Mackerston
After crossing the Mackerston Bridge we now leave Bath Street and walk into Mackerston Place.The first building we see on the left is the handsome building at 1 Mackerston Place at the corner of Burnlea Road. Built in 1847 it was owned by McCrone family and by 1879 Mrs Mary Wark. In 1890 it was sold and used as a church manse. In the 1950s and 60s this building was the Gogovale Boarding House. Today it is now split into flats.
Next up is 2 Mackerston. This used to be St Annes Guest House in 1991 and later a bed and breakfast. Moving on we have the Benedictine monastery. This is home to Scotland’s only community of Benedictine Nuns. This building started off life as two separate buildings. There was South Goldenhope and North Goldenhope buildings. At some point North Goldenhope (the left hand side part of today’s building) was converted and opened as the Mackerston Hotel. The hotel eventually extended and took over the South Goldenhope building and a new extension was constructed between both properties connecting them both together.The new joined up Mackerston Hotel ran successfully for many years during the post war Largs holiday boom. By 1988 both building's had been transformed into the monastery as we know today. If you stand back and look at the monastery from the Mackerston putting green you can still make out the two separate South and North Goldenhope buildings as they once were.
1 and 2 Mackerston Place
An old 1950s advert for Gogovale.
Mackerston Place as it is today.
The outline of South and North Goldenhope can still be seen.
North Goldenhope, later to become the Mackerston Hotel
An old advert for the Mackerston Hotel.
Next up is 6 Mackerston Place. Owned by the Free Church in 1846 when it was purchased by Miss Muir of Warriston due to its close proximity to St Johns church. She gifted it to the congregation for use as a manse. Later it became the Merton Hotel around 1958 and later a retirement home. Today the building is owned and ran by the Quarriers Charity.
The last building in this row is 7 Mackerston Place which was built around 1845. We don’t know much about the history of this building but believe it was a family home for many years. By the early 2000s it became empty and derelict. In 2018 it came up for sale at an auction and was purchased. The new owners have proceeded to renovate the building and today it is looking great. As of May 2020 the renovations appear to be still on going. Well done to the new owners who ever you are.
