CUMNOCK-NEW, a parish, in the district of
Kyle, county of Ayr, 6 miles (S. E. by S.) from Old
Cumnock; containing, with the villages of Castle, Pathbead,
Mansfield, and Afton-Bridgend, 2382 inhabitants.
This parish, which was separated from that of Cumnock
in the year 1650, is situated at the south-east extremity
of the county. It is about twelve miles in length from
east to west, and nine in breadth from north to south,
and comprises about "5,000 acres, whereof 15,000 are
arable, 300 woodland and plantations, and the remainder,
of which about 3000 acres might be reclaimed and
brought into cultivation, is a very elevated tract of moss.
The surface is in general hilly, and towards the south
mountainous, but is varied with the two fine valleys of
the Nith and the Afton. Of these, the former extends
through nearly the whole length of the parish, having a
mean elevation of about 500 feet above the sea; and
the latter valley, which is about fifty feet higher, intersects
the parish from north to south. The highest of the
mountains, called Blackcraig, has an elevation of 1600
feet; the Knipe, a little to the south, has an elevation of
1260 feet, and the Corsancone is 8*0 feet above the level
of the river Nith. From all these heights extensive views
are obtained of the surrounding districts, and the prospect
from the Corsancone is singularly rich and beautiful.
The river Nith rises in the south-west of the parish, and
after a course of about twelve miles, flows by the base of
Corsancone Hill, into the Dumfriesshire parish of Kirkconnell.
The river Afton rises near the southern boundary
of the parish, and after a course of about eight miles,
falls into the Nith near the village. The surface is further
diversified by three lakes, little more than half a
mile in circumference; they are of no great depth, but
abound with perch and pike, and are frequented by varieties
of aquatic fowl.
In some parts the soil is of a light gravelly quality,
and in others a tenacious clay; but by judicious management
and a liberal use of lime, it has been much improved,
and a tolerable quantity of unproductive land has been
brought into profitable cultivation. The crops are oats,
barley, wheat, potatoes, and turnips. Surface-draining
is rapidly growing into practice, and all the more recent
improvements in husbandry, and in implements of agriculture,
have been adopted. Considerable care is bestowed
on the management of live stock. About 3500
cows are pastured on the various farms, nearly half of
which number are milch-cows, and the value of cheese and
butter annually produced is estimated at above £7000.
More than 20,000 sheep are fed on the mountain pastures.
There is very little wood in the parish; the plantations
are chiefly larch and spruce fir, for which the soil appears
to be very favourable, and some larches planted on the
banks of the Afton have attained a very stately growth.
The annual value of real property in the parish is £14,117.
The SUBSTRATA are carboniferous limestone, coal, sandstone,
and ironstone, and the hills of transition rock and
greywacke. The limestone is found in abundance in
many parts, occurring in beds of great thickness: it is
of excellent quality, and the lime is much used for
cement, from its property of acquiring hardness under
water; there are several kilns on improved principles,
for burning the limestone, and the produce annually is
averaged at 200,000 bushels. The coal is likewise very
abundant, and of good quality; the quantity annually
raised is about 10,000 tons. In the coalfield at Craigman,
plumbago is found in irregular masses, embedded
in basalt, and has been wrought for a long time. The
sandstone is generally of a yellowish-white tint, but of
coarse texture, and contains various fossil impressions;
the ironstone occurs in detached masses and veins in
several parts of the coal formation, but has not yet been
worked. The villages are chiefly inhabited by persons
employed in agriculture and in the mines and quarries;
there is a post-office under that of Old Cumnock, and a
library which has a collection of more than a thousand
volumes is supported by subscription. A fair for cattle
is held on the Thursday before 'Whitsunday, and considerable
business is transacted at it.
For ecclesiastical purposes the parish is in the presbytery
of Ayr, synod of Ayr and Glasgow, and in the
patronage of the Marquesses of Bute. The minister's
stipend is about £'212, with a manse, and a glebe valued
at £24 per annum. The church, which is situated between
the villages of New Cumnock and Afton-Bridgend,
is an elegant and substantial structure in the later English
style, erected in 1834 by the heritors, and adapted for
1000 persons. There are places of worship for members
of the Free Church and Reformed Presbyterians. The
parochial school affords education to about 100 scholars;
the master has a salary of £34, with £.'jO fees, and a
bouse and garden. On the summit of a knoll are some
traces of the ancient castle of Blackbog, of which all the
masonry has been removed to furnish materials for
building, but of which the fosse may be still distinctly
seen. This castle was at one time the residence of the
Dunbars of Mochrum, and was frequently visited by Sir
William Wallace. On the lands of Sir John Cathcart
are also the ruins of an ancient baronial castle, near the
source of the river Nith. Upon the farm of Whitehill,
an earthen jar was dug up a few years since, containing
a great number of small silver coins of Edward I. of
England and Alexander of Scotland; they were all in
excellent preservation, and about the size of a groat. On
the farm of Polquhaise, a tumulus was lately removed,
in which a sarcophagus of large stones was found, containing
fragments of human bones and a small quantity
of black earth.