Kilmarnock by Google Streetview

Take a virtual tour of the stately Ayrshire town of Kilmarnock via "Google Street View. Once the home of Johnny Walker, the town also has links with the Ayrshire poet Robert Burns.

IRVINE'S GHOSTLY NUNNERY

Sometime back in the late 70s, when I was just a kid, I remember discovering a large walled estate on the Eglinton Road between the old Irvine Royal Academy building and the new Ravenspark Academy. This wasn't that far from where my family was living at the time. The wall around the estate was about 6 feet high.

Like any inquisitive kid, I wanted to see what was on the other side, so, one night (sometimes night comes as early as 3:30 pm in Irvine), I climbed over the wall and crept up to a large house. Through the windows of what appeared to be a kitchen basement, I saw some figures dressed in black and white. Yes, nuns! Actual nuns were living right here in the heart of Irvine! At the time I secretly observed them, they seemed to be having their evening meal so it must have been around 5 or 6 pm.

Maybe there was something scary or creepy about the nuns, or maybe I felt God wouldn't take kindly to my trespassing, so I only crept in there once or twice. Anyway, a few years later, the site was redeveloped -- Irvine's massive police barracks is now there along with some modern housing -- so I started to think, maybe I had somehow imagined the whole thing.

But then several years later, this wonderful thing we all know called "the internet" came along, so I started to think, "Now, at last, I can dig up something on what I think I maybe saw." And, yes, finally I was able to confirm that what my childish eyes had seen all those years ago, was in fact true: Irvine did in fact once have a working nunnery!

There is not much of a trace of it, even on the internet, but there is some -- just enough to warrant writing about it.

Here is an account from a rather sparse site called Places of Worship:

The Roman Catholic Sisters of the Cross and Passion purchased Williamfield House in about1921 and converted it to a convent. The house was originally built in 1821 and remodelled in French Gothic style in 1872/76. The Sisters acted as teachers in the Roman Catholic schools. In 1923 an additional building was erected to be used as St Michael’s Secondary School. In 1981 the sisters left Williamfield and moved to 23 Stevenston Road, Kilwinning. The building was demolished in 1982.

Description: Construction materials: Stone (sandstone) - Used for walls; Slate - Used for roof.

This Roman Catholic convent had sandstone walls and a slate roof, but has since been demolished. No other information is available.

There is some more information about the Passionist Sisters at the website of St Mary's Church Irvine:

The secondary school, St. Michael's, opened in the convent on 7 November, 1921. Its first Principal was Sister Mechtilde Joseph. She remained Head until 1950 and continued to live in Irvine until her death in 1960. Her assistants were Sister Peter Mary, here until 1952, and Sister Frances, who taught in school until 1957 and continued to work in the parish from then until her death in 1971. At the same time several other Sisters joined the community to work in the parish. Father Keane's dreams of a school on Kilwinning Road had been realised in a way that far surpassed his expectations. In August, 1923, the new St. Michael's building was ready on the Williamfield estate and five years later, 1928, a new primary school was also built there. Sister Malachy continued to be its Head but when she retired in 1933 St. Mary's primary school became the junior department of St. Michael's. Sister Alphonsus however had special responsibility for the primary department until her death in 1940. In the meantime Sister Eugenius had come to Irvine in 1933 and from 1940 she had special care for the primary department until 1951, when she moved into the secondary. She remained there until her death in 1971. The Cross and Passion community, for fifty years comprising 15 to 20 sisters, made a substantial contribution to upgrading Catholic education and entrance to the professions.

The Irvine Burns Club website has a some good information on this:

St Michael’s owes its beginnings to two events in 1918 – the Scottish Education Act allowing Catholic schools to be maintained by the state, and the arrival in St Mary’s Parish, Irvine, of Canon Joseph Hogan, who realised the vision of a building for the primary school (which met in the church) and of a Catholic secondary school in Ayrshire. In 1920, Canon Hogan persuaded the Sisters of the Cross and Passion to buy the Williamfield estate and to staff new schools. On 7 November 1921 seven pupils formed the first intake, being taught in the former billiard room and dining room until their new secondary was opened in August 1923. The primary shared the accommodation until the new primary opened in August 1928.

The Williamfield House building only served as a school for seven years (1921-28), which is just as well, as the new school building built on the estate burnt down in 1939, just after WWII started:

Sarah Clegg (nee McQuade) recalls arriving in 1934 – "the place was modern, one storeyed, tidy, clean, surrounded by two schools, a field and a moor" [...]  Sarah recalls, "We were co-ed till 3rd year, then the boys went to Glasgow to St Aloysius’ or St Mungo’s, so we were used to a lovely quiet senior school”; but in 1939, after war broke out, the senior boys stayed in Irvine, and “our poor school was crowded with big noisy boys.”

On 25 October 1939, at about 8.15 am, fire broke out and spread quickly, destroying the whole building. Sarah says, “We were told it was an electrical fault, but we did wonder if maybe Sr Joseph had forgotten to put her cigarette out!” Huts were erected in the cleared space."

From what I gather, the pre-fab huts remained on the site until 1965 when the College moved into a new £453,000 building in Kilwinning.

The picture at the top shows the lodge house of the estate, with some of the wall, really all that remains of the original set up. The only picture of the main house available on the internet appears to be the low-resolution image below:

Russian Premier's Visit to Hunterston and Kilmarnock (1967)

Premier Kosygin meets reporters at Hunterston

Thanks to President Putin's wars of aggression, relations between the UK and Russia are at a low point. In fact, things were a lot better in the middle of the Cold War. Despite the differences between the West and the Soviet Union, there was a lot of mutual respect and serious diplomatic efforts between the two countries. One of these even led to the then Soviet Premier and most important man in the Soviet Union, Alexei Kosygin, visiting Ayrshire for one day in 1967.

As reported by the Herald:

The Russian Prime Minister, Alexei Kosygin, arrived in Scotland on Saturday, February 11, 1967, as part of an official visit to Britain.

Stepping out of a special train that had brought him to Glasgow Central Station, he made a beeline for overall-clad workers standing near platform 11.

After showing solidarity with the workers, Kosygin then moved onto Ayrshire: 

Kosygin’s day-trip to Scotland also included official engagements in Edinburgh and a visit to Hunterston nuclear power station, in Ayrshire, where again he attracted considerable interest from wellwishers and the media.

While in Ayrshire he took in the Kilmarnock-Rangers league game at Rugby Park. Watched by some 23,000 fans he was presented to the teams before kick-off. It was a breathtakingly exciting match; both sides, remarked the Glasgow Herald’s football writer Glyn Edwards, “went at it hammer and tongs (perhaps it would be more appropriate to say hammer and sickle)”.

After that it was back on the train down to London. Unfortunately he didn't have time to visit the nearby Ayrshire village of Moscow. 

So, who won the game? Actually it was Rangers - 2-1, with some observers saying that Premier Kosygin looked happier there than anywhere else on his trip.

Kosygin meeting the teams at Rugby Park

The fans were also excited to see Mr. Kosygin, so much so that there was even a pitch invasion after the match.

Following the Prague Spring and the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia the next year, Kosygin started to lose power and influence in the Soviet Union, being eclipsed by his colleague Leonid Brezhnev, but he remained a major figure in the USSR until his death in 1980.

How Irvine Dealt with the Closure of the Royal Ordnance Factory in 1958

In 1958, Irvine's Royal Ordnance Factory closed down with the loss of hundreds of well-paying jobs. How did Irvine deal with this? This report from the BBC's "Checkpoint" programme, which ran from 1963 to 1965, reveals the development of the former factory site to create an industrial estate. Later much of the site became the Beach Park.

When Ayrshire Had a Real Lock Down

The last two years of the COVID outbreak, with all the restrictions that's have been imposed, has been tough. But at no time in the past two years has Ayrshire been subjected set a real lockdown. Even at the height of the recent lockdowns, there was no one stopping Ayrshire folk leaving their homes. This hasn't always been the case. Back in our past, lockdowns could be a lot more strict such as the one imposed on Barrmill in 1832.

Near this small Ayrshire village, which is mainly famous for being located next to the giant munitions storage facility of DSDA Beith, there is an interesting site called Deid Man's Plantin'.

A plaque at the site tells the story: 

In 1832 forty Barrmill inhabitants died from Asiatic Cholera within a few weeks of each other and were buried in a triangular plot at the base of Jameshill. No record of the names of the people buried here seems to exist and it is very likely that they were buried without any religious ceremony.

The local tradition is that the disease was passed on from a group of gypsies who had encamped on Whin Hill and that local boys one Sunday morning had gone out to meet them, contracted the infection and brought it back to their homes with disastrous consequences.

Troops were placed at road junctions to prevent entry or exit during cholera outbreaks and normal burial in Beith was impossible and impractical, given the number of deaths. As is usual for such cholera pit sites a remote spot was selected, well away from water courses. No health risk remains today.

In 1908 the local paper recorded that not even a fence surrounded the spot and a resident of Barrmill suggested that a suitable stone and a fence should be erected to mark the resting place of the unfortunate ancestors of Barrmill and district residents and also to recognise the sacredness off the burial site.

The burial site is located on the lands of Southbarr Farm and was at one time securely fenced off and bordered by trees, kept in order thanks to the Crawford Brothers, owners of the old factory. It has been neglected since the brothers died, however a stile and footbridge were built by the Barmill Conservation Group in 2012 to allow easier access to the site.

Yes, armed guards stopping you going to-and-fro. How does that compare with being told to wear a mask sometimes and self isolate if infected?

Deid Man's Plantin' is typical Cholera pit, essentially a mass grave for victims of the plague. There are reported to be several others in Ayrshire. In Kilmarnock, admittedly a much bigger town, it is reported that around 250 people fell victim to the Cholera. Today a memorial to the victims can be seen in Howard Park, near the site of where a temporary hospital was set up to deal with the sick and dying.

THE NOBEL EXPLOSIVES FACTORY AT ARDEER

A video featuring the voices of people who worked at the Nobel explosives factory at Ardeer over the years, until it's final closure.

Ayrshire has Been Part of Ten Different Political Entities

In its long history, the territory we now know as Ayrshire has changed hands quite a few times. In fact, it appears to have been part of at least 10 distinct political entities, including the Roman Empire. Here is a chronology of all the changes of government over nearely 2000 years.

Before 81   DAMNONII

The Damnonii, a British tribe was in control of Ayrshire

81 - 87   ROMAN EMPIRE 

Ayrshire invaded by Romans under Agricola and under military occupation. In 87 AD the Romans pulled back to the Southern Uplands. This was apparently done to free up troops for a campaign against the Dacians in Romania. By 100 AD the frontier had receded to the Solway-Tyne line, where Hadrian later ordered the building of the famous wall.

87 - 142   DAMNONII

The Damnonii are back in charge.

142 - 162   ROMAN EMPIRE 

New Emperor - Antoninus Pius -- new policy. Under Quintus Lollius Urbicus they invade, conquer, and annex Southern Scotland, build the Antonine Wall, and occupy the area for 20 years. Following the death of Antoninus Pius, the Romans pull back to Hadrian's wall. 

162 - 208   DAMNONII

The Damnonii are back in charge.

208 - 213   ROMAN EMPIRE 

After the province of Britain lost much of its garrison in wars of imperial succession, raids across Hadrian's Wall increased. Finally this led to a response by the Roman Emperor Severus. In 208 he came North. It looks like the Damnonii surrendered or cooperated, as most of the campaigning was far to the North. The lands of the Damnonii were therefore at least under Roman suzerainty.

213 - 369   DAMNONII

The Damnonii are back in charge. This period lasts until "The Great Conspiracy," a combined Barbarian attack on Roman Britain that prompts a Roman response.

369 - 455   VALENTIA 

The Damnonii along with other tribes between the two walls are apparently united in an independent buffer state by the Roman Count Theodosius (father of the later Emperor Theodosius). This is sometimes referred to as "Valentia." This was friendly to the Romans, with the leaders being partly Romanised. 

455 - 750   ALT CLUT

Assuming that there was a buffer state between the walls that benefitted the Roman province of Britain, then it seems likely that the collapse of the province, starting around the time of the wars between the Romano-Britons and their German mercenaries (Horsa and Hengist, etc), was the time when Valentia also broke up into its subsequent parts of Alt Clut (later Strathclyde), Gododdin, and Galloway. 

750 - 758   NORTHUMBRIA

In 750 an alliance of the Northumbrians and the Picts attacked Alt Clut. The Northumbrians, who already controlled the lands along the South coast of Scotland, broke into Ayrshire and conquered it, holding it until 758, when, weakened by a defeat at the hands of the Mercians, they lost their grip on Ayrshire.

758 - 870   ALT CLUT

Both the power of the Northumbrians and the Picts ebbed, and was further reduced by the Viking onslaught on Britain. This allowed the re-emergence of Alt-Clut. But in 870, the capital, Dumbarton, was sacked by the Vikings. 

870 - 1058   STRATHCLYDE

The British state of Alt Clut went through a period of reorganisation, with its centre now further up the Clyde at Govan or Partick, in present-day Glasgow. The kingdom was increasingly overshadowed by the rise of Alba (later Scotland). After the confused events of the middle 11th century (Macbeth, the invasion of Earl Siward, etc.) Malcom III was crowned king of both Strathclyde and Alba, which appear to have merged at this point. The details remain somewhat unclear.

1058 - 1297   SCOTLAND

Ayrshire was part of Scotland. In 1205 the town of Ayr was established as a royal burgh and market town by King William the Lion. In 1249 Irvine followed.

1297 - 1307   ENGLAND

 In 1296 Edward I of England deposed the Scottish king John Balliol. This led to various outbreaks of rebellion, but Southern Scotland appears to have been secured by the Capitulation of Irvine in July 1297. Although the victory of the Scots at Stirling Bridge in September gave the Scots control of central Scotland, Ayrshire probably remained under English control until Bruce liberated it in 1307.

1307 - 1652   SCOTLAND

Ayrshire was part of Scotland throughout this period, even after the Treaty of Newcastle, which temporarily ceded eight counties of Southern Scotland to England. This period only ended when the English under Cromwell annexed Scotland to the Commonwealth in 1652.

1652 - 1660   THE COMMONWEALTH

For eight years Ayrshire was a relatively orderly part of the Cromwellian Commonwealth. On the Restoration of Charles II, the separate kingdoms of Scotland and England came back into existence.

1660 - 1707   SCOTLAND

Ayrshire was actually more content as part of the English Commonwealth than it was as part of Stuart Restoration Scotland. This was because of sectarian reasons. The Puritanism of the Commonwealth was more amenable to the Ayrshire population than the High Church pseudo-Catholicism of the late Stuarts. With the Glorious Revolution of 1688, the situation greatly improved.

1707 - The Present   THE UNITED KINGDOM

In 1707 the Scottish and English Parliaments united, making Ayrshire part of the United Kingdom with its capital in London. Even the Jacobite rebellion of 1745 failed to break this connection. The closest the Jacobite army came to Ayrshire appears to have been Glasgow where they encountered a lot of passive resistance and saved face by extorting a little money.  

In its recorded history starting in 81 AD up to 2022, Ayrshire was part of the following states for the indicated number of years:

Scotland                                         621 years

Alt Clut (British kingdom)            407 years

United Kingdom                            314 years

Damnoni tribal territory                 257 years

Strathclyde (British kingdom)        188 years

Valentia (Roman buffer state)          86 years

Roman Empire                                 31 years

England                                            10 years

Northumbria                                       8 years

The Commonwealth                           8 years

They Serve Us: Ayrshire's MPs (4) Allan Dorrans

Dorrans with "Paddy's Milestone" in the distance.

The 2019 General Election saw a landslide for the SNP in Ayrshire, winning all four seats. The formerly Conservative seat of Ayr, Carrick, and Cumnock fell to their candidate Allan Dorrans, who was well-chosen to appeal to the more "conservative" voters down south.

From his photos, the new MP looks like a large-boned, hook-nosed, lantern-jawed individual, rather like the Grouty character in Porridge. This physique was no doubt useful in his former career as a policeman down in London (1972 to 1987) and as a "care and resettlement officer" for offenders  (2003 to 2009). He also worked briefly in America.

Breaking into local politics as a councillor in 2012, he was selected as Parliamentary Candidate over former SNP MP (2015-2017) Corri Wilson, who had become an electoral liability thanks to claiming over a half a million pounds in expenses over just two years, in the process hiring her relatives as her "assistants" (her son Kieran and daughter Shannon -- yes, the crypto Hibernian connection again!). 

Compared to Wilson, Dorrans is a much more acceptable choice, but, as his name suggests, he too is of crypto-Hibernian background, something that is extremely common among SNP MPs and candidates.

In today's "woke" era it may seem a little odd to mention family background in this way, but the SNP is supposedly a Scottish nationalist party that came into existence to protect the interests of the historical Scottish people, so the ethnic interests and possible biases of its elected representatives is clearly an issue and a legitimate topic of discussion. Dorrans is, however, resolutely local, being born in the village of Dailly in 1955 and spending much of his life in Ayrshire.

Since being elected, he has been appointed SNP Westminster spokesman on policing -- surprise! surprise! Maybe he could use some of that considerable expertise to look into the expense accounts of his fellow SNP MPs. 

In 2021, Dorrans was hospitalised with Covid. He appears to have recovered. 

HOW AYRSHIRE VOTED 2019 (WESTMINSTER)

In the 2017 general election to the Westminster Parliament, the four Ayrshire constituencies voted as follows:

(1) North Ayrshire and Arran

Patricia Gibson, SNP - 23,376

David Rocks, Conservative - 14,855

Cameron Gilmore, Labour - 6,702

Louise Young, Lib Dems - 2,107
David Nairn, Greens - 1,114

(2) Kilmarnock and Loudon

Alan Brown, SNP - 24,216

Caroline Hollins-Martin, Conservative - 11,557

Kevin McGregor, Labour - 9,009

Edward Thornley, Lib Dems - 2,444
Stef Johnstone, Libertarian - 405

(3) Central Ayrshire

Philippa Whitford, SNP - 21,486

Derek Stillie, Conservative - 16,182

Nairn McDonald, Labour - 11,762

Emma Farthing, Lib Dems - 2,283

(4) Ayr, Carrick, and Cumnock

Alan Dorrans, SNP - 20,272
Martin Dowey, Conservative - 17,943

Carol Mochan, Labour - 6,219

Callum Leslie, Lib Dems - 2,158

TOTAL VOTE            194,090

SNP                                      89,350 (46%)

CONSERVATIVES           60,537 (31%)

LABOUR                             33,692 (17%)

LIB-DEMs                             8,992 (5%)
GREENS                                1,114 (<1%)
LIBERTARIANS                    405 (<1%)

Compared to the previous election (2017) the SNP vote grew largely at the expense of the Labour Party, which shrank. The Lib Dems made a slight recovery, and two minor parties appeared.