Ballochmyle House

Image: © Richard Dorrell Taken: 28 Sep 2012

Ballochmyle was part of the barony of Kylesmure which King William the Lion granted in the year 1165 to the Cistercian monks of Melrose Abbey. By the sixteenth century Ballochmyle had become a separate estate. In 1760, a "new House very neatly fitted up and finished" possibly designed by the famous architect William Adam, replaced the old tower house. Further extensions to the main building were made during the succeeding years, including the front portion. The architect of the front portion was H M Wardrop and the building was executed in red "Ballochmyle Stone" from the quarries in Mauchline. Wardrop was also the architect of the Station Hotel in Ayr which is built of the same stone. The extension of the house was finished in 1886. On the death of Sir Claud Alexander, the house was let from 1899 until 1937/38. In 1938, arrangements were made to sell the house and policies to the Department of Health for use as a hospital. Entry was tacitly permitted that year and the missives were finally completed in October 1939, a month after the outbreak of war. Ballochmyle House and grounds were purchased by the Secretary of State in 1939 as a suitable site for one of the EMS (Emergency Medical Services) hospitals being built at that time in anticipation of war-time requirements. It was built on the pavilion plan following the standard plan of EMS hospitals. Initially there were two blocks of eight wards and a block containing the administrative office, the kitchen, laboratory and pharmacy and this part of the construction was completed by the Autumn of 1940. The mansion house was utilised as residential accommodation for the medical, nursing, administrative and technical staff. (Information from Northkirk Homes Ltd.) The hospital buildings (mostly located in Grid Square Image ) were recently demolished, and the estate was being re-developed as an area of luxury housing. 94 Houses were planned but only 23 have been completed to date as, in April 2012 the developer went into administration, so building work is currently at a standstill. Ballochmyle House itself has been converted into nineteen apartments, eight of which have been sold.

Images are licensed for reuse under creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0