Belleisle House, Doonfoot Road, Ayr

2-storey with basement and attic, 11-bay Scottish Baronial mansion. Coursed sandstone; ashlar dressings. String courses at ground and 1st floor; crowstepped gables; finials at apexes.

Hugh Hamilton of Pinmore built the mansion of Belleisle and laid out the policies, circa 1787. At his death, the estates were transferred to the second son of his cousin John Hamilton of Sundrum, Colonel Alexander West Hamilton, who enlarged and reconstructed the original house in 1829. Further additions circa 1900 were made to the NE by the Coats family (who purchased the house in 1898). As noted by Michael C Davis, Belleisle bears remarkable similarity to Burns' Milton Lockhart in Lanarkshire of 1829, including its large, mullioned and transomed windows, crowstepped gables and tall, thin pencil towers. Of particular note is the elaborate interior Jacobean plasterwork and timber carving.(Historic Environment Scotland List Entry)

23 July 2019: External inspection accompanied by South Ayrshire Council. The property has been extensively fire damaged (14/6/2019) and as a result is now a roofless ruin. Works to remove unstable masonry have been carried out through South Ayrshire Council, under their emergency powers. The stonework removed from the structure has been labelled and is now stored on pallets for future re-use. Ground floor openings are being boarded over to prevent unauthorised access. Security fencing surrounds the site.

Prior to the fire the property was last in use as a hotel but had been disused since November 2009. Full Planning Permission and Listed Building Consent for alteration and extension of the hotel were conditionally approved in 2014 (13/01394/APPM & 13/01395/LBC).