National Gazetteer, 1868

"GALSTON, a parish and post town in the district of Kyle, county Ayr, Scotland, 5 miles N. of Mauchline. It is a station on the Newmilns branch of the Glasgow and South-Western railway. The parish is situated on the river Irvine, not far from the source of the river Avon, and includes the village of Old-bridge-end. It is 13 miles long by 4½ wide. The surface is hilly, with a good and much improved soil. It contains a large tract of pasture. Loch Gait and Bruntwood are within the limits, and the road from Kilmarnock to Nithsdale traverses the parish in the W. Cairnsaigh and Molmont are the principal elevations. This parish is in the presbytery of Ayr and synod of Glasgow and Ayr. The minister has a stipend of £179. The church was built in 1808, and there are Free and United Presbyterian churches, also parochial and other schools. Loudon Castle is the seat of the Marquis of Hastings, who, with the Duke of Portland (Fullarton House); is the principal landowner. The town is seated in a hollow on the left bank of the river Irvine, which is here crossed by a stone bridge. The population are chiefly occupied in cotton-weaving. There are also paper, flour, and lint mills. In the vicinity are remains of a Roman camp at a place called Beg, which was the scene of the defeat of Fenwick by Wallace. Druidical remains are visible on Molmont Hill. Coins and other relics have been found at Claymore and Waterhaughs. Limestone, sandstone, and coal are worked, and ironstone exists in this parish. A beautiful pebble is found in the bed of the Burnanne, and agate and chalcedony are met with at Molmont. "Patie's Mill," the subject of a ballad, is in the vicinity of the town. Fairs are held on the first Thursday in June, the third in April, and the last Wednesday in November."

"OLD BRIDGEND, a village in the parish of Galston, Kyle district of the county of Ayr, Scotland, not far from Kilmarnock. It is near the Newmilns branch of the Glasgow and South-Western railway."

Description(s) from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland (1868)
Transcribed by Colin Hinson ©2003