KILMAURS, a parish and burgh of barony, in
the district of Cunninghame, county of Ayr; containing,
with the villages of Crosshouse, Gatehead,
Kirkton, Knockentiber, and Milton, 261" inhabitants, of
whom 1035 are in the burgh, 2 miles (N. N. W.) from
Kilmarnock. This place, the name of which is obviously
derived from the dedication of its cliurch to St. Maura,
was granted in the twelfth century to the ancestor of
the Glencairn family, who came from England in the
reign of Malcolm IV., and assumed the surname of Cunninghame
from the manor. The family obtained additional
lands from Robert Bruce; and Sir William Cunninghame
having enlarged his possessions by marriage
about the beginning of the fifteenth century, his descendant
Alexander was created Earl of Glencairn by
James II. in 144S. William, the ninth earl, for his
zealous attachment to the royal cause during the usurpation
of Cromwell, was made chancellor of Scotland;
he died in 1664. Upon the death of John, the twentyfifth
earl, without issue, in 1796, the title became extinct;
and the lands are now divided among several proprietors.
The TOWN of Kilmaurs is pleasantly situated on the
north bank of the river Carmel, and consists of two
streets which run transversely. It is inhabited chiefly
by persons engaged in making shoes, or weaving. At a
distant period, the place was celebrated for the manufacture
of cutlery; and the clasp knives, or whittles,
made here were in great repute: " as sharp as a Kilmaurs
whittle" is to this day a common saying in the
west of Scotland. The weekly market has fallen into
disuse; but fairs, chiefly for cattle, are held in June and
at Martinmas. A branch office, under the post-office at
Kilmarnock, has been established; and facility of communication
is maintained by the turnpike- road from
Stewarton to Kilmarnock, and by good statute roads
which intersect the parish. The branch of the Glasgow
and Ayrshire railway that leads to Kilmarnock, &c.,
also passes through the parish, in which terminates the
Busby branch, leading from Irvine, on the main line of
the Glasgow and Ayrshire railway, to the Kilmarnock
branch. Kilmaurs was erected into a burgh of barony
by charter of James V., granted to the Earl of Glencairn
in J 527; and the government is vested in two bailies,
and a council of burgesses, who derive their qualification
from the tenure of certain lands leased to them in free
burgage by charter of Cuthbert, Earl of Glencairn, and
his son. Lord Kilmaurs. The magistrates have all the
jurisdiction of royal burghs, both in civil and criminal
cases, but hold no regular courts, the number of causes
not exceeding two or three in a year. There are no exclusive
privileges enjoyed by the burgesses; and the only
patronage is that of a vote in the appointment of the
parochial schoolma.ster, which they have merely as being
joint-trustees on a half-tenement of land left for the endowment
of the teacher. The town-hall, standing in the
centre of the main street, is a small structure with a
steeple; it contains the necessary arrangements for
transacting the public business of the burgh.
The I'AHiSH, which is situated on the confines of the
district of Kyle, is partly bounded on the south by the
river Irvine, which separates it from the parish of Dundonahl,
and on the west l)y the (jarrier l)urn, which
divides it from the parish of Drcghorn. It is nearly
six miles in lengtli, and two miles and tlirec-quarters in
extreme breadth, comprising an area of almost 6000
acres, of whi( h the whole, except three acres, is arable
and pasture in about equal portions. The surface is
generally undulated, rising in some places into hills of
moderate elevation, whose summits are richly wooded,
and command interesting views over the surrounding
country, which is in a high state of cultivation. The
river Carmel, which has its source in the adjoining parish
of Fenwick, divides this parish into two nearly
equal parts; it then receives the waters of the Garrier
burn, and flows westward into the Irvine. The soil is
exuberantly fertile, producing abundant crops of wheat,
beans, barley, oats, and potatoes; and the system of
husbandry has been brought to great perfection. The
lands have been drained and inclosed; the farm-buildings
are substantial and commodious, and all the more
recent improvements in agricultural implements have
been extensively adopted. The pastures are luxuriantly
rich; the cattle reared in the parish are chiefly of the
Ayrshire breed, and the dairies, whether for extent or
management, are not surpassed by any in the county.
Large quantities of butter and cheese of excellent quality
are produced, the latter of the Dunlop kind; and both
obtain a ready sale in the markets. The annual value
of real property in the parish is returned at £12,970.
Though not extensive, the plantations are in a very flourishing
state, and, from their situation generally upon the
hills and rising grounds, add much to the beauty of the
scenery. The main substratum is coal, of which there are
several mines in operation in the parish and the immediate
vicinity; the principal of these is at Gatehead, where
a considerable number of persons are regularly employed.
The chief seats in the parish are, Kilmaurs House, an
ancient mansion, formerly the seat of the Cunninghame
family; and Thornton House, Carmel- Bank, Craig, and
Tour, all modern mansions beautifully situated.
For ECCLESIASTICAL purposes the parish is within the
bounds of the presbytery of Irvine, synod of Glasgow
and Ayr. The minister's stipend amounts to about
£'260, with a manse, and a glebe of three and a half
arable acres j patroness. Lady Mary Montgomerie. Kilmaurs
church, a very ancient structure, was originally
founded in 1403, by Sir William Cunninghame, who endowed
it with lands for the support of a provost, seven
prebendaries, and two choristers, which establishment
was dissolved at the Reformation. The structure was
repaired in 1804, and contains 550 sittings. In the
aisle, which was the sepulchral chapel of the Glencairn
family, is a monument to the memory of William, the
ninth earl, chancellor of Scotland. There are places of
worship for members of the Free Church and the United
Presbyterian Church. The parochial school is well
attended; the master has a salary of £'25. 13., with a
house and garden, and the fees. John Norrie in 1699
left a half-tenement of land for the benefit of the schoolmaster,
and in I7O8 Sir Hugh Cunninghame of Craigend,
at one period lord provost of Edinburgh, left a tenement
of laud, the rental of which was to be applied in educating
the children of the poor, the scholars on the fund
to be selected by the magistrates and minister of the
parish. Among the monuments of antiquity are the
remains of some tumuli, one of which, near Carmel-
Bank, whose fosse may still be traced, is supposed to
have been a place for administering justice. In the year
1845, in excavating a hillock on the farm of Water-park,
several stone-chests were discovered, measuring two feet
and a half by a foot and a half, and containing calcined
human bones; the relics, no doubt, of some battle that
was fought in the locality. The ruins of Busby Castle,
an ancient scat of the Barclay family, are now the property
of the Duke of rortland.