Galston, East Ayrshire

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Galston is a town in East Ayrshire, Scotland which has a population of 5194, (2001). It is situated in wooded countryside 4 miles up-river from Kilmarnock and is one a group of small towns located in the Irvine Valley between the towns of Hurlford and Newmilns.

The name Galston means "place of the strangers" from the Gaelic word gall (a stranger), and the Anglian word tun (a hamlet or enclosure).

Loudoun Academy, the secondary school for the Loudoun area, is located in Galston.

The area of Loudoun is also home to the famous Loudoun Castle theme park.

[edit] History

Galston is steeped in history, and has associations with William Wallace and Robert Bruce. The town has been described as 'the historical heart of Ayrshire'. After it received its charter in 1717 it developed rapidly as a centre of handloom-weaving and later the manufacture of gauze and lawn. From the beginning of the 19th century until 1933 it was a major coal mining area. The textile industry flourished until the 1960’s.

[edit] Barr Castle

Barr Castle is the oldest building in Galston. It is a fortified tower house built by the Lockhart family of Barr in the 15th century. It has three floors and would have originally had battlements. George Wishart and John Knox have both preached within Barr Castle. In the 17th century Barr passed to the Campbell family of Cessnock, but was unoccupied after the covenanting period. In later times part of one of the walls of the Castle was concreted over to be used in the game of handball. Galston handball players became world champions - and large crowds gathered on Glasgow Fair Saturday to watch the competition for the silver Challenge Cup.