Agnews of Lochnaw

1 3 30.] FIEST SETTLEMENT AT LOCHNAW. 29
Garochloyne, Lougan, Elrig, etc., engraved in old Saxon charac-
ters on a plate of copper. This curious relic of antiquity was
placed in the parish church of Stonykirk, and remained there
until towards the end of the seventeenth century, when it was
unfortunately taken down and sent, with other family curiosities,
to Sir George Mackenzie, and was there destroyed by the same
fire — so fatal to Galloway genealogy — by which the oldest papers
of the Agnews were also consumed.
Not far from Garthland, towards the Mull, were successively
the castles of M'Dowalls, of Freuch, and of that of M'Dowall, and
Logan. The former, near the present house of Balgreggan, stood
close to a beautiful moat-hill 60 feet in height, and 460 in cir-
cumference — it was latterly called Castle M'Dowall ; the other
was anciently Balzeiland. We have been unable to gather
records as to the date and appearance of either of these castles.
Between Logan and Garthland was Killeser or Kilaster, a seat
of the M'Cullochs (written then M'Ulack), whose principal
residence was at Myrtoun, near the eastern shore of the bay of
Luce. The position of Myrtoun was singular, the tower or keep
of the castle being built upon one of those curious moat-hills
which were in the middle ages generally used for holding courts
in the open air ; and below it lay the Loch of Myrtoun, of which
Boethius speaks as " the great Lake of Mirton, the one-half
whereof doth freeze by naturall congelation, as other pooles and
plashes do, but the other is never seene to beare anie yce at all,
which unto me dooth seeme to be a great wonder." And
Symson in much later times writes : " Sir William Maxwell
informs me the water hath this property, that it will wash linen
as well without soap as many others do with it. I deny not the
water thereof may be medicinal, having received several credible
informations that several persons, both old and young, have been
antiquary was framing the first draught of an historical essay of all the principal
families . . . and this plate was in his custody when all his valuable manuscripts
and collection of charters he had were burned by an accidental fire at his house at
Preston Hall ; so all we can do is to regret that loss." — Crawford.
1 Holinshead's Chronicles of Scotland.