Tower of Galston in order to extort the sum of £20. In an old charter of 12 March 1438, John Lockhart, Lord of Barr, provides for an annual rent to be paid to the chaplain for saying three masses annually for the repose of his soul at the altar of the church of Saint Peter in Ardrossan. The renowned reformer and Protestant martyr George Wishart preached at the castle in 1545 and in 1556 John Knox also preached here; both were under the protection of John Lockart of Barr and his fellow reformers. The Galston Handball Game This game was popular with farm workers who used clenched hands to hit a hard ball off the side wall of the Barr Castle – similar to Gaelic handball and fives, or rather like squash without the use of rackets or a soft, squashy ball. The court was of earth, beaten hard. Galston became World Champions at this handball sport, however it is no longer played, the last official game being in 1939. Local legend has it that the game was used by William Wallace to help keep his men fit for battle. Handball was popular in these parts during the 19th century and Galston was the site of the most important competition, held on the Saturday of the Glasgow Fair. It belonged to the group of sports that Gaelic handball still represents. John Galt refers to handball being played in Irvine against the back wall of a malt-kiln. The Judge's Hill A justice hill survives in a patch of woodland on the Hag Burn near the Loudoun Country Club. This site may have been linked to the old Barony of Galston and the feudal rights of the Campbells of Loudoun. The site has a nearby lime kiln and old ruins next to the Hag Burn which may have been a forge. Notable residents Alison Begbie (possibly Elizabeth Gebbie, 1762–1863), friend of poet Robert Burns Rev Dr Robert Stirling (1790–1878), inventor of the Stirling engine was minister of Galston Parish Church Lady Flora Hastings (11 February 1806 – 5 July 1839) of Loudon Castle was a lady-in-waiting to Queen Victoria's mother, the Duchess of Kent. Her death in 1839 was the subject of a court scandal that gave the Queen a negative image. Buried in Loudoun Kirk James Howie (1878–1963), footballer with Kilmarnock, Huddersfield Town, Newcastle United, and Scotland Andy Cunningham (1891–1973), footballer