Kilbirnie

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Kilbirnie

Kilbirnie (Scots)


OS grid reference:	NS313551



Population:	7280 (2001 census)



Council area:	North Ayrshire
Constituent country:	Scotland
Sovereign state:	United Kingdom

Police force:	Strathclyde Police
Lieutenancy area:	Ayrshire and Arran
Former county:	Ayrshire

Post town:	KILBIRNIE
Postal:	KA25
Telephone:	01505


Scottish Parliament:	Cunninghame North
UK Parliament:	North Ayrshire and Arran
European Parliament:	Scotland

Kilbirnie (from the Gaelic Cille Bhraonaidh) is a small town of around 7300 inhabitants situated in North Ayrshire on the west coast of Scotland. Historically, the town built up around the flax and weaving industries before iron and steelmaking took over in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

1 History
2 Industry
3 Places of Worship
4 Social History
5 Education
6 River Garnock
7 Air Crashes
8 Kilbirnie Today
9 Genealogy
10 Cemeteries
11 Unusual Facts
12 Sport
13 Reference
14 External links

[edit] History

Kilbirnie derived its name from the parish church and the church obtained its name from the saint to whom it was dedicated; the celtic Cil, pronounced Kil, signifying a church, being prefixed to the name of the saint; St Birinie, or Birinus, is said to have been a bishop and confessor who converted the West Saxons and died at Dorchester in 650 AD and was commemorated on the 3rd of December. In the vicinity of the church of Kilbirnie, a village has arisen during late times. In 1740, there were only three houses; but, by means of manufactures, it grew to be a village of 80 houses which were inhabited by about 300 people in 1791. In 1821, the village of Kilbirnie contained about 800 people. What with manufactures, and the recent impulse given to the locality by the Ayr and Glasgow railway, and the vicinity of numerous ironworks. Since Kilbirnie was not a large town before the 1840s, there is not much written history except for the farms in the area. However, documentation from the witch trials does name William Semple (or Sempill) as being arrested for being a witch. The documentation does not state if he was burned or not.

[edit] Industry

The steel works opened its blast furnaces at Glengarnock in around 1840 which caused a massive influx of people from all over the country, as well as all over the world. Initially, these works were owned by Merry & Cunninghame and, latterly, they became Colvilles, before becoming part of the British Steel network. Glengarnock steelworks provided most of the population with work for men, whilst the local thread mills, W & J Knox, in Kilbirnie itself provided work for women.

One interesting point to note is that the entire collection of staff magazines from the Merry & Cunninghame to Colvilles days of the steelworks at Glengarnock have been preserved and are held at the Mitchell Library in Glasgow. This provides such interesting features as spotlights on employees and departments, and contains photographs over 100 years old.

The Knox family of W & J Knox Threadmills were a very prominent family, not only in Ayrshire but in the South of England too, with their families becoming prominent members of society. At least three of the mansion houses, Moorpark, (once home of Robert William Knox) Redheugh (once home of Hugh Knox) and one in Knoxville Road remain standing, whilst another at "Place" (home of Sir James Knox and Sir Charles and Lady Mathew (his son-in-law)) has been demolished. The second of the three cemeteries in Kilbirnie contain huge epitaphs to the family. These mills were famous for their nets, used by the British Army as well as the British Telecom Tower in London, for example. The Knox Institute which sits above the shops (above where McNeils Papershop was) was donated by a member of the Knox family and a monument to him used to stand on the bridge. Numerous other associations to the family can be found around the town. The Knox Institute housed Kilbirnie's first public library.

World War I veteran and hero General Mathew married into this family and lived at "Place". One of the cemeteries contains a vault underground where the family are buried, (next to the main Knox monument). Who's Who editions of the period list many members of the family and give further information on knighthoods, etc.

[edit] Places of Worship

Kilbirnie has a wide variety of places of worship within the Christian spectrum with one Brethren Assembly (and also one in Glengarnock), two Church of Scotland churches, Jehovah's Witnesses meeting room (Glengarnock), Salvation Army Citadel and a Roman Catholic church, as well as links to evangelical groups. The Mission Hall has been demolished in recent years.

The "Auld Kirk" boasts the title of one of oldest churches still in use both pre- and post-Reformation. The Kirk is a tourist attraction, containing the Crawfurd Gallery, as well as a mausoleum to the Crawfurd family in its grounds. Crawfurd Castle at "Place" remains in ruins. Robert Burns allegedly came to the blacksmiths near the Kirk. Opposite the church sits one of the oldest surviving farmhouses on the corner. A book is available on its history by John Lachland. It is from this site of the present church that Kilbirnie takes its name. It runs guided tours at specified times.

The Brethren Assembly Gospel Hall was built in 1897. It is in one of the oldest parts of the town, Schoolwynd. It holds regular coffee mornings which give outsiders an opportunity to meet this now small but strong assembly, as well as regular Gospel Meetings. The Blue Ribbon Army, a women's temperance movement visited Kilbirnie in the 1890s, bringing with them the Plymouth Brethren movement. They first worshipped in "Martin's Shed" at Bridge Street and later purchased the land on the present site.

The Roman Catholic church, St Brigid's, still maintains a fairly regular attendance at their services and contains a magnificent statue of St Brigid inside the Church. But the numbers attending are declining and the priest serves a neighbouring parish also. The number of Masses have been reduced since ten years ago. It is interesting to note that the Roman Catholic Primary School is known as "St Brigets". No-one knows how the first priest, Father Thomas P Lee, raised enough money to build the church. Initially, it was intended to be built in the public park, across from what was the original Church House residence of the Priest. Father Lee was sent as a missionary priest from All Hallows College, Dublin and was initially based in Johnstone, as Kilbirnie fell within the Arch-Diocese of Glasgow in those days.

[edit] Social History

Amongst many other old buildings in the Town, stands the "Walker Hall" a memorial hall dedicated to Dr Walker, one of the first physicians in the town. In the 1950s and 1960s this was very famous as a dance hall coming second only to Glasgow Barrowlands itself. Famous bands to play there were Gerry and the Pacemakers and Bill Haley and the Comets. In the 1980s it housed a market once a week or so, these days is home to the town's Citizens Advice Bureau and regularly is the venue for meetings, concerts and even wedding receptions.

Other sources of Entertainment in the 50s and 60s included 2 cinemas both of which have long since closed. One of these cinemas is now the home of Radio City. The Association which formed Radio City was setup in early 1998 to identify ways of providing both much needed local facilities and a use for the disused former Cinema which occupies a prime site in Kilbirnie Town Centre. MP Brian Wilson had met with a group of local teenagers during the 1997 election campaign who had stressed the need for local facilities and with the help of Largs architect Paddy Cronin, plans were developed to provide a Healthy Living Centre which will include Fitness Facilities, Internet Access, Healthy Eating Cafe and Child Care. Bids for funding were made to both private and National Lottery organisations. The original steering group included Allan Wilson now the local MSP, Jim Stevens, Greta Jennings now chair of the company, John Bell now the local councillor and treasurer of the Company, Douglas and Brian Johnstone, Derek Clarkson, Agnes Walsh, Ian Gemmill, Ken James, and George Stevens.

[edit] Education

Kilbirnie has a secondary school that teaches pupils from Beith, Glengarnock and Dalry, as well as several primary schools. There exists a Roman Catholic School (St Brigets) however at secondary level Children attend St Michaels Academy in Kilwinning. A school now marked for closure. The "old" original Glengarnock Primary school building has now been demolished but a new school has been built close by. Bridgend Hall which was once a local school remains a community centre. In 1971 Garnock Academy was formed by the amalgamation of Beith Academy, Dalry High School, Kilbirnie Central School and Speirs School. Initially the schools operated from the four sites with each Headmaster keeping a separate log and the rector of the formed Garnock Academy keeping his.

Building commenced at Moorpark for the Garnock Academy and was completed by August 1972 at a cost of one million pounds. In 1975, school councils were set up and there was a ballot among pupils for their representative, among teachers for theirs and a meeting to elect the parents' nominee.

Other primary schools are St Bridgets and Ladyland. Bridgened School closed in 1921 but the building is still used as a community centre.

[edit] River Garnock

The River Garnock runs through the region. It flows from the base of the Hill of Stake in a southery direction, traversing Kilbirnie and Glengarnock, and making its way to Irvine Harbour where it enters the sea. The source of the River Garnock is somewhere in the hills and is known as "Jacobs Well". At one point stands the ruins of the "Glengarnock Castle".Lying 2 miles (3 km) north of Kilbirnie in North Ayrshire, Glengarnock Castle is a ruined 15th century keep, which once had an enclosed courtyard, located on a promontory overlooking the River Garnock. In the 12th and 13th centuries, the lands here were the property of the De Morville family. The Barony of Glengarnock then passed to the Riddels and the Cunninghams. Mary, Queen of Scots, visited in 1563. Sir James Cunningham built the Glengarnock Aisle in the Auld Kirk of Kilbirnie in 1597. The Cunninghams retained the castle until the early 17th century and by the 18th century it had been abandoned. Stabilised in the mid-19th century, a sizable ruins remains.

[edit] Air Crashes

The Hills between Kilbirnie and Largs were often black spots for aircrafts passing over and many crashed owing to low fog. Pictures of the wreckages of these can be found elsewhere on the Internet. The actual crash sites are available to visit with wreckage still visible and some of these now form part of Muirsheil country park.

  During World War II, an enemy aircraft was shot down and its remains can still be found to the north of Kilbirnie in the hill.

[edit] Kilbirnie Today

Kilbirnie is very much a town in transformation, after the closure of the Steel Works it became an unemployment blackspot and like most towns in the area, many old buildings are vanishing and being replaced with hypermarkets such as Tescos. The main street is noticeably empty of shops although a few of the original old shops have survived such as Duncan's Clothes in the main street, Dunnings Stores at the Cross and Wylie's Chemists located also in the main Street.

Kilbirnie has very few outlets for work and people generally travel out of the town for work.

Landmarks of interest include Kilbirnie Loch, a mile and a half long and nearly half a mile broad. It is a well-used local amenity catering for diverse sporting activities such as fishing, jet skiing and rugby (played on the playing fields at the loch shore edge). The Loch is also famous with meteorologists for certain phenomenon which it attracts. Part of the area around the Loch is sliding possibly due to the old mining shafts under the area or the activities which took place there with the steel manufacturing.

Kilbirnie itself does not have hotels or places for guests to stay in fact Kilbirnie by all accounts would be very "empty" with not even a restaurant in the town itself. Tourists would need to either stay at Largs (a busy seaside resort close by) or else stay in Glasgow and travel down to Kilbirnie. The "Milton Hotel" which once existed in Cochrane Street burned down in the 1980s and was the last guest house in the area. It may however be possible to find accommodation to rent in the town for a short period such as a private house etc.

[edit] Genealogy

Kilbirnie does still attract a lot of people for visits. it boasts popularity with genealogists trying to trace their family history although very limited records are actually held in the town itself. All records for Scotland dating back to the 16th century can be found at www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk. However records of burials are kept by the cemetery superintendent and these date back to the times when the cemeteries were first used. These can be viewed upon request. The division of the Council who looks after cemeteries is based in Saltcoats. They have full records for North Ayrshire and there was a plan to produce all records on CD Rom but as far as I know this was never carried out. Ayrhire Libraries Local History Dept in Ardrossan may be able to provide further information or may have access to the records.

Via Ayrshire roots, you can access details of monumental inscriptions in at least one of the cemeteries. (see link below). Remember though, few people in the old days had money to buy inscriptions. All records of people born in Scotland are now held online at www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk. Records viewable online date back to the 16th century.

Since the town did not expand until the 1840s most families who lived in Kilbirnie would have had their roots elewhere and came to Kilbirnie to find work, such as mining and the Steel works etc. This is an important point to remember.

[edit] Cemeteries

There are three cemeteries in Kilbirnie. One is directly behind the Kirk and has many old headstones including the Crawfurd Mausoleum, headstones marked with Skulls and cross bones denoting pirates as well as many others. The cemetery next to this has headstones from the mid 1800s onwards including notable people of the town such as Doctor Walker, Sir James Knox and the Knox Mausoleum. The third cemetery goes back to the 1950s and is the most modern. I understand that there are still people eligible to be buried in the oldest one behind the kirk, but the bulk of the people are buried in the other two.

[edit] Unusual Facts

There is also a "Kilbirnie" in New Zealand.

Jameson Clark (actor) was born there and also died there.

Gordon McQueen (footballer) was born there.

Beneath the Walker Hall there are the remains of old stables and a tavern

"Martins Shed", a ruined building nearby the old supermarket, was a Brethren meeting place.

"Templars Hall", now the carpet shop, was once the DSS Office and also was once a church.

A second war memorial exists on the walls of one of the old steelworks buildings still standing.

Kilbirnie Loch is famous amongst people who study weather for odd phenomena which occur there.

Behind the Main Street sits an old washhouse, used in the late 1800s, seen from Bank Street.

Beneath the entire area, lie old, forgotten mineshafts.

Before the Main Street, "Maypole Street" existed close by. Maybole Street still exists on the other side of the river from the Main Street.

A social centre built on the shores of the Loch began to sink and had to be relocated.

Before the present police station (soon to be replaced), there existed an older building at Bridgend. This became the Council Offices and was then demolished

A German plane crashed at Glengarnock during WWII.

Explosions at Nobel Explosives factory some miles away shook the windows and houses in Kilbirnie.

Craighouse Square is reputed to be haunted by the ghosts of two people who committed suicide there, one an Italian immigrant who jumped from a window and one an ice cream seller who murdered his family there.

Near to where the Masonic Lodge is located, there was once a hat shop owned by two spinsters.

Archaeological digs conducted in the 19th century have shown that the area was inhabited during the Bronze Age. This was ascertained from the revealing of a crannog with a connecting causeway, which emerged from the Kilbirnie Loch, under the downwards pressure exerted from the iron slag being dumped into the loch from the steelworks. Finds from around the area of the crannog include four hollowed-out canoes, inside one of which were two bronze vessels – one a three-legged pot, the other a lion shaped ewer.