Schools and learning

Be a history detective

Free activities for primary and early secondary pupils, built around one real house and its real records. Use them in class, or bring your class to the Hall.

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Activity 1

The Queen comes to Ayr

In August 1563, Mary Queen of Scots stayed at Loudoun Hall. Pupils follow her journey and imagine her visit.

Trace the Queen's route through Ayrshire on the Mary Queen of Scots page, then mark it on a map.
Why would a queen choose to stay with the Sheriff of Ayr? List three reasons.
Write the Queen's diary entry for her arrival at the Auld Brig and her evening at Loudoun Hall.

Curriculum links: people and events in Scottish history, using sources, writing in role.

Activity 2

Put the story in order

Drag or tap the cards into the right order, then check your answer.

WMA Group becomes the new custodian
The Sheriff of Ayr moves in
Saved from demolition and restored
Category A listed
Clubs, concerts and a quiet spell
A Sheriff's office sold to the King
The Queen stays at Loudoun Hall
From fine house to crowded tenement
Smugglers and the secrets of the harbour
The Muirs, merchants and Provosts
Ayr Folk Club fills the Hall with music
Wine and sweets for the Sheriff
Fear of witchcraft in Ayr
The Covenanters
The Tait family build a stone townhouse

Activity 3

Then and now

Each room has had more than one life. Pupils match what it was built for with how it is used today.

Ground floor

The Cellars

Then

Stone-vaulted rooms built in the late 15th century to store a merchant's goods. One was the wine cellar, with a narrow stair straight up to the hall.

Now

Two atmospheric cellar spaces for tastings, drinks receptions, private gatherings and small exhibitions.

First floor

The Great Hall

Then

The heart of the house, where the merchant and then the Sheriffs of Ayr lived, did business and entertained. The town's gifts of wine were enjoyed here.

Now

The principal event space for ceremonies, dining and receptions, with weddings of up to 70 guests.

Second floor

The Studios

Then

The top floor held the bedrooms of the house. After the 1950s restoration it was planned as a caretaker's flat.

Now

Two bright studios for classes, workshops, rehearsals and getting ready on a wedding morning. Listed at £15 to £20 an hour.

Outside

The Courtyard

Then

The house had a garden, a "garden chamber" and a brewhouse. In 1596 a Provost signed a deed out here. The Boat Vennel ran past to the harbour gate.

Now

A courtyard re-landscaped in the 1990s, the first view of the Hall for visitors and wedding guests. Look down for the lead circle in the paving.

Activity 4

Write your own front page

Here is a made-up newspaper report of the Queen's visit, written for fun. Pupils spot what is real and what is invented, then write their own.

Made up for fun · not a real newspaper

The Ayr National

5th August 1563

Mary Queen of Scots Visits the West Coast

The Royal Burgh of Ayr has seen huge crowds, all hoping to catch a glimpse of the beautiful, young and most fashionable twenty-year-old Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, as she makes her Royal progress through the West of Scotland, following her recent return from France.

Before the Queen's arrival in Ayr, Her Royal Personage and her entourage spent a great deal of time touring the country, meeting her subjects up close and personal. If the rumours are true, our Queen is looking for her next King, after the tragic death of her first husband Francis II, King of France.

Crossing the Clyde from Dunoon to the Ayrshire coast on the 31st July, she stayed the night at Lord Sempill's Southannan Castle near Fairlie, a height-of-luxury castle with straight-to-moat loos and stunning views. Next came a visit to Hugh Montgomerie, 3rd Earl of Eglinton, at the Earl's castle, where it looks like the pair had a cosy dinner, with the lords and gentlemen of the district in attendance.

Continuing their tour through the Town of Irvine and down the coast, the Queen and her entourage were greeted by the Provost and Magistrates of the Royal Burgh of Ayr as they crossed the Auld Brig, before the Queen was welcomed by Sir Matthew Campbell of Loudoun, Ayr's golden boy and Sheriff. We can't help but wonder how our lowly Loudoun Hall compares to the castles and palaces the Queen is used to. When told the original owner was a well-known trader with France, the Queen exclaimed, in French, that she had tried the salted fish from the region while she was in France, and found it quite pleasant! High praise indeed from Her Majesty.

After a quick visit to St John's tower, lighting a candle as a display of faith, it was time for our Lady to depart. We at the Ayr National wish her safe passage on her journey, and luck with her quest to find a suitable nobleman.

God speed, Lady Mary!

Find three facts in the report that match the real history.
Find three things the writer made up. How can you tell?
Write your own front page for the day the Hall was saved from demolition in 1947.

Word bank

Old words, new meanings

Burgess: A freeman of a Scottish town, with the right to trade.
Vennel: A narrow lane. The Boat Vennel led from the town to the harbour.
Sheriff: The Crown's officer who kept the law in a county.
Provost: The leader of a Scottish town council, like a mayor.
Merk: A Scottish silver coin worth two thirds of a Scottish pound.
Confeittis: Old Scots for sweets and sugared treats.
Garderobe: A medieval toilet, often built into a wall.
Tenement: A building split into separate homes for several families.
Equerry: An officer who looked after a royal person's horses.
Category A: The highest protection a historic building can have in Scotland.

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