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Rossland (site of)

Rossland was a tower house that dated back to at least the 16th century but was demolished in the 19th century.

Rossland appears on Pont’s late 16th century map as Roslad, marked as a substantial tower. It has been described as one of the principle properties of the parish of Erskine in the 16th century.

Renfrewshire
Timothy Pont, c. 1583 – 1596map image courtesy of NLS

Little is known about the early history of Rossland. A charter of 1595 refers to a John Stewart of Rossland, who is described as holding “the office of forester and custodier of the new forest called the Park of Partick”, and it has been assumed that these Rosslands are one and the same. However the charter is a list of properties and their owners in the parish of Govan, which would seem to rule out this being the Rossland in the parish of Erskine.

In addition to this a Robert Brisbane is recorded as owning Rossland in the second half of the 16th century. He married Janet, the daughter of James Stewart of Ardgowan, in 1562 and transferred the lands of Rossland to their son, Hannibal. Hannibal’s son, also named Hannibal, inherited Rossland from his father in 1636 and in 1638 sold it to his cousin John Brisbane of Bishopton.

Rossland appears on Robert Gordon’s mid-17th century map as Rosland.

Barony of Ranfrew
Robert Gordon, c. 1636 – 1652map image courtesy of NLS

In Blaeu’s Atlas of Scotland, published in 1654, it is marked as a significant tower with the name of Rostad which is probably a transcription error from Pont’s earlier map. A Matthew Brisbane of Rossland is mentioned in an Act of Parliament in 1661.

Some time later the estate was split into Easter Rossland, the half with the castle, and Wester Rossland. John Paterson of Craigton bought Easter Rossland from the Brisbanes, probably late in the 17th or early in the 18th century. His sister, Margaret, was married to Walter Brisbane, a merchant in Glasgow. In 1705 John Brisbane of Bishopton disposed of that estate to John Walkinshaw of that Ilk, along with the lands of Wester Rossland, Drum, Kirkland and Glenshinnoch.

In 1800 Rossland is shown on John Ainslie’s Map of the County of Renfrew as Roslin Castle but by 1808 it was in ruins, described as such in Duncan’s The Scotch Itinerary. On the Ordnance Survey 25 inch to the mile map of 1863, surveyed in 1857, Easter Rossland is shown as a collection of four buildings but there is no mention of castle ruins. This may suggest that the last of the ruins had been cleared away by this time.

Today Rossland gives its name to an area of Bishopton, and a Castle Crescent can be found just to the west of the site of the castle off Kingston Road.

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Alternative names for Rossland

Easter Rossland; Roslad; Roslin; Roslin Castle; Rostad

Clans associated with Rossland

Brisbane

Surnames associated with Rossland

Brisbane

Paterson

Where is Rossland?

Rossland is in the parish of Erskine and the county of Renfrewshire.

Grid reference: NS 43966 71003

Lat / long: 55.906761, -4.497621

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Bing Maps | Google Maps | Historic maps (NLS) | OpenStreetMap | Ordnance Survey | PastMap | Streetmap | Wikimapia

OS Map for Rossland

OS map 342
Glasgow (Paisley, Rutherglen & Kirkintilloch)
OS Explorer map 342


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Directions to Rossland

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Weather at Rossland

13°C
max 14°C / min 13°C
6km/h W
1026mb
91%
75%
03:31 21:06

Broken clouds
Weather observed at Bishopton at 21:29
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References (books)

A genealogical account of the principal families in Ayrshire (Volume 1)
George Robertson
Irvine, 1823
A General Description of the Shire of Renfrew
George Crawfurd
Paisley, 1818
New Statistical Account of Scotland
Various
Edinburgh, 1845
Origines Parochiales Scotiae (Volume 1)
Various
Edinburgh, 1851
The Castles of Glasgow and the Clyde
Gordon Mason
Musselburgh, 2000
The Castles of Scotland
Martin Coventry
Prestongrange, 2015
The Scotch Itinerary
James Duncan
Glasgow, 1808
The South Carolina Historical and Genealogical Magazine (Volume 14, No.3)
E. Haviland Hillman
Charleston, 1913

Castles near Rossland

Dargavel House

1.9km away

Erskine Castle (site of)

2.0km away

Old Bar Castle (site of)

2.3km away

Dunglass Castle

2.5km away

Bishopton House

2.6km away

Boghall (site of)

2.9km away

Barochan House

3.4km away

Fulwood (site of)

3.9km away

Selvieland (site of)

3.9km away
more castles....

Ancient sites near Rossland

Langbank crannog

1.9km away

Longhaugh Point standing stone

1.9km away

Dumbuck crannog

3.8km away

Langbank East crannog

4.1km away

Dumbuie fort

4.5km away

Dumbarton Rock fort

5.3km away

Langbank West crannog

6.3km away

Carman fort

10.8km away

Gleniffer Braes standing stones

10.9km away
more ancient sites....
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Pictish stones near Rossland

Old Kilmadock 2 Class I symbol stone

41.2km away

Old Kilmadock 1 Class II cross slab

41.3km away

Hawkhill Class III cross-slab

51.0km away

Blackford Class I symbol stone

62.2km away

Dunadd Class I rock carving

64.3km away

Tullibole Class III cross slab

68.3km away

Bore Stone of Gask Class II cross slab

71.2km away

Fowlis Wester Class II cross-slab

72.1km away

Fowlis Wester Church Class III cross-slab

72.2km away
more Pictish stones....
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Pictish sites near Rossland

Whitecleugh silver chain

63.0km away

Todholes (possible) silver chain

64.7km away

Borland silver chain

66.6km away

Norrie's Law hoard

103.7km away

Haddington silver chain

107.3km away

Whitlaw silver chain

107.8km away

Traprain Law silver chain

114.2km away

Hoardweel silver chain

134.8km away

Torvean silver chain

173.6km away
more Pictish sites....
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Accommodation near Rossland

Mar Hall Golf & Spa Resort
hotel, restaurant, barErskine
2.0km away
Erskine Bridge Hotel
hotelErskine
2.8km away
The Millers Guesthouse
bed and breakfastBishopton
2.9km away
Beardmore Hotel and Conference Centre
hotelClydebank
4.2km away
The Abbotsford Hotel
hotelJamestown
4.9km away
West Park Hotel
hotelClydebank
5.5km away
Best Western Gleddoch House Hotel & Leisure Club
hotel, restaurant, barLangbank
5.6km away
Express by Holiday Inn Glasgow Airport
hotelPaisley
6.1km away
Holiday Inn Glasgow Airport
hotel, restaurant, barPaisley
6.2km away
Normandy Hotel Glasgow Airport
hotelRenfrew
6.4km away

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Cafés, restaurants & bars near Rossland

Mar Hall Golf & Spa Resort
hotel, restaurant, barErskine
2.0km away
Best Western Gleddoch House Hotel & Leisure Club
hotel, restaurant, barLangbank
5.6km away
Holiday Inn Glasgow Airport
hotel, restaurant, barPaisley
6.2km away
Ramada Glasgow Airport
hotel, bar, restaurantPaisley
6.5km away
Premier Inn Glasgow Airport
hotel, restaurantPaisley
6.7km away
Premier Inn Dumbarton / Loch Lomond
hotel, restaurant, barDumbarton
6.9km away
Premier Inn Glasgow (Paisley)
hotel, restaurantGlasgow
7.0km away
Bull Inn
barPaisley
8.2km away
Lynnhurst Hotel
hotel, restaurant, barJohnstone
8.4km away
Premier Inn Glasgow (Bearsden)
hotel, restaurantGlasgow
11.3km away
more food.... / more drink....

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Dunbar harbour and castle
Published on the 30th of October 2016 at 5:31 pm. Updated on the 10th of May 2018 at 3:14 pm.

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Andy Sweet above Fast Castle

Stravaiging around Scotland is written, photographed and researched by Andy Sweet.
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