The Castle The ruins still stand in a prominent and strongly defensible position at Auchenharvie Farm near Torranyard; the site has been much altered by quarrying. Previously the castle was known as Achin-Hervy, Awthinharye in c 1564 (Rollie 1980), Auchinbervy by Moll in 1745, Achenhay (1775 & 1807), and Auchenhowy is used by Ainslie in 1821. Auchenharvie has long been a ruin, shown as such as far back as 1604 - 08 by
Timothy Pont. The castle is built from
whinstone with
freestone corners. Castle Is Illegal to visit, also the castle is the smallest from The Three Towns (Saltcoats, Adrossan and Stevenson)
The Cunninghames of Auchenharvie The castle had long been in the hands of the Cunninghames and notably. Edward Cunninghame of Auchenharvie was killed during a feud with the
Clan Montgomery in 1526. Auchenharvie's most famous owner was Dr. Robert Cunninghame who was created a
Baronet of
Nova Scotia in 1673 and was Physician to
Charles II in Scotland, appointed shortly after the King's coronation at
Scone in 1651. He was with the King's army at the defeat at Worcester in September 1651 and was made a prisoner in the Tower of London, being released after a ransom was paid. He was very wealthy and purchased back the Barony of Stevenston from the Earl of Eglinton in 1656. He died in 1676 and his son only outlived him by two years and because his daughter could not inherit, the land passed through the male line to her cousin, Robert Cunninghame. In January 1678 Robert Cunynghame, apothecary / druggist in
Edinburgh, is stated to be the heir to Anne, daughter of Sir Robert Cunynghame of Auchenharvie. She was Robert's
cousin-german and part of his inheritance was the Barony of Stevenston and the lands of Auchenharvie. He also owned some of the lands of
Lambroughton and
Chapeltoun. He married Anne Purves of Purves Hall in 1669 and had seventeen children. Despite his inheritance he later got into serious debt. In 1829 Aitken's map shows the castle as belonging to a Colonel Barns.
The Resurrectionists A local legend is that in the days of the 'body snatchers' or '
resurrectionists'; before the
Anatomy Act 1832, bodies obtained locally were hidden in the ruins before being taken up to Glasgow at night to sell to the surgeons and medical students at the old university who practiced dissection skills on them. The old toll road did run past the site and a toll gate and house stood fairly close by which must cast some doubt on the castle being involved. A local legend involves nearby
Girgenti House and its prominent tower with smuggling.
Auchenharvie House An estate named
Auchenharvie was built by the family in
Stevenston and although demolished, the name lives on in
Auchenharvie Academy. Middleton near Annick Lodge had been part of the estate, passing into the hands of the Hamiltons of
Bourtreehill and then passing to the
Earls of Eglinton.
Lesley Baillie of 'Bonnie Lesley' fame was a descendant of the Cuninghames of Auchenharvie.
The Toll Road The old toll house close to Auchenharvie Castle farm was demolished in the 1990s and a private house with that name now stands on the site. The toll road junction is still extant as farm tracks. A road used to run across the fields from here to cut across the river by a ford below Megswell farm. This road passed beneath the
Montgreenan driveway which was carried by a highly ornate bridge at this point. The construction of the Lochlibo Road made this route redundant. == Torranyard ==