Lochwinnoch
Principal Sources
OSA Vol 15 No 3 1795
The New Statistical Account of Scotland, Vol VII, Edinburgh, 1845:
Lochwinnoch pp 74-112, dated 1836
OPS I pp 93-5, Appendix p 507
RMS II (1363) 1477-8, (2598) 1501, (2882) 1505, (3770) 1512
RMS III (361) 1526, (1234-1236) 1532, (2050) 1539, (2115, 2124, 2125) 1539-40, (2991) 1543-4, (3170) 1545
RMS IV (260) 1548, (1367) 1559, (2104) 1572, (2197) 1573-4 on original of 1559, (2778) 1577-8 on original of 1556, (2779) 1577-8 on original of 1566, (2985) 1579-80 on original of 1574
RMS V (95-6) 1580-1, (466, 482) 1582, (1841) 1590-1
RMS VI (231) 1594-5
RMS VII (672) 1612 on original of 1611, (1905) 1618
RMS VIII (732) 1621, (1508) 1630, (1768) 1631
RMS IX (41, 107) 1634, (407) 1635, (640.1) 1637 on original of 1622, (895) 1639, (1271) 1642, (1701) 1646, (1854) 1647 on original of 1638, (2145) 1649
RSS I (3024) 1518
RSS II (3371) 1539-40, (3630) 1540
RSS III (761) 1544, (854) 1544, (1602) 1545-6, (1603-05) 1546, (1766) 1546, (2387) 1547
RSS IV (1822) 1552, (2271) 1553, (2810) 1554
RSS VI (734) 1569, (1789-1790) 1572
RSS VII (189) 1575
RSS VIII (89) 1580-1, (1693) 1583, (1705) 1583, (1815) 1583-4, (1957, 1960) 1583-4, (2515, 2628) 1584
RRS II (378) 1195 x 1199, (518) 1211 x 1214
ER XVIII pp 472, 479 1549, p 510 1550, p 527 1551, p 535 1551-2, p 556 1553
ER XIX p 495 1562, p 515 1563
ER XX p 395 1569
ER XXII p 441 1590
ER XXIII pp 372-3 1595-6, p 422 1598-9
GD3/1/3/16/1 1572
GD3/1/3/17/12 1662
GD3/1/3/31/8 1683
GD8/72 1529
GD8/270 1577
GD8/917 1687
GD38/1/33 1606
GD86/123 1540
GD148/40 1491
GD148/78 1509
GD148/96 & 97 1514-1515
GD148/98 1516
GD148/99 1516-1517
GD148/103 1522
GD148/143 1535-1536
GD148/151 1539
GD148/195 1570-1571
GD148/283 1598-1599
GD148/290 1563
GD148/293 1567
GD148/320 1596
NRAS94/15/43 Charter of 14/6/1659
Charter Chest of the Earldom of Dundonald, (14) 1600, (15) 1601, (28) 1539, (30) 1550, (31-2) 1579, (33) 1501 (recte 1601?), (35-6) 1643, (41) 1529, (42) 1613, (45) 1634, (115) 1640, (140) 1587, (143) 1587, (220) 1671, (221) 1672, (317) 1607
Renfrew Retours (7) 1599, (11) 1601 (1641?), (26) 1608, (29-30) 1610, (38-40) 1616, (45) 1617, (53) 1620, (67) 1625, (76) 1629, (102) 1638, (106-7) 1639, (111) 1641, (122) 1645, (124) 1646, (131-132) 1648, (141) 1649, (145) 1655, (152) 1658, (158) 1659, (171) 1674, (176) 1677, (182) 1680, (189) 1690, (200) 1699
The amended date to No 11 was suggested when the Retours were first published.
RS53 f 5v 1641
RS53 f 7r 1642
RS53 ff 7r-7v 1642 (separate to document immediately above)
RS53 f 8v 1642
RS53 ff 23v-24r 1642
RS53 ff 31r-31v 1642
RS53 f 38r 1642 (two separate documents)
RS53 ff 48v-49r 1642
RS53 ff 53r-53v 1642
RS53 ff 53v-54r 1642
RS53 f 58v 1642
RS53 f 61r 1642
Laing Charters (2382) 1647, (2645) 1669
Fraser, The Cartulary of Pollok-Maxwell p 179 No 8 1783
Liber protocollorum M. Cuthberti Simonis; eds. Bain & Rogers, Vols 1&2 (7-8) 1500
Protocol Book of Robert Broun in Archaeological & Historical Collections relating to the Counties of Ayr & Wigton, Vol VIII, 1894, No XCIX pp 167-9 (Original Latin plus Abstract)
Archaeological and Historical Collections relating to the County of Renfrew, Parish of Lochwinnoch: Volume 1, Paisley 1885; Volume 2, Paisley 1890. (Hereafter ‘AHC’. (Volume 2 contains the Semple Rental of 1644)
Crawfurd, G., A Genealogical History of the Royal and Illustrious Family of the Stewarts, from the year 1034 to the Year 1710 …, Edinburgh, 1710. (Hereafter ‘Crawfurd’).
Robertson, G., A general description of the Shire of Renfrew …, Paisley, 1818 (Hereafter ‘Robertson(1818)’). Table of Property pp 350-355
Descriptions of the Sheriffdoms of Lanark and Renfrew, compiled about 1710 by William Hamilton of Wishaw, Maitland Club, Glasgow, 1831 pp 106-108
Dodds, J. (ed.), The Diary and General Expenditure Book of William Cunningham of Craigends, kept chiefly from 1673 to 1680, Scottish History Society, Edinburgh, 1887; (hereafter ‘Craigends’). It includes a ‘Scheme of Rental’ drawn up c. 1690, which refers to Rivoch.
Pryde, G.S., ‘Papers relating to a Renfrewshire farm, 1822-30’ in Miscellany of the Scottish History Society, Vol 8, Edinburgh, 1951.
Macfarlane’s Geographical Collections Vol. III, Scottish History Society, Edinburgh, 1908, pp 210-218. (No author, no date).
The Drainage of Barr Loch & Adjoining lands, Prize Essays and Transactions of the Highland Society of Scotland, 1829.
Maps (available via the National Library of Scotland digital Map Library – online)
Pont (33)
Gordon (55)
Blaeu (Renfrew)
Roy (PC)
Ainslie (1796)
Thomson(1826)
Castle Semple Estate Plans
An important source for Castle Semple Estate Plans is available via the online National Library of Scotland Digital Map Library. Within this, researchers should navigate to the Estate Maps section and then to Renfrewshire. Under Lochwinnoch parish three estate plans for Castle Semple lands are provided. These give information about many farms in Lochwinnoch parish, as well as some in Kilbarchan parish. In the tables I have coded them as follows:
CSEP = Castle Semple Estate Plan
CSEP(1) = An estate plan probably made up by John Ainslie c. 1782. This comes from Renfrewshire Museums – Shelfmark 2019.095. See Stuart Nisbet’s article in Cairt, Issue 44, (January 2024) for supporting evidence. (Cairt is the Newsletter of the Scottish Maps Forum, published by the National Library of Scotland).
CSEP(2) = Reduced Plan of Castlesemple by Thomas Richardson, 1808.
CSEP(3) = Plan of Castle Semple Estate, 1907 by W. & A.K. Johnston Limited. This comes from Renfrewshire Museums – Shelfmark 941.441 LO PC16017.
There are other copies of CSEP(2) held under RHP3609/1 & 2 in the National Records of Scotland.
Crawfurd, 1710, p 52 writes of the early Semples:
To whom succeeded Sir Thomas Semple of Eliestoun, Sheriff of Renfrew, his Son, who departed this Life in the Year 1486, and was succeeded by his Son, Sir John Semple of Eliestoun; which Sir John being a Person of an ample Fortune, was by the Bounty and Favour of King James IV the First Year of his Reign, an[no] 1488, Created into the Dignity of Lord Semple: He obtained from that Monarch, in the Year 1505, a Charter of the Lands of Eliestoun, Castletoun, Shuterflat, Hairs-Penneld, Nether-Penneld, Barr in Kilbarchan, Whitelands, Bordland, Craiginfeoch and Fairnieniese, in the Shire of Renfrew; the Lands of Southenen, with their Pertinents, in the Shire of Air, and the Barony of Glasfoord in Lanerk.
Of these lands I shall exclude those situated in the counties of Ayr and Lanark as well as Shutterflat. There is documentary evidence that this last property was held to be in Renfrewshire but since it lay in Beith parish (Ayrshire) I have excluded it from this study.
Hamilton p 107 states:
The monasterie of Pasley had the fourtie pound land of Glenns in this parish.
£40 = 60m, and I have preferred the earlier figure of 50m in the table. However, there were varying definitions of the components of Glen.
Robertson’s ‘Table of Property’, pp 350-355, gives a column for ‘Baronies’ which casts some light on the constituent parts of the larger farms and estates. For example, there is a heading for ‘Castlesempill’ as a barony, while the next column is headed ‘Particular Lands’. This gives a list of the constuent farms in that barony. It is similar for Corseford and Corseflat, the various parts of Auchinbothie, Auchingown etc. In my table I have tried to follow these headings in order to organise the large number of farms in Lochwinnoch. (This is in contrast to other parishes where I generally follow a geographic pattern). There has been some editorial intervention to overcome particular dilemmas – such as when only part of a property belongs to an estate, or when a property is subdivided but all the parts retain the same name and are distinguished only by occupant.
The ‘Archaeological and Historical Collections’ given above are a hugely important source. Volume 2 provides the Semple Rental of 1644 as well as the Poll-Tax Roll for 1695. The latter divides the parish up into a number of sections, some of which match the baronies given in Robertson’s Table of Property in 1818. This is useful both as a confirmation and also because it tells us which barony or estate some of the minor settlement units belonged to. In the table I have added this information as well as data provided by the Paisley Rental.
The table gives 175m 12s.
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