The Cunninghame family of Auchenharvie

Landowners who opened up the Stevenston coalfield from 1678 and built the infrastructure it needed — saltpans, a harbour at Saltcoats for the Irish trade, and a canal from the pit-heads. It was they who brought a Newcomen engine north in 1719, and a Boulton and Watt engine in the 1770s.

Mines operated

Record created: 24 August 2026 · Last researched: 24 August 2026