DALRYMPLE, a parish, in the district of Kyle,
county of Ayr, 5 miles (N. E.) from Maybole, and 6 (S.
E.) from Ayr; containing 909 inhabitants. This place
derives its name, in the Celtic language signifying " the
dale of the crooked water", from the situation of its
village on a bend of the river Doon. The barony, which
in ancient times was held by a family who took their
name from the lands, was, in the reign of David II.,
divided into two portions, and held by two families
named Dalrymple, descended from one common ancestor.
In 1371, on the resignation of one of the portionists,
John Kennedy of Dunure obtained from Robert
II. a charter granting him that half of the barony, and in
1377 another charter, conferring upon him the other
half; and the whole continued in the possession of his
descendants till 1684, after which the barony passed
into the hands of various proprietors. The parish is
about seven miles in length, from east to west, and three
miles in extreme breadth, and is boijtnded on the south
and west by the river Doon. It comprises 6700 acres.
of which 4200 are arable, 1900 meadow and hill pasture,
500 woodland and plantations, and about 100 water.
The surface, with the exception of that part in which
the village is situated, is exceedingly uneven, being interspersed
with rising grounds and small detached hills of
various elevation. Woodland, the most southern height,
commands a fine view of the surrounding country, including
the isles of Bute and Arran, the Mull of Cantyre,
Ailsa Craig, and Ben-Lomond; and from the summit of
Kirkmien, the highest of the elevations, the north coast
of Ireland may be distinctly seen in fair weather. There
are numerous springs in the parish, and several of them
possess mineral properties, though one only, on the lands
of Barbieston, is a chalybeate of moderate strength.
Of the lakes, the only one of much importance is that
of Martinham, which is about a mile and a half in
length, and less than a quarter of a mile in breadth; its
greatest depth is about twenty-six feet. On a beautifully-
wooded island in this lake, are the ruins of an
ancient building supposed to have been the mansionhouse
of the Martinham estate; they are 100 feet long
and thirty in breadth, and the walls, which are the chief
remains, are thickly overspread with luxuriant ivy. The
other lakes are Loch Snipe, Loch Kerse, and Loch Lindston.
All of them abound with pike, perch, and eels,
and are frequented by wild-duck, teal, widgeon, and other
aquatic fowl. From the loch of Martinham, which extends
a considerable way into the parish of Coylton, a
small burn flows into the river Doon. This river, celebrated
by the poet Burns, falls, after a course of about
thirty miles, into the Firth of Clyde. Salmon are found
in its stream, though in less number since the laying
down of stake-nets at its mouth, and some are taken
which weigh from ten to twenty pounds: sea and yellow
trout, par, eels, and pike are also found in its waters.
The SOIL is principally clay, though alternated with
sand, gravel, and loam: the clay is of various kinds, of
a red, blue, and whitish hue; the loam is found chiefly
near the river and around the lochs. There is very little
mossy land. The crops are oats and wheat, barley, bear,
potatoes, turnips, beet, and a small quantity of flax for
domestic use; the system of agriculture is in an advancing
state, and all the more recent improvements
have been introduced. There are several large dairyfarms,
all of which are well managed; about 4000 stones
of cheese are annually produced, of which a considerable
part is sent to market, and the remainder sold for the
supply of the immediate neighbourhood. The annual
value of real property in the parish is £5615. The
woods consist of oak, elm, ash, alder, birch, plane, and
lime; and the plantations, of larch, spruce, and Scotch
firs. In the old gardens at Skeldon are six stately oaks,
supposed to be more than 300 years old, and some remarkably
fine larches; and in the village are to be seen
a sycamore and horse-chesnut tree of extraordinary
dimensions. The substrata are limestone, red sandstone,
and conglomerate: the limestone occurs in masses not
more than a foot in thickness, and of great hardness;
the sandstone is of good quality for building, but not
extensively worked. Large boulders of trap and granite
are scattered over the surface of several of the lands.
Coal is found in the upper parts of the parish, and there
are two mines, but not at present in operation. The
seats are Skeldon and Hollybush, both of them handsome
residences seated in richly-planted demesnes.
The village is beautifully situated, and is uniformly
and neatly built on lands belonging to the Marquess of
Ailsa. A subscription library, a musical society, a curling
club, and a club in honour of the poet Burns, have
been established here, and are well attended. Several
of the inhabitants are occupied in the various trades
requisite for the wants of the neighbourhood; and a
woollen manufactory, employing about thirty persons,
has been erected on the bank of the Doon. Ecclesiastically
the parish is in the presbytery of Ayr, synod of
Glasgow and Ayr, and in the patronage of the Crown:
the minister's stipend is £'2'i9. 17-, with a manse, and a
glebe valued atfl^. 10. per annum. Dalrymple church,
situated near the village, was rebuilt on the foundation
of the ancient edifice, in 1764, but in a very insufficient
manner. The parochial school affords education to
about sixty scholars; the master has a salary of £30,
with £25 fees, and £8 in lieu of a house and garden.
There are some remains of the ancient castles of Kerse,
Skeldon, Barbieston, and others; that of Barbieston
was converted into a dwelling-house about fifty or sixty
years since. Part of a Roman road, supposed to be that
from Solway Firth to the Firth of Clyde, may be traced
through this parish into that of Ayr. A tripod of Roman
bronze was found in Lindston loch, near the line of this
road, about half a century since; and a flagon of earthenware
of Roman w orkmanship was found at Perclewan,
on the same line of road, in 1833. On the road from
Ayr to Maybole are three ancient circular forts, situated
on an elevated ridge, and all surrounded with trenches,
in which human bones and the horns of deer have been
discovered. A stone coffin, containing a skeleton of
large stature, was dug up in cutting through a hillock of
gravel to form a new- approach to Skeldon House; and
in the meadows of Barbieston, not far from the same
spot, were several cairns, on the removal of which, human
bones, heads of pikes, and spears were found. In
a grave in the churchyard, several silver coins of James I.
were found a few years since; and silver coins of Edward
I. and Edward III. were discovered by the plough,
in a field near the village, in 1835. The poet Burns,
alternately with his brother, attended the parochial
school of Dalrymple.