Transaclions. 5 



her by a song, and a laly of great musical gifts in our own day 

 has immortalised the song by the air to which she set it. 



But what is there to say about Annie's Home ? It existed in 

 her time, it exists, now ; what has the old house to say about 

 itself? The Maxwelton estate was bought in 1611 by Stephen 

 Laurie, a merchant in this town, having previously for some 

 200 years belonged to the Earls of Glencairn. In Van Gent's 

 map of Scotland, bearing date 1G54, the house is depicted as a 

 castle, and called " Glenkairn Castel," with a farm near it called 

 " Maxweltown." When the old name was changed I do not 

 know ; possibly Stephen Laurie or his son, having no connection 

 with the family of Lord Glencairn, took the name of Laurie of 

 Maxwelton, that being the name of the farm on which the castle 

 stood, and that name gradually dispossessed the old one. The 

 site of Glencairn Castle was well chosen, whether for beauty or 

 for defence. It stands on the northern side of the Cairn valley, 

 upon a small promontory of rock, running out from one of the 

 spurs of the Keir range of hills ; the ground behind it dips to 

 the north before it reaches the steep slopes of the hillside ; it 

 falls somewhat on the eastern and western sides, whilst to the 

 south it falls at first abruptly, but more leisurely afterwards, 

 down to the river below. The house stands near the opening 

 into Glencairn of tlie Clan pass, the only depression in the range 

 of hills by which to cross from Nithsdale into the valley of the 

 Cairn. Thus the ground fell on all four sides of the old castle, 

 wiiich must have stood out as a watch-tower, commanding the 

 whole valley ; whilst it was admirably placed for disputing the 

 passage of the Clan should any unfriendly attack be attempted 

 from that quarter. There can be no doubt, I think, that the 

 present house stands on the site, and incorporates a large portion 

 of the old castle ; the two in fact are practically one. It occu- 

 pies three sides of a quadrangle, of which a portion of the larger 

 or western wing was burnt down about the middle of the last 

 century. But there remains the rude foundations of the whole 

 house — the tower at the south-west corner and a small turret at 

 the inner north-west angle of the courtyard, two old arches in 

 the eastern wing, and many portions of a wall of great thickness, 

 that of the tower being five feet, and one within the western 

 wing being twelve feet thick. In " The Castellated and 

 Domestic Architecture of Scotland," by Macgibbon it Ross, the 

 liuildin" which Vjears the nearest resemblance to Maxwelton is 



