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Kilmaurs (, Scotland, on the Carmel, 21.1 miles south by west of Glasgow by the Glasgow & South-Western railway. Pop. (1901), 1803. HISTORY It was once noted for its cutlery, shoe and bonnet factories, and there were iron and coal mines in the neighbourhood. The parish church,St Maurs Church, now Kilmaurs: St Maurs-Glencairn, dates from 1170 , and was dedicated either to the Virgin or to a Scottish saint of the 9th Century called Maure. It was enlarged in 1403 and in great part rebuilt in 1888 . The Cunninghames and the Glencairn Aisle Adjoining it is the 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 Sewgal, 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 district of Cunninghame (Ayrshire) where the town is situated. The De Morville family lived at Tour 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. Burns 's patron, The Fourteenth Earl , on 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 Cunninghame family who are associated with the toun of Lambroughton for a significant period during their rise to power. James, the fourteenth Earl of Glencairn broke the centuries old connection of the Cunnighame family with the area by selling the estate of Kilmaurs in 1786 to the Marchioness of TitchfieldRobertson, William (1908). ''Ayrshire. Its History and Historic Families''. Vol. 2. Grimsay Press (2005). ISBN 1-84530-026-2. P. 326.. Laigh Milton viaduct is the oldest surviving Railway Bridge in Scotland]]
The Jougs The former Parish Council chambers in Kilmaurs, the ' Jougs ', 'Jugs' or 'Juggs' has a fine example of a stepped Mercat Cross in an enclosure behind it, the cross is surmounted by a large sandstone ball and dated 1830. The 'Jougs' was also used as the Kilmaurs fire station in the 19th century. The Fire Brigade Museum in Edinburgh holds the preserved wooden 1830s fires engine in its collections. Sir Walter Scott rescued the 'jougs' from Thrieve Castle in the Borders and attached them to the castellated gateway he built at Abbotsford House .Napier, George G. (1897). ''The Home and Haunts of Sir Walter Scott, Bart.'' James Maclehose, Glasgow. P. 153. The Old Tolbooth in Sanquhar has a set of jougs attched to the wall just outside the jail entrance. They were last used in 1820 when a housebreaker was held ny them. He was so small that he had to be stood on a stone block. The Highland Host To prevent the Covenanters holding 'Conventicles', King Charles II moved highland troops, the 'Highland Host' into the westland of AyrshireRobertson, William (1905). ''Old Ayrshire Days''. Pub. Stephen & Pollock. Ayr. P. 299 - 300.. "''They took free quarters; they robbed people on the high road; they knocked down and wounded those who complained; they stole, and wantonly destroyed, cattle; they subjected people to the torture of fire to discover to them where their money was hidden; they threatened to burn down houses if their demands were not at once complied with; besides free quarters they demanded money every day; they compelled even poor families to buy brandy and tobacco for them; they cut and wounded people from sheer devilment.''" The cost of all this amounted to £3,250 15s 0d Scots in Kilmaurs parish alone. Smallpox PatersonPaterson, James (1863-66). History of the Counties of Ayr and Wigton. V. - III - Cunninghame. J. Stillie. Edinburgh. P. 344. records that in the 1790s inoculation for smallpox had not become general, "''owing,''" according to the minister, ''"to the prevalence of a religious persuasion that the Divine Government, without any care on the part of man, will accomplish whatever is best for him. So deeply are the tenets of this kind impressed, that all attempts to show the necessity of using those means by which the Providence of God operates, both in temporal and spiritual concerns, are 'houted' and despised. Much,''" he adds, "''have the teachers of religion to answer for, who establish faith upon the ruins of practice.''" THE WAVERLEY NOVELS Sir Walter Scott makes several references to the Earl of Glencairn as a supporter of the Scottish kirk and the Cameronians in his novel 'Waverley. He also mentions in the same novel, that Kilmaurs Mains farm has excellent breeds of cattle. It is also apparent that the highland clan chiefs did very well out of the 'Highland Host' phenomenon; building extensions or new houses for themselves out of the profits from their plunder. KILMAURS GALLERY 2006 - 2007 |
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