Drybridge is a small village in
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 a ...
, Scotland. Drybridge is thus named because of the "dry bridge" over the
Kilmarnock and Troon Railway
The Kilmarnock and Troon Railway was an early railway line in Ayrshire, Scotland. It was constructed to bring coal from pits around Kilmarnock to coastal shipping at Troon Harbour, and passengers were carried.
It opened in 1812, and was the ...
, opened in 1812. The nearby "wet bridge" is the
Laigh Milton Viaduct
Laigh Milton Viaduct is a railway viaduct near Laigh Milton mill to the west of Gatehead in East Ayrshire, Scotland, about west of Kilmarnock. It is probably the world's earliest surviving railway viaduct on a public railway,Roland Paxton and J ...
, the oldest surviving railway bridge in Scotland and possibly the world.
Standing stone
The standing stone at Stane Field (NS 359 364), Drybridge, is the only one recorded for this local authority area. It stands close to the
old railway station. This standing stone is on level ground in a field of young crop at about 20 m OD. It has a maximum height of 2.6 m, and as stated, is roughly square with a girth of about 4.0 m and a maximum width of 1.3 m. A perforated stone axe head was found nearby. In this area are a
cursus
250px, Stonehenge Cursus, Wiltshire
250px, Dorset Cursus terminal on Thickthorn Down, Dorset
Cursuses are monumental Neolithic structures resembling ditches or trenches in the islands of Great Britain and Ireland. Relics found within them in ...
,
henge
There are three related types of Neolithic earthwork that are all sometimes loosely called henges. The essential characteristic of all three is that they feature a ring-shaped bank and ditch, with the ditch inside the bank. Because the internal ...
, several sites of flint flake deposits and a twin concentric circle structure.
Facilities
The small school stood near the Shewalton East Lodge. It belonged to trustees, but was offered for use by Captain Boyle of Shewalton. The school at Dundonald was overcrowded and the school is opened in 1879 after considerable alterations with Mr. McKissock and Miss Miller as teachers. The school has been demolished having been used as a pallet store for many years.
Shewalton had a 'Mission Station' in 1837, probably at Drybridge and the mother church was
Dundonald.
[Gillespie, Page 569]
Drybridge is a very basic village with few facilities.a village hall, post box, phone box and recycling facilities. There used to be a school/church here, which spent many years as a pallet makers workshop and store before recently being replaced by houses. The scrap-yard in the old station goods yard is now closed (2008).
The railway which the "dry bridge" carried still exists and is still in use; Drybridge station has been converted into housing. Although the platforms survive, trains no longer stop at Drybridge station.
Micro-history
Shewalton House stood nearby, demolished between the wars and an industrial estate built on part of the estate.
References
;Notes
External links
YouTube of the hidden 1812 'Dry Bridge'
YouTube of the Drybridge Standing StoneYouTube video of Laigh Milton ViaductYouTube video - Ayrshire Tales - A Romantic TragedyYouTube video - Girtig Mill and weirYouTube video - Girtrig old railway bridge & the railway;Sources
# Gillespie, James H. (1939). ''Dundonald. A Contribution to parochial History''. Glasgow : John Wylie & Co.
Villages in North Ayrshire
Archaeological sites in North Ayrshire
Irvine, North Ayrshire
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