The 1897 1 inch map clearly indicates 'Tower' in gothic script, located at the site of the present elevated stone wall remnant to the west of the road.

[9] Some confusion has developed over the location of the old tower, due to the placing of the gothic script annotation on the OS maps.

The position of the script has been taken as indicating that the building on the side road, where a wood is now located (2011), was Auchenbathie Tower.

Very little is recorded other than the tradition that the Wallace family held the Tower of Auchenbathie, lying about 5 miles from Ellerslie (sic).

[13] The Wallaces parted with a portion of the barony of Auchenbathie to Blair of that Ilk and this included the ruins of the old tower.

He was a heritor and worked as a weaver and merchant living with his wife Agnes and children Ro; Jo; William and Margaret.

[21] Roy's map of 1747 shows that this clachan or hamlet was situated at the junction of two early roads running from the Lugton area to Howwood and onwards to Paisley.

In 1748 John Fulton of Auchenbathie was killed by David Malloch, an excise officer, whilst smuggling spirits near Pollockshaw.

[24] It is also said that the laird lost his inheritance through his support for the Jacobites and became a cadger or gatherer of eggs in the parish and died in great poverty.

[22] The nearby farm of Birdiehouse is said to be named for the smuggled Bordeaux wine that was hidden here before passing on to Paisley and beyond.

To pursue his whisky distilling he decided to move to Auchenbathie Tower that was not only a safer place but also Beith at that time was a centre of smuggling.

Saunders had another son, Sannie (Alexander) who worked a cow herd for Mr Stevenson of Threepwood and later a silk wever in Lochwinnoch.

[10] The Stewarts of Blackhall purchased the barony of Auchenbathie Wallace and retained the superiority into the 19th century.

[14] The Auchenbathie Burn winds 4 miles along the Beith boundary to the head of Castle Semple Loch.

The Muirhead Burn that drains Walls Loch runs close to the tower and associated farm town.

Whilst Leiper also designed the gate lodge, this element was later overseen by Charles Rennie Mackintosh in 1901 and 1907.