The Cochranes of Cowden
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"The
ruin of Auchens House is located about a mile
from Dundonald Castle and was the home of the
Cochrane's in the late 1600's." |
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The following text is taken by permission of the Clan
Cochrane website. More information on the clan can be
viewed at the website
http://www.clancochrane.org
“The chiefship was in jeopardy,
when, during the early 1600's, William Cochrane of that Ilk,
had no male children. He ensured that whoever married his
daughter Elizabeth be bound to assume as their own the Cochrane
name and coat of arms. Elizabeth married Blair who took his
wife's name and estates. The Cochranes acquired their peerage
in 1647 and their son Sir William Cochrane was created the
first Earl of Dundonald in 1669. At that time, the family
owned the house connected to Paisley Abbey. Today this house
is open to the public.
It was Elizabeth's eldest son Sir John
Cochrane who became a colonel for Charles I and began the
recurring "fighting Cochranes", a line of chiefs
who consistently served their country, both on land and at
sea, with distinction. In October 1745, the seventh Earl,
a supporter of the Hanoverian succession, had his horse shot
from under him at the West Port of Edinburgh while jacobites
were in possession of the capital. After the death of the
seventh Earl the descendants of Sir William's second son became
the Earls. In the 17th century Dundonald in Kyle was purchased.
This was a castle built by the Stewarts as a hunting lodge
in the 12th century.”
The ruin of Auchens House is located
about a mile from Dundonald Castle and was the home of the
Cochrane's in the late 1600's. At that time it is believed
to have been part of a large deer park and was an impressive
building with turrets and crow-stepped gables. The house was
constructed from the stone from Dundonald Castle. There is
now a splendid walk from the Castle to Auchens through the
woods.