Kirkoswald ( sco, Kirkossald) is a village and parish in the Carrick district of

Ayrshire 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 and Irvine and it borders the counties of ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

, from the coast and southwest of

Maybole Maybole is a town and former burgh of barony and police burgh in South Ayrshire, Scotland. It had an estimated population of in . It is situated south of Ayr and southwest of Glasgow by the Glasgow and South Western Railway. The town is bypass ...

. It takes its name from its ''kirk'' (church), dedicated to

Oswald of Northumbria Oswald (; c 604 – 5 August 641/642Bede gives the year of Oswald's death as 642, however there is some question as to whether what Bede considered 642 is the same as what would now be considered 642. R. L. Poole (''Studies in Chronology an ...

, who is said to have won a battle here in the 7th century. The old church, which was built in 1244 and houses the baptismal font of

Robert the Bruce Robert I (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329), popularly known as Robert the Bruce (Scottish Gaelic: ''Raibeart an Bruis''), was King of Scots from 1306 to his death in 1329. One of the most renowned warriors of his generation, Robert eventuall ...

, is now a ruin in the grounds of the modern church, which was built in 1777 to a design by

Robert Adam Robert Adam (3 July 17283 March 1792) was a British neoclassical architect, interior designer and furniture designer. He was the son of William Adam (1689–1748), Scotland's foremost architect of the time, and trained under him. With his ...

. Kirkoswald is also noted for its connection with

Robert Burns Robert Burns (25 January 175921 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the best known of the poets who hav ...

, whose maternal ancestors, the Brouns, were from the village. Burns also attended school here, and would later base the characters Tam o' Shanter, Kirkton Jean and

souter Souter (, ) is a Scottish surname derived from the Scots language term for a shoemaker, and may refer to: * A nickname for any native inhabitant of the Royal Burgh of Selkirk, in the Scottish Borders * Alexander Souter (1873–1949), Scottish bib ...

Johnnie on village locals Douglas Graham, Jean Aird and John Davidson, the shoemaker. Kirkoswald village had a population of 194 in 1991. Kirkoswald parish is in area, and also contains the coastal village of Maidens. Landmarks include

Turnberry Castle Turnberry Castle is a fragmentary ruin on the coast of Kirkoswald parish, near Maybole in Ayrshire, Scotland.''Ordnance of Scotland'', ed. Francis H. Groome, 1892-6. Vol.6, p.454 Situated at the extremity of the lower peninsula within the paris ...

, the ancient seat of the Earls of Carrick, Culzean Castle,

Thomaston Castle Thomaston Castle is a medieval castle located west of Maybole, South Ayrshire, Scotland. It looks much as it did hundreds of years ago. Little has changed, except for the addition of a house located on the property. The castle is run down and h ...

and

Crossraguel Abbey The Abbey of Saint Mary of Crossraguel is a ruin of a former abbey near the town of Maybole, South Ayrshire, Scotland. Although it is a ruin, visitors can still see the original monks’ church, their cloister and their dovecot (pigeon towe ...

. Rev Robert Hunter Arbuckle was minister of the Free Church from 1860 and 1897.Ewing, William ''Annals of the Free Church''

Gallery

File:Towards Kirkoswald - geograph.org.uk - 1705972.jpg, View of the village from the neighbouring moorland File:Kirkoswald Old Church - geograph.org.uk - 826979.jpg, The old church File:Kirkoswald war memorial - geograph.org.uk - 827151.jpg, The War memorial File:The gravestone of 'Kirkton Jean' - geograph.org.uk - 827145.jpg, The grave of 'Kirkton Jean' File:ScipioKennedyGrave.jpg, Grave marker for former slave

Scipio Kennedy Scipio Kennedy (–1774) was a slave who was taken as a child from Guinea (region), Guinea in West Africa. After being purchased at the age of five or six by Douglas of Mains, Captain Andrew Douglas of Mains, he worked as a slave under his ...

File:Souter Johnnies Cottage, Kirkoswald - geograph.org.uk - 435444.jpg, Souter Johnnie's cottage, now owned by the National Trust File:Turnberry Castle.jpg, The remains of Turnberry Castle File:Maidens Harbour View - geograph.org.uk - 1705898.jpg, View of Maidens village File:View towards Mochrum Hill - geograph.org.uk - 231335.jpg, View towards Mochrum Hill

References

External links

The Gazetteer for Scotland - KirkoswaldKirkoswald Parish Profile
* Villages in Carrick, Scotland {{southAyrshire-geo-stub