MANSFIELD, a village, in the parish of New-Cumnock,
district of Kyle, county of Ayr, 1 mile (N. E.
by E.) from New Cumnock; containing 122 inhabitants.
This village is situated a short distance north of the
river Nith, and of the high road from New Cumnock to
Kirkconnel, and is the seat of a considerable colliery.
The coal formation here is an isolated basin, in which
six seams of coal have been ascertained, in the whole
about forty feet in thickness; the uppermost seam is a
fine cannel coal, two feet and a half thick, and is much
in demand for making gas. Lime-kilns, on an excellent
plan, have been erected by Sir Charles G. S. Menteath,
Bart. A railway, nearly three miles in length, has been
laid down to the boundary of the counties of Dumfries
and Ayr, to facilitate the transport of the coal and lime
to suitable markets. A mill for carding wool was erected
some time since by Mr. Hunter, at which most of the
home-spun wool is carded. The meadow-lands around
the village have latterly been much improved; in its
neighbourhood is Mansfield Hall, the property of Sir
Charles Menteath.