Lanfine House

He was also a bailie in the city of Glasgow and became wealthy enough to buy Waterhaughs, the property of his maternal grandfather. He acquired 400 acres at Lanfine presumably when Cessnock Estate was sold by the Hume family in 1769 and immediately set about the construction of the mansion house.

The building work was undertaken by James Armour of Mauchline, who was to become the father-in-law of Robert Burns. Lanfine House was completed in 1772.

On the death of John Brown in 1802, his son Nicol Brown took over as Laird of Lanfine and Waterhaughs. About 1811, he planted Lanfine Woods. After the death of Nicol Brown in 1829, the estate was inherited by his cousin Thomas Brown, a physician in Glasgow, and for a time, Professor of Botany at Glasgow University. Thomas Brown indulged his interest in botany by planting many exotic trees, shrubs and large areas of woodlands. These are now mature specimen trees that can be seen today in the beauty of the tree-clad landscape extending from Newmilns to Darvel on the south of the river. He also cultivated less hardy species in the large greenhouses within the walled garden.

The estate of Lanfine grew from the original 400 acres acquired by John Brown in 1769, to over 10,000 acres. The mansion was also extended by each generation into what can be seen today.

There is a large apartment in the mansion that was available for holidays in the early 2000s. This service seems to have stopped and little information on the estate can be found today.