of the Balcaskie family, who purchased Giffen in 1722, under the burden of liferent as Francis was still living. As Fullarton puts it the large and valuable estate of Giffen, is now broken down into a multitude of inglorious fragments, with scarcely a possibility of its ever again being restored and cemented into its original dignity and beneficial condition. The Montgomerie of Giffen coat of arms was quarterly, first and fourth Montgomery, second and third Eglinton; over all, dividing the quarters, a cross waved or, and in chief a label of three points of the last. Loch Brand near Gateside was once the property of the monks of Kilwinning Abbey and it is recorded that in 1482 the monks took legal action against the Montgomeries of Giffin Castle and James Ker who were accused of dangerous destruction and down-casting of the fosses and dikes of the loch called Loch Brand. The Giffen Baron-court Robert Montgomerie of Giffen was Chamberlain and then Baron-Baillie of the Giffen Baron-court from 1677 to 1681. Another Robert was the Procurator-Fiscal of the same court. Robert Montgomerie of Bogston was a factor and Baron-Bailie of the Giffen Barony-court in the late 17th century. The armorial bearings of the Barony of Giffen This coat of arms used to be in the Auld Beith Kirk, in the Giffen loft. The Giffen aisle at the Auld Kirk still stands. The coat of armorial bearings were moved to the new Beith Kirk in 1807. RC is Robert Montgomerie, brother to the murdered Hugh, 4th Earl of Eglinton. JC is for Jean Campbell, his wife, daughter of Sir Matthew Campbell of London. The conjoined MEs either side of the date are for 'Master of Eglintoun', the title which he bore as second son of Hugh, the 3rd Earl, and heir presumptive to his nephew Hugh, the fifth earl; the date is that of his death. The Darien Affair The Darien Scheme was an attempt by the Scots, led by William Paterson (the founder of the Bank of England), in the 1690s to set up a trading colony in Central America in the late 1690s, however the opposition from England and elsewhere was so great that the attempt failed with huge losses and great financial implications for the country and for individuals. Half of the whole circulating capital of Scotland was subscribed and mostly lost, although the Act of Union in 1707