. The Bairds of Gartsherrie. Some notices of their origin and history . interesting oldcastle is given by Grose (Antiquities, vol. i, p. 153): The building is a lofty quadrilateral tower all vaulted. The lower apartment was a souterrein, the walls of which are about twelve feet thick. The door is under a circular arch with a zig-zag or dancette moulding, rudely cut out of the hard granite. The only communication with the hall was by a trap door. The second floor originally consisted of a hall; the approach to the door was by a ladder that was taken in at any time, the present outer stairs bein
. The Bairds of Gartsherrie. Some notices of their origin and history . interesting oldcastle is given by Grose (Antiquities, vol. i, p. 153): The building is a lofty quadrilateral tower all vaulted. The lower apartment was a souterrein, the walls of which are about twelve feet thick. The door is under a circular arch with a zig-zag or dancette moulding, rudely cut out of the hard granite. The only communication with the hall was by a trap door. The second floor originally consisted of a hall; the approach to the door was by a ladder that was taken in at any time, the present outer stairs being a very modern erection. The old iron door is still remaining. This hall was probably the dining room, the guard chamber, and the dormitory of the garrison, when invested by an enemy. A small turnpike stair built in the wall led to the principal apartment of the lord or governor of the castle. The fire was made in the middle of the floor, as there is only one stack of chimnies, and those in the centre of the building. A way fenced with a parapet goes round the if)< za: 3 m UJ V) O -J o If) N 00 THE BAIRDS OF GARTSHERRIE. 115 The prefixed view shows the castle in its present state. Douglas Baird, after the purchase of Closeburn, went toreside there permanently, and from that time he gave up allsuperintendence at the works. In this large and fine estatehe took a great interest, and commenced improvements on alarge scale, but on a method entirely at variance with thatwhich had been adopted by his predecessors. The late SirCharles Monteath, who had acquired the reputation of beingone of the first agriculturists of his day, had expended a largeamount of money on irrigation, and had introduced a streamof water in almost every field. Douglas Baird was of opinion,however, that that part of the country did not require artificialirrigation, and he accordingly drained the whole land at a con-siderable expense. This proved to be a great success, and alasting improvement, and he a
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