Benslie


Benslie is a small village in North Ayrshire, in the parish of Kilwinning, Scotland. Map reference NS 336 429.

History

This village, previously Benislay, Beinslay, Bainsley in 1821, Bensley, Benslee or Benslee square on the 1860 OS map, Bendslee is situated next to Benslie wood. The village sits on the B 785 Fergushill Road and on the junction of the road to Montgreenan and Torranyard on the Lochlibo Road. The OS maps show that it was named 'Montgreenan' up until at least 1938, with the name Benslie given to the wood, the old farmhouse on the 'island' created by the three roads and the term Benslie Square. A Mission hall is marked as being at Benslie square on the 1910 OS map. The postal address may have been the direct cause of the name change, preventing confusion with the nearby Montgreenan estate.
Some dwellings were also present at Rosebank or Woodneuk, situated just before the bridge that crossed the railway at Montgreenan station. A small mine was developed here and only a brick tower and bing remain in 2007. The village had a small Church hall which was used for indoor bowls and other activities. This building was demolished in 1993 and was replaced by a house named Kinnoull, a new family to the village moved into the house in 1994. A tennis court also existed at one time, next to the church hall. A number of new houses have been constructed since 1990; transforming the size and nature of this rural settlement.
A Chapel Hill cottage existed at one time, suggesting that the chapel existed on the 'hill', possibly within what is now Benslie Wood. A small mound existed in the wood near Wood Neuk Cottage, but this may have been removed during the building of the new houses. The 1774 Ayr Roads Act names a Corsehill Chapel on the Toll Road from Kilwinning to Dreghorn via Milnburn. A statement to the effect that a chapel existed in the middle of the 'feature;' has been made, however details are lacking. There is a Lady Acre on the lands of Corsehill.
The local farms include Benslie Fauld, as well as North and South Millburn. A lane connected Laigh Patterton Farm with the old Netherfield farm and Benslie. The exit is preserved between the two modern buildings, Benslie House and Kinnoull, near the old fireclay mine.
Robert Aitken's 1823 map of The Parishes of Ardrossan, Stevenston and Kilwinning shows a Backmossfauld farm near the old Netherfield farm. This map also gives East Doura as the name of the farm which was later known as South Millburn.

Benslie village views - 2007 / 08

The Ardrossan Railway - Doura branch

This line began life as a waggonway which opened in 1831 between Ardrossan and Kilwinning and was known as the Ardrossan and Johnstone Railway. James Sword was the lines Superintendent. It was initially built to the Scotch gauge of and was worked by horses. It had a passenger service from 28 July 1834 and was worked by carriages which held 24 passengers, 16 inside and 8 outside.
The railway was built by the Glasgow, Paisley and Ardrossan Canal company as the Ardrossan and Johnstone Railway. It commenced on the west side of Ardrossan harbour. The Doura branch waggonway was opened in 1834, and left the main line near Stevenston. It turned east and connected various industrial workings on the Eglinton Castle estate on its way to reach the Doura coal pit. The Fergus Hill branch left the Doura branch just after the Lugton Water crossing to reach the Fergus Hill coal pit.
In 1833 Sir James Cunningham extended the Doura branch to his extensive coal and fireclay workings at Perceton. Up until the 1850s this line was worked using horse haulage. Each wagon carried about one ton of coal. The Doura branch was private until 1839 when the Ardrossan Railway Company came into being.
The re-laying of track with a heavier rail and the gauge conversion from to was all carried out in a period of one week in spring 1840. The landowners had paid for the extension and the line had its gradients and curves altered to allow for locomotive working.
One record gives October 1, 1846 for the opening of the Standard Gauge Doura to Perceton section of the line and another July 1, 1848.
In spring 1840 the line had been regauged to standard gauge and thus it could be connected with the Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock and Ayr Railway; in 1854 both lines merged with the new Glasgow and South Western Railway.

1830s railway track

A section of the light weight 1831 waggonway track survived at Millburn near Benslie and was recovered in 2009 for restoration and study.
This Vignole type section track has a large surface of contact with the sleeper and is therefore a flat-bottomed rail rather than double-headed, bull-headed, etc. It is long, typical of early rail lengths and has no holes for fishplates as these were not invented until after 1839; special joint-chairs were used at that time to hold the ends in place. The fishplate, originally without bolt holes, was invented by William Bridges Adams in May 1842 and used from 1849.
Several holed sandstone blocks have been found built into the 'Hurry' at and it is likely that the wrought iron rails were spiked to these large stone sleepers. Granite railway sleepers shipped in via Ardrossan from Ailsa Craig are also said to have been used. The rail height is somewhat less than a typical modern rail as it was not designed to carry the weight of a locomotive. The rails are high, wide at the bottom, and wide at the top. The central web is therefore much shorter than conventional rails. When the Ardrossan and Johnstone Railway was converted to standard gauge, heavier rails were used, the lighter version probably being the type recovered from Millburn.

South Millburn Cottage

Opposite the old South Millburn farm is a ruined cottage with unusual architectural features. The gable ends both held rectangular windows with an unusually elongated vertical axis, not set centrally, but offset towards the back of the building which itself faces South Millburn. These slit windows would have given a clear view to anyone within the building of any activity to the sides of the building. The side facing South Millburn had one similar windows to the gable inserts as shown by a surviving lintel. The side facing the Eglinton estate had two doors and one splayed and one lit window with finely worked recycled stone that may have come from Kilwinning Abbey. Both gable ends of the building had fireplaces and a door in each.
The building was built to serve the South Millburn pit as it was first known as South Millburn Pit House. After the pit closed it was used as a cottage or cottages in the late 19th and through the mid-20th century and was later converted for use as a pig sty before being used in some way when the site was used as a parking and maintenance area for coaches.
The old Ordnance Survey maps indicate that this building sat just behind and parallel to the horse drawn waggonway trackbed, opened in 1831 to Byres at Kilwinning and ran up to Doura by 1834, ending at the coal pits. Later the building had the Perceton / Sourlie freight Branch of the Glasgow and South Western Railway located in front of it. A door was set into the gable's end. The fireplaces were set in the gable ends, despite the odd position of the windows.
This building stood close by to a railway crossing keeper's hut at the level crossing that controlled rail traffic crossing the Eglinton Castle estate's Millburn Drive and the nearby road. Millburn drive was also part of the old 1774 road from Kilwinning to Irvine, running across the Red Burn at the Drukken Steps and passed in front of the Draughtburn Gates and lodges.
The method of construction and architecture of the 'build' shows that it was constructed under the influence the Earl of Eglinton, possibly using re-cycled stone ; as were many of the Eglinton estate structures, the stone coming from the old Kilwinning Abbey ruins and possibly other sources. Well made recycled stone is mixed with poorly worked stone or rubble and bricks were used in the chimney flues.
In 2013 Kilwinning Heritage carried out an industrial archaeology rescue investigation at the cottage, assisted by Rathmell Archaeology, resulting in excavations, measurements and local history research to record and clarify issues relating to the building's construction, uses and occupancy.
The Robson family were the last occupants and the main building ended its life as a pigsty.

Details of the South Millburn Cottage - 2007

The 1774 Toll Road

The Drucken or Drukken Steps were stepping stones on the course of the old Toll Road which ran from the west end of Irvine through the Eglinton policies to Kilwinning via Milnburn or Millburn; crossing the Redburn near Knadgerhill.
The minutes of the Turnpike Trust of 27 May 1780 state that the road to the Dowra Coal Works had for more than 13 years been totally neglected, not one penny of Statute Money or repair of any kind have been expended. In the winter and during wet weather the road was impassable, even for travelling on horseback, nor could carriages of any kind pass along it.

Miner's Rows

A number of miner's houses once existed at nearby North Fergushill, a shown by the various OS maps of the late 20th century. Benslie itself was made up of 57 stone built miners houses, owned by A. Finnie and Son. Coalmasters. In 1913 the village was said to be 67 years old. The population was 318 in 1881. At first the houses only existed at the 'Square' and then later the village was extended towards the road which runs up passed the church. A number of coal pits were in the area as shown by the first edition OS map, one pit being close to the 'Millburn Cottage' opposite South Millburn. In 1937 most of the miner's rows were demolished and the miners were moved to the Dirrans.

The Hurry and coup

The coup for the 'old' miner's rows or village was just to the right of the entrance to Millburn Drive and was excavated circa 2006 by enthusiasts who retrieved many bottles and other items from the 'heyday' of the miner's rows. The original waggonway ran along one side of this coup and part of a stone fronted 'dock' or loading platform wall still stands, partly built with old stone railway sleepers. Much of the 'dock' stones has been robbed and it may have had walling on two sides originally with a lane on the western side running down to a siding on the standard gauge track. The structure may be related to the construction and resource requirements of the Eglinton Tournament of 1839 as it lies close to the tournament site and lay on the railway that ran from Ardrossan Harbour.
The name 'coup' may derive from the well known waggon of that name that was designed to tip its load. A good example is preserved at the National Museum of Rural Life.