West Kilbride 1846
KILBRIDE, WEST, a parish, in the district of Cunninghame, county of Ayr, 5½
miles (N. W. by W.) from Saltcoats; containing 1885 inhabitants. This place
derives its name from the dedication of its church, which was anciently an
appendage of the monastery of Kilwinning, to St. Bride, a virgin occupying a
distinguished rank in the Scottish calendar.
In 1263, it was the scene
of a severe conflict with a party of Norwegians that had made a descent on
the coast of Largs under Haco, who was here attacked and defeated by a body
of Scottish forces commanded by
Sir Robert Boyd, ancestor of the Kilmarnock
family. As a reward for his conduct in this instance, Boyd obtained a grant
of land in Cunninghame; and his services as the firm adherent of
Bruce
procured him the lands of Kilbride and Ardneil, in this parish.
The parish is
advantageously situated on a peninsular projection in the Frith of Clyde,
below the Cumbray islands, of which the smaller, for all ecclesiastical
purposes, is included within its limits; it is six miles in length and two
and a half in average breadth, and comprises about 11,000 acres, of which
7500 are arable, and 3000 pasture and waste. The surface is diversified with
hills forming part of the continued chain of the Renfrewshire range, and of
which the highest within the parish, called Kame Hill, has an elevation of
nearly 1000 feet above the level of the sea. There are also many hills of
smaller elevation, partly cultivated, and some nearly to their summit; and
others in detached situations, of which the chief are Law, Ardneil, and
Tarbert. The coast is low, consisting of shelving rocks of sandstone, with
the exception of the promontory of Portincross, which is precipitous,
terminating in a point called Ardneil Bank, or Goldberrie Head. The sands of
Southanan extend for two miles in the north of the parish; immediately to
the south of them, the coast for nearly a mile is formed of the promontory,
a wall of rock rising to the height of 300 feet, and separated from the sea
only by a narrow slip of verdant land. This majestic rampart, of which the
base is thickly studded with coppice wood, interwoven with oak, ash, hazel,
and hawthorn, has a romantic grandeur of appearance as seen from the water:
three detached cliffs that rise above the general height have obtained the
appellation of the Three Sisters. To the south of the promontory is
the bay
of Ardneil, of semicircular form, the shores of which, a fine compact sand,
afford a delightful promenade, with every facility for bathing, for which
this part of the coast is peculiarly adapted. The Gourock, Kilbride,
Southanan, and Fairly burns, which have their rise in the eastern confines,
flow in various directions through the parish into the Frith. The Southanan,
in part of its course between banks richly wooded, forms a pleasingly
picturesque cascade; the others are not distinguished by any particular
features. Numerous springs are also found in different parts, affording an
abundant supply of excellent water.
The soil in the lower lands near the coast is in some places a rich loam, in
others sandy and gravelly; the higher parts are of very inferior quality,
generally thin, cold, and spongy moor, with the exception of some portions
around the bases of the hills, which are of loam mixed with calcareous
earth. The crops are, wheat, oats, barley, a small quantity of rye, beans,
peas, potatoes, turnips, and carrots; but, as well from the nature of the
soil, as from the situation of the parish in a wide manufacturing district,
most of the farms are appropriated to the dairy. The number of milch-cows,
which are of the Ayrshire or Cunninghame breed, is about 600, and of cattle
of other kinds, 800: the number of horses reared is exceedingly small; about
2500 sheep, chiefly of the black-faced breed, are pastured on the moorlands
and hills, and 250 swine kept. The chief produce of the dairy is cheese, of
which great quantities are sent to the neighbouring markets, where it is
sold under the appellation of Dunlop cheese. The system of agriculture is
advanced, and the implements of husbandry generally of the most approved
kind. The farmbuildings, which were formerly of a very inferior description,
have in many instances been rebuilt in a substantial and commodious style,
and on most of the farms threshing-mills have been erected; the lands are
all inclosed with hedges and ditches in the lower parts of the parish, and
in some of the higher parts with stone dykes. The woods are of small extent,
not more than 150 acres, and of these about one-third is coppice wood; the
remainder consists of oak, ash, plane, elm, and beech, with a little fir. On
some of the lands are fine specimens of old timber; but they are
comparatively few, and in general the proper management of plantations is
little regarded, though a great quantity of land, which, from its quality,
is incapable of cultivation, might, on account of its favourable situation,
be advantageously appropriated to this use. The substrata are, sandstone of
brown and red colour, whinstone porphyrytic and basaltic, some slight veins
of limestone, and a white sandstone intermixed with quartz. The rateable
annual value of the parish is £9805.
Underbank, a pleasing villa, recently erected near the site of the old
mansion-house of the barony of Southanan, is finely situated in a
richly-wooded demesne. Crosby has been lately restored in harmony with its
original character, and is now a tolerable residence. Hunterston is
beautifully situated at some distance, towards the sea, from the ancient
mansion-house, which is now occupied by a tenant, and of which the square
tower is still in good preservation. The village is about a mile from the
sea, in a small secluded vale watered by the Kilbride burn, which in
its course gives motion to five
different mills, two for grinding
oats, one for bark, one for grinding charcoal, and one for dressing flax.
There is a public library, supported by subscription; and a post-office has
been established under good regulation. The
tanning of leather
was once carried on here, affording employment to a dozen persons; but the
inhabitants are now chiefly occupied in
weaving
for the manufacturers of Glasgow and Paisley,
in which more than one hundred handlooms are
constantly at work; and a large
portion of the female population are engaged in
sewing and embroidering muslins.
A few lobsters
are taken in the season, and sent to the Glasgow market, and
herrings
are occasionally taken in large quantities; the other fish are, cod,
whiting, mackerel, and a few others, but they are not in any great
abundance. The streams that flow through the parish
abound in trout
of good quality.
A small quay was
constructed at Portincross some years since, at the expense of the
proprietor; it is accessible at high water to vessels of forty or fifty
tons. The Clyde steamers from Glasgow to Ardrossan and Ayr pass by the
coast, and facility of intercourse with the neighbouring towns is maintained
by good roads, of which the turnpike-roads to Greenock and Portpatrick run
through the whole length of the parish, and a line from the village
communicates with the road to Glasgow at the village of Dalry.
The parish is in the presbytery of Irvine and synod of Glasgow and Ayr; the
minister's stipend is £202. 12., with a manse, and a glebe valued at £13.
12. per annum. The church, situated on a gentle eminence in the centre of
the village, was rebuilt in 1732; subsequent additions have been made to it,
and within the last few years an aisle has been erected by voluntary
subscriptions. It is now adapted for a congregation of 800 persons. There
are places of worship for members of the Free Church and the United
Secession. The parochial school affords instruction to about 130 children;
the master has a salary of £27. 17. 8., with £40 fees, and a house and
garden. There are three friendly societies, which tend to diminish the
number of applications for parochial relief.
Along the steep banks
opposite the sea are several circular mounds, at unequal distances, called
the Castle Hills; the area on the summit, about forty feet in diameter, is inclosed with walls of undressed stone. Their origin is uncertain; by some
they are ascribed to the Danes, by others referred to a more remote period.
Tumuli have been explored in various places, containing urns with calcined
bones and ashes; and in forming the new line of road along the coast, some
few years since, four entire urns, rudely formed of coarse red clay, were
dug out of a stratum of gravel. A silver brooch, of exquisitely delicate
workmanship, and bearing an inscription in Runic characters, was found at
Hunterston a few years since. The walls of the ancient castle of Portincross
are still tolerably entire, and form a singularly romantic object, standing
on a ledge of rock projecting into the sea; it is supposed to have been a
residence of the Scottish kings. One of the large ships of the Spanish
armada sank near the promontory, in ten fathoms of water; and an iron cannon
which, with others, was recovered from the wreck, is still remaining on the
beach: the arms of Spain, and a crown engraved on it, may be faintly traced.
On an eminence overlooking the village of Kilbride, are the remains of a
very stately tower called Law Castle, the walls of which are in perfect
preservation. Dr. Robert Simson, professor of mathematics in the university
of Glasgow, and the wellknown translator of Euclid, is thought to have been
a native of the parish. General Robert Boyd, lieutenant governor of
Gibraltar during the siege of that fortress in 1782, was born here; and it
is supposed that John Hunter, the celebrated physician, was descended from
the Hunterston family of this place.
From: A Topographical
Dictionary of Scotland (1846)
and .co.uk