2IO Largs and its Surroundi7igs. [Sess. 



Southannan Mains farm-steading, an outcrop of sandstone 

 rock bears some specimens of those archaic sculpturings 

 known as " cup - and - ring - markings." They have suffered 

 greatly from weathering, and are by no means so extensive 

 as the series at Blackshaw, near West Kilbride. In one 

 interesting example the ring surrounding a cup has been 

 interrupted by a quartz pebble, but the obstacle seems to 

 have merely been passed over, and the incision of the circle 

 resumed immediately beyond it. Near by, too, was discovered 

 a cist containing an urn of a much more ornate type than 

 those usually found in the district. 



The estate of Southannan, of which the modern mansion 

 may be seen nestling at the foot of the bank, about half a mile 

 beyond Fencebay, recalls memories of the Lords Sempill 

 by whom this property was formerly possessed. The most 

 eminent of these was Eobert, third Lord Sempill (some- 

 times referred to as " the great Lord Sempill "), who took a 

 notable part in public affairs during the reign of Mary, Queen 

 of Scots, and died in 1572. The estate passed from the 

 Sempills more than two centuries ago, and afterwards came 

 into the possession of the Earl of Eglinton. It is now the 

 property of Lady Sophia Montgomery, eldest daughter of 

 Archibald- William, fourteenth Earl. 



With the exception of a few houses situated south of the 

 Eairlie Burn, the village of Fairlie lies wholly within the 

 parish of Largs. Stretching up the stream for nearly half 

 a mile is "Fairlie Glen," the sweet sylvan beauty of which 

 has inspired several poems in its praise. It is a favourite 

 resort of excursionists and picnic parties, of whom there are 

 often enough and to spare. A short distance up the glen 

 stands Fairlie Castle, a square tower, once the abode of the 

 Fairlies of that Ilk, but now roofless and partially covered 

 with ivy. Writing in the early part of the seventeenth cen- 

 tury, Timothy Pont, the topographer of the Cuninghame 

 district of Ayrshire, notes that " Fairlie Castell is a stronge 

 toure and werey ancient, beutified with orchardes and gardins. 

 It belongs to Fairlie de eodem, chieffe of ther name." Like 

 the family to whom they belonged, the " orchardes and gardins " 

 have long since disappeared from the scene. The property 

 was acquired from the last of these Fairlies by David, first 

 Earl of Glasgow, with whose successor it now remains. 



