Kilmaurs () is a village in East Ayrshire, Scotland which lies just outside of the largest settlement in East Ayrshire, Kilmarnock. It lies on the Carmel Water, southwest of Glasgow. Population recorded for the village in the 2001 Census recorded 2,601 people resided in the villageEast Ayrshire Council: Information Archives http://www.east-ayrshire.gov.uk/content.asp?URL=/corpres/Admin/eabynos.pdf It was in the Civil Parish of Kilmaurs.The Imperial gazetteer of Scotland. 1854. Vol.II (GORDON-ZETLAND) by Rev. John Marius Wilson. pp208-209. https://archive.org/stream/imperialgazettee02wilsuoft#page/208/mode/2up
Prehistory The fossilised remains of eight mammoths were found in Woodhill quarry, Kilmaurs.Knight, James (1936), Glasgow and Strathclyde. London : Thomas Nelson. p. 35.
History
Early history Kilmaurs was known as the hamlet of Cunninghame until the 13th century.Groome, Francis H. (1903). Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland. Pub. Caxton. London. P. 938.Tranter, Nigel (1965), The Fortified House in Scotland. V. 3. South-West Scotland. Pub. Oliver & Boyd. P. 40. The population in 1874 was 1,145.Douglas, William Scott (1874). In Ayrshire. A Descriptive Picture of the County of Ayr. Kilmarnock : McKie & Drennan. Reprint. . p. 16 Alex Young suggested that the name Kilmaurs comes from the Gaelic meaning Hill of the Great Cairn.Young, Alex F.(2001). Old Kilmaurs and Fenwick. . Young’s suggestion for the Gaelic origins of the placename Kilmaurs is extremely unlikely. Earliest medieval records refer to an early medieval church dedicated to a saint (probably a Saint Maura) closely associated with the origins of the ancient settlement. The authoritative Ainmean-Àite na h-Alba website endorses the ecclesiastical origins of the name though exact identity of the saint remains unclear.
Economic and religious
It was once noted for its cutlery, shoe and bonnet workshops, and there were iron and coal mines in the neighbourhood. A hanger is a type of hunting sword, the only remaining Scottish example of which was made in Kilmaurs; it is in the keeping of the Kelvingrove Museum in Glasgow. The hanger sword is marked 'Kilmares' and is marked 'DB' for the maker or cutler, David Biggart, who also made knives and forks. This sword is highly ornate with the grip made of tortoiseshell with floral patterns in extremely fine twisted silver wire.Capwell, Tobias (2007). The Real Fighting Stuff. Glasgow : Glasgow City Council (Museums). . p. 94. Fork over fork, is part of the kilmaurs coat of arms, relating to the history of the village cutlery heritage and for forking out prisoners and those hiding in hay to avoid capture. Kilmaurs was famous for its kale which was an important foodstuff. A story is told of how a neighbouring village offered to pay a generous price for some kale seeds, an offer too good to turn down. The cunning locals agreed, however a gentle roasting on a shovel over a coal fire ensured that they never germinated.Cuthbertson, David Cuningham (1945). 'Autumn in Kyle and the Charm of Cunninghame'. London : Jenkins. Page 186
The Parish church, Saint Maurs, now St Maurs-Glencairn, dates from 1170, and was dedicated either to the Virgin or to a Scottish saint of the 9th century called Maura. Maura was a Scottish saint who is said to have died in 899. She lived and worked on the isle of Little Cumbrae, and was thought to be the daughter of a Scottish Chieftain.Kilmaurs Church and village It was enlarged in 1403 and in great part rebuilt in 1888.
The reputed warlock, John Stewart, is said to have regularly met with the fairies on Kilmaurs Hill.Love, Dane (2009). Legendary Ayrshire. Custom : Folklore : Tradition. Auchinleck : Carn Publishing. . p. 108
Cunninghams and the Glencairn Aisle
EtymologyCarmel, the oldest form of which is Caremuall, is thought to be derived, according to McNaught and also Smith,*McNaught, Duncan (1912). Kilmaurs Parish and Burgh. Pub. A.Gardner. from the Gaelic 'Car' meaning a 'fort', and 'Meall'. meaning a hill. Therefore, 'The Hill fort'.Smith, John (1895). Prehistoric Man in Ayrshire. Pub. Elliot Stock. P. 96. Bowie's Munt at Knocklandside is one strong candidate for the site of the 'Hill Fort'.
Adjoining it is the Glencairn Aisle, burial-place of the Earls of Glencairn, the leading personages in the district during several centuries, some of whom bore the style of Lord Kilmaurs. The aisle, designed and erected in 1600 by David Scwgal, Mason burgess from Carel, (he was also responsible for designing the tomb dedicated to William Schaw, James VI's Master of Works in Dunfermline Abbey), contains the restored tomb of the 7th. Earl with his wife and eight children. Their family name was Cunningham, adopted from the baillie which they acquired in the 12th century, or more probably from the old district of Cunninghame (Ayrshire) where the town is situated.
The De Morville family lived at Tour house nearby. The family built Kilwinning Abbey, a daughter was the mother of John Baliol and another member was one of the murderers of Thomas a Becket. The town was made a burgh of barony in 1527 by the earl of that date. Robert Burns's patron, James Cunningham the fourteenth earl of Glencairn, upon whose death the poet wrote his touching "Lament", sold the Kilmaurs estate in 1786 to the Marchioness of Titchfield. Later the family held the title of Duke of Portland.
Kilmaurs has strong links with the Cunningham family who are associated with the toun of Lambroughton for a significant period during their rise to power. The Cunningham chiefs had a weaker connection with the barony of Kilmaurs after 1484 when Finlaystone became the family seat; Sir William Cunningham of Kilmaurs had married Margaret Denniston, sole heir to Sir Robert Denniston in 1405, and the dowry included the baronies of Denniston and Finlaystone in Renfrewshire, the lands of Kilmaronock in Dunbartonshire, and the barony of Glencairn in Dumfriesshire.*Metcalfe, William M. (1905). A History of the County of Renfrew from the Earliest Times. Paisley : Alexander Gardner. p. 121 James, the fourteenth Earl of Glencairn broke the centuries-old connection of the Cunningham family with the area by selling the Barony and estate of Kilmaurs, including Kilmaurs place, in 1786 to the Marchioness of Titchfield.Robertson, William (1908). Ayrshire. Its History and Historic Families. Volume 2. Grimsay Press (2005). . P. 326.
Laigh Milton viaduct
One sad story redolent of its era is that of a 'professional class' couple from England, Mr. & Mrs. Barker, who committed suicide in Victorian times (1844) by tying themselves together and jumping from Laigh Milton Viaduct into the Irvine, which has a depth of only around at this point. They were buried in the Kilmaurs churchyard in an unmarked grave. They are known to have spent a few weeks in lodgings and apparently enjoyed the 'sights and sounds' of Ayrshire. It transpired that they had recently become bankrupt and were fearful of the shame and disgrace that poverty would inevitably bring.Adamson, Archibald R. (1875). Rambles Round Kilmarnock. Pub. T.Stevenson, P. 175.
The Tolbooth (also known as the Jougs)
Kilmaurs Tolbooth accommodated the council chambers and jail of the former Burgh of Barony and latterly of the Parish Council. It is known locally as the 'jougs', 'Jugs' or 'Juggs' after the metal collar and chain that still hangs from the wall. The village also once had stocks for holding and humiliating miscreants.McNaught, Duncan (1912). Kilmaurs Parish and Burgh. Pub. A.Gardner. p.240
A tower of some description existed before the present steeple was built in 1800. The present Town house with its council chamber and originally two vaulted cells below may date from at least 1709 with repairs recorded in 1743. One was entered by a small door facing west. Close refers to the building as being a tower house in miniature.Close, Rob (1992). Ayrshire & Arran. An Illustrated Architectural Guide. RIAS. . p.118 The Burgh of Barony with its forty "tenementers" was established in 1527 so an earlier Council House is likely to have existed.
Internally the council chamber had a bench, a dock and a space between for the clerks and councillors and a fireplace was once present. The 'Jougs' was also used as the Kilmaurs fire station in the 19th century; the fire engine being housed in one of the two prison cells of the old jail. The Dick Institute in Kilmarnock now houses the preserved wooden 1830s fire engine. It was in good condition and still at Kilmaurs in the 1940s, painted pillar-box red and carrying the Glencairn coat of arms. The stout wood tank held around fifty gallons and the hose is only two yards long; the engine was hauled by a pair of horses. Cuthbertson records that the village's hand bell reposed on the engine.Cuthbertson, David Cuningham (1945). 'Autumn in Kyle and the Charm of Cunninghame'. London : Jenkins. Page 185 The Kilmaurs jougs themselves were used in last used in 1820 when a housebreaker was held in them. He was so small that he had to be stood on a stone block.
William Aiton in 1808 commented on the Kilmaurs town-hall and jail, saying they "are contemptible, of little use, and ought to be pulled down."Aiton, William (1811). General View of The Agriculture of the County of Ayr; observations on the means of its improvement; drawn up for the consideration of the Board of Agriculture, and Internal Improvements, with Beautiful Engravings. Glasgow. p. 105 In 1874 the steeple was hit by lightning and of masonry were destroyed. Rebuilding severely stretched the burgh's finances.*McNaught, Duncan (1912). Kilmaurs Parish and Burgh. Pub. A.Gardner. p.267
The original tolbooth stood nearby at the crossroads and may have been used to hold prisoners when the Council House was just a single storey.*McNaught, Duncan (1912). Kilmaurs Parish and Burgh. Pub. A.Gardner. p.276
The Mercat Cross and Butter Market Kilmaurs has a fine example of a stepped Mercat Cross in an enclosure behind it; this cross is surmounted by a large sandstone ball and dated 1830, once enclosed by railings. On market days a holed board was placed on top and used as basic scales for weighing goods for sale.McNaught, Duncan (1912). Kilmaurs Parish and Burgh. Pub. A.Gardner. p.276 A record of a cross being repaired survives from 1743 indicating that an older cross once stood here. The back of the building had a lean to building with a window and a chimney in 1895.Close, Rob & Riches, Anne. (2012).Ayrshire and Arran. The Buildings of Scotland. London : Yale University Press. . p. 464. Latterly the butter market was held here.
Public Hall
This fine building was designed by Robert McHoull, constructed at a cost of £1,400 and completed in 1893. This town hall building had a stage, changing rooms, and a kitchen on the ground floor, a reading room, a recreation room and a viewing gallery on the upper floor. Unfortunately the architect did not have a stairway on the drawings, and had to construct a very narrow and winding staircase to reach the upper floor, as a last resort, before the official opening. It is now used by the District Council as a home for the homeless, or as a shelter for single parent families, while waiting for a permanent residence.Kilmaurs. A Walk thro' time. East Ayrshire council and Outdoor Access.
Modern history
Kilmaurs has a particularly fine war memorial situated in the Morton Park (gifted to the village by George Morton of Lochgreen, Troon in 1921.) The memorial itself, which was designed by William Kellock Brown, was erected at a cost of £900 raised by public subscription and unveiled on 3 April 1921. 45 men gave their lives in the Great War and 10 men and 1 woman in the Second World War.