OS1/34/13/37

Continued entries/extra info

[page] 37
Parish of Borrowstounness -- Sheet 1 No. 10

[Kinneil House continued]
The Duke of Hamilton is proprietor and superior and superior of the whole
parish of Borrowstounness except the faim of Muirhouse afterwards to be mentioned
it holds of the crown by a charter from Charles II. His Grace the present Duke never
resided in the parish. The House of Kinniel an ancient seat of that noble family
is large and habitable. It is built on the top of a beautiful bank about 50 feet
above the level of the sea. The architecture seems ancient though not of a Gothic
appearance. The main house fronts east is 4 stories high with two large turrets.
Many of the rooms are neat and in good order. Some of them are Spacious and the finest
figures wrought in tapestry are to be seen in perfect preservation. From the high Story you
ascend by a cupola to a flat lead roof which is surrounded by a parapet wall
several feet high and the spectator securely enjoys at one an extensively variegated and
grand prospect. At some distant period a wing has been added to the north end of the house containing
Some elegant apartments. The house is surrounded by two gardens by large enclosures and by aged
planting which forms beautiful natural vistas and though now uninhabited in other times
it was the residence of nobility and the retreat of Kings. -- Old Stat. Acct. [Statistical Account] volume XVIII [18] page 425-6