KILBRIDE-WEST, a parish, in the district of
CuNNiNGHAME, county of Ayr, 5^ miles (N. W. by W.)
from Saltcoats; containing 1885 inhabitants. This
place derives its name from the dedication of its church
(anciently an appendage of the monastery of Kilwinning)
to St. Bride, a virgin occupying a distinguished rank in
the Scottish calendar. In 1'263, it was the scene of a
severe conflict with a party of Norwegians that had made
a descent on the coast of Largs under Haco, who was
here attacked and defeated by a body of Scottish forces
commanded by Sir Robert Boyd, ancestor of the Kilmarnock
family. As a reward for his conduct in this
instance, Boyd obtained a grant of land in Cunninghame;
and his services as the firm adherent of Bruce procured
him the lands of Kilbride and Ardncil, in this parish.
The PARISH is advantageously situated on a peninsular
projection in the Firth of Clyde, below the Cumbray
islands, the smaller of which, for all ecclesiastical purposes,
is included within its limits. It is six miles in
length and two and a half in average breadth, and comprises
about 1 1,000 acres, of which 7500 are aral)le, and
iJOOO pasture and waste. The surface is diversified with
hills forming part of the continued chain of the Renfrewshire
range, and the highest of which within the parish,
ailed Kamc Hill, has an elevation of nearly 1000 feet
above the level of the sea. There are also many hills of
smaller elevation, partly cultivated, and some nearly to
their summit; arid others in detached situations, the
chief of which are Law, Ardiieil, and Tarbert. The coast
is |f)W, consisting of shelving rocks of sandstone, with
the exception of the promontory of I'ortincross, which
is precipitous, terminating in a point called Ardneil Bank,
or Goldbcrric Head. The sands of Southanan extend
for two miles in the north of the parish. Immediately
to the south of them, the coast for nearly a mile is formed
of the promontory, a wall of rock rising to the height of
300 feet, and separated from the sea only by a narrow
slip of verdant land. This majestic rampart, whose base
is thickly studded with coppice wood interwoven with
oak, ash, hazel, and hawthorn, has a romantic grandeur
of appearance as seen from the water: three detached
cliffs that rise above the general height have obtained
the appellation of the Three Sisters. To the south of
the promontory is the bay of Ardneil, of semicircular
form, the shores of which, a fine compact sand, afford a
delightful promenade, with every facility for bathing, for
which this part of the coast is peculiarly adapted. The
Gourock, Kilbride, Southanan, and Fairly burns, which
have their rise in the eastern confines, flow in various
directions through the parish into the Firth. The Southanan,
in part of its course between banks richly wooded,
forms a pleasingly picturesque cascade; the others are
not distinguished by any particular features. Numerous
springs are also found in different parts, affording an
abundant supply of excellent water.
In the lower lands near the coast the soil is in some
places a rich loam, in others sandy and gravelly; the
higher parts are of very inferior quality, generally thin,
cold, and spongy moor, with the exception of some portions
around the bases of the hills, which are of loam
mixed with calcareous earth. The crops are wheat, oats,
barley, a small quantity of rye, beans, peas, potatoes,
turnips, and carrots; but, as well from the nature of the
soil, as from the situation of the parish in a wide manufacturing
district, most of the farms are appropriated to
the dairy. The milch-cows, which receive great care
and attention from their owners, number about 600, and
the other cattle, 800: about ^500 sheep, chiefly of the
black-faced breed, are pastured on the moorlands and
hills; and about 220 swine are kept. The chief produce
of the dairy is cheese, of which large quantities are sent
to the neighbouring markets, where it is sold under the
appellation of Dunlop cheese. The system of agriculture
is advanced, and the implements of husbandry generally
of the most approved kind. The farm-buildings, which
were formerly of a very inferior description, have in
many instances been rebuilt in a substantial and commodious
style, and on most of the farms threshing-mills
have been erected; the lands are all inclosed with hedges
and ditches in the lower parts of the parish, and in some
of the higher parts with stone dykes. In this parish the
woods are of small extent, not more than 150 acres, and
of these about one-third is coppice wood; the remainder
consists of oak, ash, plane, elm, and beech, with a little
fir. On some of the lands are fine specimens of old
timber; but they are comparatively few, and in general
the proper management of plantations is little regarded,
though a great quantity of land, which from its quality
is incapable of cultivation, might, on account of its favourable
situation, be advantageously appropriated to
this use. The substrata arc, sandstone of brown and
red colour, whinstone porphyritic and basaltic, some
slight veins of limestone, and a white sandstone intermixed
with quartz. The annual value of real property in
the parish is £<)805.
UncUrhauk, a pleasing villa, erected near the site of
the old mansion-house of the barony of Southanan, is
finely situated in a richly-wooded demesne. Crosby has
been repaired in good taste. Huntcrston is beautifully
situated at some distance, towards the sea, from the ancient
mansion-house of the same name, which is now
occupied by a tenant, and of which the square tower is
still in good preservation. The village stands about a
mile from the sea, in a small secluded vale watered by
the Kilbride burn, which in its course gives motion to
five different mills, two of them for grinding oats, one
for bark, one for grinding charcoal, and one for dressing
flax. There is a public library, supported by subscription;
and a post-office has been established. Part of
the inhabitants of the parish are occupied in weaving for
the manufacturers of Glasgow and Paisley, in which
more than 100 hand-looms are at work; and a portion
of the females are engaged in sewing and embroidering
muslins. A few lobsters are taken in the season, and
sent to the Glasgow market, and herrings are occasionally
taken in large quantities; the other fish are cod, whiting,
mackerel, &c., but they are not in any great abundance.
The streams that flow through the parish abound in
trout of good quality. A small quay was constructed at
Portincross some years since, at the expense of the proprietor;
it is accessible at high water to vessels of forty
or fifty tons. The Clyde steamers from Glasgow to
Ardrossan and Ayr pass by the coast, and facility of intercourse
with the neighbouring towns is maintained by
good roads, of which the turn pike- roads to Greenock
and Portpatrick run through the whole length of the
parish, and a line from the village communicates with the
road to Glasgow at the village of Dairy.
Ecclesiastically the parish is in the presbytery of Irvine,
synod of Glasgow and Ayr, and in the patronage
of the Earl of Eglinton: the minister's stipend is £20'2.
12., with a manse, and a glebe valued at £13. 12. per
annum. Kilbride church, situated on a gentle eminence
in the centre of the village, was rebuilt in 1732; subsequent
additions have been made to it, and within the
last few years an aisle has been erected by voluntary
subscription. It is now adapted for a congregation of
800 persons. There are places of worship for members
of the Free Church and the United Presbyterian Church.
The parochial school affords instruction to about 130
children; the master has a salary of £27. 17- 8., with
£40 fees, and a house and garden. Three friendly societies
tend to diminish the number of applications for parochial
relief. Along the steep banks opposite the sea
are several circular mounds, at unequal distances, called
the Castle Hills; the area on the summit, about forty
feet in diameter, is inclosed with walls of undressed
stone. Their origin is uncertain; by some they are
ascribed to the Danes, by others referred to a more remote
period. Tumuli have been explored in various
places, containing urns with calcined bones and ashes;
and in forming the new line of road along the coast,
some years since, four entire urns, rudely formed of
coarse red clay, were dug out of a stratum of gravel. A
silver brooch, of exquisitely delicate workmanship, and
bearing an inscription in Runic characters, was found at
Hunterston a few years ago. The walls of the ancient
castle of Portincross are still tolerably entire, and form
a singularly romantic object, standing on a ledge of rock
projecting into the sea; it is supposed to have been a
residence of the Scottish kings. One of the large ships
of the Spanish armada sank near the promontory, in ten
fathoms of water; and an iron cannon which, with
others, was recovered from the wreck, is still remaining
on the beach: the arms of Spain, and a crown engraved
on it, may be faintly traced. On an eminence overlooking
the village of Kilbride are the remains of a very
stately tower called Law Castle, the walls of which are
in perfect preservation. In the parish are also some
remains of an ancient chapel, round which are some fine
old trees, and which are not far distant from the ruin of
Fairlie Castle in the parish of Largs. Dr. Robert Simson,
professor of mathematics in the university of Glasgow,
and the well-known translator of Euclid, had some
property in the parish. General Robert Boyd, lieutenant-
governor of Gibraltar during the siege of that fortress
in 1782, was born here; and it is supposed that
John Hunter, the celebrated surgeon, was remotely descended
from the Hunterston family of this place.