Kilmaurs

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[edit] Introduction

Kilmaurs is a town in the county of East Ayrshire, Scotland, on the Carmel, 21.1 miles south by west of Glasgow by the Glasgow & South-Western railway. Pop. (1901), 1803.

Kilmaurs-Glencairn Church and the Glencairn Aisle, burial place of the Lords and Earls of Glencairn from the old Orchard

1 Introduction
2 History
3 Kilmaurs Gallery 2006 - 2007
4 See Also
5 References
- 5.1 A Map of the Parish of Kilmaurs
6 External Links

[edit] History

It was once noted for its cutlery, shoe and bonnet factories, and there were iron and coal mines in the neighbourhood. The parish church, Kilmaurs Glencairn, dates from 1170, and was dedicated either to the Virgin or to a Scottish saint of the 9th century called Maure. It was enlarged in 1403 and in great part rebuilt in 1888.

[edit] The Cunninghames and the Glencairn Aisle

Adjoining it is the burial-place of the Earls of Glencairn, the leading personages in the district during several centuries, some of whom bore the style of Lord Kilmaurs. The aisle contains the restored tomb of the 7th. Earl with his wife and eight children. Their family name was Cunningham, adopted probably from the baillie which they acquired in the 12th century.

Etymology

Carmel, the oldest form of which is Caremuall, is thought to be derived, according to McNaught^[1], from the Gaelic 'Car' meaning a 'fort', and 'Meall'. meaning a hill. Therefore, 'The fort on the hill'.

The De Morville family lived at Tour nearby. The family built Kilwinning abbey, a daughter was the mother of John Baliol and another member was one of the murderers of Thomas a Becket.

The town was made a burgh of barony in 1527 by the earl of that date. Burns's patron, the thirteenth earl, on whose death the poet wrote his touching "Lament," sold the Kilmaurs estate in 1786 to the marchioness of Titchfield, later the family held the title of Duke of Portland.

Kilmaurs has strong links with the Cunninghame family who are associated with the toun of Lambroughton for a significant period during their rise to power. James, the fourteenth Earl of Glencairn broke the centuries old connection of the Cunnighame family with the area by selling the estate of Kilmaurs in 1786 to the Marchioness of Titchfield^[2].

[edit] Laigh Milton viaduct

Laigh Milton Viaduct is the oldest surviving Railway Bridge in Scotland

One sad story redolent of its era is that of a 'professional class' couple from England, Mr. & Mrs. Barker, who committed suicide in Victorian times (1844) by tying themselves together and jumping from Laigh Milton Viaduct into the Irvine, which has a depth of only around three feet at this point. They were buried in the Kilmaurs-Glencairn churchyard in an unmarked grave. They are known to have spent a few weeks in lodgings and apparently enjoyed the 'sights and sounds' of Ayrshire. It transpired that they had recently become bankrupt and were fearful of the shame and disgrace that poverty would inevitably bring^[1]^[3].

[edit] The Jougs

The former Parish Council chambers in Kilmaurs, the 'jougs', has a fine example of a stepped Mercat Cross in an enclosure behind it, the cross is surmounted by a large sandstone ball and dated 1830. The 'Jougs' was also used as the Kilmaurs firestation in the 19th century. The Dick Institute holds the preserved wooden 1830s fires engine in its collections.

[edit] The Highland Host

To prevent the Covenanters holding 'Conventicles', King Charles II moved highland troops, the 'Highland Host' into the westland of Ayrshire^[4]. "They took free quarters; they robbed people on the high road; they knocked down and wounded those who complained; they stole, and wantonly destroyed, cattle; they subjected people to the torture of fire to discover to them where their money was hidden; they threatened to burn down houses if their demands were not at once complied with; besides free quarters they demanded money every day; they compelled even poor families to buy brandy and tobacco for them; they cut and wounded people from sheer devilment." The cost of all this amounted to £3,250 15s 0d Scots in Kilmaurs parish alone.

[edit] Kilmaurs Gallery 2006 - 2007

The Mercat cross at the 'jougs'	The '1830' date on the Mercat cross	The 'jougs'	The old parish council building
Pollarded trees on a driveway in Fenwick Road	Glencairn Church in Fenwick Road, built in 1864	The birthplace of Lord Boyd Orr - Holland Green, Fenwick Road	The Knoll or Knowe on the Cunninghamhead road, locally referred to as 'Bowie's Munt'
Gravestone of John Gemmell. He was a surgeon to the American Royal Reformers, fighting with the regular army in the American War of Independence.	A view of the old 1830's firestation in the 'Jougs'. The doors to the right of the stone pillars	A view of the old 1830's firestation in the 'Jougs'	A granite milestone giving the direction and distance to Crosshouse

This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.

[edit] See Also

St Maurs-Glencairn Parish Church. 2007.

[edit] References

^ ^a ^b *McNaught, Duncan (1912). Kilmaurs Parish and Burgh. Pub. A.Gardner.
^ Robertson, William (1908). Ayrshire. Its History and Historic Families. Vol. 2. Grimsay Press (2005). ISBN 1-84530-026-2. P. 326.
^ Adamson, Archibald R. (1875). Rambles Round Kilmarnock. Pub. T.Stevenson, P. 175.
^ Robertson, William (1905). Old Ayrshire Days. Pub. Stephen & Pollock. Ayr. P. 299 - 300.