KILWINNING, a parish and town (manufacturing),
in the district of Cunninghame, county of Ayr; containing,
with the villages of Dalgarvan, Doura, and Fergushill,
5'25I inhabitants, of whom 5971 are in the town,
3 miles (N. N. W.) from Irvine, and 3 (N. E. by E.) from
Saltcoats. This place, which is of great antiquity, derives
its name from the dedication of its original church
to St. Winnin, who came from Ireland in 715, to convert
the inhabitants of this part of the country to Christianity.
In 1140, a MONASTERY was founded in honour of this
saint by Hugh de Moreville, lord high constable of
Scotland, for monks of the Tyronensian order, whom he
introduced into it from the abbey of Kelso. This monastery,
which was amply endowed by the founder, and
enriched with large grants of land from several of the
Scottish monarchs, continued to flourish till the Dissolution,
when its revenues, notwithstanding previous
alienations, amounted to £880.3.4., exclusive of numerous
payments in kind. In 1296, the abbot of Kilwinning
swore fealty to Edward I. of England; in 1513, the
abbot of the monastery accompanied James IV. to the
battle of Flodden Field, where he was killed fighting by
the side of his sovereign. Of the other abbots none are
distinguished in history, with the exception of Gavin
Hamilton, the last, a zealous adherent of Mary, Queen
of Scots, whom he attended at the battle of Langside, and
for whom he afterwards appeared at York, as one of her
commissioners to treat with Elizabeth of England. The
site of the monastery, and the lands appertaining to it,
were, after the Reformation, granted by the crown to
Alexander Cunningham, son of the Earl of Glencairn,
who was appointed eommendator, and, during his tenure,
alienated a portion of the lands. In 159-, the remainder
of the lands belonging to the monastery were erected into
a temporal lordship, in favour of William Melville, who
subsequently transferred the lordship to Hugh, fifth Earl
of Eglinton, whose descendants are the present proprietors.
Of the once stately and venerable structure,
which was almost demolished at the Reformation, the
gable of the south transept, portions of the walls, with a
few of the finely-pointed arches, and an early-Gothic
gateway, are the only remains. A part of the abbey
church, a spacious cruciform structure, was repaired, and
appropriated as the parochial church till the year 1775,
when it was taken down, and the present church erected
on its site. The tower of the abbey church, a square
massive structure 103 feet high, and which was repaired
by the Earl of Eglinton in 1789, remained till the year
1814, when it fell from natural decay; and in the year
following, a similar tower, of nearly equal dimensions,
was erected in its place.
The introduction of freemasonry info Scotland appears
to have originated in the building of the monastery
of Kilwinning, for which purpose several of those masons
and artificers of Rome whom the pope had incorporated
for the promotion of ecclesiastical architecture, and invested
with peculiar privileges, were brought over from
the continent. The architect who superintended the
erection of the monastery, the masons who accompanied
him, and such of the workmen of the neighbourhood as
were qualified to assist them, were formed into a society,
of which the architect was elected master-mason. Similar
societies were gradually instituted in various parts of
the country, subordinate to that of Kilwinning, which, as
the oldest of the kind, retained an acknowledged preeminence,
and of which the master-mason was chosen as
grand master over all the others. After his return from
England, James I. of Scotland patronized the lodge of
Kilwinning, and presided as grand master of the order
for some time; subsequently delegating the election of a
grand master, generally a man of high rank, to the brethren
of the various lodges. James II., however, conferred
the office of grand master on William Sinclair,
Earl of Orkney and Baron of Roslin, and made the office
hereditary in his family; and his successors. Barons of
Roslin, held their courts or grand lodges at this place.
In 1736, Lord Roslin assembled thirty-two of these
lodges at Edinburgh, to whom he resigned all his hereditary
rights as grand master; and the grand lodge of
Scotland, consisting of representatives from all the other
lodges of the kingdom, has since that period been established there.
The TOWN is pleasantly situated on an acclivity, rising
gently from the west bank of the river Garnock. It
consists of one narrow street, nearly a mile in length,
from which diverge some lanes; and of some ranges of
detached houses. The houses are indifferently built, and
of antique appearance, with the exception of a few of
modern erection; but the environs abound with a variety
of beautiful scenery, in which the pleasure-grounds of
Eglinton Castle form a conspicuous and interesting feature.
A society for the practice of archery, that has
existed in the town since the year 1488, holds annual
meetings in July, which are numerously attended by
persons from all parts of the country: the chief prize is a
silver arrow, which is awarded by the society to the successful
competitor, who becomes captain for the following
year, and presides as master of the ceremonies at a ball
given on the occasion. Among the branches of trade
is the weaving of silk, w'oollen, and cotton goods, in which
about 400 looms are employed: there are three factories
for carding and spinning cotton-wool; and an extensive
tannery has been established for more than half a century.
Many of the inhabitants, also, are engaged in the
mines and collieries in the immediate vicinity; and in
the town are several sho])S well supplied with various
articles of merchandise. A sub-branch of the Commercial
Bank of Scotland has been opened; and fairs for
horses and cattle are held in the town on the 1st of February
and the first Wednesday in November. Facility
of communication is maintained l)y excellent roads, which
intersect the parish in diflVrent directions, and of which
eleven miles are turnpike. The (ilasgow and Ayr railway
passes the western extremity of the town, where it has a
station, and where it meets the line from Ardrossan. The
Kilmarnock branch of the (ilasgow and Ayr railway also
passes through llu' parish, and a railroad from the collieries
of Doura and Fcrgushill was some time since laid
down, which joins tlie Ardrossan railway about two miles
from Ardrossan harbour.
The PAKiSH is of very irregular form, about seven miles
in length and five in extreme breadth, and comprises
nearly 1 '2,000 acres, of which from 3000 to 4000 are
arable, and the remainder woodland, pasture, and moor,
whose proportions cannot be well ascertained. Its surface
rises in graceful undulations from the south-east to
the north-west, without attaining any great degree of
elevation; and is intersected by the beautiful valleys of
the Garnock and the Lugton, the former of which is
richly cultivated, and the latter thickly wooded. The
high lands command an extensive and beautifully-diversified
prospect, embracing the vale of Garnock, the woods
of Mountgreeiian and Eglinton, the towns of Saltcoats,
Stevenston, and Irvine, with the bay of Ayr, the rock of
Ailsa, the Mull of Cantyre, and the mountains of Arran.
Of the streams, the river Garnock, which has its source
among the hills of Kilbirnie, flows in a copious current
southward through the parish, and after passing the town,
pursues a remarkably sinuous course, and falls into the
sea near the mouth of the Irvine. The Lugton issues from
Loch Libo, in Renfrewshire, and taking a south-western
course, runs through the demesne of Mountgreenan and
the pleasure-grounds of Eglinton into the river Garnock,
about two miles from its influx into the sea. The Caaf,
a small tributary of the Garnock, after forming for a
short distance a boundary between this parish and that
of Dairy, flows along a narrow wooded dell at Craigh-
Head mill, where it forms a beautifully-picturesque cascade.
Ashgrove, the only lake, is about a mile and a half
north-west of the town, and partly in the parish of Stevenston;
it contains pike and perch, but is neither of
great extent nor distinguished by any peculiar features.
Salmon and salmon-trout are still found in the Garnock,
and the fisheries on this stream were formerly lucrative,
yielding a considerable rent; but from stake-fishing at
the mouth of the river, and other causes, they have been
for many years comparatively unproductive.
On the higher grounds, and in the central parts of the
parish, the soil is generally a clay of no great depth;
on the lands sloping towards the rivers, a richer loam;
and in other parts, light and sandy, but of great fertility.
The chief crops are oats and potatoes, with a moderate
proportion of wheat, and the usual grasses; the system
of husbandry has been gradually improving, and a due
rotation of crops is invariably observed. Much progress
has been made in surface-draining; the lands have been
inclosed with hedges of thorn, which are kept in good
order; and the farm-buildings, though of inferior erection,
are generally adapted to the size of the farms, which vary
from fifty to eighty acres. Great attention is paid to the
improvement of live stock: the sheep are mostly of the
black-faced breed, with some few of the Leicestershire
and South-Down kinds; the cattle are usually the Ayrshire,
and the horses of the Clydesdale breed. There
are very considerable remains of ancient wood, particularly
in Eglinton Park, where many fine specimens of
stately timber are to be found: among these are numerous
beeches of venerable growth, of which kind of tree
the planting has some years been discontinued. The
plantations, which are very extensive, and in a thriving
state, consist of ash, elm, oak, larch, and Scotch fir, and
contribute greatly to enrich the scenery. In this parish
the substrata are principally of the coal formation, with
bands of ironstone, limestone, and sandstone; and clay
for making bricks and draining-tiles is also found. The
coal, which occurs in several varieties, and of good quality,
is wrought at Doura, Fergushill, Redstone, and
Eglinton. The mines afford employment to about 250
men; and of the produce, exclusively of what is sold for
the supply of the neighbourhood, 50,000 tons are aimually
sent by the railroad to the harbour of Ardrossan, whence
they are shipped for Ireland and the Mediterranean.
There are also in constant operation two quarries of limestone,
and a quarry of excellent freestone, which together
employ a considerable number of men. Extensive
iron-works, called the Eglinton Iron-works, were erected
in the year 1845, by Messrs. Baird, of Gartsherrie; they
give employment to many persons, and have added to
the wealth of the surrounding district. The annual value
of real property in the parish is £15,261.
Eglinton Castle, the seat of the Earls of Eglinton,
descendants of Roger de Montgnmerie, a near relative
of William the Conqueror, whom he accompanied to
England, is a splendid castellated mansion, erected
about the year 1798 by Hugh, the twelfth earl, and
beautifully situated in an extensive park, about a mile
south-eastward of the town. The castle occupies a spacious
quadrangular area, defended at the angles with
circular turrets, and comprehending the ancient keep,
a round tower of great strength and lofty dimensions.
It contains numerous stately apartments superbly embellished,
to which an entrance is afforded from a magnificent
circular saloon, thirty-six feet in diameter,
rising to the roof, and lighted from an elegant dome.
The park, which comprises above 1200 acres, and is
well stocked with deer, is tastefully laid out in lawns,
parterres, and pleasure-grounds, through which the
river Lugton takes its winding course to the Garnock,
adding greatly to the beauty of the scenery of the
demesne, which is also embellished with more than 400
acres of thriving plantations, diversified with ancient
timber of majestic growth. A tournament was celebrated
within the grounds, on a truly magnificent scale,
by the present earl, in August 1839, and attracted a
large concourse of nobility and gentry from all parts of
the United Kingdom and from the continent. The lists
were formed in the gently-sloping grounds near the
castle, and inclosed an area 650 feet in length and 250
feet in breadth; and a splendid pavilion was erected
immediately behind the mansion, 375 feet long and
forty-five feet wide, for the accommodation of 2000
persons, who were courteously entertained on the occasion.
The Earl of Eglinton presided as lord of the
tournament; Lord Saltoun officiated as judge of the
lists; the Marquess of Londonderry as king of the
tournament; and Lady Seymour, attended by a numerous
train of ladies of high rank, and followed by the
Irvine archers, appeared as the Queen of Beauty.
Among the knights that entered the lists were the
Marquess of Waterford, the Earl of Craven, Viscount
Alford, Lord Glenlyon, Lord Cranstoun, the Earl of
Cassilis, and Prince Louis Napoleon Buonaparte. The
tournament continued for two days; and though more
than 80,000 spectators were assembled within the park,
which was thrown open indiscriminately to the public,
not the slightest damage of any kind occurred. Mountgreenan
House is an elegant modern mansion situated
in a well-planted demesne watered by the Lugton.
Monkcastle is a fine modern mansion in another part of
the parish, and Ashgrove is also a handsome residence.
For ECCLESIASTICAL pufposes the parish is within the
limits of the presbytery of Irvine, synod of Glasgow and
Ayr. The minister's stipend is £"266. 12., with a manse,
and a glebe valued at £14. 10. per annum; patron, the
Earl of Eglinton. Kilwinning church, situated in the
centre of the town, is a neat plain structure erected in
1771, and contains 1030 sittings. There are places of
worship for the United Presbyterian Church, the Free
Churcli, and Original Seceders. The parochial school
is well attended; the master has a salary of £34. 4. 4.,
with a house and garden, and the fees average about
£20 per annum. Near the village of Doura, a large
schoolroom, with a play-ground, and a dwelling-house
for a master, has been erected at the sole expense of
the Earl of Eglinton; and there are schools in connexion
with the collieries. The parish also has some
friendly societies and a savings' bank.