Auchenbathie Tower Auchenbathie , Auchinbathie Tower or rarely Barcraigs Tower is a ruined fortification , a tower house , once held by the Wallace Clan of Elderslie , situated in Renfrewshire , Parish of Lochwinnoch , Scotland . The spelling used varies greatly and " Auchenbathie " will be used here as the standard spelling . The pronunciation locally is " Auchenbothy " , the same as a Victorian mansion in Kilmacolm ; no connection is known . Auchenbathie Castle . A carved stone was retrieved from the chimney of the old cottage , now a ruin , and this carries the date 1678 with the letters " I C R C N C " . The ruins of the Tower of Auchenbathie or Auchenbathie Tower ( NS 3980 5646 ) in the 1856 measured 29 ft by 10 ft to 12 ft , however only part of the side walls remain , standing to a maximum height of about 17 ft . A small byre stood within the old walls , once used as an outhouse for cattle . The tower was owned by the Wallaces of Elderslie in 1398 . The walls are continuous though not in many places more than 4 ft to 5 ft high ; a small portion of the wall has been removed from the side next to the ruins of the farmhouse . Cartographic evidence . Timothy Pont ' s manuscript map of circa 1583 – 96 shows an apparently intact tower , on a par with Caldwell Tower , the name Achinberthy , with a dwelling nearby . Boighous ( sic ) is also shown as a dwelling to the north . The Blaeu map of circa 1654 , shows a Inborthy ( sic ) , but not as a fortification . Boighous ( sic ) is again marked nearby . Roy ' s map of 1747 records the site as ' Tower ' with an Achinbathy steading located to the east . In 1821 the Tower hamlet is clearly shown as a group of three buildings with Auchenbathy nearby and Auchenbathy Top as a dwelling further up the lane . Thomson ' s map of 1832 shows a single building at Tower to the west of the road and Auchenbathy nearby with Auchenbathy Top , now Tophouse . The name changes from Auchinbathie to Auchenbathie on the later OS maps . The 1897 1 inch map clearly indicates ' Tower ' in gothic script , located at the site of the present elevated stone wall remnant to the west of the road . Some confusion has developed over the location of the old tower , due to the placing of the gothic script annotation on the OS maps . The position of the script has been taken as indicating that the building on the side road , where a wood is now located ( 2011 ) , was Auchenbathie Tower . This ruined vernacular building has the appearance and location typical of a smithy with a cottage , possibly adapted from buildings associated with the tower . Wallaces of Auchenbathie . Very little is recorded other than the tradition that the Wallace family held the Tower of Auchenbathie , lying about 5 miles from Ellerslie ( sic ) . Sir Malcolm Wallace , father of Sir William Wallace , may have been Lord of Elderslie and Auchenbothie . The Wallaces parted with a portion of the barony of Auchenbathie to Blair of that Ilk and this included the ruins of the old tower . The other barony was Auchenbothie Wallace ; the family line died out around 1650 . Metcalfe records that in 1398 John Wallace of Elderslie passed the lands of Auchinbothie Wallace to his son , Thomas Wallace . The Wallaces of Ferguslie and the Wallaces of Neilstonside were descendents of this John Wallace of Elderslie . The Semples of Eliotstoun and the MacDowalls also held the lands of Auchenbothie at various times . Wallace ' s Knowe ( NS 3933 5687 ) was a small hill , situated in the barony of Auchenbathie Wallace , close to Boghouse Farm ( now a ruin ) and Auchenbathie Tower in the midst of a moorland , which was a meadow in summer , but a loch in winter . Tradition states that Sir William Wallace defended himself with his attendants here against a party of Englishmen . Paterson records that " " there is much evidence of this tradition . " " There are many large boulders , and a few trees on this knowe . Most of the hill is now submerged in Barcraigs / Rowbank Reservoir , except for the highest point , which forms a small island . Metcalfe also records , in 1909 , that " " Near the ruin of the old castle on the lands of Auchinbothie , on the farm of Laightrees , is a small eminence in the midst of a meadow called Wallace ' s Knowe , where , according to tradition , Wallace defended himself a party of Englishmen . " " Clachan history . Roy ' s map of 1747 shows that this clachan or hamlet was situated at the junction of two early roads running from the Lugton area to Howwood and onwards to Paisley . The ' castle ' is named simply as ' Tower ' and Achinbathy is given as a habitation nearby . Tower is later recorded as a farm ; one map has an indication of a gate across the lane . The nearby cottage is recorded as Auchenbathie Cottage until the farm was abandoned , at which point it is recorded as Tower Cottage . The prefix Auchan , Auchen , Achen , or Achin refers to a field recently created from woodland or rough land , deriving from Scottish Gaelic " Achadh an . . . " meaning " Field of the . . . " . The Tower Well is in a field opposite the old vernacular building , probably a smithy , situated on the side road . A tradition survives that the more recent Tower Cottage / Achinbathie Cottage was built as a toll house . An ancient farm , now a total ruin , was located at Broomknowe nearby . The Fultons of Auchenbathie were a cadet branch of the old Grangehill . John Fulton was a staunch Jacobite . He acquired considerable wealth through smuggling . Contraband were transported inland on horseback , owing to the bad state of the roads . In 1748 John Fulton of Auchenbathie was killed by David Malloch , an excise officer , whilst smuggling spirits near Pollockshaw . His remains rest in the churchyard of Lochwinnoch with the bones of his ancestors . The jury found the officer guilty , however he was given a pardon . John Love ( born 1781 ) of Threepwood , acquired the lands of the Tower of Auchenbathie and some of the lands of New Mill of Auchengown Stewart ; he married Jean Fulton of Sproulston . Barony of Auchenbathie . Frances Groome ' s Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland ( 1882 - 40 describes Auchinbathie : " " Auchenbathie , a barony in the SE of Lochwinnoch parish , Renfrewshire , contiguous to Ayrshire , 3½ miles ESE of Lochwinnoch town . It belonged to the Wallaces of Elderslie ; it is mentioned by Blind Harry as one of the places which Malcolm Wallace , the father of Sir William Wallace , ` had in heritage ; ' and it has remains of a small ancient castle , called Auchenbathie Tower . Another Auchenbathie is in the neighbourhood , and , as having belonged to another family than the Wallaces , is called Anchenbathie Blair . " " The Barony was later split into Achinbathie Blair and Achinbathie Wallace . Paterson records that the farm of Nethertrees was the farm of the barony and Wallace ' s Knowe stood within its lands , surrounded by a small loch in winter . The Stewarts of Blackhall purchased the barony of Auchenbathie Wallace and retained the superiority into the 19th century . The Blaeu map of about 1654 clearly shows the barony mill as Neu Wil ( sic ) . Thomson ' s map of 1832 shows the New Mill with a substantial mill pond and the annotation ' Mill Dam ' . The barony mill was known as the Newmiln of Auchengown and the family of King were in possession until around 1726 . Rob Roy MacGregor is said to have used the mill as a hide out when times were difficult . Auchenbathie Burn . The Auchenbathie Burn winds 4 miles along the Beith boundary to the head of Castle Semple Loch . Micro history . Auchenbothie House is located in Kilmacolm , the architect being William Leiper c . 1898 , whilst Charles Rennie Mackintosh was the architect for the Gate Lodge in 1901 and 1907 .