The Famous Places of Clan Ferguson

It feels only right to start with the Clan Seat in Ayrshire: the stately Kilkerran House.

Kilkerran Estate is located 13 miles southeast of Ayr and has been home to the Ferguson family since Fergus Fergusson obtained a charter from Robert the Bruce in the early 1300s, confirming that the lands at Kilkerran were his.

It seems that an early iteration of the grand house had been built by the 14th century and it remained the home of the Fergussons until 1650, when their estates were seized by Cromwell. Though the family found themselves in a large amount of debt, they still managed to reclaim their ancestral home fairly quickly. In 1700, Sir Alexander Fergusson granted Kilkerran to his cousin, John Fergusson, whose son swiftly began improving the house and grounds.

He started tree planting on his father's estate and by 1715 had commenced a programme of hill planting. He also hired architect James Smith to virtually rebuild the mansion as a large, symmetrical elongated H-plan house with giant pilasters on the north front.

Throughout the generations, the family continued to work on the house; in the late 1700s, James Gillespie Graham carried out extensive alterations; a new entrance was made in the west front and the round-ended wings were added. In 1849, David Bryce was hired to build a billiards room along the north front and yet more work was carried out from 1873-6, when Brown and Wardrop altered the south front to enlarge the dining room and built a new block of stables further away from the house.

Currently, Kilkerran is a private estate still owned by the Ferguson’s and serves as the home of the modern-day Clan Chief. However, the Walled Garden on the estate is now run as a touring caravan park, a perfect spot for a holiday if you want to connect with your Feguson roots and enjoy the tranquil countryside and abundant wildlife!

Our second Feguson site for today is the iconic Dundrennan Abbey. Fergus, Lord of Galloway, an early Ferguson ancestor, founded the Abbey in 1142, with the help and support of King David I of Scotland. The beautiful building drew a group of Cistercian monks from Rievaulx Abbey in North Yorkshire, who stayed and worshipped there for 400 years.

Today, Dundrennan’s ruins attract hundreds of visitors each year with its’ peaceful beauty and rich history. The church is the most impressive to survive from the 13 Cistercian monasteries set up in Scotland; it is laid out on the usual Cistercian cross plan but has an unusual three-storey design with blind and open arcades. The cloister, although mostly ruined, is still largely traceable on the ground. The chapter house in the east range is estimated to date from the early 1200s and contained a wealth of striking features, including an impressive entrance façade, six finely moulded piers, which once held up a handsome, stone-vaulted ceiling, grave slabs of four abbots set into the floor, and a slab of blue marble, once highly polished and mounted with a Flemish brass depicting a knight and lady.

Dundrennan also hosted a number of famous visitors over the years, with perhaps the most significant being Mary Queen of Scots.

She was welcomed to seek refuge at the Abbey on the 15^th of May 1568 following her escape from Lochleven Castle and her defeat at Langside, and spent her last ever nights in Scotland among its’ grand cloisters.

The site is also home to some stunning natural features; the extremely rare ‘fairy foxglove’ plant grows on the remaining abbey walls. Legend says that it is only found where the feet of Roman soldiers once trod!

Dundrennan Abbey is open to visitors today, and if you are interested in the Ferguson Clan, early gothic architecture, or Scottish religious history it is well worth a trip! It is currently managed by Historic Environment Scotland; you can get some help with planning a trip by visiting their website here: https://www.historicenvironment.scot/visit-a-place/places/dundrennan-abbey/prices-and-opening-times/

Let us know if you feel inspired to plan a day out and discover why Abbot Ailred of Rievaulx described the site as ‘everywhere peace, everywhere serenity, and a marvellous freedom from the tumult of the world.’

Fergus, Lord of Galloway, was not content to play a part in the building of just one awe-inspiring religious site, he also had a hand in maintaining Scotland’s ‘cradle of Christianity:’ Whithorn Priory in Dumfries and Galloway.

The story begins as early as 390 AD when St Ninian, a Celtic saint, came to the area from the north of Scotland, and previously from Ireland. Legend has it that the saint had a religious vision, guiding them to choose this place to establish the first Catholic Church Christian country in Scotland. At first, the church was a makeshift affair, constructed from wood and other basic materials, but in the 12th century, Fergus, Lord of Galloway oversaw a dramatic renovation, transforming the small wooden church into a magnificent stone Abbey.

The stunning architecture and rich spiritual past made the site an extremely popular pilgrimage spot, especially for Scotland’s medieval kings and queens. James IV and James V in particular made repeated pilgrimages to the saint's shrine, and brought valuable gifts each time, as well as giving money to expand the priory.

The monastery, as a result, became highly wealthy and its income at the time of its dissolution under the Scottish Reformation was estimated at over £1000. Possibly as a result of this wealth, the priory was targeted harshly; the last Catholic prior, Malcolm Fleming was committed to prison in 1563 for the crime of saying mass, the church and monastery were suppressed, St Ninian’s shrine was destroyed, and the cathedral was stripped of its wealth and estates.

By the late 1500s, the church lay almost completely in ruins.

However, today, visitors can explore the tranquil remains of the once grand religious site and discover some of the church’s treasures in the Whithorn Story Visitor Centre. We would say it’s a remarkable experience to walk in the footsteps of so many others to reach Saint Ninian’s shrine and take in the great impact of one early Ferguson.