Prestwick () is a town in

South Ayrshire South Ayrshire (; , ) 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. South Ayrshire had an estimated population in 2021 of 112,45 ...

on the west coast 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 ...

about southwest of

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

. It adjoins the larger town of

Ayr Ayr ( ; ; , meaning "confluence of the River Àir"), is a town situated on the southwest coast of Scotland. A former royal burgh, today it is the administrative centre of South Ayrshire Council, and the historic county town of Ayrshire. With ...

to the south on the

Firth of Clyde The Firth of Clyde, is the estuary of the River Clyde, on the west coast of Scotland. The Firth has some of the deepest coastal waters of the British Isles. The Firth is sheltered from the Atlantic Ocean by the Kintyre, Kintyre Peninsula. The ...

coast, the centre of which is about south, and the small village of

Monkton Monkton may refer to: Places ;United Kingdom *Monkton, Devon, England *Monkton, Kent, England *Monkton, Pembroke, Wales *Monkton, South Ayrshire, Scotland *Monkton, Tyne and Wear, England *Monkton, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales ;Canada *Monkton, Ontari ...

to the north. It had a population of 14,901 at the 2011 census.

Glasgow Prestwick Airport Glasgow Prestwick Airport (), commonly referred to as Prestwick Airport, is an international airport serving the west of Scotland, situated northeast of the town of Prestwick, and southwest of Glasgow, Scotland. It is the less busy of the two ...

is on the town's outskirts, providing passenger flights to European and historically, transatlantic destinations, as well as international cargo flights. The town was the first home of the Open Golf Championship, which was played on the Prestwick Old Course from 1860 to 1872.

History

Prestwick's name comes from the

Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

for, ''priest's farm'': ''preost'' meaning "priest" and ''wic'' meaning "farm". The town was originally an outlying farm of a

religious Religion is a range of social- cultural systems, including designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relate humanity to supernatural ...

house. George T. Flom suggested that the name was of

Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...

origin. In this case, it would mean "priest's bay". From

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 reputed to have been cured of

leprosy Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease (HD), is a Chronic condition, long-term infection by the bacteria ''Mycobacterium leprae'' or ''Mycobacterium lepromatosis''. Infection can lead to damage of the Peripheral nervous system, nerves, respir ...

by the waters of the well at St Ninians church. The well still exists behind the church. Although it has been a Burgh of Barony for over a thousand years, it was a village until the railway arrived in the 1840s and the middle class from Glasgow started to build large houses along the coast.

Prestwick Burgh Hall Prestwick Burgh Hall, also known as Prestwick Freeman's Hall and Prestwick Freemen's Hall, is a municipal building in Kirk Street, Prestwick, Scotland. The structure, which served as the meeting place of Prestwick Burgh Council, is a Category B ...

was completed in around 1837. The Prestwick Bathing Lake, known as the Lido, was opened in 1931 by the Secretary of State for Scotland, William Adamson. It was the largest swimming pool north of the border. It could accommodate 1200 bathers and 3000 spectators. It hosted swimming galas, diving exhibitions, moonlight swimming sessions and regular fireworks displays and was the venue of some of the Miss Scotland competitions. It was closed in 1972 and subsequently demolished. On 28 August 1944, a

Douglas C-54 Skymaster The Douglas C-54 Skymaster is a four-engined transport aircraft used by the United States Army Air Forces in World War II and the Korean War. Like the Douglas C-47 Skytrain derived from the DC-3, the C-54 Skymaster was derived from a civilia ...

(42-72171) of the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

, on approach into Glasgow Prestwick Airport in bad weather, crashed into a residential area of Prestwick, killing all 20 passengers and crew and five people on the ground.

Transport

Air travel

, formerly Prestwick International Airport, opened in the 1930s. The airport was a transatlantic gateway for over half a century. It lies close to, and was the last European re-fuelling way-point on, the

Great Circle In mathematics, a great circle or orthodrome is the circular intersection of a sphere and a plane passing through the sphere's center point. Discussion Any arc of a great circle is a geodesic of the sphere, so that great circles in spher ...

route from London via

Thule Thule ( ; also spelled as ''Thylē'') is the most northerly location mentioned in ancient Greek and Roman literature and cartography. First written of by the Greek explorer Pytheas of Massalia (modern-day Marseille, France) in about 320 BC, i ...

Greenland Greenland is an autonomous territory in the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. It is by far the largest geographically of three constituent parts of the kingdom; the other two are metropolitan Denmark and the Faroe Islands. Citizens of Greenlan ...

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

in the US; it is now no longer relevant for modern aircraft with non-stop range. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

the

US Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical ri ...

had a base at the airport, and

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

set foot in the UK for the only time there on 3 March 1960, when his

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

transport aircraft stopped for refuelling en route from Germany. Though a period of decline in the 1980s and 1990s saw it lose its status as Scotland's primary transatlantic airport, Prestwick continues to handle US military flights. In July 2005, the airport was the main transport hub for world leaders attending the G8 conference in Gleneagles. The airport now caters to one

low-cost airline A low-cost carrier (LCC) or low-cost airline, also called a budget, or discount carrier or airline, is an airline that is operated with an emphasis on minimizing operating costs. It sacrifices certain traditional airline luxuries for cheaper fa ...

Ryanair Ryanair is an Irish Low-cost carrier#Ultra low-cost carrier, ultra low-cost airline group headquartered in Swords, County Dublin, Ireland. The parent company, Ryanair Holdings plc, includes subsidiaries Ryanair , Malta Air, Buzz (Ryanair), Buzz ...

. In addition,

BAE Systems BAE Systems plc is a British Multinational corporation, multinational Aerospace industry, aerospace, military technology, military and information security company, based in London. It is the largest manufacturer in Britain as of 2017. It is ...

Goodrich Corporation The Goodrich Corporation, formerly the B.F. Goodrich Company, was an American manufacturing company based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Founded in Akron, Ohio in 1870 as Goodrich, Tew & Co. by Benjamin Goodrich, Dr. Benjamin Franklin Go ...

Spirit AeroSystems Spirit AeroSystems Holdings, Inc. is an American Manufacturing, manufacturer of aerostructures for commercial airplanes, headquartered in Wichita, Kansas. The company produces fuselage sections for Boeing's Boeing 737, 737 and Boeing 787 Dreaml ...

and GE Aircraft Engines have maintenance/manufacturing facilities adjacent to the airfield.

Navy station and NATS

Prestwick has a Royal Navy Air Station, also known as HMS Gannet, where Sea King search and rescue helicopters were stationed until the role was civilianised in January 2016. Prestwick is a major

air traffic control Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled air ...

centre, with both the Scottish Air Traffic Control Centre (controlling 70% of UK airspace) and Prestwick Oceanic Area Control Centre (

Shanwick Oceanic Control Shanwick is the air traffic control (ATC) name given to the area of international airspace which lies above the northeast part of the Atlantic Ocean. The Shanwick Oceanic Control Area (OCA) abuts Reykjavík OCA to the north, Gander OCA to the ...

- responsible for air traffic over the eastern half of the North Atlantic) located at the NATS owned 'Scottish and Oceanic Area Control Centre'.

Bus and road

Prestwick is on the

Ayrshire Coast Line The Ayrshire Coast Line is one of the lines within the Strathclyde suburban Railway, rail network in Scotland. It has 26 stations and connects the Ayrshire coast to Glasgow. There are three branches, to , and , all running into the high leve ...

between Glasgow Central and Ayr. Three trains per hour call at both and , with additional services at peak times. Glasgow is approximately 50 minutes from Prestwick by rail. The line continues south to the port of

Stranraer Stranraer ( , in Scotland also ; ), also known as The Toon or The Cleyhole, is a town in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, on Loch Ryan and the northern side of the isthmus joining the Rhins of Galloway to the mainland. Stranraer is Dumfries ...

on the

Wigtownshire Wigtownshire or the County of Wigtown (, ) is one of the Counties of Scotland, historic counties of Scotland, covering an area in the south-west of the country. Until 1975, Wigtownshire was an counties of Scotland, administrative county used for ...

coast, but a change of trains at Ayr is usually required. The bus routes that run through Prestwick are usually run by Stagecoach Western including an express service to and from Glasgow known as the "X77". The A79 road runs directly through the town, and is normally reached from the A77 trunk road between Glasgow and Stranraer, or from the A78 Ayrshire coastal route to

Largs Largs () is a town on the Firth of Clyde in North Ayrshire, Scotland, about from Glasgow. The original name means "the slopes" (''An Leargaidh'') in Scottish Gaelic. A popular seaside resort with a pier, the town markets itself on its histor ...

and

Greenock Greenock (; ; , ) is a town in Inverclyde, Scotland, located in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. The town is the administrative centre of Inverclyde Council. It is a former burgh within the historic county of Renfrewshire, and forms ...

Landmarks

The remains of the old parish church are located near Prestwick railway station. Thought to have originally been built in the 12th century, the small church building is now a ruin, and is surrounded by an ancient graveyard. Prestwick has a

esplanade An esplanade or promenade is a long, open, level area, usually next to a river or large body of water, where people may walk. The historical definition of ''esplanade'' was a large, open, level area outside fortress or city walls to provide cle ...

alongside Prestwick Bay, part of the

. It has two children's playgrounds. At the north end Kid'zplay, an indoor activity centre, can be found next to the large play-area that was formerly a large open air swimming pool. Parallel to the esplanade is a line of large houses overlooking Arran. The Prestwick Old Course hosted the first

Open Golf Championship The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...

in 1860. The first twelve Open Championships were played there, from 1860 to 1872. (the Championship was not played in 1871). The town also hosts two other golf courses, St. Nicholas and St. Cuthberts. St. Nicholas is a traditional links course south of the town. Prestwick St Ninians Golf Club was founded in 1912. The club continued until the 1950s. The Shaw Monument stands on the high ground overlooking Prestwick Airport. On Ardayre Road in Prestwick is a Polish memorial. Its origins can be traced to a memorial erected by the Polish Air Force at

. Discovered there in a dilapidated and vandalised condition, it was moved by Kyle and Carrick District Council in 1986 to its present site in the gardens of the RAFA Club which overlooks the sea. The memorial was repaired and placed on a new plinth. On 2 May 1987 the memorial was unveiled with a commemorative plaque by the Polish Naval, Air Force and Ex-Combattants' Associations. On the 45th anniversary of the sinking of the ORP Orkan (G90), 8 October 1988, another commemorative plaque was installed in memory of the Polish Navy, Merchant Navy and Coastal Command airmen who died in the Battle of the Atlantic. On Polish Navy Day (10 February) at the memorial, in a service that both Polish and Scottish ex-servicemen participate in, the memories of those that perished are remembered in a spirit of friendship and comradeship between Polish and Scottish ex-servicemen.

The Oval The Oval, currently named for sponsorship reasons as the Kia Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, located in the borough of Lambeth, in south London. The Oval has been the home ground of Surrey County Cricket Club sinc ...

is a public park in the centre of Prestwick with two full size football pitches with indoor changing rooms, a tennis centre with three indoor courts and eight outdoor, a 25m indoor swimming pool and gym, indoor bowling green and cricket club. The park was gifted to the town in 1954.

Education

Prestwick has five schools, four primary and one secondary, one of which is a

denominational school A faith school is a school in the United Kingdom that teaches a general curriculum but which has a particular religious character or formal links with a religious or faith-based organisation. The term is most commonly applied to state-funded fai ...

, serving Prestwick and north of Prestwick. The schools are: * Prestwick Academy * Glenburn Primary * Kingcase Primary * St. Ninian's Primary: denominational (Catholic) Primary * Heathfield Primary: Officially in Ayr, on border of Prestwick and Ayr Prestwick Academy is a secondary school fed by all these primary schools. St. Ninian's pupils can go on to Queen Margaret Academy or Prestwick Academy. The primary schools in the outlying villages of Monkton and Symington also 'feed' the secondary school.

Population

Prestwick census locality has a population of 14,934; the

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

of Monkton and Prestwick has a population of 14,261.General Register Office for Scotland : ''Census 2001 : KS01 Usual Resident Population : Monkton and Prestwick Civil Parish''
Retrieved 2009-12-25

Governance

Prestwick lies within the

South Ayrshire Council South Ayrshire Council (Scottish Gaelic: ''Comhairle Shiorrachd Àir a Deas'') is the local authority for South Ayrshire, one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It was created in 1996, and now comprises eight wards, each with three of four dire ...

area. Prestwick is part of the

Scottish parliamentary constituency which has been represented by SNP MSP Siobhian Brown since the

2021 Scottish Parliament election The 2021 Scottish Parliament election took place on 6 May 2021 under the provisions of the Scotland Act 1998. It was the sixth Scottish Parliament election since the parliament was re-established in 1999. 129 Member of the Scottish Parliament, ...

. The constituency also incorporates the towns of

and

Troon Troon (Scottish Gaelic: ''An Truthail'') is a town and sea port in South Ayrshire, situated on the west coast of Ayrshire in Scotland, about north of Ayr and northwest of Glasgow Prestwick Airport. Troon has a port with ferry and freight serv ...

. At Westminster, Prestwick forms part of the

Central Ayrshire Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

constituency. It is represented by Scottish Labour MP Alan Gemmell: the constituency extends north into Troon and rural South Ayrshire and further north into

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 Scotland *Irvine, North Ayrshire, Scotlan ...

and part of

Kilwinning Kilwinning (, ; ) is a town in North Ayrshire, Scotland. It is located on the banks of the River Garnock in Ayrshire, west/central Scotland, about southwest of Glasgow. Kilwinning's neighbours are the coastal towns of Stevenston to the west an ...

North Ayrshire North Ayrshire (, ) is one of 32 Council areas of Scotland, 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 s ...

Councillors

Four

Councillors A councillor, alternatively councilman, councilwoman, councilperson, or council member, is someone who sits on, votes in, or is a member of, a council. This is typically an elected representative of an electoral district in a municipal or regi ...

currently represent the Prestwick ward as part of

Council.

Geography

Prestwick is geographically split into two main areas by the Main Street running parallel to the railway line. Most people live on the east side of Main Street. Here there is a mixture of council and private housing. The main neighbourhoods on the east of the Main Street are Shawfarm, Marchburn, Glenburn, Powmill, Kingcase, Moorfield and East Road/Kings Meadow. On the west side of the Main Street is a mixture of council, privately owned, rented and hotel/B & B accommodation.

Climate

Prestwick has an

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen climate classification, Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of co ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

: ''Cfb'').

Sport and recreation

St. Ninian's Park, nicknamed The Oval, is a public park located in the centre, and consists of 2 full size football pitches with indoor changing rooms, a tennis centre with 3 indoor courts and 8 outdoor, a 25m indoor swimming pool and gym, indoor bowling green and cricket club.

Prestwick Golf Club Prestwick Golf Club is a golf course in Prestwick, South Ayrshire, Scotland. It is approximately southwest of Scotland's largest city, Glasgow. Prestwick is a classic links course, built on the rolling sandy land between the beach and the hi ...

is a classic links

golf course A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a teeing ground, tee box, a #Fairway and rough, fairway, the #Fairway and rough, rough and other hazard (golf), hazards, and ...

, built on the rolling sandy land between the beach and the hinterland. The course is near the Prestwick airport, and some holes run along railway tracks on the eastern side of the course.

The Open Championship The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...

originated at the club, and was played there 24 times between 1860 and 1925. Famous sportspeople from Prestwick are

footballers A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

Bob Anderson, Craig Conway, James Forrest,

Giovanni Moscardini Giovanni Moscardini (; 1897–1985), also known as Johnny Moscardini, was an Italian Scottish footballer who played as a forward for Lucchese, Pisa, Genoa He scored 7 goals in his 9 games for the Italy national team. Born in Falkirk, he was o ...

, Andrew Thomson, footballer turned MP Ian Welsh, professional wrestler

Drew McIntyre Andrew McLean Galloway IV (born 6 June, 1985) is a Scottish Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown (WWE brand), SmackDown brand under the ring name Drew McIntyre. Galloway began ...

, professional golfer

William McGowan William G. McGowan (December 10, 1927 – June 8, 1992) was an American entrepreneur, and Entrepreneur, founder and Chairman of the board, chairman of MCI Communications. He played an important role in the Bell System divestiture, breakup o ...

and figure skater Lewis Gibson.

Town twinning

Prestwick is twinned with: *

Lichtenfels, Bavaria Lichtenfels () is a Town#Germany, town in the Upper Franconian region of Bavaria, Germany, the administrative seat of Lichtenfels (district), Lichtenfels district. It is chiefly known as the German "Basket City". Geography It is situated on the u ...

, Germany *

Vandalia, Ohio Vandalia is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and a suburb of Dayton. Its population was 15,209 during the 2020 census. In addition to being the city closest to Dayton International Airport, Vandalia lies at the crossroads of I ...

, United States *

Ariccia Ariccia (Latin: ''Aricia'') is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Rome, Central Italy, southeast of Rome. It is in the Alban Hills of the Lazio (Latium) region and could be considered an extension of Rome's southeastern suburbs. One ...

, Italy

References

External links

Prestwick - About Prestwick, South Ayrshire, Scotland
About Prestwick * Prestwick Bathing Lak
Prestwick had real pooling power

South Ayrshire Council

Video and commentary on the Shaw Monument

Video and commentary on St Nicholas Kirk, Prestwick

Video and commentary on Bruce's or Kingcase Well
{{DEFAULTSORT:Prestwick Towns in South Ayrshire Firth of Clyde