WHO OWNS AYRSHIRE'S STATELY HOMES? (1) MONTGREENAN HOUSE

Ayrshire is graced by some beautiful manor houses and impressive stately homes, but more often than not few people actually know who owns them or lives there. To correct this "information blind spot," this series will endeavour to identify who the "Lords and Ladies of the Manor" are, and tell you a little bit about them.

First on our list is Montgreenan House, set in fifty acres of gardens and parkland, near the hamlet of Benslie, not that far from Kilwinning and Irvine. 

The house is an elegant Georgian mansion built in 1817 by Sir Robert Glasgow with architectural features by Alexander 'Greek' Thompson. Until 1982, it was the home of the Viscounts Weir, minor nobility, after which it was sold to various owners, becoming a hotel at some point. In 2007 it changed hands for £1.3 million.

On 24th April, 2014, it was sold for £995,000 to a mystery owner who then made it into a private residence. 

The owner

Information on the identity of the new owner was hard to come by, but thanks to a recent newspaper item about planning permission, we can now confirm that the owner is Gerry Hilferty, the Managing Director of Brodie Engineering, a Kilmarnock-based rolling stock engineering business. That means they fix trains.

Hilferty's biog at the Brodie website states the following: 

Gerry is a Chartered Engineer and founded Brodie Engineering in 1996. He is a railway engineering career professional with extensive experience of rolling stock maintenance and repair and the design of specialist bespoke infrastructure maintenance vehicles and infrastructure handling equipment.

In addition to this, he clearly likes his privacy and cherishes his security, as the recent story about planning permission to install a two-metre high fence, CCTV and floodlights around his property. 

According to the Irvine Times:

Planning chiefs insisted all sections be positioned at least three metres away from footpaths or track and fencing shall not obstruct, block or divert walking routes and that the field of vision of the CCTV cameras will be limited to land inside the site only.

Prior to work starting a written statement and diagram detailing measures to protect trees, roots, habitats and permit the passage of wildlife, such as badgers, through or under the fence, shall be submitted to NAC.

They added: “Notwithstanding the legend on an approved drawing, no part of the fencing shall consist of railway weldmesh with concrete posts, nor shall Tornado R19/180/5 mesh be used with details of an alternative specification be submitted for approval of North Ayrshire Council as Planning Authority. "