Proud people breed sad sorrows for themselves
– Emily Bronte

Thus all obscure, unknown, and poor, thro' life I'm doom'd to wander,
O: Till down my weary bones I lay in everlasting slumber, O:
No view nor care, but shun whate'er might breed me pain or sorrow, O:
I live to-day as well's I may, regardless of to-morrow, O

– Robert Burns, 1782, Song: My Father as a Farmer

“Such as have bound me to satisfy you- demand as near as I may : although I fear the relation which I must make to you of my Mishaps will breed Sorrow at ouce.”

– Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, "The history of the valorous and witty knight-errant don Quixote of the Mancha."

"Breed-sorrow probably existed already for 300 or 400 years more. The village and farm names are pure English.” Place-names of Scotland, By James Brown Johnston, Edition: 3, Published by J. Murray, 1934, Original from the University of Michigan, Page 49.

"Breedsorrow consists of about eighteen acres Scotch. Part of it lay close to Haily [to the far east of Largs] , and part was nearer Largs. This small piece of land was originally lying “runrig” in seven different parts called Breedsorrow, aka Kempisland."

- James Paterson, History of the Counties of Ayr and Wigton, 1866, p. 522, available online.

Paterson’s History of the Counties of Ayr and Wigton, lists the familities in the Parish of Beith, that include the Mures at Caldwell, p. 89.

Paterson’s History of the Counties of Ayr and Wigton states that Largs was the northern bailiwick of the District of Cuninghame until Robert II, when Largs became united to Cuninghame.

"The preamble to the grant of Kempisland January 22, 1496, written in Latin, states:

“In Dei nominee Amen, per hoc presens publicum...”

“Instrument of Sasine given by the noble knight Sir Adam Mure of Caldwell, through his procurator William Balye, of the lands of Kempisland, lying in the parish of Largs and county of Ayr, in favour of Thome [Thomas] Caldwell son and heir apparent of Roberti Cauldwell [Roberet Caldwell] of Todrigges, before these witnesses, Alexr. Boyd, John Reid, James Boyd, Robert Ryburn and others.”

(Selections from the Family Papers Preserved at Caldwell By William Mure, p. 49.)

In Family Papers Preserved at Caldwell, by John Mure, published by Maitland club, Glasgow, 1858, compiler John Mure translated the Latin text into English, and in so doing, changed the name Roberti Cauldwell in the Latin to Robert Caldwell and Thome Caldwell to Thomas Caldwell.

“This piece of ground was also called Breedsorrow (Family Papers Preserved at Caldwell, p. 50.) Breedsorrow is the possession of the Laird of Blare; and being a small hamlet, is so named because of the grate [great] sorrow it bred amongst neighbors de-1500 debating and contesting for the heritable right thereof. (Ibid, p. 51.)

This phrasing is virtually identical to that contained in Topographical Account of District of Cuningham, Ayrhire, by Timothy Pont, 1600, reprinted in 1858 by the Maitland Club.

“Sir Adam Mure is the most ancient known proprietor of it. From the Cauldwells of Todrigges, on whom he bestowed it, it had passed to the Brisbane family before 1610.” (Family Papers Preserved at Caldwell, p. 51.)

The excerpts mention a feud between the Pollock and Caldwell families, the indictment of John Mure of Caldwell for the slaying about 1500 of John Maxwell, the loss of the lands of Glanderston and their reacquisition by marriage through a maiden of the House of Lennox.
(Ibid, p. 53.)

The sack of Archbishop Beaton’s castle in A.D. 1515 – and stealing of his featherbed, towels and linen, along with a long list of other household “guds” and an ivory chessborard -- was done by Johnne Mure of Caldwell. (Ibid, p. 55.)

A succession of conveyances up to p. 67 can be read online.

Breedsorrow is the possession of the Laird of Blare; and being a small hamlet, is so named because of the grate [great] sorrow it bred amongst neighbors debating and contesting for the heritable right thereof. “Topographical Account of the District of Cunningham, Ayrshire, Compiled about the Year 1600, by Timothy Pont, with Notes and an Appendix, reprinted by the Maitland Club, 1858, p. 12, Glasgow. Accessed online at google.books, 3-18-09.

“There is a small piece of land which was originally lying runrig in seven different parts called Breedsorrow. James Paterson,.” History of the Counties of Ayr and Wigton, 1886, p. 522
:
Wikipedia states that rigs were strips (ridges) of cultivated land up to about 15 meters wide, [elevated above the furrows lying alongside], well suited for ploughing in a straight line by an oxen team.

If you walk around the hills to the east of Largs, you may see the corrugated ridges and furrows where this method of farming was used. As the snow melts on parts of the hill ground which were cultivated in the distant past, you may see clear strips of ground between rows of snow, an indication of past rig and furrow cultivation now almost imperceptible and long forgotten.

These strips were located in what became known as the outfield. Traditionally, adjacent rigs were used by different cultivators and the rigs periodically re-allocated between them. This meant that no one had any incentive to deposit manure to fertilize the soil or apply lime to reduce the acidity of the land in the outfield. Improvement of the soil was confined largely to the infield, i.e., the patch of land immediately surrounding the farmer’s residence. The runrigs were invariably associated with an area of rough ground or less productive hill land that was also shared in common. cf. Graham, Social Life in Scotland in the Eighteenth Century, 1899.

In the last half of the seventeenth century, agricultural legislation was directed to “improvement.” Acts to encourage fences and “enclosure” of fields, the straightening of property boundaries, drainage and the cultivation of legumes were generally aimed at improving the landlord's profit margin from the soil. Increasingly large landowners enclosed these hill areas so that sheep could be grazed during the winter time. Tenants were now selected on the basis of
: their ability to pay rent -- to the exclusion of the traditional method of transfering land occupation rights from father to son. These changes contributed to the depopulation of Ayrshire and Renfrewshire and emigration to Ireland and America. By the late eighteeenth century improvement consisted of a greater emphasis upon technological amelioration. The planting of hedges, the construction of fences, dykes and drains, the application of lime fertilizer and new
: crops and mechanical implements were among the technological inputs to the improvement process.

On July 12, 2004, Tom Caldwell commented here in the discussion forum:

“From the information I have associating the Caldwell families with farms in the Lochwinnoch area they seem to be mostly on the east side of Castle Semple Loch, i.e: on the Caldwell Estate side and in the the valley parallel to the Levern.

“I have also found names of the farms associated with Caldwell’s in the Irvine Valley area and these farns seem mostly on the south bank of the Irvine excepting in the close vicinity of Kilmarnock.

“These farm name lists are far from exclusive and I imagine that there were Caldwells almost everywhere in the Ayrshire/Renfrew area. If the Caldwells ARE primarily associated in the areas that I mention it is surprising as these areas seem to have also been associated with both the Wallace and the Stewart families.”

On January 10, 2006, Tom Caldwell posted here further details of the location of Breedsorrow (Kempisland). He wrote:

“I found Kempisland or Breedsorrow on the Bleau [Atlas] Map [1654] and following its location to a more modern map I now know it to be a farm on the heights above where the Battle of Largs was fought. It is right under the ancient fortification of Castle Hill and approached by an access road from the south off the main road wher it takes a bend near a cemetary. The bend in the road is somewher near what is known as "Killing Craig" in fact that name migh tbe synonimous with Kempisland (or “fighting land”).

“There is a footpath marked on the later map (of Largs) leading down to Gogoside. This would have been the usual foot access to the farm.

“One account I have read of the Battle of Largs was that a fairly large party of Norse made their way up the hill overlooking the battlefield but eventually retreated or were driven from it.”

“I imagine this was at Kempisland as the ancients who would have constructed the old fort their would have selected it for its defensible position. Perhaps the Norse battle plan was to try and get a good number of men into this strong position to dominate the beachhead. When they failed to occupy it in sufficient numbers to hold it I imagine that their might have been considerable losses as they tried to regain the beach and their ships.

“Killing Craig & Kempisland - makes some sense.

“The Mures and others were well rewarded for their help in turning the Norse “invasion” and perhaps the granting of Kempisland was part of this reward.

“For whatever reason it was in Mure hands over 200 years later in 1496 when it was transferred to Thomas Caldwell son of Robert Caldwell of Todriggs near Kilmarnock.”

On February 2006, David Caldwell of Manitoba joined in:
:
“A wee gem which might interest some of you: my daughter-in-law who is of Hunter descent tells me that back in the 16th/17th century the Hunter of Hunterston Castle (near Largs) had no male heir, the daughter married a Caldwell, (possible first name Robert), who took the name Hunter to continue the line. Is there a chance Tom that this was the same Robert Caldwell from Todhill who came to Kempisland. I'm trying to get a hold of the Hunter history book to follow this up. Keep up the good work. David Caldwell, Manitoba”

To the extent that Breed-sorrow aka Kempisland as of 1600 was typical of the lands within the District of Cunningham, its terrain would have been hilly and elevated, with outcrops of red sandstone. The District was bounded by the Sherrifdom of Renfrew to the east, the Forth of Clyde and estuaries to the north, and by the seacoast to the west. The terrain was not as fertile as the lower half of the District, where a greater percentage of the population resided. Introduction by John Fullarton, 1858, to Timoth Pont, Topographical Account of the district of Cunningham, Ayrshire, ibid..