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

Ayrshire Ayrshire (, ) is a Counties of Scotland, historic county and registration county, in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. The lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area of Ayrshire and Arran covers the entirety ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, 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 ...

. 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 of whether what Bede considered 642 is the same as what would now be considered 642. R. L. Poole (''Studies in Chronology and H ...

, 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 (), was King of Scots from 1306 until his death in 1329. Robert led Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland during the First War of Scottish Independence against Kingdom of Eng ...

, 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 (architect), William Adam (1689–1748), Scotland's foremost architect of the time, and train ...

. Kirkoswald is also noted for its connection with

Robert Burns Robert Burns (25 January 1759 – 21 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the List of national poets, national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the be ...

, 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 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, the ancient seat of the Earls of Carrick, Culzean Castle, Thomaston Castle and Crossraguel Abbey. 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 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