House & Family History: In 1920 Birkwood was purchased by Lanarkshire County Council for £10,000; in July of 1923 the house opened as a "certified Institution for Mental Defectives." The hospital, which cared for boys and girls with learning disabilities, closed in 2005. Birkwood is supposedly one of the most haunted places in Britain; it is allegedly the home of a cigar-smoking specter and the ghost of a man stabbed through the throat.

House Listed: Category B

Park Listed: Not Listed

Past Seat / Home of: J.G. McKirdy.

Current Ownership Type: Corporation

Primary Current Ownership Use: Unoccupied

House Open to Public: No

Historic Houses Member: No