Kilmarnock
State (Burgh) Of Kilmarnock
| |
|---|---|
| Population | Expression error: "44170 (Census 2004)" must be numeric |
| OS grid reference | NS429381 |
| Council area | |
| Lieutenancy area | |
| Country | Scotland |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | KILMARNOCK |
| Postcode district | KA1-KA3 |
| Dialling code | 01563 |
| Police | Scotland |
| Fire | Scottish |
| Ambulance | Scottish |
| UK Parliament | |
| Scottish Parliament | |
Kilmarnock (Cill Meàrnaig in Scottish Gaelic, and Killie locally) is a large burgh in East Ayrshire, Scotland, with a population of 44,170.[1] It is roughly between Glasgow and Ayr. The River Irvine runs through its eastern section and the Kilmarnock Water passes through it, giving rise to the name 'Bank Street'.[2]
Origins
The name comes from the Gaelic cill (kirk) and the name of Saint Marnoch or Mernoc who is also remembered in the name of Portmarnock in Ireland, and Inchmarnock. It may come from the three Gaelic elements mo (my) Earn (name of the saint) and the diminutive ag, giving Church of my little Earn. It is believed by some that the saint founded a church there in 322. There are 12 Church of Scotland congregations in the town, plus other denominations. In 2005 the Rev David W. Lacy, minister of the town's Henderson Church, was elected Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland.
Palace Theatre
The theatre offers a year round programme of music, comedy, drama, dance and light entertainment, suitable for all the family. It also hosts many local band nights in various genres; From Indie to Metal and beyond. Many productions are also supported by an educational programme of events and workshops. The Palace also offers a yearly pantomime of national caliber, produced by Wish Theatre Company, creators of BBCTV's Tweenies.
Early development
The core of the early town appears to have lain around what is now the Laigh Kirk (Low Church), although the oldest parts of the current building are no earlier than the 17th century, extending north and northwest. A comparatively modest settlement until the industrial revolution, Kilmarnock extended considerably from around 1800 onwards. This resulted in formal, planned developments such as King Street, Portland Street, St. Marnock Street, and latterly John Finnie Street - the last often suggested as one of the finest Victorian planned streets in Scotland.
Industry and commerce
Kilmarnock's traditional industries were based around textiles and heavy engineering; Carpets (manufactured by BMK from the early 1900s, locomotives (Andrew Barclay and Sons) 1837-1970, and valves (Glenfield and Kennedy) a company still active to this date.
The carpets manufactured in Kilmarnock were internationally known for their quality and intricacy since the late 1800s. Many locations around the world chose to install BMK carpets. Famously, RMS Titanic was carpeted using carpets manufactured by Stoddard Carpets, the parent company and successor to BMK. Primarily due to a move by the UK market towards laminated and hard-wood flooring, but also partially due to a long decline in the industry in the area as well as cheaper, but noticeably less hard wearing foreign competition, carpet-making finally ceased in Kilmarnock in early 2005.
Archibald Finnie and his family lived at Springhill house (now a Nursing home) near the Grange Academy. They owned many coal mines, pits and other companies in Springside and other places. John Finnie Street is named after one of the family. Shoes were also a major product for some time, with Saxone having a factory in the town on the site of where the Galleon leisure centre now stands.
Kilmarnock had one of the earliest tram/railways in the world, running to Troon over the (recently restored) Laigh Milton Viaduct. The Glasgow and South Western Railway also set up their works here, producing nearly 400 locomotives by the time it was absorbed by the LMS in 1923. Some work continued but heavy repairs were sent to St Rollox. Locomotive repairs finished in 1952 and the works closed in 1959. Nevertheless locomotives are still made by Hunslett-Barclay, as well as the maintenance of existing diesel and electric multiple units. From 1946 tractors were also built in Kilmarnock, with a large Massey-Harris factory present on the outskirts of the town. It later became Massey-Ferguson before closing in 1978.
Glenfield and Kennedy still survives albeit with a fraction of its former workforce, which at its height numbered in the thousands. Kilmarnock however is still home to the world famous Johnnie Walker's brand Scotch whisky. On the outskirts of the town is Scotland's first privately run prison, HM Prison Kilmarnock.
Transport
In 1812 the famous Kilmarnock and Troon Railway opened, mainly to carry coal from the area to the harbour at Troon, but also carrying passengers.
In 1904, Kilmarnock had its own tramway system built. The name of the company was Kilmarnock Corporation Tramways. An electric power station was built in the south bank of the River Irvine at Riccarton. Overhead power lines and tram lines were laid. With continued upgrading and expansion, the tram network at its peak went from Ayr Road in Riccarton at its southerly point, to Knockinlaw Road in Beansburn in the North. At Kilmarnock Cross, the line had an easterly spur that stretched along London Road, through Crookedholm and finally terminating at Hurlford. There had been proposed extensions along Portland Road, up John Finnie Street, West Langlands Street and eventually towards Crosshouse, but by this time, increasing costs and the far more flexible motor bus had made inroads and the trams ceased operation in 1926 during the General Strike. The council decided not to restart the service and the infrastructure was soon dismantled. Today the town is served by Kilmarnock railway station.
Kilmarnock has excellent road links to Glasgow with the most recent via the M77. The latest upgrade was instigated in 2004, and involved extending the M77 a further 9 miles (15 km) south to the village of Fenwick, near Kilmarnock. This replaced the dangerous 4-lane unsegregated dual carriageway of the A77 that dropped to a two lane single carriageway for the bend just north of the Mearnskirk turn-off, and the A77/B764 (Eaglesham) junction (causing vehicles to queue dangerously on the outside lane on a bend to enter the B764 from the south) which were prone to fatal accidents. The scheme also included the Glasgow Southern Orbital (GSO) which bypasses the B764 Eaglesham Moor road to East Kilbride. It was completed in April 2005.
In 2006, Junction 2 was rebuilt in conjunction with the building of the adjacent Silverburn Shopping Centre. The northbound off-ramp and southbound on-ramp are now routed via the access roundabout to the shopping centre.
Much of the original section of the A77 that carried the traffic now accommodated by the M77 has been converted into a two lane single carriageway and a parallel cyclepath.
Kilmarnock lies on the main road between Edinburgh, Livingston, South Lanarkshire and Ayrshire (Irvine).
Economic depression and urban blight
The textile and manufacturing sectors across Scotland suffered significant decline in the postwar period, and in particular from the 1960s, in the face of greater foreign competition. Kilmarnock was no exception, with the closure or significant reduction of many of its traditional large employers; Glenfield and Kennedy, Massey Ferguson, BMK, and Saxone. Although significant attempts have been made this decline and attract new employers, Kilmarnock saw a continuing net loss of jobs in the five years to 2005.
Although traditionally a main shopping area for most of the surrounding districts, patterns have changed over the last 20 years; traditional centres such as Ayr have been joined by new developments at Braehead and East Kilbride.
This difficult economic climate is most visible in the town centre, the eastern part of which was extensively redeveloped with important historic buildings such as King Street Church and the Town Hall being demolished, and Duke Street (the link from Kilmarnock Cross to the Palace Theatre and out to the London Road) built-over. Although providing large-plan retail space necessary for the likes of BHS and Woolworths, the massing and scale of the buildings has been less than successful
More recently Portland Street, which formed the northerly part of the main shopping area, lay abandoned for many years due to a decline in retail trade and planning blight in the face of possible comprehensive redevelopment. The street has now been redeveloped, but has not regained its former degree of popularity, with a Gala Bingo and a J.D. Wetherspoons taking up much of one side of the street and the rest largely occupied by chain stores that can be found anywhere else in the area, although to be fair to Kilmarnock, this is not an issue that solely affects Kilmarnock as local businesses often struggle in modern times to be able to survive on the main streets.
Local media coverage suggests considerable discontent with the local authority, East Ayrshire Council, which is popularly viewed as being indifferent to the plight of the town centre. Although, in May 2007 the "peoples discontent" was more than evident when the Labour administration was replaced by S.N.P. It has to be said that S.N.P. were extremely vocal in their criticism of the Labour Administration - very often via the local press - and now are positioned to deliver the strategies and solutions, the people expect the promises to be met and early signs are promising. According to the local press in November 2007: the SNP have drawn up a Top Ten Hit List on "eyesore" buildings in the town and their owners. The SNP has revealed plans to crack down hard on property owners who have left their buildings fall into disrepair. A Plan of Action is being carried out to get something done with each of these sites. Many of the buildings in disrepair are beautiful and irreplaceable listed buildings such as the former ABC cinema (previously The Kings Theatre) in Titchfield Street.
In 2004 the Rough Guide to Scotland described the town as “shabby and depressed, saddled with some terrible shopping centres and a grim one-way system”. This assessment was perhaps a little harsh, as the town contains some fine parks e.g. Howard Park, Dean Park and Kay Park and residential areas including London Road, Dunonald Road, McLelland Drive and Howard Park Drive. The town also boasts a fine collection of gift shops, cafes, bars and restaurants within the very desirable Bank Street area whilst offering excellent retail options within it's retail-parks at Queens Drive and Glencairn Square.
Kilmarnock has failed to capitalise on Ayrshire's growing tourist industry, although a four-star hotel recently opened next to Rugby Park, the home of Kilmarnock F.C., and some new restaurants have opened in the town centre. It is hoped the new SNP administration will focus on addressing this particular failing.
Regeneration activities have been discussed for Kilmarnock town centre; in early 2006 an application to Historic Scotland's Conservation Area Regeneration Scheme was successful, and as at July 2006 an application under the Heritage Lottery Fund's Townscape Heritage Initiative Scheme was pending. Work has pretty much finished on a quality housing development on the gapsite of the former Kilmarnock Infirmary north of the town centre.
In the past there have been major efforts to improve the quality of life for residents in the town's worst housing estates, especially in parts of Shortlees, Longpark and Onthank. Though the physical rehabilitation of housing in these areas has only partly tackled the underlying problems of social exclusion, Onthank is arguebly that most successful area of regeneration in question.
Much new quality housing has been constructed on the northern fringes of the town to service the demand for commuter housing. The upgrading of the A77 route to Glasgow to the M77 motorway in 2005 has made Kilmarnock a more attractive town for commuters and recent house price increases have reflected this. With a journey time of 20 minutes from Kilmarnock to Glasgow (roughly half that of the existing train service (2007)), the M77 has transformed the link between Glasgow and Kilmarnock resulting in house-hunters from the Glasgow area now considering Kilmarnock as a viable location.
Education
Kilmarnock has 17 schools, 13 primary and 4 secondary. There is also a college with in the town, Kilmarnock College, formerly Kilmarnock Technical College.
The secondary schools are:
The primary schools are:
- St Columba's RC Primary
- St Matthews RC Primary
- Mount Carmel RC Primary
- Loanhead Primary
- Hillhead Primary
- Kirkstyle Primary
- Bellfield Primary
- Shortlees Primary
- Silverwood Primary
- New Farm Primary
- Annanhill Primary
- Gargieston Primary
- Onthank Primary
Sport and leisure
The town is host to a football club named Kilmarnock F.C., the oldest professional club in Scotland. Their home ground is the curiously named Rugby Park. The reason for the name of the ground is that when founded, the club played both football and rugby. The club has the largest supporter base of any team outwith Scotland's four major cities. Rugby Park was also one of the first football grounds in Scotland to have floodlights installed. In recent years the stadium has been modernised, firstly to bring it in line with the all-seating regulations, then rebuilt totally to make a new ground. It has also hosted international football matches as well as music concerts, the most recent one was when Elton John performed here in June 2005. Derek Olgavie is also a regular appearance in the Palace Theatre.
The town also regularly plays host to professional wrestling shows, promoted by the British Championship Wrestling promotion.
There are two golf courses in the town, Annanhill Golf Course and Caprington Golf Course, which has both an 18 hole course and a nine hole course. Both these courses are council owned and run by East Ayrshire Council.
The local Leisure complexes include the Galleon Centre: with a 25 metre swimming pool, baby pool, ice rink, squash courts, sauna, gym, games hall, bar area, bowling green and the New Northwest Centre (formerly the Hunter Centre) which contains an up-to-date community gym and various local medical facilities.
A leisurely stroll around the town will reveal many fine buildings. Kilmarnock boasts a large number of listed buildings. The Dick Institute, opened in April 1901, was severely damaged by fire only eight years after it opened. Some of the museums collections were lost in the fire. It reopened two years after the fire in 1911. The Dick Institute was used as an Auxiliary Hospital in 1917 during World War One.It is now shared by the Arts and Museums Service, and the Libraries, Registration and Information Service. The two Art Galleries and three Museum Galleries house permanent and temporary displays of Fine Art, Contemporary Art and Craft, Local and Industrial History and Natural Sciences. The Lending Library, Audio Library, Junior Library, Reference Library and Learning Centre are all housed on the ground floor.
Areas of Kilmarnock
- Altonhill
- Annanhill
- Ashdale - New development beside Kilmaurs Road
- Barnweill
- Beansburn
- Bellfield
- Bonnyton
- Caprington
- Gargieston
- Grange Estate
- Fisher Grange - New development
- Hillhead
- Howard Grange
- Loanhead
- Longpark
- Kirkstyle
- New Farm Loch
- Onthank
- Riccarton
- Shortlees
- Southcraig
- Townholm
- Wardneuk
- Wellpark
Culture
The first collection of work by Scottish poet Robert Burns, Poems, chiefly in the Scottish dialect was published here in 1786. It was published at the current site of the Burn's Mall, dedicated to his work. This edition is known as the Kilmarnock Edition.
Two areas of Kilmarnock "Ellerslie" and "Riccarton" are associated with William Wallace and his father. Claims have been made that this is the true origin of his birthplace, and recently these have been largely substantiated. The claim that Wallace was born in Elderslie near Paisley no longer seems tenable.
John Bowring, renowned polyglot and fourth governor of Hong Kong, was Member of Parliament for Kilmarnock in 1835.
In the Castle of Kilmarnock, Dean Castle [1], there is an exhibition of armour and weapons, and the Van Raalte collection of musical instruments.
Notable people from Kilmarnock
- Ian Deans, notable Scottish-Canadian NDP politician representing Hamilton, Ontario
- William and John Sloane, founders of W. & J. Sloane in New York City
- Margaret McDowall, member of the Scottish Swimming team and Silver medal winner at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics
- Hugh McIlvanney, Sports journalist
- William McIlvanney, writer, born 1936 [2]
- Sir John Boyd Orr, biologist, politician and Nobel Peace Prize winner
- Robert Dunsmuir (1825-1889), Hudson Bay Company coal miner and then coal baron, richest man in western Canada and builder of Victoria's Craigdarroch Castle, was born at Hurlford, south east of Kilmarnock.
- Scottish professional wrestler Adrian McCallum, better known by his ring name of Lionheart wrestles for almost every major promotion in the UK. www.bebo.com/lionheartera
- Scottish Canadian comedian Colin Mochrie (of "Whose Line is it Anyway?" fame) was born and spent the first several years of his life in Kilmarnock.
- Malcolm Wallace, father of Scotland's hero, William Wallace, was born in Riccarton.
- James Robinson who played William Wallace as a boy in the motion picture Braveheart.
- Mary Kelso born in Kilmarnock 1837 Great Grandmother of singing legend Judy Garland
- Cartoonist Malky McCormick
- Master craftsman Jamie Allan Kerr
- The Johnston twins, from Biffy Clyro
See also
- Lambroughton - various references to the local history of Kilmarnock.
- Laigh Milton viaduct - Scotland's oldest railway viaduct on the Kilmarnock & Troon Railway of 1811.
- River Irvine
- Kilmarnock railway station
Colin Mochrie - Notable Scottish-born Canadian who is a very well known improv comedian and actor.
Notes
Twin towns
Alès, France;
Herstal, Belgium;
Kulmbach, Germany;
Santa Coloma de Gramenet, Spain;
Sukhumi, Georgia
References
- Beattie, Frank (1994) Greetings from Kilmarnock, Ochiltree : R. Stenlake, ISBN 1-87207-441-3
- Brinkhoff , T. (2007) City Population: Great Britain and Northern Ireland: Scotland, Online statistics [accessed 8 July 2007]
- Malkin, John (1989) Pictorial History of Kilmarnock, Darvel : Alloway, ISBN 0-907526-42-X
- Smellie, Thomas (1898) Sketches of Old Kilmarnock, Section II, limited edition of 250 copies, Kilmarnock : Dunlop & Drennan
External links
- The History of Kilmarnock' by Archibald McKay, 2nd Edition, revised and enlarged, 1858. (has been digitised by Google, and it can be read on-line or downloaded as a 8.7Mb .pdf document)
- The Lordship & Barony of Kilmarnock
- Webcams of the town
- Kilmarnock FC
- 2001 Census Key Statistics for Settlements and Localities - Kilmarnock