MONKTON-AND-PRESTWICK, a parish, in the
district of Kyle, county of Ayr, 4 miles (N. N. E.) from
Ayr; containing 1933 inhabitants, of whom 1152 are in
the ancient burgh-of-barony of Prestwick. Monkton
and Prestwick formerly consisted of one district under
the name of Prestwick, which, on the institution of the
abbey of Paisley, was granted to that establishment by
its founder, Walter, son of Alan, the High Steward of
Scotland, in 1163; and the two churches here, of which
one was dedicated to St. Nicholas and the other to St.
Cuthbert, are in the chartulary of the abbey both styled
churches of Prestwick. Subsequently, however, the parishes
assigned to the two churches respectively occur
under the designations of Prestwick de Burgo and
Prestwick Monachorum. The inhabitants of the former
place had a charter of incorporation at an early period,
conferring all the privileges of a burgh, which were ratified
by a charter of James VI. setting forth that Prestwick
had been a free burgh of barony for more than
600 years. This second charter gives the inhabitants
power to elect a provost, bailie, and other ollicer.s, and
to hold a weekly market, and assigns to the freemen a
participation of the lands in equal portions. The records
of the abbey of Paisley describe the church of Monkton
as a rectory, and it continued to be such till the time of
the Reformation; that of Prestwick eventually became
a chapel. The precise time of the union of the parishes
docs not appear.
The I'Aiusii is about three miles and a half in length
and tlic .same in breadth. It is bounded on the west by
the Firth of Clyde, and comprises 30.52 acres, of which
22/0 are arable, sixty-three acres woodland and planta-
tions, and the remainder pasture. The surface is generally
level, with a gentle rise towards the north-east, and
the coast is also flat with the exception of occasional
sand hills. There are two small streamlets, of which
the larger, called the Pow burn, rises in the parish of
Craigie, and flowing through the lands, and turning two
mills in its course, falls into the sea near the parish of
Dundonald. The scenery is not much varied, and but
little enriched with wood. Along the coast the soil is
light and sandy; in other parts, of richer quality, consisting
of deep loam; and in some a stiff tenacious clay.
The crops are wheat, oats, barley, potatoes, turnips, and
beans. The system of husbandry is greatly improved:
furrow-draining has been extensively practised, and much
unproductive land has been rendered fertile; the farmbuildings
are of a very superior order, and all the more
recent improvements in agricultural implements have
been adopted. Coal, green whinstone, and freestone are
the principal substrata. The coal occurs in two seams,
the upper of which lies at a depth of about six fathoms
from the surface, and, having been wrought for more
than five-and-thirty years, is now exhausted: the other,
at a depth of forty fathoms, has also been worked for
more than twenty or thirty years; it is of harder and
better quality, but the works are at present discontinued.
The freestone, which is found both of a white and a red
colour, is of excellent quality. The annual value of real
property in Monkton and Prestwick is £4942. In this
parish the seats are, Adaratown, erected in the thirteenth
century by the family of Blair; Orangefield; Fairfield,
formerly Monkton-Mains; and Ladykirk. The village
of Monkton, anciently Filla Monachorum, is rural; a few
of the inhabitants are employed in hand-loom weaving.
The Glasgow and A)'r railway has stations here and at
Prestwick.
Ecclesiastically the parish is within the bounds of the
presbytery of Ayr and synod of Glasgow and Ayr: the
minister's stipend is £203. 16. 10., with a manse, and
a glebe valued at £35 per annum. Both the two old
churches, which are of great antiquity, are still remaining,
but they are no longer used for the performance of divine
service. A new church, in a centrical situation,
was erected at an expense of more than £2500, and
completed and opened for public worship in 1837; it is
a substantial and handsome edifice in the later English
style, and is adapted for a congregation of 825 persons.
The members of the Free Church have a place of worship.
Tlie parochial school, situated in the village of
Monkton, affords education to about 130 scholars; the
master has a salary of £34, with £33 fees, and a house
and garden. There is a school in the village of Prestwick,
which gives instruction to about fifty children;
the master has the use of the old town-house for a
schoolroom, and receives a gratuity annually in lieu of
a dwelling-house, in addition to the fees. On the lands
of Ladykirk are the remains of a chapel dedicated to
the Virgin Mary, which in ancient documents is styled
the chapel of "Ladykirk in Kyle"; the building was
quadrilateral, with turrets, one of which is remaining.
Between the villages of Prestwick and Prcstwick-Toll
are the ruins of an old hospital called Kingcase, traditionally
said to have been founded by Robert Bruce for
lepers, in consequence of his having, when affected with
the disease, received considerable benefit from drinking
the water of a spring at that place.