The lands of Morishill,[1] Morrishill,[2] Moorishill[3] or Moricehill[3] were part of the holdings of the Barony of Beith, Regality of Kilwinning and Bailiary of Cuninghame.

[5] William Adam was rather too fond of drink and as a result he failed to manage the lands of Morishill and was advised to sell.

[7] John Shedden, born 1753, inherited in 1760 and after a spell abroad as a merchant he returned and in 1787 married his cousin Barbara Wilson of Kilmarnock and secondly Janet Simson of Willowyard.

[12] Shedden had Montgomery apprenticed to a wright or joiner[13] so that as a skilled person he would fetch a much higher price back in Virginia, delivering a handsome profit to his owner.

[16] After several years in the West Indies and America as a merchant John Shedden returned to Morishill and made a number of improvements.

A rookery was established at the estate by tying small bundles of sticks in the forks of the trees upper branches.

[3] A feature of the grounds was a copy of the principal pinnacle of the monument in the Skelmorlie Aisle at Largs which had been made by Mr Logan of Beith, a local sculptor.

This had been moved here from Grangevale and stood on a wall that linked the house to the laundry; it bore the inscription Designed for Elizabeth by W. Dobie, 24th May 1845.

An asphalt artificial curling rink was made for Alexander Shedden at Morishill for playing during the summer months.

This game used a 10-inch (25 cm) and 23-pound (10 kg) ball made from lignum vitae covered in copper and previously balanced in a bath of mercury.