Lochlie or Lochlea, Robert Burns used both versions, became his home in 1777 when his father William Burnes moved here from Mount Oliphant. The 130-acre farm and loch were owned by David McLure, an Ayr merchant. Burns moved to Mossgiel Farm near Mauchline in 1784, having spent some nine unhappy months away in Irvine learning flax processing. The farmland was very mossy and William Burnes had problems paying his rather high rent resulting in a successful court case against the landlord that used up his savings and contributed to his premature death in February 1784.Robert Burns Country Retrieved : 2011-01-06 Burns is said to have roofed the barn himself and upon its demolition an engraved lintel from it was incorporated into the new farmhouse that replaced it. In 1879 the poet's home had become a barn.Adamson, p. 106
