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Coordinates: 55°38'22?N 4°31'49?W? / ?55.639444, -4.530278
Kilmaurs (Scottish Gaelic: Cille Mhàra) is a town in East Ayrshire, Scotland. It lies on the Carmel, 21.1 miles south by west of Glasgow by the Glasgow & South-Western railway. Pop. (1901), 1803.
[edit] History
Kilmaurs was known as the hamlet of Cunninghame until the 13th century.[1] It was once noted for its cutlery, shoe and bonnet factories, and there were iron and coal mines in the neighbourhood. The parish church,St Maurs Church, now Kilmaurs: St Maurs-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] 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, designed and erected in 1600 by David Sewgal, Mason burgess from Carel, (he was also responsible for designing the tomb dedicated to William Schaw, James VI's Master of Works in Dunfermline Abbey), contains the restored tomb of the 7th. Earl with his wife and eight children. Their family name was Cunningham, adopted from the baillie which they acquired in the 12th century, or more probably from the district of Cunninghame (Ayrshire) where the town is situated.
| Etymology |
| Carmel, the oldest form of which is Caremuall, is thought to be derived, according to McNaught and also Smith,[2] from the Gaelic 'Car' meaning a 'fort', and 'Meall'. meaning a hill. Therefore, 'The Hill fort'.[3] |
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.
James Cunningham, 14th Earl of Glencairn.[4]
The town was made a burgh of barony in 1527 by the earl of that date. Burns's patron, the fourteenth 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 Barony and estate of Kilmaurs, including Kilmaurs place, in 1786 to the Marchioness of Titchfield[5].
[edit] Laigh Milton viaduct
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 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[2][6].
[edit] Jougs or tolbooth
The former Parish Council chambers and jail in Kilmaurs, the 'jougs', 'Jugs' or 'Juggs' 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 fire station in the 19th century. The Fire Brigade Museum in Edinburgh holds the preserved wooden 1830s fires engine in its collections. Sir Walter Scott rescued the 'jougs' from Thrieve Castle in the Borders and attached them to the castellated gateway he built at Abbotsford House.[7] The Old Tolbooth in Sanquhar has a set of jougs attched to the wall just outside the jail entrance. They were last used in 1820 when a housebreaker was held ny them. He was so small that he had to be stood on a stone block.
[edit] Public Hall
This fine building was constructed in 1893 at a cost of £1,400. This town hall building had a stage, changing rooms, a reading room and a recreation room.[8]
[edit] War Memorial
Kilmaurs has a particularly fine war memorial situated in the Morton Park (gifted to the village by George Morton of Lochgreen, Troon in 1921.) The memorial itself was erected at a cost of £900 raised by public subscription and unveiled on 3 April 1921. 45 men gave their lives in the Great War and 10 men and 1 woman in the Second World War.[8]
[edit] Highland Host
Jock's Thorn Farm above Kilmaurs, near the site of the ancient Kilmaurs Castle.
The old Tolbooth next to the Jougs.
To prevent the Covenanters holding 'Conventicles', King Charles II moved highland troops, the 'Highland Host' into the westland of Ayrshire[9]. "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] Smallpox
Paterson[10] records that in the 1790s inoculation for smallpox had not become general, "owing," according to the minister, "to the prevalence of a religious persuasion that the Divine Government, without any care on the part of man, will accomplish whatever is best for him. So deeply are the tenets of this kind impressed, that all attempts to show the necessity of using those means by which the Providence of God operates, both in temporal and spiritual concerns, are 'houted' and despised. Much," he adds, "have the teachers of religion to answer for, who establish faith upon the ruins of practice."
[edit] Waverley Novels
Sir Walter Scott makes several references to the Earl of Glencairn as a supporter of the Scottish kirk and the Cameronians in his novel 'Waverley. He also mentions in the same novel, that Kilmaurs Mains farm has excellent breeds of cattle. It is also apparent that the highland clan chiefs did very well out of the 'Highland Host' phenomenon; building extensions or new houses for themselves out of the profits from their plunder.
[edit] Kilmaurs Gallery 2006 - 2008
The Mercat cross at the 'jougs.'
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The '1830' date on the Mercat cross.
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The old parish council building.
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Pollarded trees on a driveway in Fenwick Road.
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Glencairn Church in Fenwick Road, built in 1864.
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The birthplace of Lord Boyd Orr - Holland Green, Fenwick Road.
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The Knock on the Cunninghamhead road, locally referred to as 'Bowie's Munt.'
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Laigh Langmuir Farm on the Cunninghamhead road.
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Kilmaurs Mains Farm on the Cunninghamhead road.
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Viewfiled farm on the road to Stewarton, looking across the site of the old Toll house.
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The 'Walk in the Light' stone from the old Townend Manse.
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Gravestone of John Gemmell. He was a surgeon to the American Royal Reformers, fighting with the regular army in the American War of Independence.
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A view of the old 1830's firestation in the 'Jougs'. The doors to the right of the stone pillars.
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The Old Brig over the Carmel Water in the park.
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The Millhill Coat of Arms at Townend.
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A view of the old 1830's firestation in the 'Jougs.'
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A granite milestone giving the direction and distance to Crosshouse.
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Jock's Thorn Farm from the Kilmarnock facing side in the vicinity of the 'Old Castle.'
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The Mill Vennel looking southwards towards St.Maurs-Glencairn kirk.
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The Mill Vennel looking northwards towards the Carmel Brig.
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The sundial and coat of arms on the kirk.
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The Carmel Water near Millholm. An old bridge abutment is just visible opposite.
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The entrance to the Lady's Well.
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Inside the Lady's Well covering with the 'niche' at the back and the broken sandstone covering slab.
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Kilmaurs station road approach.
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[edit] Bowie's munt
Bowie's munt or mound is close to the old Knocklandside and Knocklandhill farms. The name 'Knock' is Scots for a small hill. This wooded mound is surrounded by a circular ditch and bank to keep livestock out. It may be a belvedere or roundel. No internal features are visible, other than the outlines of a lane or track on the Kilmaurs side.
[edit] Gallery
The munt from Knockland Hill road.
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The munt from Knockland Hill road.
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A view inside the wooded munt.
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A view inside the wooded munt.
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[edit] Loupin'-on-stane
The Loupin'-on-stane & concavity.
The Loupin'-on-stane & concavity.
Outside the Old Person's Cabin in the main street is a large sandstone block which is thought to be a horse-block or Loupin'-on-stane; used to aid a person to mount a horse in times past. This large sandstone block also has a concavity in its upper surface which is reminiscent of the 'plague stones' which would be filled with vinegar into which money could be placed either as gifts to the church or as gifts to the sick. An example also survives at Greystoke in Cumbria.
[edit] See also
Inaugural Run Souvenir Ticket for 12 May 1984.A new station opened.
St Maurs-Glencairn Parish Church. 2007.
[edit] References
This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
- , Groome, Francis H. (1903). Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland. Pub. Caxton. London. P. 938.
- , a b *McNaught, Duncan (1912). Kilmaurs Parish and Burgh. Pub. A.Gardner.
- , Smith, John (1895). Prehistoric Man in Ayrshire. Pub. Elliot Stock. P. 96.
- , Dobie, James D. (ed Dobie, J.S.) (1876). Cunninghame, Topographized by Timothy Pont 1604–1608, with continuations and illustrative notices. Pub. John Tweed, Glasgow.
- , 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.
- , Napier, George G. (1897). The Home and Haunts of Sir Walter Scott, Bart. James Maclehose, Glasgow. P. 153.
- , a b Kilmaurs. A Walk thro' time. East Ayrshire council and Outdoor Access.
- , Robertson, William (1905). Old Ayrshire Days. Pub. Stephen & Pollock. Ayr. P. 299 - 300.
- , Paterson, James (1863-66). History of the Counties of Ayr and Wigton. V. - III - Cunninghame. J. Stillie. Edinburgh. P. 344.
[edit] A Map of the Parish of Kilmaurs
The Parish of Kilmaurs in 1912.
[edit] External links
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