DALRY, a parish and town (manufacturing), in the
district of CuNNiNGHAME, county of Ayr, 5 miles (S.W.)
from Beith, and 7 (N. N. E.) from Saltcoats; containing,
according to the last census, 4791 inhabitants. This
place derives its name, in the Gaelic language signifying
the " king's valley", from its situation in the vale of
Garnock, which formed part of the royal demesnes.
Previously to the year 1608 the town was an inconsiderable
village, consisting only of five or six decent
houses and a few straggling cottages, and containing
scarcely one hundred inhabitants. It owes its origin
and increase to the erection of the parish church at this
place, towards the commencement of the seventeenth
century, when the two ancient churches, becoming dilapidated,
were abandoned. The town is beautifully situated
on a gentle eminence rising from the right bank of
the river Garnock, and between the rivers Rye and Caaf,
which flow into the Garnock above and below the town.
It consists principally of five streets, three of which terminate
in an open area nearly in the centre. The houses
are regularly and well built, and many of them are of
handsome appearance; the streets are lighted with gas
by subscription of the inhabitants, for which purpose a
company was formed, and works erected, in 1834. There
are two good bridges of stone across the Garnock, of
two and three arches respectively; and bridges of one
arch each have been erected over the rivers Rye and
Caaf.
The weaving of silk for the manufacturers of Glasgow
and Paisley is the principal occupation of the inhabitants
of the town, 500 persons being constantly thus engaged;
and as they are employed chiefly in the superior description
of articles, they have not been subjected to the
depression occasioned by the introduction of powerlooms,
which are not adapted to the finer kinds of work.
A great number of females, also, are employed in sewing
and embroidering muslins, for the Glasgow and Paisley
markets, which are celebrated for Ayrshire needlework;
and a mill originally erected for spinning cotton has been
enlarged, and converted to the spinning of woollen-yarn
for the making of carpets. There is likewise a manufactory
for wooden plates, bowls, ladles, and other articles
of the kind, the machinery of which is driven by a
steam-engine of two-horse power. The town contains
numerous handsome shops, amply supplied with every
requisite for the supply of the inhabitants and of the
neighbourhood. A public library is supported by subscription,
and has more than 1000 volumes: a church
hbrary, also supported by subscription, in connexion
with the parochial school, contains 600 volumes; and
there is a library belonging to the congregation of the
United Presbyterian Synod. The Ardrossan Farmers'
Society hold their annual exhibitions occasionally in the
town, and the Ayrshire Agricultural Association meet
alternately here and at Kilmarnock. Six fairs are annually
held, but one only is of any importance, which
takes place on the last day of July, and was formerly
one of the most extensive horse-fairs in the west of Scotland;
it is chiefly for horses and cattle, but comparatively
little business is transacted.
The PARISH is ten miles in length and from three to
eight in breadth, and comprises 19,046 acres, of which
12,287 are arable, 60S9 pasture and waste, and 6/0
woodland and plantations. Its surface is pleasingly
varied. A rich and fertile valley, along which the river
Garnock pursues its winding course, intersects the parish
nearly in the centre. On the western side of this valley
the grounds rise by a gradual ascent towards the northwest
boundary, and terminate in a ridge of hills, the
highest of which has an elevation of 1200 feet above
the sea. The lands on the eastern side are interspersed
with hills of various height, of which Baidland and
Caerwinning are the chief, the former having an elevation
of 946, and the latter of 634 feet. The river Garnock
rises in the parish of Kilbirnie, flows for seven
miles through this parish, and after receiving in its
course numerous tributary streams, of which the Rye
and the Caaf are the principal, falls into the sea at Irvine.
The Rye has its source in the parish of Largs, and runs
through a deep and richly-wooded dell into this parish.
The Caaf rises on the confines of Kilbride and Largs,
and forcing its way through a basaltic rock, in which it
has worn for itself a passage, enters a deep and rocky
glen, where, its course being obstructed by huge blocks
of stone, it forms a romantic cascade, falling from a
height of twenty-four feet, in one unbroken column about
twenty feet in breadth, between two large masses of
rock. There are numerous springs of excellent water in
the parish, and also some possessing mineral properties,
one of which, at Loans Bridge, is a strong chalybeate,
and one at Maulside powerfully efficacious in scorbutic
affections. The vale of the Garnock is thought to have
been anciently an extensive lake, reaching from this
place to Johnstone in the county of Renfrew, and of
which the lochs of Kilbirnie and Castle-Semple formed
a part; a supposition in some degree rendered probable
from the number of trees that have been found embedded
in the soil of the valley.
The SOIL is generally a thin cold retentive clay, with
a portion of rich loam along the banks of the Garnock;
in some parts, of more adhesive clay, with a large extent
of moss; and in the uplands, of a light and dry quality.
The progress of the plough is impeded by vast numbers
of boulders, of which, though great quantities have been
removed at various times, many still remain. Some of
the mosses are of great depth, and in all of them oak,
birch, and hazel trees are found prostrate. The crops
are wheat, oats, barley, beans, potatoes, and flax: the
system of agriculture is in an advanced state, and much
waste land has been brought into cultivation. The
dairy-farms are extensive and well managed; about
1400 milch-cows are kept, mostly of the Cunninghame
breed, and the average quantity of cheese, to the making
of which particular attention is paid, exceeds 35,000
stones annually. In general the sheep are of the blackfaced
Linton breed, with a few of a breed between the
Cheviot and Leicestershire. The annual value of real
property in the parish is £16,314. The plantations, especially
those on the lands of Blair, which have been
chiefly formed on steep rocky banks within the last
forty or fifty years, are in a very thriving condition, and
consist of oak, ash, beech, chesnuts, and willow, and of
silver and spruce firs, and larch. Those around the
house of Blair contain several fine specimens of luxuriant
growth, among which are a Spanish-chcsnut tree
and some plane-trees; and in the grounds are various
kinds of evergreens, including Portugal laurels and rhododendrons
of unusual size. The plantations on the
lands of Maulside are also remarkably fine. The substrata
of the parish comprise sandstone, limestone, and
coal, and the hills are mostly claystone-porphyry, greenstone,
and basalt; jasper is found in the porphyry, hornstone
in the bed of the Caaf, and agate in that of the
Rye. In the hill of Baidland, a vein of cannel coal has
been discovered of the thickness of six feet, exceedingly
inflammable, and, when burnt, emitting a strong sulphureous
smell. Coal is wrought in various parts of
the parish. Limestone is extensively quarried, not only
for the supply of the parish, but for that of the adjoining
districts; and there are three lime-kilns, at which great
quantities of lime are burnt, and sold at a very moderate
price. But more valuable than these minerals is the
ironstone discovered since the opening of the Ayr railway,
and which is now wrought to a great extent; ironworks
have been erected on the estate of Blair, and
others are contemplated. The discovery of most valuable
strata of clay and blackband-ironstone has increased
the value of property, and infused a spirit of enterprise
that was previously altogether unknown here. Blair
House is a spacious mansion, situated in a richlyembellished
demesne; a handsome residence has been
erected at Swinridgemuir, and there is also a good house
on the lands of Pitcon. Facility of intercourse is afforded
by excellent roads; and the railway from Glasgow to Ayr,
Kilmarnock, &c., has a station at Dairy.
For ecclesiastical purposes the parish is in the presbytery
of Irvine, synod of Glasgow and Ayr, and in the
patronage of W. Blair, Esq.: the minister's stipend is
£231. 10., with a manse, and a glebe valued at £24 per
annum. Dairy church, erected in 1771, and thoroughly
repaired in 1821, is a plain edifice adapted for 870 persons.
There are places of worship for the Free Church
and United Presbyterian Synod. The parochial school
affords a good course of education; the master has a
salary of £32, with £65 fees, and a house and garden.
There are considerable remains of an ancient fortification
on the summit of Caerwinning hill, consisting of
three concentric circular ramparts of stone, inclosing an
area about two acres in extent, and surrounded by a
fosse which may still be traced. The walls, about ten
feet in thickness, have been nearly destroyed by the
removal of the stones, at different periods, for fences and
other uses. The Scottish forces are said to have been
encamped here previously to the battle of Largs. There
were formerly some remains, also, of a square fort on a
precipitous rock called Aitnach Craig, on the bank of
the Rye; but it has been totally destroyed. An artificial
mound near the town, named Courthill, of conical
form, and grown over with grass, was once the place for
dispensing justice; and various tumuli have been discovered,
in some of which were human bones. Four
urns containing human bones have been found on the
lands of Linn, near the site of an ancient chapel. An
urn, also, containing calcined bones and ashes, has been
discovered near Blair House.