Hillside House Hillside House was erected by the CRICHTON family in 1846 at the foot of Barrhill Road. In its heyday the house had ornate gardens and a conservatory, vinery and greenhouse in which every kind of fruit and flower could be found. The first Crichton to live in the house after its completion was the former factor to the Marquess of Bute.
His son Hew Crichton moved to Edinburgh and the 3rd generation was James Arthur Crichton - who became Sheriff of Lothians & Peebles. His brother Hew Hamilton Crichton (who died in 1906) and an unmarried sister (who died in 1908) tenanted Hillside House.
Their death’s ended the Crichton’s association with Hillside House. In 1909 the house came on the market at £1,500 & was purchased by Cumnock School Board for additional premises to cope with rapidly rising school rolls.
After conversions Hillside House opened in 1911 as a Higher Grade School with an initial intake of 143 pupils who had previously occupied the Old Parish Schoolroom across the road.
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