The name of Ardencaple (pronounced Arngappil) appears in a document of 1294. In time, the land of the lairds of Ardencaple extended from Garelochhead to Cardross and across to Glen Fruin. The first to use the surname of MacAulay in documents was the 11th Laird, Walter of Ardencaple, who inherited the Estate in 1554. Walter's son Aulay was knighted by King James.