Bredisholm, the estate purchased by John Muirhead of Shawfutte from archibishop Spotiswood in 1607, was located in Old Monkland Parish, along the north bank of the North Calder river. It was situated to the northwest of the Lauchope estate. The house stood approximately 200 meters east of the present M73 motorway, and 200 meters south of the Glasgow-Coatbridge railway.

  The ownership of Bredisholm passed from father to son until it reached John Muirhead of Shawfutte’s great³-grandson, John Muirhead. The estate was purchased in 1753 by James Grosiert (variously, Grosset) from his uncle.

  The name of the estate is possibly derived from the name, Le Holme de Sanct Brigid, in honor of St. Brigid or St. Bride, a popular saint in the early Celtic Church. There is another estate named Bredisholm, which is located in the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright. It is believed that the spot had been named St. Brigid’s Well by the monks of Newbattle.

<sup>1654 Map Of Lanarkshire Showing The Bredisholm Estate.


~ Reproduced by permission of the Trustees of the National Library of Scotland.</sup>

  The family surname and titles, which had begun with Willielmo de Muirhead, Laird of Lauchop, were passed on through the original line, eventually ending, eight generations later, with Captain James Muirhead who married Elspeth Fairly. They gave birth to two daughters, and the right to represent the ancient family devolved to the last male heir, John Muirhead of Shawfutte (1512-1592), whose son, John (1550-), purchased the Bredisholm estate. With the Lauchop House being sold by the Muirheads to the Robertson family in 1710, the so-called lairdship of Lauchop came to an end.

  The ‘chiefship’ of the family of Muirhead next passed through the descendants of John Muirhead of Shawfutte and continued four generations until it reached James Muirhead (1644-1719) who married Helen Stewart. When James died in 1719, his second eldest son, John, inherited Bredisholm and the titles. John and his wife, Lilias, bore no male heir to inherit the chiefship and titles of the Muirhead family, and so the honor went to John’s nephew - his sister, Euphemia’s son, James.

  Through Euphemia Muirhead’s marriage to Archibald Grosiert / Grosset of Logie, the chiefship thereby passed into the Grosiert / Grosset family. The youngest of Archibald and Euphemia’s sons, James Grosset, made his living as a merchant prince of Lisbon, Portugal. In the year 1754, James purchased the Bredisholm estate from his uncle, John Muirhead of Bredisholm (1676-1762). He thereafter joined the name of Muirhead to his own of Grosset to become James Grosset-Muirhead of Bredisholm. When James’ only son, John, died in 1836, the chiefship of the Muirhead clan devolved to his uncle, Alexander’s granddaughter, Miriam, who became heiress to the Bredisholm estate on 11 December 1838. On that occasion she changed her surname to Grosset-Muirhead. With Miriam’s marriage to Abraham Du Vernet, the chiefship passed into the Du Vernet family.

  The only son of Abraham and Miriam, Henry, acquired the Bredisholm estate and titles upon the death of his father in 1844 and assumed the name of Henry Du Vernet Grosset-Muirhead. The chiefship eventually passed to Henry’s eldest granddaughter, Emily Gertrude Lilias Du Vernet Grosset-Muirhead.

  Emily, in turn, married Arthur Lewis George Gould and the titles were passed on to their eldest son, Gerald Charles, who took the surname: Muirhead-Gould. Gerald was born in the Bredisholm house, the last property to be held by the Muirhead family. By the time of his death in 1945, Gerald, had advanced to the rank of Rear-Admiral in the Royal Navy, and was the last officially recognized Laird of Bredisholm (the 13th), and therefore the last so-called ‘chief’ of the Muirhead Clan (the 25th).

  See the chapter titled:The Lairds Of Muirhead.

  During the 20th Century the house was employed as the club-house for a golf course. It was demolished prior to the 1940s.