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Kilmaurs - Extract from National Gazetteer, 1868

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The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland - 1868

"KILMAURS, a parish and post town in the district of Cunninghame, county Ayr, Scotland, 2 miles N.W. of Kilmarnock. The parish, which is 6 miles long by 3 broad, contains the villages of Crosshouse, Knockentiber, Kirkton, and Milton. It is intersected by the Kilmaurs Water, which joins the river Irvine-this last traces part of the southern boundary. The surface is generally level, and draining is well attended to. Coal is extensively worked. The road from Kilmarnock to Irvine passes through the parish, and the Glasgow and South-Western railway in the vicinity. The town was constituted a borough of barony by James V., under the earls of Glencairn. It occupies a position on the banks of the Carmel, and is chiefly inhabited by manufacturers for the Glasgow and Paisley markets. It was once noted for the excellence of its cutlery. The town is governed by 2 bailies and other officers. This parish is in the presbytery of Irvine, and synod of Glasgow and Ayr. The minister has a stipend of £277. The church, which is said to have been built in the 14th century, was repaired in 1804. It anciently belonged to the monks of Kelso, and was made collegiate in 1503. There are Free and United Presbyterian churches, and several schools. The principal seats are Craig, Thornton, Tour, Carmel Bank, and Tower Hill. Brisby Castle, on the Carmel, was a seat of the Barclay family. The cemetery was laid out by the Cunninghams, then earls of Glencairn, in 1600, and has remains of a monument to the ninth earl, and of a cell to Selkirk Abbey. The market is discontinued. Fairs are held in June, August, and November."

"CROSSHOUSE, a village in the parish of Kilmaurs, in the county of Ayr, Scotland, 2 miles from Kilmarnock, and 62 from Edinburgh."

"KNOCKENTIBER, a village in the parish of Kilmaurs, county Ayr, Scotland, 2 miles N.W. of Kilmarnock. It is situated near the river Carmel, called also Kilmaurs Water."

"MILTON, a village in the parish of Kilmaurs, county Ayr, Scotland, 3 miles N.W. of Kilmarnock."

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