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Old Foundry Holm ironworks is a historic industrial site in Ayrshire, Scotland, protected as a scheduled monument by Historic Environment Scotland. The foundry operated within the landscape of the lower Ayrshire valleys, where access to water power and local coal deposits made ironworking viable during the industrial expansion of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The underlying Inverclyde Group bedrock of sandstone, siltstone and mudstone provided a stable foundation for the substantial structures and machinery required in iron production.
The site's location reflects the practical considerations of ironworking enterprise: proximity to fuel sources, transport routes and water resources. The geological setting, formed during the Osagean period, comprises interlayered sedimentary deposits that would have been quarried locally for building materials. These same deposits supported agricultural land surrounding the works, creating a mixed industrial and rural landscape typical of Scottish iron-producing regions.
Today Old Foundry Holm remains as physical evidence of Ayrshire's industrial heritage, its scheduled monument status ensuring protection for archaeological remains and structures that document ironworking practices and technology. The site contributes to our understanding of Scottish industrial development and the technological innovations that transformed landscape and economy during the period of large-scale metal production.
Old Foundry Holm,ironworks is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM5537. View the official record →
Old Foundry Holm ironworks is a historic industrial site in Ayrshire, Scotland, protected as a scheduled monument by Historic Environment Scotland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM5537.
Old Foundry Holm,ironworks is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Historic Environment Scotland — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in Scotland. The official designation reference is SM5537.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Chapelhouse,chapel and farmstead (1.2 km), Muirkirk, remains of tar works, mines and structures E of Garpel Water (5.4 km), Glen Garr,cairn (6.4 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Old Foundry Holm,ironworks's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Old Foundry Holm,ironworks stands on Inverclyde Group, bedrock that formed in the Osagean. The rock here is sandstone, siltstone and mudstone.