Fenwick

	Notes on the way through Ayrshire - 100 years ago FENWICK PARISH. The village of Fenwick stands north west of Loudoun. In the Churchyard is a monument to Captain John Paton of Meadowhead, the Covenant hero and martyr, who was interred in Greyfriars’ Churchyard, Edinburgh; the tombs of several other martyrs of less note, and of John Howie, author of the "Scots Worthies." The picturesque old Parish Church, kept still in good repair, may be regarded as sacred to the memory of the Rev. William Guthrie, celebrated Covenant preacher, author of "The Christian’s Great Interest." He was ordained minister of Fenwick in 1644. John Fulton, self-taught astronomer and mathematician, was born at Fenwick, 1800, and bred a shoemaker. Died in 1854. See his orrery in Kelvingrove Museum, Glasgow; it is one of the wonders of the world. Lochgoin farmhouse, far away on the wild moors near the north-east boundary of the parish and of the county, five or six miles from Fenwick by road, is famous as the birthplace and residence of John Howie, and as a refuge for Covenanters. Above the door of the old one-story dwelling are the dates, 1178, 1710, 1816, indicating when it was built and re-built by the generous and patriotic family of Howie, whose residence it has been all the time. During the long years of persecution it was frequently visited by the enemy in search of refugees, and was plundered twelve times. John Howie, born 1736, was bred to working on the farm, where he remained during his lifetime, devoting his evening: to self-education and writing the lives of his country’s martyrs. He published the " Scats Worthies" in 1781; collected a valuable library and a few relics of Covenant heroes. Died in 1793. About two miles south-south-west of Lochgoin is Meadowhead, once the home of Captain Paton, whose sword and Bible are amongst the relics preserved by the Howies at Lochgoin. When he was about to be executed in the Grassmarket, Edinburgh, May 8, 1684, he handed his Bible down from the scaffold to his poor, devoted wife, who had followed him thither. The parish contains coal, ironstone, and limestone. The surface, from 914 feet ahove sea level at Lochgoin, slopes gently down south-west. Originally very wet, it has been greatly improved of late by drainage, but much of it lies in poor natural grass. Its length, from east to west, is eight and a quarter miles. Area, 16,134 acres. Population in 1821, 1852; in 1871, 1318; in 1881, 1152. Fenwick 1846 FENWICK, a parish, in the district of Cunninghame, county of Ayr; including the villages of Kirktown and Upper Fenwick, and containing 2018 inhabitants, of whom 355 are in Upper Fenwick, 4 miles (N. N. E.) from Kilmarnock. This place in ancient times formed part of the parish of Kilmarnock, from which it was separated in the year 1642, and called New Kilmarnock, its present appellation having been subsequently derived from Fenwick hill, in the vicinity of the church. The parish is nine miles in length, and upwards of six in breadth, and is in figure nearly an oblong, the surface rising gradually from the south to the north, and reaching an elevation of about 700 feet near the part where it joins the Mearns moor. The climate is moist, and rain is very frequent, and the soil to a great extent unproductive, several large tracts consisting of deep moss, which, at many seasons in the year, are impassable without risk of life. The lower division contains most of the population, and the land here produces good average crops; the higher grounds, bordering on Renfrewshire, are chiefly pastoral, and of excellent quality, and the stock grazed upon them is of a good breed, and in superior condition. The process of draining has been for some time attended to, and much land once entirely useless is now under tillage, and affords good returns. Limestone is abundant, and is quarried in several places; coal has recently been discovered in much larger quantities than those formerly obtained, and iron has also been found in the same locality in considerable abundance, one bed measuring five feet in thickness. The parish contains several small hamlets; the inhabitants generally dispose of their produce at the markets of Glasgow and Kilmarnock: coal is procured from the neighbourhood of the latter place, and peat is obtained plentifully from the mosses in the district. The public road from Glasgow to Kilmarnock and Ayr passes through the parish. The rateable annual value of Fenwick is £9366. The ecclesiastical affairs are under the presbytery of Irvine and synod of Glasgow and Ayr, and the patronage vested in the Earl of Glasgow; the minister's stipend is £123, of which a part is received from the exchequer, with a manse, and a glebe of eight acres, valued at £24 per annum. The church, seated on the right bank of one of the two streams which intersect the parish, is a plain cruciform structure, built in 1643, and containing between 700 and 800 sittings, all free. There is a place of worship for members of the United Secession. The parochial school affords instruction in the ordinary branches; the master has a salary of £28, with a good house, built in 1805, a rood of garden, and £20 fees. There is a second school, with an endowment of £10 per annum; and the parish contains a subscription library. The Earl of Glasgow takes the title of Baron Boyle, of Fenwick, from this place. From: A Topographical Dictionary of Scotland (1846)
	Fenwick 1841 Census
	1791-99 and 1845 Statistical Accounts
	Some Fenwick Churchyard Monumental Inscriptions
	Some Fenwick Churchyard Burials
	Extracts from UP Church Register
	THE "TERROR OF THE WHIGS" EXORCISES THE BEANSCROFT DEIL.
	Map of Fenwick today This Link takes you to the MULTIMAP website where you will find a map of the town and the surrounding area as it is today. You can zoom in and out and move around in all directions.
	StreetMap of Fenwick This Link takes you to the STREET website where you will find a street map of the town as it is today. You can zoom in and out and move around in all directions.
	Old Maps of Ayrshire Place Names This link goes directly to the OLD MAPS website for an Ayrshire Index to detailed old maps of most Ayrshire Towns around 1860. You can explore out to all sides by using the arrows at the top of the page. These maps are ideal for finding the locations of areas such as farms.
	GenUKI The old churchyard is no less interesting than the church itself, and contains the burying-place of the Howies of Lochgoin, and the graves of not a few of the martyrs of the Covenant. Amongst those belonging to this parish, who suffered from the Persecution, possibly no name is better known than that of Captain John Paton, of Meadowhead. The lonely moorland house of Lochgoin oftentimes afforded a refuge and hiding place for the Captain, when pursued by the merciless troopers. They soon got to know of this, and were in the habit of paying the house frequent visits, and sometimes, when they were disappointed in not securing their prey, actuated by feelings of revenge, they plundered and ransacked the house in the most lawless manner. This noble martyr was apprehended by a party of dragoons, under circumstances of the most painful nature....................>