National Gazetteer, 1868

"BALLANTRAE, a parish in the district of Carrick, in the county of Ayr, Scotland, 32 miles to the S.W. of Ayr, and 108 miles from Edinburgh. It lies in a wild and secluded district in the southern corner of the county, on the coast of the North Channel. The village is built at the mouth of the river Stinchar, and received the name of Ballantrae, which signifies "town on the shore," to distinguish it from an older village standing higher up the river. A small castle was erected here by the lords of Bargeny, of which some picturesque remains exist near the river. The people of the district were formerly given to smuggling, and were noted for the lawlessness and barbarity of their manners. The coast is rocky, and the surface of the parish, which extends over an area of 62,000 acres, mostly hilly, the highest ground being at Eldridge Hill. The chief employments of the people are fishing and the weaving of linen. The living, value £258, is in the presbytery of Stranraer, and in the patronage of the Duchess de Coigny. There is a free school in the village, with a small endowment."

"KIRKCUBRIE, an ancient parish in county Ayr, Scotland, now joined to Ballintrae."

Description(s) from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland (1868)
Transcribed by Colin Hinson ©2003