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Places of Scottish Interest - Ayrshire

Welcome to a little bit of Ayrshire!  This Scottish heritage resource provides some information about Ayrshire - environs, history, people and places of interest.  Ayrshire is a region of south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde.  Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and the new town (and ancient royal burgh) of Irvine.  As with all other Scottish resources on this site, this does not pretend to be comprehensive.  It reflects a niche of Scottish cultural interest.  See the following topics:   Ayrshire's History    General Guide     Some Sights     Miscellaneous

Ayrshire's History

Ayrshire is a county on the west coast of Scotland, on the shores of the Firth of Clyde.  It has not been an administrative unit since 1975, when, under regionalisation, it became part of the Region of Strathclyde and was divided into four districts: Cumnock and Doon Valley; Cunninghame; Kilmarnock and Loudoun; and Kyle and Carrick.  In 1996, under a further reorganisation of local government in Scotland, Strathclyde region and its Districts were swept away, and Ayrshire was divided into three districts: East Ayrshire, North Ayrshire, and South Ayrshire.  The subject matter of the Ayrshire History Web Site is the history of the county and its people, and the local history of its parishes, towns and villages.

Ayrshire on the Net contains websites with Ayrshire Interest.This is the site to find those sites with local and family history pages about the people and places that existed in the past, and those that are there today. Ayrshire sits on the Clyde Coast in south-west Scotland. It has a long and interesting history and many families have left here to emigrate to many countries throughout the world. People tracing their family routes will find a rich variety of useful details in the various sites in this ring.

Ayrshire - General Guide

According to the Ayrshire Guide, the region of Ayrshire is best known as the birthplace of Robert Burns, Scotland's great poet, loved and revered the world over. The vast majority of visitors come here to visit the many sights associated with the great bard, but the Ayrshire coast is also famed for its excellent golf courses, such as Turnberry, Troon and Prestwick.  There are a few other reasons for visiting Ayrshire, most notably Culzean Castle to the south of Ayr, one of Scotland's top tourist attractions.  One of the region's main attractions is the beautiful Isle of Arran (Argyll).  The most attractive part of Ayrshire is the south, from the main town, Ayr, south to Girvan. North of Ayr is a series of low-key resorts interspersed with ports and industrialized towns stretching to the mouth of the Clyde.

Ayrshire - Some Sights

The Old High Kirk in Kilmarnock

The Old High Kirk in Kilmarnock celebrated its 275th anniversary in 2007.  It was built in 1732, before Robert Burns was born, it is known that he came to Kilmarnock and had strong connections with the Laigh Kirk and the Old High Kirk.  John Wilson, the publisher of the famous Kilmarnock Edition is interred in the Kirkyard as are many others connected with Robert Burns  The artists the Tannock Brothers are also buried in the Kirkyard.  The Land and the Church were a gift from the Earl of Kilmarock and his friend Lord John Orr of Barrowfield, who realised the need for the Church at the top end of the town.  Up to that time, there had been only one Church, originally set up by St Marnock in the 6th Century.  Sadly the Earl's Jacobite affiliation led to his untimely death as he was executed at the Tower of London for his Jacobite allegience.

In the 1860s when the Church became too small for the worshipping congregation a very ambitious scheme to double the size inside by extending the balcony, etc.  reflooring the Church, etc. and this was paid by asking the most wealthy families if they would like to have a new stained glass window dedicated to a fam! ily member or members and in fact the response was such that they appointed a the foremost stained glass artists of their day W. & W.J. Keir Brothers from Glasgow (who also worked on windows in Glasgow Cathedral).  They decided to have every window replaced with a new stained glass window and presented in chronological order Old Testament scened downstairs and New Testament upstairs.  You may view pictures of the kirk's windows by going to their Web site and selecting Church Windows.  They carried out many more ambitious alterations and the entire "facelift" took about ten years and was great success.  This set of windows is quite unique and we are as proud of them as our Robert Burns connections.

The church re-opened for worship on Sunday the 14th May 2006 after extensive work had been completed on the cupola tower and church building.  The Session house roof was recently made wind and water tight and the contractors left the site, until the congregation are in a position to have the Session House wall restoration work done.

Read more of the kirk's history by going to their Web site and selecting Church History.The ravages of time have caused the congregation to raise and spend a great deal on the maintenance and preservation of the building and windows, etc., as we feel that they are of such historical significance apart from their architectural interest and beauty that we have to treat our building with the respect it deserves.

According to a spokesperson for the kirk:  We have a very extensive Kirkyard, which has been mapped in detail, and we would be delighted to help anyone who is trying to trace their family roots and may have connections with our Church in Kilmarnock.

[The Capital Scot recommends the Web site of the Old High Kirk in Kilmarnock for its lovely design, solid content, and general interest.  The photo and sketch of the kirk are courtesy of and used with permission of the .]

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