Beith’s nearby Category A country house layers a sixteenth-century tower, Georgian rebuilding and Victorian Baronial remodelling.
Quick facts
- Date
- Multi-phase: 1551, 1759, 1848 and about 1895
- Architect / designer
- Charles S. S. Johnston designed the late-nineteenth-century work
- Type
- Baronial country house incorporating a tower house
- Designation
- Listed building, Category A (LB943)
- OS grid reference
- NS 34752 55411
Architecture and continuing use
Harled walls unify a symmetrical older range, crowstepped additions and a tall corner tower. Dormer inscriptions, marriage stones and a Gibbsian doorway advertise the building’s long family history.
Its story
Hew Ralstoun established the tower in 1551. Gavin Ralstoun regularised it in 1759, the Cochran-Patricks enlarged it in 1848 and Charles Johnston restored a more overtly Baronial silhouette around 1895.
Why it is included
It is the strongest architectural expression of estate power in the Beith sample and preserves high-quality interiors from several periods.
What to notice
- The tall crowstepped south-east tower.
- Dated and armorial dormer stones.
- Boundary-wall fireclay copes and formal gatepiers.
Reading the surroundings
Treat the house, drive and policies as private. View only from lawful public routes, do not enter gates and avoid photographing occupants.
Timeline
- 1551 Hew Ralstoun established the tower house at Woodside.
- 1759 Gavin Ralstoun added bays and placed the old tower beneath a unified roof.
- 1848 A large rear block expanded the mansion for the Cochran-Patrick family.
- 5 October 2005 The designation was upgraded from Category B to Category A.
What we know — and what remains uncertain
The house’s exact present occupancy and interior condition are private and not independently established.
Sources & further reading
- Historic Environment Scotland: Woodside House, LB943 — Current designation status, official mapped location, date, fabric and significance.
- North Ayrshire Council: 2025 planning committee — Recent official planning context that identifies the Category A house and its setting.
- Trove: Woodside House — National site record, mapped identity and architectural chronology.
- North Ayrshire Council: Beith conservation area and planning context — Current council conservation framework for the wider Beith area.
Location
OS grid reference NS 34752 55411 · Location confidence: High: the current national designation supplies an exact mapped National Grid Reference; public text separately states access and current-use uncertainty. · Select the marker to open its satellite view in Google Maps. On desktop, drag Pegman (the yellow figure) onto a blue road. On mobile, turn on the Street View layer and tap a blue road. Other photo markers may be user-contributed.
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