In 1882-4, Frances Groome's Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland described Ardgowan like this:
Ardgowan, a mansion in Inverkip parish, Renfrewshire, 3¼ miles N by E of Wemyss Bay. It is the seat of Sir Michael Robert Shaw-Stewart, of Greenock and Blackhall, owner of 24,951 acres in the shire, of £14,501 gross annual value (£573 quarries), seventh Baronet since 1667, and seventeenth in direct male descent from Sir John Stewart, a natural son of Robert III., who received from his father three charters of the lands of Ardgowan, Blackhall, and Auchingoun, in 1390,1396, and 1404. ...
Erected early in this century from designs by Cairncross, and raised on a terrace overhanging the Firth of Clyde, the present mansion is a large and stately building, screened in the rear by noble trees, but in front commanding a wide, unbroken, prospect over the waters and mountain-flanks of the firth. Near it stand the private Episcopal chapel of St Michael and All Angels, and the remains of an ancient square tower, a fragment of that Castle of Inverkip which was held by the English in the days of Robert Bruce. Thither fled Sir Philip de Mowbray, after his rout by the Black Douglas. He came by Kilmarnock and Kilwinning, thence to Ardrossan- ' Syne throu the Largis him alane, Till Innerkyp' which (Barbour adds) was ` stuffyt all with Inglessmen, ' who received him ` in daynté. '
Ardgowan through time
Ardgowan is now part of Inverclyde district. Click here for graphs and data of how Inverclyde has changed over two centuries. For statistics about Ardgowan itself, go to Units and Statistics.
GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Ardgowan, in Inverclyde and Renfrewshire | Map and description, A Vision of Britain through Time.
URL: https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/21720
Date accessed: 25th April 2024
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