Lugar, East Ayrshire

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Lugar is a small village in East Ayrshire, southwest Scotland. Lugar is in Auchinleck Parish, Kyle District, Ayrshire. It is 1.5 miles (2.4 km) ENE of Cumnock, and about 1-mile (1.6 km) from Cronberry and 2 miles (3.2 km) from Gasswater. Lugar is a station on the Mauchline and Muirkirk branch of the Glasgow and South Western Railway. Lugar is about 16.5 miles (26.6 km) SE of Kilmarnock.

Lugar was once dominated by a large ironworks with several blast furnaces. Like the mining industry in nearby areas, though, the iron industry has been decimated by economic decline. The Lugar ironworks closed long ago.

Lugar was built to accommodate the workers at the ironworks around 1845. They were houses in "miners' raws" (sic). On the 1860 Ordnance Survey Map the rows included Peesweip Row, Craigstonholm Row, Store Row, Back Row and Hollowholm Row.(This map also shows a Curling Pond). Other maps included Laigh Row, Double Row and High Row. The population grew to 753 in 1861, and 1374 in 1871. By 1881 it had 1353 people and 1891 people, according to the Ordnance Survey.

The Lugar Institute was created in 1892 by a Mr. Weir of Kildonan. The Institute consisted of a lecture hall with a capacity of 400, a reading room, recreation room (for chess etc.), billiard room and bowling alley. It was partially demolished, and some of the remaining parts have been recently restored.

A local church, established in 1867, is another prominent feature of Lugar.

White water rafting and kayaking is available in the Lugar region on the Lugar River, also known as the Lugar Water.

The Lugar Boswell Thistle Football Club is a Scottish football (soccer) club based there. The club is nicknamed The Jaggy Bunnets. They were formed in 1878 as a senior team, turning to the juniors after a short spell.

The 65th Ayrshire scout troop in the Kylesmuir District is based in Lugar.

Near Lugar, at Bello Mill Cottage on the estate of James Boswell in Auchinleck, William Murdoch was born in 1784. Murdoch did some important experiments on steam engines and was the inventor of gas lighting. A cave where he carried out a lot of his experiments on coal gas can still be seen on the riverbank of the Lugar Water.

[edit] Ironworks

1845 - Lugar Ironworks opened
1848 - Muirkirk Branch of the Glasgow and South Western Railway, Auchinleck to Muirkirk opened. The line served the Lugar Ironworks, the Muirkirk Ironworks and various coalmines
1856 - Lugar Ironworks bought by the Eglinton Ironworks Ltd
1928 - Lugar Ironworks closed. Site later used by the National Coal Board as regional headquarters and workshops.