Scotland, James III created the title in 1488 by royal charter for Alexander Cunningham, 1st Earl of Glencairn, Alexander Cunningham, 1st Lord Kilmaurs. He held the e ...

's and his supporters. In 1566 Knox records that the new Craufurd laird was a supporter of Protestantism. In 1550 Agnes Craufurd, the Lady of Lefnoreis, was abducted and carried away for some time by fellow Craufurds. It seems that her husband had died without an heir and following the abduction a George Craufurd inherited the lands and castle. In 1578 George Craufurd of Lefnoreis was fined £2000 for allowing James Elliot, an infamous border's reiver, to escape from his custody at the castle. In 1609 another George Craufurd of Lefnoreis was imprisoned in

Blackness Castle Blackness Castle is a 15th-century fortress, near the village of Blackness, Falkirk, Blackness, Scotland, on the south shore of the Firth of Forth. It was built, probably on the site of an earlier fort, by George Crichton, 1st Earl of Caithness ...

for bearing arms and assisting fugitives. In 1560 and 1572 George Craufurd sat in the Scottish parliament and in 1589 William Craufurd was appointed as a commissioner to ensure that all

Jesuits The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

were to leave the country for a month. In 1606 two servants of George Craufurd of Lefnoreis, George and Andrew McCubene, claimed that John and George Hervie of Skellingtoun Mill attacked them at the Cumnock Market, putting them in fear of their lives. The court took the view that the McCubenes were the aggressors even though the McCubenes had suffered physical injuries during the affray. In 1608 the Privy Council of Scotland issued an order that the Cunninghames of Caprington,

Dalkeith Dalkeith ( ; , ) is a town in Midlothian, Scotland, on the River Esk. It was granted a burgh of barony in 1401 and a burgh of regality in 1541. The settlement of Dalkeith grew southwestwards from its 12th-century castle (now Dalkeith Pala ...

and Auchincors were not to meet at Cumnock Church as violence was foreseen. The families were in dispute and elsewhere murders had taken place on the sabbath at churches. William Cunninghame of Caprington and his son and the laird of Lefnoreis and his son were to refrain from meeting with their men at the church or suffer a large fine, the order remaining in force until 1 April 1609.

Dumfries House

William Dalrymple, 5th Earl of Dumfries, was responsible for commissioning John, Robert and James Adam to design and build

between 1754–59, the old castle then being abandoned and the stone removed.

References

;Notes ;Sources *Coventry, Martin (2010). ''Castles of the Clans''. Musselburgh : Goblinshead. *Millar, A. H., (1885). ''The Castles and Mansions of Ayrshire''. Glasgow : The Grimsay Press. . *Paterson, James (1863). ''History of the Counties of Ayr and Wigton. Vol.1. Kyle.'' Edinburgh : James Stillie. *Warrick, Rev. John (1899). ''The History of Old Cumnock''. 1992 Edition. Cumnock : Carn Publishing.

External links

Video of the Lady's WellVideo of the Leifnorris or Lochnorris Dovecote
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lefnoreis Castle History of East Ayrshire Castles in East Ayrshire Tower houses in Scotland