 Little is known about the detail of the earliest Stewartons, but during the second half of the 19th century several enthusiasts recorded the detail of the design and their experience of using the hive.Most notable of these was John McCulloch McPhedran, who wrote regularly in the British Bee Journal as 'The Renfrewshire Beekeeper'.More recently, Dr. Eva Crane has summarised information, although, as with many aspects of bee keeping history, detail appears to have been overlooked, and a few 'modern myths' have been allowed to develop.