Monthly Archives: October 2012

An Incident in the Kay Park, 1879

by bmcuser

This story is an extract from the The Ayrshire Museum, compiled by William Howie Wylie (Kilmarnock, 1891). This book is a real treasure trove of local history, anecdotes and extracts from the late 19th century.  

An Incident in the Kay Park

It was in the summer of 1879 I had occasion to pay a holiday visit to Kilmarnock. I spent a pleasant evening with some friends, and early in the morning following proceeded to the Kay Park. Many sweet recollections of my boyhood passed through my memory as I traversed the green sward on the brow of the Clerk’s Holm, now one of the portions of the Park, the spot where I used to dig up the drunt root with one eye, and watch the gamekeeper with the other, at times taking a sly glance at the river and looking out for the shortest cut in it to get through if he happened to come on our path. This spot was a great resort of Townhead boys 30 years ago – a vast difference now-a-days when they can go through it with ease of mind if they do that which is proper. I wended my way up to the Monument. I was somewhat intimate with the keeper who held the appointment then, and was very courteously received by him. During our conversation he related an interesting incident that had occured through the week at the Monument. He said that early one morning, on looking over the balustrade, he saw an aged but respectable-looking woman coming up the stairs with a basket over her arm. On reaching the top she addressed him somewhat in this fashion: “Sir,” she said, “I have come from Mauchline this morning to see the poet. I have brought with me his wife, Jean Armour’s, silk shawl. I have one request to make of you, and I hope you will grant it. I wish you to wrap this shawl round the poet’s shoulders.” The keeper willingly did as she wished him – he stepping on the base of the statue – and allowed the shawl to remain for a short period. Many a time this incident has struck me very forcibly since.  I can imagine I see the scene, giving strong proof that the belles of Mauchline still hold our national poet in admiration. The keeper made some enquiry how she came in possession of this relic. She said it had been handed down to her through lineal descent; she, in some way, being connected to Jean Armour. He also asked her if she would not part with it if she got a fair offer for it. She answered him in the negative. She had given it out several times to parties who had been getting married. On the last occasion it was out it was returned to her with a mouse hole in it; and from that date she kept it like the apple of her eye, resolved that no one would get it till she was no more. I think this is a relic that should not be lost sight of for the Burns collection in the Monument.

Townholm Boy

Ayr, 12th July, 1881

A Sense of Belonging

by bmcuser

At this year’s Imprint Book Festival we have a very special event featuring William McIlvanney and Stewart Conn, in converstation with Scotland on Sunday‘s Stuart Kelly. They will be discussing and reading around the theme of ‘A Sense of Belonging’ - from the anthology A Sense of Belonging: Six Scottish Poets of the Seventies (Blackie, 1977) in which McIlvanney and Conn appeared alongside Douglas Dunn, Tom Leonard, Liz Lochhead and Edwin Morgan. This little book is a major document of twentieth century Scottish poetry. That it features two writers with strong Ayrshire connections (both were taught at Kilmarnock Academy) means that it’s a treasured part of the area’s literary heritage.

 

The event is on 13th November, 8.30 pm – 9.30 pm. It’s preceded by an appearance by Janice Galloway, again in conversation with Stuart Kelly, discussing her award-winning memoir All Made Up (7 pm – 8 pm). For more information on the events go to Imprint Book Festival or call to book tickets.

Supporting Scottish Studies with Grange Academy

by bmcuser

This week we had a special visit from Grange Academy’s new S3 Scottish Studies class. The class have been researching Kilmarnock’s industrial past, so the Burns Monument Centre was the perfect place to find lots of information on the key people and companies from the town’s illustrious past. The pupils used a wide range of resources, including local history books, maps, company archives, trade directories, newspapers (originals and microfilm), catalogues, websites and photographs.

Among the companies being researched were Glenfield and Kennedy, Johnnie Walker, Andrew Barclay Engineering, BMK, Saxone Shoes, as well as other topics such as lacemaking, and the Kilmarnock – Troon railway.

 

Above is a scene from inside Blackwood & Morton’s Carpet Factory. Below is a photograph of workers inside the Saxone Shoe Factory.

The pupils were impressed by the scale of some of the town’s engineering works, for example at Glenfield and Kennedy (below). The were also impressed by the apprenticeship opportunities available to young people leaving school!

The picture below shows a Kilmarnock Railway workshop in 1923.

We’re working closely with the school’s Scottish Studies teacher to provide the kind of support with local history and archive material that should add valuable context to the pupils’ learning. Providing such a wide range of materials for pupils’ research (and taking their learning out of the classroom) certainly worked well with the class this week!

Imprint Book Festival 2012

by bmcuser

The Imprint Festival brochure is now out and the new website live – www.imprintfestival.co.uk.

Most of the events are held here at the Burns Monument Centre, and this year the festival has a stronger Ayrshire connection than ever. We’re welcoming two award-winning Scottish writers to Imprint for the first time – Andrew O’Hagan and Janice Galloway. We also have a very special event featuring two of the major Scottish writers of the past 40 years – William McIlvanney and Stewart Conn, both ex-pupils of Kilmarnock Academy. But it’s not just about Ayrshire – go to www.imprintfestival.co.uk to find out more about this year’s programme and how to book tickets.

Finding out about Shortlees – School Project

by bmcuser

We recently had a visit from the fantastic boys and girls of Shortlees Primary School’s P4/5 class. The class have been doing some research into the origins and development of their local area, covering the southern part of Kilmarnock – Shortlees, Riccarton and Bellfield.

The picture above shows Campbell Street, Riccarton in the early 1900s. The pupils were extremely interested in these images showing the tramlines linking Riccarton to the north of the town. The horse and carriage also indicate that this photo dates well before the Shortlees and Bellfield estates were built in the 1940s and 1950s.

The pupils used a wide range of archive and local history resources to find out about the history of their area, including maps from the 1890s showing the land owned by George Campbell of Treesbank House (pictured below). These maps showed the farms and landmarks, often with names familiar to the pupils, for example Mosshead, Knowehead, Whatriggs, Sunnyside, and Shortlees itself.

We used Ayr County Valuation Rolls from the 1890s to establish who owned this land, and photographs from the early 1900s to illustrate what the existing areas such as Riccarton looked like at that time. The pupils spent some time comparing maps from different decades, looking at the differences and trying to find the location of their own streets and houses.

To find out some of the important details of the development of the housing estates we looked at the Kilmarnock Burgh Minutes from the 1940s. These showed lots of detailed planning of the estates, not just for the houses but for the schools, churches and shops. The Minutes gave a picture of the frantic building and development that went on in the immediate post-war years. For example, in 1946 the schemes being planned were Shortlees, Bellfield, Burnpark and Witchknowe, Onthank and Altonhill. Kirkstyle was also approved for development the same year, and no less than 14 new school sites were approved by the County Council (including an 8 acre site for Shortlees Junior Secondary).

We found out some interesting and surprising things about the development of Shortlees. In September 1946 the Burgh Council received a letter from the Kilmarnock Communist Party, registering their protest against the allocation of new houses in Shortlees to employees of the newly opened Glacier Metal company. And in December 1946 there were details of streets built under a prisoner of war labour contract, including Lainshaw Avenue, Shortlees Square, and Turnberry Drive.

In amongst all of this information gathering the pupils had lots of fun taking part in the Burns Monument Centre outdoor trail and quiz. We had great fun too and really enjoyed having the pupils and staff here for the whole day! We’re thoroughly looking forward to hearing about the next steps in the project, where the pupils will present what they found to people in the local community.