Low Polquheys (NS 620 151)
Polquheys Cottage (NS 622 157)
High Polquheys (NS 622 165)

The earliest record of the lands of Polquheys I can find appear in a royal grant of 20th October 1490 to Elizabeth, Countess of Ross for the '3 merk lands of Polquhois, (Polquheys)  4 merk lands of Garefis (Garrieve) and the 3 merks lands of Garclaichis (Garclaugh)' as a form of security against debts owed by Sir Alexander Dunbar, Baron of Cumnock. Although Cumnock was still his chief title, Sir Alexander also held lands in Westfield near Elgin (he was Sheriff of Elgin and Forres) and hence the connection with the Countess of Ross. There were other grants of Cumnock properties to the Countess and these could be recovered by Dunbar or his heirs on payments of their dues[1].

In March 1608, Andrew Lambie of Polqhuayes was one of a number of local farmers that fell victim to Craufurd of Auchincross and his band of rebels and 'for safety of his life, was compelled to give them two bolls of malt and three bolls oats as black maill.' [2].

The same family were persecuted by the government during the Covenanting times. In May 1684, William Lambie of Polquhays and his near neighbour John Wood of Lowes were two of several  parishioners named in a proclamation 'for the apprehension of persons, who were supposed to have been under arms, or to have harboured those who were' . Seven months later many other parishioners were interrogated including 50 year old Hugh Wood in Porwhise , father of the aforementioned John Wood [3,4].

In 1706, the first year of the New Cumnock Parish Records, the baptism of a child to John McMillan an Margaret Black of Polquhise is recorded. Later in that decade the baptism records of the children of John Baird & Ann Hunter (Nether Polquhise); John McKnight & Margaret Gilmour (Over Polquhise) and William Hair & Helen Williamson (Nether Polquhise) all appear [5].

Later that century three McKnight women gave birth to children at Polquhise - the married couples being  Sarah McKnight & John Muir (1734);  Agnes McKnight & Allan McCrae (1736) and Euphans  McKnight & Thomas Richard (1755). Thomas Howat & Agnes Howatson (1748) and James Howat & John Paterson (1749) each had sons while William Sloan & Abigail McKenzie (1755) had a daughter [5].

In the late 18th century the lands of Polquheys were part of the much larger Mansfield estate which in the early 19th century were held  by absentee heritor William Thomson Honyman from Lanarkshire. While many of the properties situated in east Mansfield were sold of to Sir Charles Stuart Menteth of Closeburn, others in the west including  Polquheys, Muirfoot and nearby Rottenyard were retained and held  by ,Michael Thomson Carmichael Esq. of East End, Lanarkshire, the husband of the Honyman heiress. (See Heritors)

The Census Records of the following century (1841-1891)contain three entries for Polquheys which correspond with the modern day farm of Low Polquheys and High Polquheys and the now ruined Polquheys cottage, which was situated midway between the two properties and is recorded  in the OS Map of 1860 as Blowearie.

Low Polquheys (Nether Polquheys)
Blacksmith James Kerr, his wife and their six children are in Polquheys in 1841 and in Newhouse Polquheys ten years later. Since the other etries in 1851 are recorded under Polquheys Hill - then the Kerr's probably lived at Low Polquheys.

Farmer John Craig, his wife, 3 children and 6 servants are recorded at Polquheys in the 1841 census. John later held the lands of Craigdarroch in the upper reaches of Glen Afton. John Craig and his  family don't appear in the Polquheys records of 1851 but ten years later his eldest son James, 'a farmer of 565 acres employing  20 shepherds and labourers' and his family are at Low Polquheys. They are still there in 1871 where James is now referred to as a 'landowner and farmer of 10,000 acres, 500 arable, employing 12 labourers and shepherds'. He and his wife Margaret and their six sons (sadly an infant daughter recorded in the 1861 census records does not appear in those of 1871) share Low Polquheys with a host of 'staff' - nursemaid, housemaid, cook, foreman ploughman, groom, shepherd, bower, dairymaid and under dairymaid. James', oldest son John later moved to Invergeldie near Comrie, Perthshire but remained a landowner in the parish of New Cumnock (Craigdarroch and Monthraw). John's son, John Manson Craig was awarded the Victoria Cross when serving with the Royal Scots Fusiliers in Palestine in 1917, in the same week his relative(*cousin)  Hugh Craig of Mounthope was killed in North Belgium [6,7]  

In 1881 Stair born Andrew McCartney, son of Andrew McCartney of nearby Gatehead farm, and his brother James and his family are in Low Polquheys. Ten years later James has moved on and Andrew's widowed mother Sarah has joined him at Low Polquheys. By the next census in 1901, Andrew has taken a wife, Janet, and and together with their three children they are  inn Low Polquheys. In 1894, Andrew played host to the annual ploughing match that had been keenly contested in the parish for many years and would continued to be so until the late 1930's, John Duncan of High Polquheys was proclaimed winner in 1920 [6] .

Today Low Polquheys is home to the Caldwell family as well as to visitors from across the land that make use of the excellent Bed & Breakfast facilities on offer there.