Egidia Blair: Lady Row
A woman connected with Baltersan before the present castle, remembered through records of generosity, family and place.
Egidia — also recorded as Egedia or Giles — Blair is one of the most vivid figures in the early Baltersan story. She was connected with the Kennedy family and lived at Baltersan before the tower house begun in 1584 existed in its present form.
A life visible through gifts
Records associated with Franciscan Aberdeen remember her as a donor, while her own testament reveals a network of religious, family and charitable obligations. She asked to be buried at Crossraguel Abbey, strengthening the connection between Baltersan and the nearby monastic landscape.
The dwelling before the tower
The surviving evidence suggests that Baltersan was already a lived place — a manor or dwelling with land, gardens and orchards — before the later castle was built. Her will was made at her dwelling house of Baltersan in 1530.
A bridge as a legacy
One of the most memorable elements of the testament is the direction that remaining resources should help complete her part of a bridge over the Water of Girvan, with any surplus going to the poor. That practical generosity is why Lady Row has become an important moral reference for the modern project.
Baltersan’s current restoration mission draws inspiration from the same principle: preserve the place by making it useful to the community around it.