 By the 17c, the barony of Kellie (or Kelly), which included the castle and much of the parish, was in the hands of the Irvines of Drum, who in 1629 committed themselves to annual grants of 8 bolls of meal to the schoolmaster of Arbirlot and a further 12 bolls to the poor of the parish.In 1679 Alexander Irvine, who had built up unsustainable debts during his support for the Royalist cause during the Civil Wars, sold the barony to George Maule, 2nd Earl of Panmure for £11,000 sterling.In the 18th and 19th centuries Arbirlot was principally occupied by handloom weavers and farmers, Arbirlot once had a meal mill, a slaughterhouse, two schools, a post office, a savings bank, an inn, a parish library as well as a number of shops.