Photos of Skerrington Mains House
Bibliography as per pages 4 and 5
Hurlford in 1818 was to the lover of rural beauty a much more pleasant place than it is now with a spacious wood containing oak; elm; birch and fir trees stretching from the bridge to where Portland Iron Company offices are located. Millers Bank was covered in larch and the banks of the river along to Ricarton Mill were finely wooded. Mining and other industries may have brought great wealth to some but it despoiled the locality. The appearance of Hurlford at the beginning of the 19th century, was a line of houses stretching from the central one, presently occupied by Archibald Richmond as an Inn, along Riccarton Road as far as the present school house. From this Inn on the Mauchline Road there were houses on both sides of the road for a short way. It was similar on the Galston Road. The cluster of houses at Old Hurlford were terminated by the farmstead of Townhead owned by John Bunten. The first school in Hurlford was in this portion of it, kept by a family of the name Dunlop who were a superior family and manifested in some poetic taste. The fist public house in Hurlford was kept by James Aiton, coachman to family of Thomas Spiers who owned Skerrington. The place now named Skerrington was then called Little Cessnock and tenanted by Campbell of Cessnock. Below are photos of the current Skerrington Mains house and a view of the farm and steadings from near the Galston Road. The farm is still owned by the Youngs and they are a very friendly family.
Hurlford in 1818 was to the lover of rural beauty a much more pleasant place than it is now with a spacious wood containing oak; elm; birch and fir trees stretching from the bridge to where Portland Iron Company offices are located. Millers Bank was covered in larch and the banks of the river along to Ricarton Mill were finely wooded. Mining and other industries may have brought great wealth to some but it despoiled the locality. The appearance of Hurlford at the beginning of the 19th century, was a line of houses stretching from the central one, presently occupied by Archibald Richmond as an Inn, along Riccarton Road as far as the present school house. From this Inn on the Mauchline Road there were houses on both sides of the road for a short way. It was similar on the Galston Road. The cluster of houses at Old Hurlford were terminated by the farmstead of Townhead owned by John Bunten. The first school in Hurlford was in this portion of it, kept by a family of the name Dunlop who were a superior family and manifested in some poetic taste. The fist public house in Hurlford was kept by James Aiton, coachman to family of Thomas Spiers who owned Skerrington. The place now named Skerrington was then called Little Cessnock and tenanted by Campbell of Cessnock. Below are photos of the current Skerrington Mains house and a view of the farm and steadings from near the Galston Road. The farm is still owned by the Youngs and they are a very friendly family.