Dunlop Dairy

Until the late 17th Century, cheese had been a poor-tasting product made from skimmed milk (the cream being having been used to make butter).

Around 1690 a farmer's daughter and Covenanter from Ayrshire, Barbara Gilmour, returned home after a period of exile on Ulster, fleeing religious persecution. She married Mr J. Dunlop of the Hill Farm Dunlop.

This farm is half a mile from here on the right just before the village of Dunlop. The inscribed lintel stone dated 1692 is still in place at the farm.

Clerkland was one of the many good dairy farms in this area stocked with Ayrshire cows. Around late 1960s milk production had to be stopped as the water supply from the nearby burn was not good enough for modern standards.
It was a tenanted farm and sadly from then on it fell into disrepair. Eventually the landlord decided to sell it and this was when it was split up. From 1983 since the family bought the farm, a lot of work has gone into repairing not only the house but the original steading and of course mains water was put in.

A few more modern sheds have been built to house the goats and cows, enabling them to have comfortable environments in the winter. Many of the Ayrshire cows we have today have been bred from generations going back over 50 years from David’s father’s stock. We have tried to keep them of more traditional breeding. This hardier type of cows suits the farm and the extensive system in which they are kept.