Ayrshire ( gd, Siorrachd Inbhir Àir, ) is a historic county and registration county in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr,

Kilmarnock Kilmarnock (, sco, Kilmaurnock; gd, Cill Mheàrnaig (IPA: ʰʲɪʎˈveaːɾnəkʲ, "Marnock's church") is a large town and former burgh in East Ayrshire, Scotland and is the administrative centre of East Ayrshire, East Ayrshire Council. ...

and

Irvine Irvine may refer to: Places On Earth Antarctica *Irvine Glacier *Mount Irvine (Antarctica) Australia *Irvine Island *Mount Irvine, New South Wales Canada *Irvine, Alberta * Irvine Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom *Irvine, North Ayrshire, Scotla ...

and it borders the counties of Renfrewshire and Lanarkshire to the north-east, Dumfriesshire to the south-east, and Kirkcudbrightshire and Wigtownshire to the south. Like many other counties of Scotland it currently has no administrative function, instead being sub-divided into the council areas of

North Ayrshire North Ayrshire ( gd, Siorrachd Àir a Tuath, ) is one of 32 council areas in Scotland. The council area borders Inverclyde to the north, Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire to the northeast, and East Ayrshire and South Ayrshire to the east and so ...

South Ayrshire South Ayrshire ( sco, Sooth Ayrshire; gd, Siorrachd Àir a Deas, ) is one of thirty-two council areas of Scotland, covering the southern part of Ayrshire. It borders onto Dumfries and Galloway, East Ayrshire and North Ayrshire. On 30 June 2 ...

and East Ayrshire. It has a population of approximately 366,800. The electoral and valuation area named Ayrshire covers the three council areas of

, East Ayrshire and

, therefore including the

Isle of Arran The Isle of Arran (; sco, Isle o Arran; gd, Eilean Arainn) or simply Arran is an island off the west coast of Scotland. It is the largest island in the Firth of Clyde and the seventh-largest Scottish island, at . Historically part of Butesh ...

, Great Cumbrae and Little Cumbrae. These three islands are part of the historic County of Bute and are sometimes included when the term ''Ayrshire'' is applied to the region. The same area is known as '' Ayrshire and Arran'' in other contexts. The largest settlement in Ayrshire by population is

, closely followed by Ayr.

Geography

Ayrshire is roughly crescent-shaped and is a predominantly flat county with areas of low hills; it forms part of the Southern Uplands geographic region of Scotland. The north of the county contains the main towns and bulk of the population. East of Largs can be found the Renfrewshire Heights, which continue south to the hill-country around Blae Loch. Southern Ayrshire shares with the Galloway counties some rugged hill country known as the Galloway Hills. These hills lie to the west of the A713 (Ayr to Castle Douglas road) and they run south from the Loch Doon area almost to the Solway Firth. To the east of this route through the hills lie the Carsphairn and Scaur Hills which lie to the south east of Dalmellington and south of New Cumnock. Glen Afton runs deep into these hills. Ayrshire is one of the most agriculturally fertile regions of Scotland. Potatoes are grown in fields near the coast, using seaweed-based fertiliser, and in addition the region produces pork products, other root vegetables, and cattle (see below); and summer berries such as strawberries are grown abundantly. A number of small islands in the Firth of Clyde are part of Ayrshire, the chief of these being

Horse Isle Horse Isle ( gd, Eilean nan Each) is an uninhabited island located in the Firth of Clyde, Scotland near the seaside town of Ardrossan. It is a nature reserve, run by the RSPB. Geography The small, rocky island lies at , around west of the Nor ...

Lady Isle Lady Isle is a small, uninhabited island, in the Firth of Clyde, Scotland. It was once home to a chapel dedicated to Saint Mary. The island features a lighthouse and a freshwater spring. Geography Lady Isle lies some southwest of Troon. The i ...

and Ailsa Craig.

Rivers

The main rivers flowing to the Clyde coast are, from north to south, the following: * River Garnock * River Irvine * River Ayr * River Doon * River Girvan *

River Stinchar The River Stinchar is a river in South Ayrshire, Scotland. It flows south west from the Galloway Forest Park to enter the Firth of Clyde at Ballantrae, about south-southeast of Ailsa Craig. It is reputed poet Robert Burns Robert Burns ( ...

File:HorseIsleNearArdrossan(StuartMcMahon)Jun2004.jpg, Horse Isle File:Ayr Beach, Scotland - geograph.org.uk - 16915.jpg, Part of Ayr Beach with the Heads of Ayr in the background File:Boydshillslack2.JPG, Boyd's Hill near Dunlop File:Garnock Water near Glengarnock Castle 2.JPG, The Garnock's Waters near

Glengarnock Castle Glengarnock Castle is one of the ancient ruined fortifications of Ayrshire. Its keep is located on a remote rocky promontory overlooking the River Garnock about north of the town of Kilbirnie in North Ayrshire, Scotland. There is no clear acco ...

File:View towards Mochrum Hill - geograph.org.uk - 231335.jpg, Mochrum Hill near Kirkoswald File:Lendalfoot from Little Carleton Farm, Lendalfoot, South Ayrshire, Scotland.jpg, Lendalfoot coast, with Ailsa Craig in the distance

History

The area that today forms Ayrshire was part of the area south of the

Antonine Wall The Antonine Wall, known to the Romans as ''Vallum Antonini'', was a turf fortification on stone foundations, built by the Romans across what is now the Central Belt of Scotland, between the Firth of Clyde and the Firth of Forth. Built some twe ...

which was briefly occupied by the Romans during the reign of Emperor Antoninus Pius (see: Roman Britain#Occupation and retreat from southern Scotland). It was inhabited by the Damnonii, who are presumed to have been Britons. Later, it formed part of the British Kingdom of Strathclyde, which was incorporated into the Kingdom of Scotland during the 11th century. In 1263, the Scots successfully drove off the Norwegian '' leidang''-army in a skirmish known as the Battle of Largs.

A notable historic building in Ayrshire is Turnberry Castle, which dates from the 13th century or earlier, and which may have been the birthplace of Robert the Bruce. The historic

shire Shire is a traditional term for an administrative division of land in Great Britain and some other English-speaking countries such as Australia and New Zealand. It is generally synonymous with county. It was first used in Wessex from the beginn ...

sheriffdom A sheriffdom is a judicial district in Scotland, led by a sheriff principal. Since 1 January 1975, there have been six sheriffdoms. Each sheriffdom is divided into a series of sheriff court districts, and each sheriff court is presided over by a ...

of Ayr was divided into three districts or ''bailieries'' which later made up the county of Ayrshire. The three districts were: *

Carrick Carrick is an Anglicised version of ''creag/carraig'', Gaelic for "rock", and may refer to: People *Carrick (surname) * Donnchadh, Earl of Carrick (died 1250), Scottish Mormaer and first Earl of Carrick * Marjorie of Carrick (1256–1292), ...

in the south. It was situated between the Doon and the wild district of Galloway in the adjoining Stewartries, an area that was little else than a vast tract of hills and mosses. * Kyle in the centre, which included the royal burgh of Ayr, occupied the central district between the River Irvine in the north, and the River Doon in the south and south-west, an area that is quite hilly inland. It was subdivided into "Kyle Stewart", (sometimes called "Stewart Kyle" or "Walter's Kyle") and "King's Kyle," the former embracing the country between the Irvine and the River Ayr; and the latter, the triangular portion between the Ayr and the Doon, which is honoured as the birthplace and youthful home of Robert Burns. * Cunninghame in the north which included the royal burgh of Irvine was that part of the county which lay north of the Irvine water, and was in an area that is generally level and fertile. The area used to be heavily industrialised, with steel making,

coal mining Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...

and in Kilmarnock numerous examples of

production-line A production line is a set of sequential operations established in a factory where components are assembled to make a finished article or where materials are put through a refining process to produce an end-product that is suitable for onward co ...

manufacturing, most famously Johnnie Walker whisky. In more recent history, Digital Equipment had a large manufacturing plant near Ayr from about 1976 until the company was taken over by Compaq in 1998. Some supplier companies grew up to service this site and the more distant IBM plant at

Greenock Greenock (; sco, Greenock; gd, Grianaig, ) is a town and administrative centre in the Inverclyde council areas of Scotland, council area in Scotland, United Kingdom and a former burgh of barony, burgh within the Counties of Scotland, historic ...

in Renfrewshire. Scotland's aviation industry has long been based in and around Prestwick and its

international airport An international airport is an airport with customs and border control facilities enabling passengers to travel between countries around the world. International airports are usually larger than domestic airports and they must feature longer ...

, and although aircraft manufacture ceased at the former British Aerospace plant in 1998, a significant number of aviation companies are still based on the Prestwick site. However, unemployment in the region (excluding the more rural South Ayrshire) is above the national average. Throughout the 17th century, huge numbers of people from Ayrshire moved to Ulster, the northern province in Ireland, as part of the

Plantation of Ulster The Plantation of Ulster ( gle, Plandáil Uladh; Ulster-Scots: ''Plantin o Ulstèr'') was the organised colonisation (''plantation'') of Ulstera province of Irelandby people from Great Britain during the reign of King James I. Most of the sett ...

, many of them with surnames such as Burns, Hamilton, Morrow, Stewart, Flanagan, Kennedy and Cunningham. Today, the

Ulster Scots dialect Ulster Scots or Ulster-Scots (', ga, Albainis Uladh), also known as Ulster Scotch and Ullans, is the dialect of Scots language, Scots spoken in parts of Ulster in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.Gregg, R. J. (1972) "The Scotch-I ...

is largely an offshoot of the version of Lowland Scots spoken in Ayrshire. The

is still widely spoken throughout County Antrim and in parts of

County Down County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 531,665. It borders County Antrim to the ...

and

County Londonderry County Londonderry ( Ulster-Scots: ''Coontie Lunnonderrie''), also known as County Derry ( ga, Contae Dhoire), is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the thirty two counties of Ireland and one of the nine counties of Ulster. B ...

, as well as still being widely spoken in West Tír Eoghain and parts of County Donegal (chiefly East Donegal and Inishowen).

Local government

The Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889 established a uniform system of county councils in Scotland and realigned the boundaries of many of Scotland's counties. Subsequently, Ayr county council was created in 1890. In 1930 the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1929 was implemented. This re-designated the Burghs into large burghs and

small burghs Small burghs were units of local government in Scotland created by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1929 in 1930. The Act reclassified existing burghs into two classes, large and small burghs. While large burghs became largely independent of th ...

. This new categorisation influenced the level of autonomy that the Burghs enjoyed from the county council. The act also abolished the parish as a unit of local government in Scotland. In Ayrshire in excess of 30 parishes were consolidated into ten

district council District council may refer to: *A branch of local government in the United Kingdom: **Supervising one of the Districts of England: ***A Metropolitan borough ***A Non-metropolitan district ***A Unitary authority **Supervising one of the Principal ...

s. The District Councils were Ayr, Cumnock, Dalmellington, Girvan, Irvine, Kilbirnie, Kilmarnock, Maybole, Troon and Saltcoats. Ayrshire County Council was based at County Buildings in Wellington Square. In May 1975 the county council was abolished and its functions were transferred to Strathclyde Regional Council. The county area was divided between four new districts within the two-tier Strathclyde region: Cumnock and Doon Valley, Cunninghame, Kilmarnock and Loudoun and Kyle and Carrick. The Cunninghame district included the

, Great Cumbrae and Little Cumbrae, which had until then been administered as part of the County of Bute. In 1996 the two-tier system of regions and districts was abolished and Ayrshire was divided between the unitary council areas of East Ayrshire (covering the area of the former Kilmarnock & Loudoun District and Cumnock & Doon Valley District),

(covering the area of the former Cunninghame District Council) and

(covering the area of the former Kyle and Carrick District).

Parliamentary constituencies

There was an Ayrshire constituency of the House of Commons of the

Parliament of Great Britain The Parliament of Great Britain was formed in May 1707 following the ratification of the Acts of Union by both the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland. The Acts ratified the treaty of Union which created a new unified Kingdo ...

from 1708 to 1801 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 until 1868, when the constituency was divided into

Ayrshire North North Ayrshire was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1868 until 1918. It returned one Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (M ...

and Ayrshire South. During the whole of the 1708 to 1868 period, and until 1950, the

burgh A burgh is an autonomous municipal corporation in Scotland and Northern England, usually a city, town, or toun in Scots. This type of administrative division existed from the 12th century, when King David I created the first royal burghs. Burg ...

s of Ayr and Irvine were

parliamentary burgh In the United Kingdom (UK), each of the electoral areas or divisions called constituencies elects one member to the House of Commons. Within the United Kingdom there are five bodies with members elected by electoral districts called "constituenc ...

s, represented as components of

Ayr Burghs Ayr Burghs was a district of burghs constituency of the House of Commons of Great Britain, House of Commons of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1708 to 1800 and of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons of the Parliamen ...

. In 1832

became a parliamentary burgh, to be represented as a component of Kilmarnock Burghs until 1918. Ayr Burghs and Kilmarnock Burghs were districts of burghs, and quite different in character from later Ayr and Kilmarnock constituencies. From 1918 to 1983 Ayrshire and

Buteshire The County of Bute ( gd, Siorrachd Bhòid), also known as Buteshire, is a historic county and registration county of Scotland. The county comprises a number of islands in the Firth of Clyde, between the counties of Argyll and Ayrshire, the p ...

were treated as if a single area for purposes of parliamentary representation, with their combined area being divided into different constituencies at different times. Scottish local government counties were abolished in 1975, in favour of regions and districts, but the next reform of constituency boundaries was not until 1983. Constituencies covering Ayrshire may be listed by periods as below, but the story is somewhat more complicated than the lists may imply: until 1918, Ayr Burghs and Kilmarnock Burghs included burghs lying outside both Ayrshire and Buteshire; a particular constituency name may represent different boundaries in different periods; in 1974, there were boundary changes without the creation of any new constituency names.

Transport

Welcome to Ayrshire (Milestone) - geograph

A number of railway lines connect the towns of northern Ayrshire to each other and also to Glasgow, as well as south to

Stranraer Stranraer ( , in Scotland also ; gd, An t-Sròn Reamhar ), also known as The Toon, is a town in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. It is located in the historical parish of Inch in the historic county of Wigtownshire. It lies on the shores of L ...

and south-east to

Dumfries Dumfries ( ; sco, Dumfries; from gd, Dùn Phris ) is a market town and former royal burgh within the Dumfries and Galloway council area of Scotland. It is located near the mouth of the River Nith into the Solway Firth about by road from the ...

. Ferries link Ayrshire to the islands of Arran and Great Cumbrae in

. Glasgow Prestwick International Airport, serving Glasgow and the west of Scotland more generally, is located away from Glasgow in Ayrshire; it provides various passenger flights to Spain, Portugal, Italy and Poland. The name ''Glasgow'' was added in front of Prestwick as per American military airport naming conventions, as the airport was in the past oft-used as a stopover by US military personnel on their way to and from military bases in Germany. Moreover, it is known in rock history as the only place in Britain visited by Elvis Presley, on his way home from army service in Germany in 1960.

Towns and villages in Ayrshire

Alloway Alloway ( gd, Allmhaigh, ) is a village in South Ayrshire, Scotland, located on the River Doon. It is best known as the birthplace of Robert Burns and the setting for his poem "Tam o' Shanter". Tobias Bachope, the mason responsible for the cons ...

* Ardrossan *

Annbank Annbank is a village in South Ayrshire, Scotland. It is around five miles east of Ayr. Originally a mining settlement, it once had a rail link to Ayr via the Auchincruive Waggonway. The village has a village hall, bakery, shop, bowling green, j ...

*Ardeer, North Ayrshire, Ardeer *Auchentiber *Auchinleck * Ayr *Ballantrae *Barassie *Barkip *Barr, Ayrshire, Barr *Barrhill, South Ayrshire, Barrhill *Barrmill, North Ayrshire, Barrmill *Beith *Bellsbank *Belmont, Ayr, Belmont *Benslie *Bourtreehill *Broomlands *Burnhouse *Catrine *Colmonell *Coylton *Craigie Village and Parish, Craigie *Craigmalloch *Cronberry *Crosshill, South Ayrshire, Crosshill *Crosshouse *Cumnock *Cunninghamhead *Dailly *Dalgarven * Dalmellington *Dalry, North Ayrshire, Dalry *Dalrymple, East Ayrshire, Dalrymple *Darvel *Doonfoot *Drakemyre, North Ayrshire, Drakemyre *Dreghorn *Drongan *Drybridge *Dundonald, South Ayrshire, Dundonald *Dunlop, East Ayrshire, Dunlop *Dunure *Fairlie, North Ayrshire, Fairlie *Fenwick, East Ayrshire, Fenwick *Fergushill *Fullarton *Galston, East Ayrshire, Galston *Gatehead, East Ayrshire, Gatehead *Gateside, North Ayrshire, Gateside *Giffordland *Girdle Toll *Girvan *Glenbuck *Glengarnock *Greenhills, North Ayrshire, Greenhills *Hansel, Ayrshire, Hansel *Haugh, East Ayrshire, Haugh *Heathfield, South Ayrshire, Heathfield *Hessilhead hamlet *Highfield, North Ayrshire, Highfield *Hurlford *

*Joppa, South Ayrshire, Joppa *Kilbirnie *

*Kilmaurs *Kilwinning *Kincaidston *Kirkmichael, South Ayrshire, Kirkmichael *Kirkoswald, South Ayrshire, Kirkoswald *Knockentiber *Largs *Lendalfoot *Loans, South Ayrshire, Loans *Logan, East Ayrshire, Logan *Longbar *Lugton *Lugar, East Ayrshire, Lugar *Lylestone *Mauchline *Maidens, South Ayrshire, Maidens *Maybole *Meikle Auchengree *Minishant *Monkton, Ayrshire, Monkton *Moscow, East Ayrshire, Moscow *Montgreenan *Mossblown *Muirkirk *Netherthird * New Cumnock *Newmilns *Ochiltree *Old Dailly *Patna, East Ayrshire, Patna *Pinmore *Pinwherry *Polnessan *Portencross * Prestwick *Priestland *Rankinston *Riccarton, Ayrshire, Riccarton *Saltcoats *Seafield, Ayr, Seafield *Seamill *Skelmorlie *Sorn, East Ayrshire, Sorn *Springside, Ayrshire, Springside *Stair, East Ayrshire, Stair *Stevenston *Stewarton *Straiton *Symington, South Ayrshire, Symington *Tarbolton *Torranyard *Trabboch *Troon *Turnberry, Ayrshire, Turnberry *Waterside, East Ayrshire, Waterside *West Kilbride

Places of interest

*Auchenharvie Castle *Barony and Castle of Giffen *Cleeves Cove *Clyde Muirshiel Regional Park *Corsehill, Lainshaw, Robertland and Dunlop, Corsehill *Culzean Castle *Dalgarven Mill – Museum of Ayrshire Country Life and Costume *Dean Castle -

*Eglinton Country Park *Laigh Milton Viaduct, Laigh Milton viaduct *Thurgartstone *Ayr Seafront Playpark *Burns National Heritage Park *The Low Green, Ayr *Turnberry (golf course)

People from Ayrshire

* Hew Ainslie (1792–1878), poet * Nicola Benedetti (1987-), classical violinist born in West Kilbride * Sir Thomas Makdougall Brisbane, Thomas Brisbane (1773–1860), Soldier and Colonial Administrator, after whom the city of Brisbane, Queensland, Brisbane is named. Born in Largs. * John Boyd Orr (1880–1971), Nobel Peace Prize winner, born in Kilmaurs. * George Douglas Brown (1869–1902), novelist, best known for ''The House with the Green Shutters'', born in Ochiltree * Robert the Bruce (1274–1329), possibly born in Turnberry Castle * Robert Burns (1759–1796), poet, born in

; * Kenneth Campbell (soldier), Kenneth Campbell (1917–1941), RAF pilot and posthumous recipient of the Victoria Cross, born in Ardrossan * James Clark (New Zealand), James McCosh Clark (1833–1898), mayor of Auckland, born in Beith * Steve Clarke (1963-), Football Manager, born in Saltcoats. * Robert Craufurd (1764–1812), British major general; * Noam Dar (1993-), professional wrestler signed to WWE performing on the NXT UK and 205 Live brands * John Boyd Dunlop, John Dunlop (1840–1921), inventor of the pneumatic tyre, born in Dreghorn * Robert Dunsmuir (1825-1889), coal baron and industrial capitalist on Vancouver Island, Canada * Henry Faulds (1843-1930), doctor, missionary and scientist. Born in Beith * Andrew Fisher (1862–1928), 5th Prime Minister of Australia (1908-1909, 1910–1913 and 1914–1915) * Alexander Fleming, Sir Alexander Fleming (1881–1955), inventor/discoverer of penicillin, born in Darvel * John Galt (novelist), John Galt (1779–1839), author * Drew McIntyre, Drew Galloway (1985–), professional wrestler on WWE's ''WWE RAW, RAW'' brand as Drew McIntyre * Colin Hay (1953-), singer and former lead-singer of Australian band Men At Work, born in Saltcoats. * Air Chief Marshal (Australia), Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston (1947–), current Chief of the Defence Force (Australia), Australian Chief of Defence Force * George Houston (artist), George Houston (1869–1947), landscape painter of Scottish locales,Euan Robson, ''George Houston: Nature's Limner'' (Atelier Books: Edinburgh, 1997). born in Dalry, North Ayrshire, Dalry. * Tom Hunter (1961–), entrepreneur and philanthropist * Bobby Lennox, Order of the British Empire, MBE. (1943-), Footballer, born in Saltcoats * The MacDonald Brothers, recording artists and contestants on ''The X Factor (UK series 3), The X Factor'' * Sir James MacMillan (1959-), classical composer and conductor * John Loudon McAdam, John McAdam (1756–1836), engineer and inventor of macadam * James McCosh (1811–1894), philosopher of the Scottish School of Common Sense and president of what would become Princeton University * Jai McDowall (1986–), winner of ''Britain's Got Talent'' in 2011 * Hugh McIlvanney Order of the British Empire, MBE (1934-2019), Sports Journalist, born in

. * William McIlvanney (1936–2015), Writer, born in

. * Tom McKillop, Sir Thomas McKillop, (1943–) CEO of AstraZeneca, born in Dreghorn * James Henry McLean (1806–1886), physician and United States Congressman from Missouri * Colin Mochrie (1957–), improvisational comedian and actor best known for being in ''Whose Line Is It Anyway? (U.S. TV series), Whose Line Is It Anyway?'', born in

* William Murdoch (1754–1839), inventor of gas lighting and engineer * Simon Neil (1979–), James Johnston (Scottish musician), James Johnston (1980–), and Ben Johnston (Scottish musician), Ben Johnston (1980–) of Biffy Clyro * Alexander Peden (1626–1686), leading figure in the Covenanters, Covenanter movement * Bill Shankly (1913–1981), football (soccer), football manager, born in Glenbuck * Bob Shankly (1910-1982) football (soccer), Football Manager, born in Glenbuck * Robert Simson (1687–1768), mathematician and professor of mathematics for 50 years * Nicola Sturgeon (1970–), current First Minister of Scotland, born in

. * Sam Torrance (1953–), professional golfer, born in Largs * Piper Niven, Kimberly Benson (1991–), professional wrestler best known as Piper Niven and for her work in WWE and Insane Championship Wrestling, ICW

References

External links

South Ayrshire Council

Ayrshire & Arran Tourist Board

Place-Names of the Coalfield Communities
{{coord, 55, 30, N, 4, 30, W, region:GB_type:adm2nd_source:GNS-enwiki, display=title Ayrshire, Counties of Scotland Counties of the United Kingdom (1801–1922)